The south end of the beach at Hua Hin, Thailand.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Hua Hin, Thailand.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Maldives on March 23rd.

Friday, March 13, 2015

It wasn't meant to be...

We tried to go for a hike yesterday, but it just didn't happen. The weather wasn't great. Overcast, and a high of about 55C, which was fine, but then it started spitting rain. Still, we drove about 8 miles (13 kms) from our great boondocking spot to the forest road that leads to the Lava Tube Cave.

But the forest road entrance is at 8,000 ft altitude, and it's closed during winter.

Sure enough, the remains of that 17" (43 cm) snowfall they had a week and a half ago was still on the ground, and the road was snow covered in sections, and wet and muddy in other sections.

We had even thought about doing the 4 miles each way hike to the Cave entrance, but decided against it because Ruth's hiking boots aren't the most waterproof anymore.

So, we turned around and returned to our great boondocking spot.

Sherman, and Humphreys Peak in the background.

We did end up going for an hour walk in the forest (gotta keep our hiking legs limber!), but didn't take any photos. Not much in the way of wildlife, just some birds, rabbits, and squirrels.

This an Aberts Squirrel.

This squirrel plays outside our motorhome window. He (she?) is quite a character to watch. A fairly big squirrel, he's got long fluffy ears and sometimes he hops along almost like a rabbit. 

Ruth made some brownies yesterday afternoon, so having the oven on kept things nice and toasty inside the motorhome.

Interesting that we have been enjoying the cooler fresh air, and don't even mind seeing the snow on the ground. Perhaps it's just because it's a change, and we know that it's very temporary! The same way that we enjoyed going on a three day skiing holiday a couple of years ago, but we still don't want to put up with six months of that kind of weather!

Today's another travel day for us. We're heading west, towards Kingman, Arizona where we're staying with another Boondockers Welcome host. We had told them we may not show up until Saturday, just in case we find another worthwhile spot to overnight along the way. After all, it's 160 miles (260 kms) from Flagstaff to Kingman, so it's a bit long to do it all in one day! :-)

Fantastic deal on a Nokia pay as you go phone from Amazon.com...today only!




20 comments:

  1. Great picture of Sherman in the snow left overs. Looks like you are the lone campers, my favorite type of boondocking. Love that squirrel. Fabulous picture. I could spend a day just watching him. We usually try to use our oven to cook up some delicious eats when it's cold outside. Love your travel schedule. 160 miles is what I like to call my daily limit. Not always possible though I try to make it happen.

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    1. Sherry we were there 2 nights and we were the ONLY campers, just the way we like it. ;-) It was so peaceful!

      Yep, that little guy and his friends were fun to watch. We really loved the way he ran/hopped.

      Normally 120 miles is our limit but like you said sometimes there are exceptions.

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  2. Gorgeous photo of the squirrel. At first glance I thought it was a rabbit. Re being able to deal with temporary snow - I totally understand and agree. Knowing it (or you!) will be gone in a few days makes it tolerable. Not sure I could cope with 6 months of the stuff at this point in my life either. ;-) www.20YrsFromNow.com

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    1. We thought the same thing at first too, Dianne.

      Yes, having to deal snow when it is on your terms is totally different than having to deal with a whole season of that weather. Having said that some people really do love the snow!

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  3. Love the Albert's squirrel's tufted ears! Methinks you might have meant 55F not 55C. Too bad the Lava Tube Cave was inaccessible---best months in the Coconino high country are May, June, and October.

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    1. It is an Abert's squirrel, no "l" in there but yes those ears were so darn cute.

      Yes, you are totally right that should be 55F, if it was 55C all that snow would be gone and we would have been in a lake, I am sure and roasting!

      The Lava Tube Cave wasn't inaccessible we just didn't have the footware for it. The temperature would have been good for a hike and we didn't mind doing the 8-9 mile hike but the snow would have been over our hiking boots and that just wouldn't have been comfy, plus as Kevin mentioned my hikers are getting old and aren't waterproof, but it sure was tempting. Yep, I agree those would be the best months to go there. Maybe next October?

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  4. Love the squirrel.
    We don't mind a bit of winter, but we have had more then enough this year. Enjoy your travels.

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    1. Yep, we really feel for you and Suzie. It is even harder to deal with when you know that you would have been down south here enjoying the nice warm weather. Sure hope spring comes real soon for you, George.

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  5. Love that squirrely type creature, I've never heard of this amazing animal.....Thanks for teaching me something new........Enjoy your day......

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    1. He is a squirrel, just a different type from the normal one people see. He had the cutest long tufted ears! He was the first one we had ever seen like this too, so even we learned something new.

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  6. Looks like a great spot even with the snow

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    1. It was a wonderful spot and very quite. I doubt that it is in the summer time though, The only thing that would have made it better would have been some hiking trails or if we had gotten a chance to see some elk.

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  7. Very nice spot. I hope the stars are shining at night.

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    1. It was a great spot! The sky was clouded over unfortunately. :-(

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  8. Too bad about not seeing the Lava Tubes.
    That Squirrel is quite different from what we're used to seeing but cute.
    Be Safe and Enjoy!

    It's about time.

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    1. We will try to see them next time when the weather is a little better. Luckily we saw the longest one in the world when we were in South Korea on Jeju Island last October but it would have been cool to have seen these as they are made into a tourist attraction.

      Yes, the squirrel is quite a bit different from the ones back home in Canada. We loved his long fluffy ears.

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  9. Never seen a squirrel like that. Nice to have something interesting to watch. Cute.

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    1. That's the first time we have seen an Abert's squirrel as well and yes, he was fun to watch.

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  10. It will be interesting to see where you stay the night, we ended up in the Basho/Kmart parking lot, it was fine!!

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    1. We found a lovely spot in the Kaibab National Forest. We had it too ourselves and although we couldn't see the Interstate we could hear a little noise from it at night. If we would have been staying longer we would have driven further in and away from the highway but it was still a great spot.

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