 Had to pause and take a pic of this scene, once again on Woodland Road where there its always something to see. I've ramped up my weekly miles to prepare for an Ohio visit so....  ....getting in around 130 miles each of the last couple of weeks. Laughably small compared to many here and in Ohio but it is what it its. Today was 50 miles that included.....  ...riding to the top of Reddington Road. Good but short climb.  On a rare cloudy day, I headed west on Ina, passing a church having a beautiful dome.  And yet another ride included catching a bobcat, strolling around a quiet neighborhood.  A resort, Hacienda del Sol is a short drive and advertises itself as having the best view in the area. Claudia and I went there and true enough....  ...the view from the restaurant may in fact, have the best view.
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 We clean up and head out of Sedona. A new bypass road opened a day after our departure that avoids the heavy congestion around the roundabouts at 89A and 179. Look forward to checking that out and also new routes that take one to hiking destinations not as well known as those we visited.  We detoured into Page Springs to check out this restaurant. Very nice!  And as the name suggests, it sits high above a creek. Arriving back in Tucson, the next day I...  ....went for a recovery ride where I was a bit late, taking a pic of a huge Gila monster.  I've been renting a condo and really like the location, close to Oro Valley and the east side. My realtor friend convinced me to begin looking at one to buy so checked out a few on Friday, made an offer on Saturday, accepted on Sunday and above is the view from the patio. Completely remodeled, new appliances so I'm happy with it. Inspection went well so closing on it soon, after I return from a visit to the great state of Ohio!
 It's Friday and with the trailhead being one of the most popular, we were required to drive to one of three park & rides. This system is free and very convenient. It took about 5 minutes to.....  ....reach the start of this awesome "hike". It's mostly scrambling which of course, makes it a lot of fun! Our destination is left of center in the gap.  Large rock piles show the way and always, in every direction, awesome views.  My hiking companion is not entirely comfortable with the exposure and steepness of the route but she persevered.  This segment turns many away, especially if you have short legs but we continued onward!  A satisfying finish. But wait! There's more!!! Going to the right, I reached a nifty spot from which to have my pic.....  ...taken. And, I recently read that if you continue to the left....  ....there's an opening through which you can climb for a view from a different perspective.  OK, worth the effort. I looked down and it appeared....  ...a vague trail continued. I followed it for a ways and suspected it would continue to the front of Cathedral but returned to join....  ...a gathering crowd. In fact, had I continued down the ravine, it did circle to the front so maybe next time. We enjoyed the setting and soon clambered down to a waiting shuttle. Really a fun experience.
 After the Devil's Bridge fun, we ate at Creekside American Bistro, having great views and food too!  We walked through Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village, a beautiful location. I'm not much into walking through numerous retailers and neither is Claudia so we didn't stay very long.  We checked into this evenings stay and it was very nice but had no on site restaurant so we drove to a neighboring resort and....  ....how bout that!?!?! A fiddler gave a performance while dining! So much greenery here. As we departed......  ....a guy had set up a very powerful telescope. We were able to clearly see Jupiter's four moons and then, since no one else had approached, the man swiveled the scope so we looked at our moon in amazing detail. Well, back to hiking!
 Fabulous destination! However, do NOT start your hike at the Dry Creek Road trailhead. If you do, it's a dusty 2 mile start and unremarkable. Instead, start at the Mescal trailhead. This also avoids having to take the new, shuttle service to Dry Creek, Thursday -Sunday. The shuttle service is free and rather convenient but we found easy parking at Mescal. Signage is good throughout this effort.  We cross a wash that has numerous pockets of water from recent rains.  Mountain bikers use this trail too but this is the only ones we encountered.  The trail enters a dry creek bed for a short distance before exiting.  As I stated, signage is very good. At mile 1.3, we cross Dry Creek Road where we encounter a couple of high clearance vehicles that were able to make the 2 mile drive from DC trailhead. Otherwise, as I previously noted, you're hiking that 2 miles. Don't do it, lol.  So far, our hike was mostly a mild ascent but once crossing the road, it steepens....  ....in places, really steep. And then....  ....we encounter a small group of hikers who are waiting their turn to walk onto the bridge.  Mostly, people walked to the middle of the sandstone bridge, had their pic taken and then returned but a few needed to have multiple pics in different positions. There was some grumbling as the line slowly shortened. I negotiated with the people behind us, as the couple in front of us had done, to take our pic.  It really is a spectacular image. The wind had picked up and we were anxious to get off the bridge. With that, we began the hike back to the RV.  The hike was only 4.5 miles but very scenic, including the boulder, somehow balancing above us. Lunchtime now so we went into Sedona for dining and retail!
 I've completed this 5.5 mile hike once before and was anxious for Claudia to experience entering the Subway, also known as the Keyhole, given the shape of the interior. We shove off on a rolling, Boyonton Canyon trail.  Soon, a resort comes into view and stays with us for about a mile. Important note for those checking this page for info about the hike. While other landmarks and trails are well marked, this trail, not so much. You'll encounter an intersection or two that may have you scratching your head although the direction to walk should be obvious from trail wear or encountering other hikers.  Throughout, the scenery!!!! Oh and clouds too that were gathering, indicating some rain could be coming. At almost exactly.....  ....mile 2, you'll see a giant, alligator juniper tree on your left. Look for a trail coming in from the right. That's the beginning of the ascent to the Subway. Yeah, I know, in the pic the tree is on the right of the trail but I took the pic after passing the tree. The ascent is .5 mile, kind of bouldery and likely somewhat crowded so be patient. Dogs are surprisingly allowed on many Sedona trails and we encountered a woman who had just been bitten. Nasty and bleeding quite a bit. We donated a tissue but not much else could be done so.....  ....on we go! The entrance but the pic does not do a good job of demonstrating the severity of the slope but....  ...this one does. We waited for them to slide and then began our turn. Not only is the ramp steep at 35%+ but also kind of slick. There is an alternative way, a short walk to the left but ya gotta experience this way! Pro tip: Wear shoes having a good gripping surface, lol.  I make it and here, Claudia begins the steepest section, making it to the top with a satisfying grin on her face. She's quite a fit hiker and a worthy hiking companion.  What an amazing view! Each of us ventured as far down the left ledge as we comfortably could and had our pics taken. Unfortunately, those pics omitted the right side so I'm posting this instead, as it shows the complete feature. Note the right ledge. It gets kind of sketch at the corner but if one walks around, there are additional features that are worthy of exploring.  So, as Claudia descends the ramp, I go around the corner and we meet soon thereafter as she ascended the alternate way.  I arrive at Indian ruins and looking back, a woman follows my route. This pic puts the challenge in perspective I think.  Various alcoves exist where people hang out. Reunited, we explore the area and reencounter three women from MN who were oblivious about this destination, headed elsewhere, when first we met on Boyonton Canyon trail. I convinced them to visit this instead and they were rightly thrilled to have done so.  We descend and looking back, get a good view of the Indian ruins.  Recent rain has caused an abundance of wild flowers to bloom.  Back on the main trail, it begins to rain, rather hard. The surrounding cliffs appear to have ice on them but it's just water, draining over the sides. Just before entering the stage of personally being soaked, the rain stops. Yeehaw. Fun first day in Sedona!
 The sunrises have not been of the same quality recently. Mostly because most mornings, there have been no clouds. However, this morning had a nice one.  And so, the day arrived to drive to Sedona in an honest to goodness RV and "camp". Lacking a maul, I split some wood using a hammer and chisel. I would not want that to be the standard way to split wood.  We drove to Phoenix, retrieved the Winnebago Travato and headed to Sedona. It's only a 3.5 hour drive and I wondered why I have not visited more frequently, given the views and hiking opportunities. Able, we descend via 89A into Sedona.  Just before entering the city, we took a short detour so Claudia, a former real estate agent, could check out this home. The access is via an elevator. Amazing.  I regret thinking to take only one pic of our parking spot and surrounding area. It was a beautiful location, next to a babbling Oak Creek. If this is the standard for RV parking, sign me up. One can not help but wonder, "Is this Arizona?" because of our surroundings of trees, manicured grass and water. But of course, AZ is the most biodiverse, inland state in the US. And the scenery? That is coming, soon.
 I park on the corner of Ina and Oracle to begin a 40 mile ride through Oro Valley. This location is at the southwest edge of the Catalinas where I observe a lone cloud.  Later, in Marana, I pause and observe a standing body of water. I thought, how rare a combination.  I take a day off and head for a 50 mile ride that included pausing to watch a train of horses. Then, I....  ....head up Mount Lemmon to the view point at mile 2.5. This gave my ride 2000' of climbing. I'm contemplating riding all the way to Summerhaven soon. Were I to be a first time visitor, I'd be all over this effort, along with going up Kitt Peak and Mount Graham. But, having done so many times, for whatever reason, I focus on the mental agony of the effort. We'll see.  Saturday and on my way to Phoenix, via I10. No surprise, a wreck has brought us to a standstill. I much prefer taking the back way via St. Rt 79 & 77 but my destination was too far west for that to be practical.  My girlfriend's sister's husband passed recently so they held a celebration of life. The man led quite a life and over 100 people attended. The food...the drink...ugh.  Sunday was an unusually windy day so I decided to hike to Ringtail Ridge, a very scenic hike in the Tucson Mountains. Now, when you read this, we'll be in an RV giving it a test experience to Sedona. Got some great hikes planned. Actually, great are the scenes, not so great the effort but that's ok.
 Another enjoyable, 40 mile ride around Oro Valley with great views on this warm, sunny day!  A couple of days later, I rode south, going around the fairgrounds on a 47 mile route. The Pima County Fair is ongoing but we couldn't get much interested in attending.  The palo verde blooms are now more on the ground than on the trees.  I read an ad about shrimp, caught off the coast of Louisiana and how much better it was than imported shrimp so bought 2 pounds. Wow, quite good! I'll buy this again.  About once a year, I shop for clothes and this past weekend was the time to get it done. Visited an upscale outlet mall and went all in on a wardrobe adjustment. While walking, I noticed a hummingbird's nest. Such an odd location, close to a lot of foot traffic.  How did I not know previously about slip-on Skechers? Just like that, I have a replacement for the trail running shoes I usually wear for casual occassions. My only regret is not taking advantage of the "Buy 2 get 1 Free" offer. My girlfriend did and I'm envious.  Our itinerary for the Sedona visit is set and will include a visit to Devil's Bridge. Not previously experienced this and yes, we plan to walk across the bridge. I've read it's wider than it appears in images. One of the other must visits is the Subway.
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