I tried to get going early on Thursday morning and we headed down towards Sedona. From Flagstaff to Sedona, you go down a winding road through a canyon. Part way down, we stopped and hiked the West Fork trail. It goes along the West Fork of Oak Creek through Oak Canyon. It's a great trail, even though it was a little crowded. Abbey was in and out of the creek for most of the trail - about 3 miles each way. Mary Beth and I, and Abbey and our other dog Buster, did this same trail about 8 years ago. With the heat, though, it seemed like the best trail for both of us since there was also a lot of shade on the route. On the way back to Michael & Diana's I took a detour up to the Snow Bowl, a ski area near their house, to check out a few trails. I ran into a guy just coming off a trail with his dog. I told him what I was doing and he told me that he is also in between jobs. He's changing careers and taking 9 months off before starting school. Of course, I thought that was great, except 9 months seems like such a short time ;-)
Oak Creek
Oak Canyon