Wrapping It Up in Flagstaff

June 23rd was another nice day here in Flagstaff and we decided to enjoy it with a drive up to the Snowbowl ski resort to do a little hiking. Arthur drove and he took us to the Nature Trail trailhead.

This was not a long loop, about two miles. At first it was pretty open.

There were lots of plants to observe crossing the field.

We soon left the fields behind and started zigzagging through pines and aspen. 

In amongst the trees there were more wildflowers to see. We were especially surprised to see the plethora of ferns.

We eventually completed the circuit and returned to the car.

We then took a lunch break and ate at the ski lodge.

There was also an opportunity for some whimsical poses.

Concluding lunch we then drove over to the Viet Springs trail to hike it and also give Nancy a chance to find the letterboxes Wisconsin Hiker hid there last year.

Amazingly, Nancy was the first finder!

It was a nice area to hike in and a fitting way to end the time here.

Back at the AirBnB, we made a vegetarian meal that had white beans, spinach, tomatoes and seared halloumi cheese as ingredients. It was very good!

The 24th was a slow day except for that evening. Lucinda Williams is a well-known folk and country artist that we both like, and her tour was going to be in Flagstaff this evening. The performance would be at the Orpheum Theatre located downtown.

The seating was not reserved, so there was a long line in front of the Orpheum when we arrived.

.

Things shaped up nicely once we were inside. Apparently we were still some of the early birds and that turned into some nice choices for seating. We got ourselves some seats in the back along a counter. That afforded some good sightlines as well as a bird's eye view of the sound boards and their crew. And also a ledge to set our beverages!

It was an EXCELLENT concert. It was just Lucinda Williams and her band with no opening act. The band was excellent as well; I could hear no weak links in the performance. Lucinda herself seemed in good shape. She had a stroke a few years ago and she needed help getting onto the stage. But her voice was strong and she clearly was in command of the vocals.

It was a very friendly crowd who were familiar with her music and listened with rapt attention. She had a good mix of songs and was clearly into it. Towards the end of the conect she and her band performed a great cover of Neil Young's "Rockin' In the Free World".

Here's the set list of what they played that night, courtesy of Wisconsin Hiker.

And lastly here's some video clips taken of the concert. They aren't the greatest in quality, but you get a sense of what it was like that night.

https://youtu.be/xK5xaysa94s

Such a good concert........ 

On June 25th we decided to go bowling with Nancy and Arthur at Starlite Bowling Lanes, right on Route 66. Nancy had suggested this activity as something "different" to do. Wisconsin Hiker did some research and it turned out that the gent who ran the kitchen was offering a little more than the standard fare at a bowling alley.

Being fools for good food, this was an extra incentive to give bowling a shot. Bowling was never a strong suit of Wisconsin Hiker's or myself.

Upon arrival we looked around and admired some of the funky decor in this place.

The place wasn't real busy but it looked inviting.

We got into a discussion with Chef Ed and found out that he had already sold out of the catfish he advertised as a special this week. That was a disappointment, but he did have some other ideas for food to share with us. Chef Ed was very friendly as was everyone else we talked to at this place. We ate in the small bar on the premises. I had green chili sliders while Wisconsin Hiker had a Philly cheese steak and some delicious Manhattan style chowder. Chef Ed then appeared with some complimentary fried pickles for us and later the owner showed up to chat, since he had heard we were visiting from out of town. 

After lunch we bowled two games. The scores were not very exciting compared to other regular bowlers. But we had our moments of glory.

Pathetic bowlers maybe, but we could roll some strikes!

The 26th was a slow day, at least for me. Wisconsin Hiker and Nancy had planned an outing to the Flagstaff Arboretum for a guided walking tour. Arthur and I demurred and decided to hit the gym instead. It looked like the trip to the Arboretum was fun in that the ladies saw lots of pretty flowers.

 

Unfortunately the Pocket fire to the south and west of Flagstaff was still growing and it spewed a lot of smoke which has been flooding the west side and downtown of Flagstaff. Wisconsin Hiker reported that the air quality was definitely deteriorating.

The next day, June 27th, we decided to go east again to Winslow to watch the Standing Horse Powwow and escape the smoke. It takes inside of an hour to get to Winslow from Flagstaff. Upon arrival we found the venue for the powwow and waited for it to start. The wind here was just as fierce as in Flagstaff. There were a lot of Native Americans here, I suspect mostly Navajos and Hopis since their reservations were very nearby.

We waited around until abut 10 AM and gave up on watching the morning events since they were clearly delayed by the winds, plus it was pretty hot at the venue. We decided to go back to the La Posada Hotel we ate at on June 8th. It's a very historic place and there was a self-guided tour we could take of the facility. There's a lot to see and get informed about.

The tour starts at the northern entrance to the hotel and passes through the gift shop which has a lot of interesting stuff on display.

Exiting the shop you arrive at several lounging areas as well as the way into the Turquoise Room, which is the main dining area. The decor is typically Southwest in tone, although the approach is very eclectic.

Stained glass in the Turquoise Room

Visiting my favorite type of bar...

As we wandered the halls of this exquisite building we were able to access some of the outdoor grounds, which were lovely.

La Posada was the last hotel designed by Mary Jane Colter in a collaboration she was in with the famous hotelier Fred Harvey and the Atcheson, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad. Opening in 1930, it functioned as a hotel and also as a train station for the railroad until 1957. It went through many decades of neglect and probably would have been demolished had it not been for wealthy real estate developer Allan Affeldt and his artist wife, Tina Mion. They bought the distressed building and gradually transformed it into the boutique hotel it is today, as well as creating a presentation space for Mion's art. So La Posada has the distinction of being the repository of Mary Jane Colter's unique approach to architectural design in the American Southwest and the home for Tina Mion's unique artistic vision embodied in her artwork.

We wrapped up the tour and then went into the Turquoise Room where we had another scrumptious lunch. I opted for fish tacos while Wisconsin Hiker had the signature bean & corn soup and salad.

After finishing lunch we returned to the Powwow, which was finally getting into gear. We found ourselves a spot in the bleachers and first watched various drummers from the Native American community pound on drums and chant.

Here's a video of one of the groups drumming and chanting.

https://youtu.be/6lQx9UCOfTE

Next up was the grand entrance of the various dancers. There was lots of preparation and practicing going on for this event.

The procession itself was interesting to watch. The costuming was beautiful, but I have to add that the combination of drumming and high-pitched singing always sounded a bit discordant to me.

Here's another video showcasing the procession.

https://youtu.be/wSGJlEGf3AA

It was still plenty hot out. So we watched the conclusion of the processional and then called it a day. As we drove back we could see the smoke generated by that dratted wildfire southwest of us and north of Sedona.

One side effect of the wind, was that power was cut to Nancy and Arthur's AirBnb. That was a safety precaution taken by the area electric utility to guard against more wildfires caused by downed high voltage lines. Our power miraculously stayed on, probably because we were inside the city limits.

The 28th was a good day in Flagstaff and yet it wasn't. Wisconsin Hiker wanted to get a birthday present for Nancy at the farmer's market and also to get a breakfast sandwich there. It was just too smoky.

You could barely see Mt. Eldon!

We ended up indoors for breakfast at MartAnne's and that was a great choice.

We then went to the farmer's market, where I dropped off Wisconsin Hiker. She went straight to the vendor she had in mind, bought the item and hurried back to the van to limit time in the smoky air. We hunkered down inside for the rest of the day, but started packing up our things to head home early. We had no desire to stay in the unhealthy air conditions.

That night we went out for dinner with Nancy and Arthur as it was her birthday. She picked out a nice upscale Italian restaurant in downtown called Teatro. We had great entrees and celebrated Nancy's nativity day with some excellent desserts.

And that was the end of our time in Flagstaff. We could have stayed till July 1st, but the heavy smoke showed no signs of abating and we decided to return home on Monday June 29th. We did pretty good on the list of "things to do" that we all devised. It was nice up there and we plan to return.

Another Enjoyable Week in Flagstaff

Before we headed up to Flagstaff, several of us contributed ideas for things we could do there during the month of June.  This included events, activities, hikes, and restaurants.  We have been checking them off as we go along, and this week we planned to visit two places on our list - The Museum of Northern Arizona and the Lowell Observatory.

The first thing we did on Tuesday morning was head over to the gym for a "Silver Sneakers" class.  The participants skew a bit older than our other classes, but it was still a good workout w/weights, cardio and stretching.  Then in the afternoon we drove over to the Museum of Northern Arizona, on the northwest side of town. We have driven past this place MANY times in previous years when we were section hiking the AZ Trail and we have also found letterboxes on the grounds. Now this year we would FINALLY go inside! Founded in 1928, the museum's focus is the cultural and natural heritage of the Colorado Plateau. There are several galleries which feature a variety of topics: Indigenous people and their arts, archaeology, geology, and biology.  We enjoyed strolling through the exhibits to admire the collections.

Hopi Katsina dolls

Assorted jewelry

Since 2026 is the 100th Anniversary of Route 66, there was also a special exhibit titled "Wagon Road to Mother Road". It presented the evolution of the iconic road and its impact on the landscape and communities. It also covered the realities of early travel, including accidents, mechanical failures and the trash left behind. It was an interesting exhibit which highlighted "vintage artifacts, maps, music and memorabilia that bring the legendary road to life. Featured items include a 1931 Ford Model A pickup, a hand-painted Route 66 map, and mid-century Phillips 66 gas pump, as well as liquor bottles, soda bottles, and oil cans uncovered by museum archaeologists."

Martini Man & Arthur have only imbibed at one of these bars (so far)

Afterwards Martini Man & I headed to a popular Mexican restaurant called MartAnne's where we had some spectacular food. We would happily return to this place! 

Cheese Crisp w/beef and big burrito

Then it was back to the rental for the evening.

The next morning we once again began our day at the gym.  We're getting spoiled with the late class time (10 a.m.), which allows us to sleep in a bit.  It will be a different story when we return home (where our classes start at 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m.).  Then we hung out at home until we headed to the Lowell Observatory around 6 p.m.  Unlike museums, the observatory is open late so people can look at the night sky.  We began our visit in the Stardust Lab Astronomy Gallery.  It included many interactive displays and hands-on activities, so we spent quite a bit of time playing and reading.

Then we moved up to the second floor.  A huge sculpture with changing colors hangs in the center of the building.  We also looked down into the kids play area and learned some interesting facts about a wide variety of scientists.

Next we headed outdoors to visit the Rotunda Museum, which contained historical items including one of the earliest motorized calculating machines and the Tombaugh telescope which was used to discover Pluto in 1930 at this observatory.

Then we headed back to the main building because we had gotten tickets for the earliest show in the Dark Sky Planetarium, which was an open-air area on the top of the building.  It was getting cooler, so we appreciated the comfortable and HEATED seats.  A staff member gave a talk by using a high-powered laser to point out some things in the sky, and then used a regular screen for a presentation about constellations.

We could see 3 planets at the start, but Mercury soon descended below the horizon

Afterwards we left the main building to go outside again. First we looked through a modern telescope on the Open Deck Observatory and then walked back to the Clark Dome to see the original 1896 refracting telescope that Percival Lowell used to observe Mars. The telescope was also used for mapping the moon for the Apollo missions and helped prove the universe is expanding. It is now used for public stargazing and educational tours. It is housed in a very cool wooden dome, built by bicycle repairmen and machinists 130 years ago. A young woman narrated the history of the dome and telescope, then rotated it for us to see how it moved.

We then followed the interestingly lit pathways, with special reflective paint that looked like the Milky Way, back to the exit.  We enjoyed the evening and ended up spending about 3 hours there before returning to our "home away from home" a little after 10 p.m.

Nancy had suggested that we take a downtown mural walk on Thursday JUN 18.  Our guide was quite good and we spent nearly two hours walking around to see the murals and learn about the artists that created them, as well as gain some insight into the images. We highly recommend this Freaky Foot tour.

Our guide and small group at a massive mural

Amongst all the birds was a well-placed woodPECKER

Desert scene with some classical additions, and detail of plants

A wide variety of murals around town

As we were walking through one alleyway, we passed several young artists setting their creations out to dry.

Very odd, but interesting scene

Even the steps were painted to look like drawers at this mural on a bookshop

Left: a beautiful scene painted on a utility box, Right: a portal to nature

After the excellent tour, the four of us headed over to Delhi Palace where we had lunch. The Indian food was delicious, as was the special tea. At the end of the meal we received an unexpected treat - a small complimentary dish of kheer (rice pudding sprinkled with spices).  We then returned to our rental homes.

Nancy, Martini Man & I planned another hike for Friday JUN 19.  This one was fairly close to where we were all staying, so it was a short drive to the trailhead.  We would hike a portion of the Little Eldon trail up to the Schulz Tank (pond) and then return the same way, resulting in a ~6 mile hike, with ~650 ft elevation gain.  We were hiking at elevations between 7,300-8,000 ft.

The trail was fairly open as we started (due to an old fire) and we were surprised to see so many ferns thriving in the full sun.  Gradually we came to spots where young aspen were sprouting and eventually we were in pines.

Nice views early in the hike

Nancy among the ferns, Martini Man passing through aspen and both of them in pines

Of course I once again I couldn't resist taking photos of all the pretty wildflowers along the trail.

Firecracker Penstemon & MacDougal's Verbena

Woods wild rose, Dalmatian toadflax, Lupine
Fleabane, Indian Paintbrush, Golden Columbine

Before 11:30 am we arrived at the pretty tank (pond).  We enjoyed an early lunch overlooking the water, watching ducks and other birds (swallows?) and butterflies flitting around.

Schulz Tank

The happy hikers

After lunch we backtracked down the same trail to return to the van and then drove back home to relax.

Later that afternoon I was out on our back patio when I saw a big cloud of smoke to the southwest.

Photo taken 5:41 pm on JUN 19

I soon found out that it was a fire that started around 5 p.m. in the Red Rock-Secret Mountain Wilderness area, roughly 7 miles north of Sedona.  It was named the "Pocket Fire" and it would continue to burn for ????? days.

We planned a lazy day on Saturday JUN 20 - no gym and no hiking!  Instead we went to a different weekend market at the mall near us.  It mostly consisted of simple crafts and baked goods and a few food trucks. There were also two Route 66 street murals which we posed at. The artists are quite talented and they create the murals such that if you stand at the correct spot, they give a nice perspective view. We only bought a jar of blueberry-lavender jam, then headed further down the road to do  a bit of grocery shopping.  We spent the remainder of the day just hanging out at home.

It was time for another hike on Sunday JUN 21. Nancy suggested the Schulz Pass Road loop hike, which would be ~7 miles, with ~700 ft elevation change.  Arthur prefers shorter hikes, so he didn't join us on this one.  Nancy, Martini Man & I started out on the trail around 9:30 a.m.  It was a nice trail that ascended gradually through the forest of pines (and a few aspen).  We also saw some interesting vegetation along the trails.

Golden Columbine, Purple Locoweed, Woodland Pinedrop, Sticky Purple Geranium

There was actually a maze of trails that criss-crossed each other, since this was also a popular mountain biking area. We were happy we didn't see many bikes for the first hour or so, but eventually we got to a point where there was more traffic. 

We continued ascending as we hiked northward and at almost the halfway point, we crossed a road to continue westward for a bit.  This was the highest section of the trail which had nice views of the  surrounding forest and hillsides.  We chose this area to take a lunch break.

We soon started heading south to return to our starting point.  It was fairly easy walking with a gradual descent, but unfortunately we chose a trail that was wide & open, and therefore hot & sunny.  We were very happy to get back to the van and air conditioning! We spent the rest of the day relaxing at home.

Monday JUN 22 was a low-key day. We went to the gym for our two regular classes and later that afternoon Nancy & Arthur came to our place and we immediately headed out to get the flavor of the day (Caramel Turtle) at Culvers . It was supposed to be caramel custard w/carmel swirls, pecans and chocolate, but once again it seemed like plain vanilla custard w/a very small amount of add-ins.  We've been there twice this month and both times were disappointing.  We then all headed back to our place where we played two games of Five Crowns (I was the big loser).  The original plan was for us to make dinner, but we decided to go out instead.  The restaurant destination this time was Fat Olive's, where we had a nice salad and an interesting (& tasty) pizza.  Then we called it a night and headed back home.

Ms. Piggy pizza
(Pesto, mozzarella-provolone blend, smoked bacon,
Molinari pistachio mortadella, wood-roasted onion, basil chiffonade)