Heather and I just came back from a Spring Break trip out to Arizona, where we visited Mark and Marilyn along with Kristen and Steve, then went backpacking with Mark and Marilyn.
When we arrived Kristen announced that she and Steve are engaged! We're looking forward to a summer wedding in Montana, and having a brother-in-law!
Anyway, I wanted to share some photos from the trip.
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| Schalliols' front yard in bloom |
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| Hike on the outskirts of Scottsdale |
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| Unseasonable weather for a spring training MLB game—it rained and hailed! |
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| Crazy sky outside the game |
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| Homemade dinner with a great group |
Mark, Marilyn, Heather, and I took off Monday for northern Arizona. Destination: the Havasupai Indian reservation near the Grand Canyon, famous for their beautiful canyon and amazing waterfalls.
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| Breakfast diner after a night motel stay in snowy Seligman, AZ |
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| Start of the 10 mi trek down the canyon to Supai. Note the descending mule train. |
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| In the canyon—still chilly! |
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| Trail to Supai |
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| Canyon walls |
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| Arrival in the remote Native American town of Supai |
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| Helicopter pad. The only ways to get to Supai are on foot, on horseback, or in a chopper. |
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| Downtown Supai, the only remaining American town that gets its mail by mule train |
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Video of approach to Havasu Falls:
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| Our campsite, 2 mi down the valley from Supai |
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| Stream and bridge next to our campsite. |
Here's a blurb from the Havasupai website about the water in Havasupai:
Calcium carbonate and magnesium occur naturally in the waters of Havasu Creek. The pools and natural dams form when the calcium carbonate precipitates out of the water and deposits onto rocks, branches, or man made structures (after a devastating flood) building up over time. Havasu Falls and Havasu Creek get their blue color from the magnesium in the water. As the pools deepen and the calcium carbonate is slowly released from the water, the bluer the water appears as the relative magnesium content increases.
As the creek originates from a spring, the water rarely deviates from 70 degrees Fahrenheit year round.
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| Havasu Falls - 100 ft drop |
Check out http://www.havasupaitribe.com/havasu.html for a couple of pictures showing how flash flooding affects the falls.
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| Cliff next to Mooney Falls—look closely and you can see people on top, as well as people making their way down through the tunnel and precarious stairs. |
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| Looking down from Mooney Falls |
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| Lunch spot above Mooney Falls |
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| On the way down to the bottom of Mooney Falls |
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| Mooney Falls - 190 ft |
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| Heading down the steep tunnel! |
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| Wading under Mooney Falls |
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| Down-cliff route |
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| In the canyon below Mooney Falls |
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| Turn-around spot |
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| The campground's water source |
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| Havasu Falls in the morning |
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| Little Navajo Falls—this area apparently looked totally different before the huge 2008 flash flood |
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| Rock formations near Navajo Falls |
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| Navajo Falls |
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| Helicopter running errands in & out of Supai |
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| Headed back up the canyon |
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| Lunch spot |
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| Climbing out—and seriously feeling the heat! |
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| Made it! |
1 comment:
Looks like an incredible vacation! So glad you were able to share this special time and beautiful place together. Wonderful pictures, Nate. They make the place look enchanting.
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