Anniversary Trip ...

To celebrate our 8th wedding anniversary, Nate took Lizzie and I to Northeastern Arizona. We stayed at a friends cabin in Pinetop and used that as our base camp. We went hiking in the Blue Mountain Range ... which was absolutely gorgeous!!! I would recommend any type of outdoor adventure there. It was a bit rainy, but we loved it and everything was so lush and green. We also headed over into New Mexico as we had a similar trip when we were first married. Things haven't changed that much and we were thrilled with all the wildlife we were able to see. Please enjoy the photos from our trip! :)


Hiking in the Blue Mountains ...

Lizzie and Daddy starting off on the hike. Does anyone else see the dark clouds in the background? We did count how many times we had to cross streams and took a close look at water levels.


Raccoon tracks in the cracked mud.


Fun with nature! :)


A lone mushroom popping through the soil.

Lizzie sitting on a log.

This was a caterpillar of a desert centipede. Look out for this guy when he makes his transformation!!!


Daddy & Lizzie after the dark storm cloud! We ended up drenched, but the temperature was perfect, so we didn't mind being wet. :)


Our traditional family pose! :)


Another little guy pushing up through the ground!


Mommy & Lizzie drying out. It was just so amazing how green Northern Arizona can be ... almost rain forest-like!


Daddy and Lizzie hiking through a downed tree.


Some of the beautiful wildflowers we were able to enjoy along the trail.


Daddy & Lizzie Lou trying to stay dry from another rain shower.


Another mushroom making it on his own!

Daddy and Elizabeth at an old loading chute.


Relaxing after the hike! :) We made it across all the creeks and streams that were a bit higher on our way back to the car.


Road Trip ...

Heading into NM! I actually took this photo on our way back into AZ later that night as the place where we crossed earlier did not have a sign. :)


The beautiful New Mexico landscape!


NM Nate!


This was a fun little antique & art shop in Luna, NM. If you ever get the chance to go, stop in and the shop owner will fill you in on all the town happenings!!! :)

This is where we ending up having supper in Reserve, NM. Great food and fantastic atmosphere.

After supper we headed east to find some elk. Here we found some ducks paddling around on this creek.

Another pretty wildflower.

I'm not a fan of thistles as we always tried to rid our ranch of them growing up, but I do have to say they produce a nice looking flower.

An old abandoned ranch house.

More wildflowers ...

And then we finally saw what we were looking for ... the ELK!!!

At first we only saw a few, but by the time we left there were over 200 elk in this meadow. What an awesome sight!!!

More wildflowers, but this time we had an "extra" in our shot ... very cool! :)

It was getting late and we were still a couple hours away from the cabin, so we decided to head back.

Hanging out at the Cabin ...

Lizzie passing gas ... err, uhh I mean the time ... laughing on the couch!

Lizzie feeding the bear. After all, bears get thirsty too! :)

Heading Home ...

Nate standing out on the rim ledge.

Frances' turn out on the ledge.

The road below! What a great weekend retreat and just what we(mostly me) needed! Thanks Nate ... I LOVE YOU. Thanks for always keeping it fun!