Hiking to the Indian Ruins in Boynton Canyon

With promises of a lost Aztec City and piles of gold and directions from a drunken jeep tour guide we set out on an expedition we knew we might not return from. It was a beautiful warm day in Sedona and we were exploring the secrets of Boynton Canyon. We found at least a dozen ruins in the canyon but we were looking for the lost city. Our first clue was a cave that we were sure was some sort of super guarded secret because of the difficulty to get to it. Since we only had our $7.99 walmart climbing kit we decided we would just do some recon. The “trail” away from the cave was very dangerous so we knew we were going the right way. Once we got to the top of the canyon wall and saw the trail for dead mans pass we decided not to turn back like cowards. About 5 minutes into the wash leading to the trail we realized we could not turn back. Not because of any physical barrier on the “trail” but because of the “not cowards” statement. We had to prove how manly we were, and that we weren’t afraid to walk through a mile of thick thorny bushes. So we refused to be deterred in the face of overwhelming scratches and bruises. It took about an hour to crawl our way to the trail but we made it and no one important died. So no gold this time but we’re very optimistic about our next trip.

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Full Moon Camping in Flagstaff and Catching Crayfish

We found a really nice camping area just outside of flagstaff. Mary is entertaining guests so we took them camping. Mary and I went earlier in the day to set up tents and do a little crayfish hunting. To get to the water you have to climb down a very steep hill that is covered in the best of Arizona’s stabbing plants. 

Once to the bottom it’s just a short rock hop away from a pool filled with small minnows and crayfish. All in all we caught 6 of the tasty little creatures.

When we got to the camping spot with our guests it was already dark so I lit our prebuilt campfire and we were in business. While everyone was conversing around the campfire I played around with some night photography. Once I have a remote I will be able to take longer (brighter) shots, but I’m very happy with what I got. Here are some of my favorites from our Full Moon Camping in Flagstaff. Keep in mind the last 5 photos are taken using a tripod, about a 2 minute exposure, and light from the moon, campfire, and a headlamp. 

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If you’re ever in Flagstaff and would like to camp  in a beautiful and free campground contact me and I’ll give you directions.

Milking the Goat

So our neighbors have some goats. And one of them just had a baby.

This is the baby when he was just a few days old.

He has some really long legs and soft fur like a puppy.

We have been given two days of goat milking duty. Neither of us has ever done anything of the sort but we were excited  both for the new skill and the 2 gallons of raw goat milk every week.

We’re getting the hang of it. The first few times it looked like we got more milk on the ground and on us than we did in the bucket.

This, my friends, is more than a gallon and a half of fresh raw goat milk. Mary and I have never been milk drinkers but do enjoy having some fresh milk that we got ourselves. We’ve been having a lot of fun with the goats (most of the time) and we have some big plans.

Because we are not used to drinking milk there is no way we could drink 2 gallons a week. We are however obsessed with cheese. So we have decided to start making cheese. Our neighbor has let us try some of her fresh mozzarella and cream cheese that tasted like cheese cake. We’re going to start off with some feta and see where we go from there. 

We will be making cheese within the next week so we will post some cheese making pictures and what recipe we used and probably some sort of rambling about how much we like cheese, how great it is to have fresh raw goat milk, and yada yada yada…

In conclusion: milking goats, making cheese, having fun, staying healthy.