Life can be so humdrum at times, but we each have opportunities to seek something new and different … I call mine adventures! All to have a sense of adventure, to discover a new adventure, and break the cycle of humdrum-ness! Recently I realized I had been doing the same ole thing every time I drove down a particular road toward the Grand Canyon and it was time to do something different. And so I did….
How many times had I driven past various trailheads on my way from Flagstaff, AZ to Grand Canyon National Park and wonder where do those trails go? Numerous times! I had to do something about that mystery and decided to check out a few trails. My adventure was to begin!
Red Mountain Trail is 25 miles northwest of Flagstaff. The 1.5 mile trail is very easy to hike with one short ladder to climb. You’re walking into a “U” shaped area, what remains from a volcanic cinder cone that blew more than 700,000 years ago.
Red Mountain is part of the San Francisco Volcanic Field. As you walk into its amphitheater-like center you see eroded pillars, called hoodoos. It had snowed the night before so in some cracks snow was evident. People do climb around in this area which has walls going about 1,000 feet up.
Returning to our car, we could see the San Francisco Peaks in the distance.
We drove back to Flagstaff and stopped at a trailhead where I discover there are actually a few trails, the Walker Trailhead and Watchable Wildlife Trail. Some other day I will check out Walker Lake Trail to see if there is a lake on the 1.7 mile trail. Instead, I took a quick walk to check out the Watchable Wildlife Trail. With snow from the night before, it was not evident to me there was a .25 mile paved loop accessible for wheelchair use. Plus there is supposed to be a 1.5 mile trail for wildlife observing. It looks like a beautiful area however with the snow I walked my own trail.
It was interesting looking at the cinder cone in the distance and realizing what this entire area used to be like when volcanoes were erupting, such as Red Mountain, and how some others had not erupted yet. I enjoyed seeing the snow too since those of us living in the southern part of Arizona rarely do.
Another time I will return, walk these trails and put the final pieces of this adventure into my book of adventures. Where is your sense of adventure? You’ve got it! Just take it out and provide it time for a spin. Have fun! Go for it! Enjoy an adventure!