http://www.takeahikearizona.com Experience Explore Enjoy Tue, 06 Jul 2010 00:28:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en [caption id="attachment_317" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Spruce Tree House"][/caption] We arrived in Cortez, Colorado last night.  We stayed at a local Holiday Inn Express at the end of town heading out toward Mesa Verde National Park.  The hotel staff were extremely welcoming and we found the property to be very clean and comfortable.  On ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/southwest-tour-continued-day-2 [caption id="attachment_313" align="alignright" width="150" caption="Jim Gray's Petrified Wood Co."][/caption] In,  addition to hiking in our beautiful Sonoran Desert, we also like to adventure out to surrounding areas as well in the great Southwest! Then we get to tell you about our experiences. Well, we just returned from a fantastic whirlwind trip to Colorado ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/colorado-and-utah-trip [caption id="attachment_298" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Inside the tunnel under the bridge"][/caption] Just spent the weekend up in Payson camping with the kids and enjoying the somewhat cooler weather.  One of the main activities we planned for our trip was a visit to the Tonto Natural Bridge State Park.  The park itself is ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/tonto-natural-bridge If you are looking for something fun and educational to do with the kids over the summer, check out Tranquility Trail Animal Sanctuary in Scottsdale.  It is a relatively new organization - a little over a year old located in a building in the Scottsdale Airpark.  Their exact location is:  7701 ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/tranquility-trail-animal-sanctuary [caption id="attachment_285" align="alignright" width="150" caption="View looking toward Superstition Mountains"][/caption] I love when family and friends come to visit us here in beautiful Arizona!  It gives me the perfect excuse to do some more local sight seeing in my own backyard that I otherwise probably wouldn't take the time to do.  Sound ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/a-day-on-the-apache-trail Okay, I thought I would try something new on our blog.  One thing that most of us probably agree on is that many outdoor adventure/fitness enthusiasts enjoy eating good, healthy food. Although, I have to say I may be the exception to that as I do give in to my McDonald's and Starbucks ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/homemade-granola-with-greek-yogurt Okay, so I'm sure you've heard the song "Singing in the rain" right?  Well, there should be one for Hiking in the rain!  Wow, we have had so much rain this year in the desert!! I have never seen the desert as green as it is right now.  There is ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/hiking-in-the-rain For those of you joining Take A Hike Arizona on our Snag and Save hikes, here are the directions to the trailheads that we will be starting from. Piestewa Peak Park (Phoenix Mountains Preserve).  From Highway 51, take the Glendale Ave exit. Head east on Glendale Ave (which actually turns into ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/snag-and-save-excursions Scottsdale and Phoenix hiking trails are starting to show off their colors!  I did a quick scouting trip to see what is going on out in the desert as far as our spring flower season.  The amount of rain we have had over the past month or so should definitely ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/spring-showers-bring-new-flowers Hello fellow hikers and outdoor enthusiasts, As many of you may already know, the State of Arizona is starting to close 13 state parks in the coming weeks.  Many of us are contacting our representatives about this issue, but in addition to the state closures I also wanted to provide you with ... http://www.takeahikearizona.com/phoenix-parks-closures