An Opportunity to Hand-feed Wildlife

Anytime I have an opportunity to connect with wildlife, I take it! As I was sitting in a park, I saw a few ravens that looked like they wanted a challenge.

Ravens!  Confident, inquisitive birds
that love sugar cookies as much as us!

In Westcliffe, CO, heards of mule deer surrounded a cabin in the mountains.

During the day, I scattered peanuts near the cabin door until the mule deer came to me.  What a thrill!

 

 

 

Look at the beautiful wild flowers.

 

 

 CHATTYHUMMER

Springtime in Sedona, AZ (March 31 - April 7, 2011)

It was Spring and a time to head to Red Rock Country for spectacular scenery in Sedona, Arizona. My friend Dottie Porter and I flew to Phoenix and first stopped at the Desert Botanical Garden. It had more than 20,000 desert plants from around the world. The butterfly gardens were fascinating. By evening we drove to Sedona where we had reservations at a small Inn.

Desert Botanical Garden, Phoenix, AZ

 

The first day, we walked Tiaquepaque Arts Village, a specialty mall, featuring arts and crafts, sculptures from the area, visited the Sedona Public Library and ended playing in the ice cold springs at Banjo Bills, a canyon north west of Sedona.

Dottie at Sedona Public Library

Dottie Porter in the cold spring water at Banjo Bills

In Verde Valley, Cotton and Clarksdale were the valley's two largest copper-smelting towns. We strolled along the Main Street of Cottonwood visiting local shops and sampled olive oils and balsamic Vinegars at Verde Valley Olive Oil Traders. I never dreamed that I would be doing this before lunch. I shipped several bottles of 18-year oak barrel aged vinegars to my home. Yummy! This is just like wine tasting. On the lower end of town, we walked the Jail Trail, which began beside the old town jail and followed the banks of the Verde River. We visited both national monuments, Tuzigoot Ruins and Montezuma's Well/Castle (one of the best-preserved cliff dwellings in Arizona) that was inhabited by the Sinagua people between 1125 and 1400. We learned about community living and how difficult it was just to survive. They have no idea why the Sinagua people disappeared.

Chattyhummer

Tuzigoot National Monument perched atop a hill overlooking the Verde River

Montezuma Castle National Monument is one the best-preserved cliff dwelling in Arizona.

Montezuma Well, a spring-fed sinkhole that was a genuine oasis for the native people

Montezuma's Well

Jerome sits on the slopes of Cleopatra Hill on Mingus Mountain. It's a historic copper-mining town that was built on a 30-degree slope. The town is divided into two sections towering over the Verde Valley. What a sight! One can see for miles and miles. Due to mine explosions, it eventually began sliding downhill. There were many specialty shops, galleries, and local wineries. We visited Nellie Bly's, a unique gallery of kaleidoscopes and art glass. It's the largest dealer of kaleidoscopes in the world and features over 90 kaleidoscope artists. Even though we were tired from an active day, we drove up the hill to Prescott, the former territorial capital of Arizona. We saw a town square with a historic business district and a few Victorian homes.

Chatty checking out the colorful kaleidoscope designs.

Jerome

We worshiped at the Sedona United Methodist Church and had lunch with the membership. This church had beautiful stained glass windows that connected one to nature. After lunch, on the way to Bell Rock in the Red Rock Mountains, a local Trading Post (Mexican Chili Pepper) caught our eye.This was a neat place with blankets, dried peppers, pottery, garden art, and more. Our curiosity got the best of us when we saw Exposures International Gallery, a prestigious fine art gallery that featured bronze, glass, stone sculpture, paintings, jewelry, and etc. Afterwards, we visited the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a small church on a mountain side. With its contemporary styling, it is one the most architecturally important modern churches in the country.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

 

Colorful blankets

Need some peppers?

We both were starving and Dottie suggested the Chocolatree Cafe, a Vegetarian Eatery. They had some pretty strange things so I ended up eating a grass sandwich with a smoothie. It was quite satisfying.

We briefly stopped stopped at the Amitabha Stupa, a Tibetan Buddhist shrine on our way to Boynton Canyon to hike and experience a vortex.

Amitabha Stupa

 Sedona has long been known as a spiritual power center because of the vortexes of subtle energy located in the area. This energy is the reason Sedona is full of people that have made a commitment to grow and become as much as they can spiritually. Energy that exists at these locations interacts with who a person is inside. Juniper trees respond to the vortex energy in a physical way that reveals where this energy is strongest. We visited the four vortexes at Bell Rock, Boynton Canyon, Red Rock Crossing/Cathedral Rock and my favorite, Airport Vortex. I learned that if one swings a pendulum, it would help indicate the masculine or feminine energy in the area. Masculine energy swings a pendulum clockwise and feminine, counter clockwise. The masculine side deals with the strength of the self, or the value that you place on yourself. The feminine side is based on a high value that is place on others.

Bell Rock

Chattyhummer

Swinging pendulum

 On the top of the mountain, the energy was the strongest between juniper trees. The climb up the Airport Vortex can be challenging, especially if you aren't following the designated path. As we made it to the top, musicians played the didgeridoo, guitar, and drum as the brillant sun was setting.

On top of Airport Vortex

Didgeridoo

If you are on a budget, I highly recommend the restaurant, Thai Spice Natural, which will give you a lot of bang for the buck. It has excellent reviews and we visited twice.

No trip can be complete without visiting the Grand Canyon which only took 1.5 hours to drive. The IMEX Show was outstanding discussing the expeditions of the early settlers. The viewer got to experienced a 3-D flight through the canyon but without fear. The canyon is magnificent and breath taking. Everyone should have the opportunity to see it at least once in a life time. It was a super day and we headed back to Flagstaff to eat dinner at another vegetarian restaurant, Mountain Oasis. I had the yummy Portabella Ravaoli.

Chattyhummer and Dottie Porter enjoy the canyon

Page Springs was the last adventure before coming home. Take time to visit the Fish Hatcheries and local wineries. There was a bird walk nearby. We saw birds and plants we had never seen before.

 

 Yes, we did get a taste the wine along the way and received a fine explanation about the grapes.

 In Cornville, at Kasey's Corner, the Grasshopper Grill is another place to stop. It's always a treat when one can find a restaurant filled with locals.

On the last evening, we gathered with others to once again experience the Sedona gorgeous sunsets.That's a memory we'll carry forever!

Chattyhummer

Perfect perch!

USING A SPICE CAP Sept 2011

I’ve learned that hungry hummers will drink almost from anything! Through the years I’ve tried lots of bottles but this one is actually the cap of a ground cinnamon spice bottle.   When the nectar spills, one may get a few bees and wasps.  The first time a bumblebee landed on my hand, I was in shocked and couldn’t believe I wasn’t stung.  The bees was moving in and out between my fingers and felt so funny. 

Chattyhummer

Western Caribbean in December, 2010

December 2010

During the holidays, my daughter and I decided to spend Christmas on a 7-day Western Caribbean cruise beginning in New Orleans. Our ports included Costa Maya, Mexico; Belize City, Belize, (Mahogany Bay); Roatan, Bay Islands, Honduras; and Cozumel, Mexico. The side excursions kept us busy!

Ready for an adventure.

We enjoyed the day in Costa Maya sailing and snorkeling the Caribbean water. In Roatan, the shore excursion included Tabyana Beach and Gumbalimba Park where we interacted with the parrots in the bird sanctuary and frolicked with the monkeys at the monkey refuge.

Chattyhummer in Costa Maya

Chatty and Ellen both love birds!

Gumbalina Park

 Rather than shopping, Ellen and I spent our spare time Geocaching each island. My daughter has found over 500 caches. Our directions led us to the back side of Mahogany Bay Island to a Mexican Restaurant. At this cache, we meet new friends and were given Deer’s Eye necklaces to take home.

Geocaching at Costa Maya, Mexico (Tropicante)

Hummingbirds everywhere!
Gumbalimba Park, Roatan

Even though I was looking forward to Belize, I was scared to death knowing that I actually would be zip lining though the jungles with Aerial Trek. This was definitely out of my comfort zone! We were harnessed up and climbed up a steep hill to reach the first of eight platforms.

Aerial Trek

The zip wasn’t that intimidating but they got higher and steeper, even up to 150 feet. Jumping off the platform was the hardest part for me. I guess it would feel like jumping out of an airplane although I’ve never experienced that. I just had to close my eyes and do it! Would I do it again? You bet ya! Thank goodness I could calm my nerves with cave tubing that afternoon.

Cave tubing, Belize

In Cozumel we took an off-road jungle adventure to Jade Caverns via the all terrain Xrails. This was one rough ride through the dusty jungles. The trails were bumpy and we rode over large boulders and through water.

Xrails to Jade Caverns for adventure seekers
Cozumel, Mexico

We were grateful for the bandana that covered our mouth and nose. We had dirt from head to toe. At Jade Caverns, we swam in sulfur water through a pitch dark cave covered with thousands of bats.

Ellen dancing with the dolphin

He's sneaking up

Fishy kiss

Swimming with the dolphins was one of the neatest things I’ve ever done. We had the opportunity to touch their velvety soft skin, listen to them sing, watch them jump, and ended the trip with a big kiss planted right on the lips! It tasted fishy!

Chattyhummer