Hike #30 - Kiwanis Trail - South Mountain Phoenix AZ

Hike #30

Date: October 22
Hikers: Me and Julio

Location: South Mountain - Central Ave Entrance Phoenix AZ
Distance: 3.74 miles
Rating: Moderate
Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Trailhead Link:https://www.phoenix.gov/parkssite/Documents/062880.pdf

I don't hike South Mountain often but it is the only place left that I have not hiked and there are a lot of new hikes.

Julio and I decided to do a quick hike after work before the sun went down.  This was a great option.  Gave him good photo shots and me a new hike.

The summit road is closed because the monsoons washed it out again!  So you are limited to get to the top. Hike up is the only way. :)

We went up the Kiwanis trail to the road. Then crossed the road and hiked to the National Trail.  It was a very pretty hike. Going to the little house adds another 1/2 mile to this hike.  It was a clear beautiful day. This trail has hieroglyphics and pueblo structures.

Enjoy the pictures.

Heading up National Trail

Trailhead across street from Kiwanis

Hike #30

Accomplished!

Hike #29 - Island Trail - Walnut Canyon National Park Flagstaff AZ

Hike #29

Date: October 3
Hikers: Me, Ricky Megan and Cristina

Location: Walnut Canyon, Flagstaff AZ
Distance: 1 miles
Rating: Moderate (stairs make you huff and puff)
Time: 30 minutes

Trailhead Link:http://www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm and http://www.nps.gov/waca/planyourvisit/island-trail.htm



I must admit this is not a new hike. I have been here three times now with different people on trips to Flagstaff.  This is my first with the kids so I will call it new. (cheating)

This is a site of a pueblo community.  You can see the dwellings and learn about the history of the tribes that once lived there.  If you can not walk down or up stairs you can stand at the top of a couple lookouts.  Once you are down the stair cases the hike around is very easy and beautiful.  It is educational too. Amazing to think that people lived there and you wonder how they moved to the other dwellings that you see off the cliffs.

Enjoy the pictures and add this to your Flagstaff area visit.  Worth the price of admission!!

View of the dwelling to the West

Several flights of stairs to the Island Trail sign.  The altitude and the many steps will get your heart rate up but not for long.

Steps don't bother Ricky

LumberJack vs SunDevil

One of the many ruins you can walk in. You can see where people would live and what their life would be like. 

Dwelling behind us makes you wonder how the heck these people moved from down here to up there. There are no baby gates on these "houses". 

Team this visit to Walnut Canyon with Sunset Crater Volcano and Waputaki National Park.  There is a pass that gets you in all three and they are so close.  One of my favorite days spent in the area.  

Cristina visiting the next door neighbors.  I think they were short.

 Great Weekend visiting Megan the new NAU LumberJack!

Hike #29

Accomplished! 

Hike #28 - Seven Sisters - Seaford Sussex England

Hike #28

Date: August 5
Hikers: Me & Megan

Location: Seaford Sussex, England UK
Distance: 3 miles
Rating: Easy
Time: 90 minutes

Trailhead Link:http://www.sevensisters.org.uk


While visiting London, Megan and I took the train to Seaford Sussex to see the Seven Sisters.  I had seen pictures and heard that this is just as good as seeing the White Cliffs of Dover. These are Chalk Cliffs of the English Channel.  They are located between Seaford and Eastbourne.  It is a wonderful trip and you can stop and visit Brighton and take the train home from their.
We took the train from London Victoria Station to Seaford Sussex.  You can buy the tickets online from the Southern Railway and save money.  It was so easy and once you get to the train station you get your tickets from a Kiosk.  Just make sure you are on the correct train car.  Our train split half way and we were a little freaked out that we were not on the right cars.  (Who said I was a worrier) :)

Megan and I took a bus from town to the Country Park.  We walked along the path towards the coast. It is about 3 miles roundtrip. We saw sheep and it reminded me of a recent movie I watched -  From the Madding Crowd.  I won't tell you what happened to the sheep.  I read the day before we visited that a dog attacked the sheep and people were complaining.  Ya think!

It was a fun day.  After the hike we stopped at the restaurant across from the trailhead and had a nice lunch sitting on the patio.  What a life!  A wonderful adventure for me and Meg as she heads off to start college life!

I would love to come back and do several parts of the 100 mile trail along the coast.
The South Downs Way is the famous trek.
http://www.southdownsway.co.uk

Enjoy the pictures.

Megan is off to start her own adventure! 

Hike # 28 (out of sequence) 

Accomplished!