Dave's View

So sometime last week, I drove back out to Mormon Lake, and took my second set of photos. There wasn't much change. The grass on the lake bed was now green, but the water level had not made any kind of dramatic change. It would seem that it will take much more than an average monsoon season to make any kind of dent in the drought that is on going here. Take a look and let me know what you think. This was not the dramatic conclusion I was hoping for, but sometimes, I guess that is just the way things go. For now, it would seem that there is no immediate relief in sight for the drought that we are going through.  Hopefully one day I will have a chance to see Mormon Lake with water in it.

In July we had the chance to go to some place new.  My parents were visiting from Phoenix, and so we were looking for something to do.  My wife had seen a billboard for   this new place – Bearizona.  I on the other hand had missed the sign every time.  We looked it up and found out when it was open, and they said the best time to see the animals was in the afternoon.  Bearizona is located in Williams, which is about 38 miles west of Flagstaff on I-40.  So, we all piled into the truck and drove to Williams.  We had lunch at diner on historic route 66, and then we went through Bearizona .  It is a newly opened drive through animal park.  They are still in the process of building it,  but it is still pretty well done and you don’t see a bunch of construction equipment.  The staff was great and getting to see the  animals from with in your own vehicle was an interesting experience. An American Burro (Donkey)   Here we have a couple of examples of American Bison, commonly know

On a sunny afternoon in May I decided to take a drive.  I decided to drive down Lake Mary Road, which is on the South side of Flagstaff.  The Southwest section of the United States has been experiencing a drought for the past ten years.  Many people have seen the evidence of the drought with Lake Meads’ 100 foot level drop evidenced by the bleached rocks of where the water line used to be.  On my drive down Lake Mary Road, I past Lake Marry, which is divided into Upper and Lower Lake Mary.  Lower Lake Mary is nearly dried up at this time.  Upper Lake Mary the larger of the two still has water, but it low.  I continued past and on towards Mormon Lake which is about 25 miles south of Flagstaff.  It is the largest natural lake in Arizona, and at the moment is nearly dried up.   What follows are some pictures that I took with my phone’s camera, so please excuse the lack of quality. The following series will constitute  Part 1 of my series.  Since taking these photos the monsoon season has

Last weekend my family and I had an opportunity to visit three National Parks, and because of their proximity to each other we were lucky to be able to do it all in one day.  We set out from home about 8:00 AM and we arrived at Sunset Crater around 8:30.  We are lucky to be living in Northern Arizona at the moment.  We started out by visiting the visitor's center and getting our National Park's Passport stamped.  Then we drove to the base of the crater where we hike through the lava and cinder fields.  For those that don't know what Sunset Crater is, it a dormant valcano that was formed through a series of eruptions and explosions between 1040 and 1100 AD.  It is still a rugged and sureal terrain, but some life has started to return. Looking back at Humphrey's Peak   If you go: Take water, sunscreen and comfortable walking shoes.  The hike through the lava field was maybe a mile long over some uneven terrain.  It was a pretty easy

This summer we took a vacation to the White Mountains of Arizona to escape the Phoenix heat for a few days.  My parents went with us as well as my sister and her kids.  My youngest nephew also went with us.  We had a good time.  We hiked, relaxed, and took some photographs.  It was good to escape to the mountains for a fews days.