Further Adventures on Day 2

Alrighty then.

Having recovered from my early morning hike, it was now time for me to depart my nicely air conditioned room and make my way to the main house for breakfast. It was to be a gut-busting breakfast as I was soon to find out.

On my way to get stuffed, I noticed an overturned flower pot on the patio, which I thought was odd.

Anyhow, I soon found out who was the author of that minor bit of vandalism.

It seems as though a herd of javelinas paid a visit during the night, on a quest for a fine dining experience. They knocked over more than that one flower pot I saw. They stripped the hibiscus and other plants of all their leaves. And they even pulled a small cactus out of a flower pot and took a small bite out of it.

Aw gee! And I missed it all.

I had wanted to see a javelina. And I even got a big kick out of the "Javenlina X-ing" sign just further up the road. But with my body being on east coast time, I was dead to the world by the time the javelinas partied down on the patio at Spur Cross B & B.

Well, the javelinas had their meal. Now it was time for me to have mine.

And what a meal that was.

For starters I had half a grapefruit with raw sugar. There was bacon that was done to the most perfect crispness possible. And there was this giant big-butt slab of French toast, with sliced apples inside, that was baked instead of fried. And, of course, there was plenty of coffee.

Oh my God! How was I going to eat all of this?!

As it turns out, I could only eat half of the French toast. Not wanting to offend Carolyn, my hostess, by wasting good food, I asked if I could get it wrapped up to put in my fridge to have for later.

While eating, I mentioned to Carolyn that I was thinking of taking a drive to the Sears-Kay ruins that I read about in the visitor's guide book in my room.

Having been a recent transplant, Carolyn was not aware of the ruins. But she did tell me that if I were to drive up the road and continue through the intersection up the road, that I could get to a trail on the mountain that would allow me breath-taking views of both sides of the mountain. She said that the road will end and turn into a dirt road, but that it's still passable, even with that low and crappy Ford Focus.

So, after breakfast, armed with a camera and a water bottle in my backpack, I was off on another adventure.

I crossed the main drag and continued up the road. Yup, it did turn into a dirt road. But I soldiered on. I came to an area that said to turn around, that there was no parking beyond that point. Carolyn never mentioned that. So I just figured that this was the continuation of the dirt road that lead to the trail that she was telling me about.

WRONG!

I found myself going down what seemed like somebody's private driveway. (A few adobe McMansions dotted the mountain side.) Well, I couldn't exactly go down somebody's driveway, now could I? That would be rude.

Yet, there was no room for me to turn the car around. There was nothing I could do but back up down the mountain until I got to a spot where I could easily and safely turn the car around.

And that was easier said than done. Never mind worrying about getting the car dinged up with rocks and then having to pay the rental company for damages on the car. How about worrying about going over the edge instead?

Yup, that's what I said, "...going over the edge." You see, to the right of me was nothing but a sheer drop. No guard rails. No boulders. Nothing between me and the bottom way below. Gee, try explaining that to the rental car company!

Anyhow, seeing that I am here to re-tell the experience, it's obvious that I have not gone over the edge ~ at least not the literal edge.

It took some scary and careful maneuvering, but I finally made it to a spot where I could safely turn around. OK, now back to worrying about dinging up the car with rocks.

What a relief it was to finally be pointing in the right direction and off that evil mountain! As I made my descent, I saw 2 hikers in the distance starting their ascent. At least they won't have to worry about going ass-end over the cliff.

Well, with that finally out of the way, I went back to my original plan, which was to take a drive to the Sears-Kay ruins.

The ruins were off the local map that I had. But the directions that I got from the visitor's guide book made it easy enough to piece things together. At least the roads here are laid out in a more wide open and logical order than the ones back home.

I had to go just to the outside of Carefree, Cave Creek's neighboring town. (If I had to go just outside of Carefree, then where was I? North Scottsdale?)

Once I turned off Cave Creek Road onto Seven Springs Road, the driving got interesting. I'd never seen hair-pin turns like that. And that sign warning about a dip in the road? I'll tell you, that wasn't a dip, that was a freakin' roller coaster!

But just imagine all those hair-pin turns and dramatic dips in one of the most beautiful country ever. There were so many places where I would have just loved to have stopped the car, gotten out, and taken pictures.

Finally I made it to the parking area at the base of the hill where the ruins are located.

This sign told me what to expect. Notice the last sentence. Snakes and water are cast iron facts of life in this part of the country.

I had my water and my camera. But, gee, I forgot my boonie hat. Well, no sense in turning around and driving all of 8 miles and back just for a hat.

The hike up the hill proceeded like the one earlier that morning, except for a couple of salient points: this hill was much bigger and the temperature was much hotter.

Yet, I was still determined to get to the top. And just like Saguaro Hill behind the B & B, I quickly discovered that when I thought I was about to reach the top that there was still a whole lot of hill left to go.

And it was a strenuous hike where my water bottle was my best friend and every step was a prayer thanking God for not having me pass out from heat stroke.

I was all alone up on this rock. What would happen if I passed out, slipped on some loose rocks, or gotten bitten by a rattlesnake?

Well, there was also a singular advantage of being alone in this very wide and open space with no cover. And that advantage was immediately made known when my bladder got the urge to vacate. In other words, I had to pee.

Seeing that there were no bushes or trees to hide behind it was just me and the open sky.

Feeling somewhat satisfied, it was upward and onward.

While I was slowly trudging up to the top, I kept imagining what life would have been like in 900 AD, when the ruins were first built. In my mind's eye I could see children running up and down the paths on the hill oblivious to the desert heat.

Where would the basket maker be? And where would I find the stone carver? How did the Hohokum defend themselves? Where did they gather for their communal circles?

Amid the imagining and exertion, I finally made it to the top! Hooray! Yippie! Yay! I conquered the hill!

And once on top of the hill I got my glimpse of the ruins.

It was amazing to see the walls of the ruins. They really did give an idea of how the structures would have looked well over 1000 years ago.

And that main ruin wasn't just the walls of one small hut. Look how far back it goes. There were at least 3 rooms in this ruin.

Here's another ruin, smaller than the one above.

Still another ruin. Or is it the same one?

In addition to the ruins, the view from up top was well worth it.

Now isn't that a spectacular view? Looks like I could have lifted it right out the pages of the "National Geographic!" (Do you think they would hire me as a photographer???

Walking around the top of the hill I saw more ruins and some very large free-standing rocks.

Here's a close-up of the free-standing boulder in the above picture. It reminds me of one of those Easter Island heads.

Now came time to start making my descent. As much as I enjoyed the history and beauty up top, I was hot, not feeling all that great, and just dying to get some AC.

Just like going up, each step on the way down was a prayer thanking God for assuring my safety.

Each step closer to the parking lot brought me a new sense of elation. To spur me on to my quest for an air conditioned vehicle, I would imagine myself already there, seat all the way back, and the AC blasting on the highest setting possible.

And my hands started getting that weird vibration feeling again that signaled that I better get out of the sun really fast.

But before I got all the way down, I had to turn around and take a picture of the side of the hill that I just came down from. It doesn't look like much, does it? However, be forewarned that in the Arizona desert looks can be deceiving.

Finally the car was in sight and on relatively the same elevation that I was. Another few steps I was inside doing just what I had envisioned on my descent: leaning seat way back with the AC blasting.

I don't know how many minutes I stayed like that. It must have been awhile ~ or at least felt like it ~ because I was getting concerned about burning too much gas.

However, in my air conditioned reverie I heard car doors slam. Opening my eyes and turning my head, I saw some guys exiting a car. (Good thing they weren't there when I needed to pee.)

One of them looked at me, and I wonder what was going through his head.

Then I saw 2 more cars, all bearing Michigan plates. (And what are the chances that a large group of guys would have been able to rent out 3 cars all with Michigan plates?)

At that point, I felt that it would be a good idea to leave. I could have stayed longer. But I felt sufficiently recovered to drive on to my next adventure.