Family, Bugs, Butterflies, and Flowers

Thom and I went on a week-long vacation to Arizona the first week of July.  We spent two days in Yuma, two days in Laughlin, and three days in Cornville.  We had a great time.

We visited my folks in Yuma and their new cat, Sammy.  It was 117 degrees outside, so we spent quality time indoors visiting and enjoying each others company.  Sammy is the most mellow cat on earth and a welcome addition to the family as Mom and Dad recently lost their long-time pet cat Max.  Sammy was abandoned by his owners when they moved out of the area.  It’s hard to determine if Sammy adopted my folks or if they adopted him; but I think Max had a hand (paw) in seeing they got together somehow.

After leaving Yuma, we went to Laughlin for two days and donated to the casinos there.  It was still rather toasty at 113 degrees, so we didn’t spend too much time outside.  We did take a gambling break to go to the movies to see Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.  It was a very enjoyable movie - rather corny, but packed with action, fun, and adventure.

We left Laughlin and drove on to my sister’s house in Cornville where it was noticeably cooler at 102 degrees.  My sister, Lisa, is one of my favorite people on earth and we had a terrific visit.  Talking, laughing, and just generally goofing around with Lisa always rejuvenates me.  I am so very blessed to have her for a sister.

We (Thom, Lisa, and I) went on a hike down the West Fork Trail in Sedona.  A beautiful hike down the bottom of a canyon where we crossed the river several times - carefully navigating across on boulders, rocks, and fallen logs.  Not being the most graceful person, I was a bit leery at first about getting across without falling in, but after the first few crossings I gained more confidence and managed to stay dry the whole hike.

The sights along the trail were awesome - great canyon walls, beautiful flowers, eyecatching bugs and butterflies, the river flowing.  A most enjoyable hike.  Sedona is a beautiful place to visit and there are many trails to hike and explore.  I’m looking forward to exploring other trails there on future visits.

If you’d like to see the photos I took of family, bugs, butterflies, and flowers during our week in Arizona just click here.  Maybe you’ll feel just a bit of the joy I found in spending time with Thom, Mom, Dad, Lisa, and the great outdoors.