Oops!

Rock Springs ended up being the highlight of our adventure this week. And it was an adventure. First, about Rock Springs. 

Rock Springs is the oldest continually run cafe in Arizona. The menu is full of comfort food cooked to perfection. Their pies have become so popular, they opened a separate location next door, the Pie Box. Walking into the climate controlled pie shop is overwhelming. So many pies. So many choices. 

Between the buildings housing the Pie Box and the Cafe, a walkway passes a fountain and leads to the natural spring that drew the original settlers. It’s a peaceful setting. Surprised we didn’t notice it during our many previous visits. There are picnic tables and a pavilion. Rock Springs is a frequent stop for us when going north of the Valley on trips. In nicer weather, we will definitely stop by the springs and enjoy our meal or pie break in the tranquil outdoor setting. 

So now the second part of this post. We planned an overnight hiking trip to the High Country. It started out well. We found our trailhead in Sedona without any issues. The trail, however, had a couple turns we missed. The good news is we had a beautiful hike. The bad news is it wasn’t where we intended to go. 

The next hiccup, my phone was almost dead. I thought it was charging in the car during the drive but it didn’t. That meant I avoided taking pictures of the beautiful scenery to save the power needed for map reading. 

We have a history of being fortunate that a solution appears to a problem we're having exactly when it’s needed. That happened again. After three hours of hiking in 90° temperatures, we made it back to a trailhead but not where we parked. Just as my phone died and we lost navigation to our parked car, a nice couple from Texas pulled up. Their SUV navigation found the parking lot and they offered us a ride the quarter mile in their nicely air conditioned SUV, giving us a break from the full sun and 98 degrees. 

Back together with Betsy (car), we head up to our hotel in Flagstaff. Our location was on the east side of Flagstaff so we are closer to our early morning hike, The Grand Falls, or Chocolate Falls. 

This is where we struck out. 

Strike one: I had turned my right ankle toward the end of the Sedona hike. By the time we stepped from the car in Flagstaff, I had a definite, painful hobble. 

Strike two: we didn’t have a reservation. Really? That is the first time EVER I didn’t have a reservation made. 

Strike three: the water level of the falls was going down so the dramatic site I hoped for was likely to be underwhelming. 

I told Papa it was a sign that we should just head home. On the way home, we decided to pick up a couple pies at Rock Springs. We could share the pies with a few friends and bring a positive end to this adventure. And it really was. Always good to share happiness with friends!

We were back near home as the moon appeared. Beautiful sky and, overall a good day with a great hike, beautiful drive and delicious pie with friends.  And 24 hours later, the ankle was better so we enjoyed golf again.