i need fresh mud on my shoes

two hours of flipping through other peoples' blogs, and if i never see another blog plugging online gambling under a misleading title, it'll be too soon.

the excitement is almost enough to drive me to pick bits of dried mud (remnants of yesterday's hike) off of my shoes. almost. we drove up to caesar's head state park again, this time with the intent of hiking to the suspension bridge that spans raven cliff falls. originally, we were going to take the strenuous trail to the bridge, in preparation for our (formerly) upcoming grand canyon hike. however, since that hike has been switched to kayaking on the colorado (which i still need to prepare for by flailing around in running water while trying not to drop my camera), we opted for the weenie hike instead. of course, i brought gnomes along, partially because i felt guilty about still having two of the visitors for a month and a half- a month since the big road trip for which they were sent to me. oops. (they're going into the mail tomorrow- i swear.)

anyway, after the 3 hour drive that would've taken less had i not been stubbornly searching for a shortcut, we arrived at the trailhead around 4 p.m. the weenie hike to the bridge and back was 6.6 miles (round trip), which we figured would take about an hour and a half each way. after several stops (pictures, of course),

we made it to the bridge in an hour and a half. we stayed there long enough to take pictures

(digital cameras have some good points, though i'm still a film kinda girl), as well as establish that suspension bridges over waterfalls that drop 400 ft. are not exactly places where i'd want to spend lots of quality time. we backtracked a little bit and ate lunch (though it was dinnertime, i suppose) on a boulder by the creek.

on the way back, we contemplated revisiting the touristy lookout and taking a picture or two (dozen), but it started sprinkling, and suddenly making it to the car became a high priority.

this time next week, i'll be in arizona. on my wishlist for the trip (assuming i don't drown in the colorado river):

at least one indoor rock climbing excursion

a couple of hikes along the trails on south mountain

a drive down to de grazia's gallery in the sun for a special exhibit of the artist's "midnight sketches"

speaking of de grazia, he destroyed several of his works in the superstition mountains, where i'd like to squeeze in a hike, or two, if possible.

the usual trip to jerome, az

and while we're in that neck of the woods, i still haven't made it to montezuma's castle yet.

you know, just a couple of requests. (yes, citrus, bryce canyon is on my list for next time- assuming the mountain lions and rattlesnakes promise to make themselves scarce.)