This post comes today with joy and sadness. Just last week we went to Granite Mountain, Prescott National Forest, AZ for a camping and hiking trip with some friends. We had a wonderful weekend enjoying all the beauty of AZ desert life and now, it’s all gone.
The 4 mile hike up to the summit of Granite Mountain was full of beauty, life, and adventure. The cactus was blooming, the birds singing, the lizards scurrying, and we were good and tired by the end. At times the hike up was intense and hot, but you could take a break in the shade for a few minutes until you were ready to start again.
A couple of my favorite shots where of the
Mazanita's, it’s a beauty shrub you find in the pines of AZ that has an amazing
red bark. Second where some of the unique junipers that where older than
I could imagine, trees that where gnarled and twisted with a unique beauty of
their own.
Ever since my first visit to AZ I have
loved the sight of Granite Mountain. Depending on what time of day and
season you look upon her, you will see something different, from the rocks that
sparkle like gems as the sun hits it, to the sky a flame with red's and gold's,
to the blanket of snow, she changes daily. I have a deep respect for
Nature and keeping things as Natural as possible. One of the big rules in AZ is whatever you
bring in you take it back out; even the trees that fall are left where they lay
to keep the forest natural. On the hike
you could see some of the trees had fallen over the path, and they were just
cut to clear the path and left where they lay.
As we were hiking we came across a little Nature teepee someone had made out of sticks and rocks. This was probably built by another hiker along enjoying the views as well, but left it for us to enjoy. One of the favorite photos is of this slide of the mountain. The picture does not do it justice and must be scene with your own eyes, absolutely breathtaking.
As I watched some of the videos today, it brought tears to my eyes knowing most of this will no longer be there. The fire is zero percent contained and over 7,000 acres have been destroyed. I know this is part of life, things die and new life starts again. It just amazes me that we were just there and how much can change so fast. I find myself truly blessed to have been there and experienced it the way we did before the fire. Thank you God for the beauty you create. I pray for the residents that are still facing this fire, the Fire Fighters, and the healing to come.
It's great that you were able to visit before the destruction. How sad that it is all gone now. :(
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you were able to experience and enjoy the beauty. I'll be thinking of the residents and hope the fire is put out soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful place that is changing forever! Hopefully they will have it contain soon.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful thing that you have the photos and the memory of being there. So sad and sorry to hear about the fire. I live on the Gulf Coast, and after experiencing my fair share of devastating hurricanes (Katrina being one of them) I can say I can relate. I hope the fire it under control soon. Take care!
ReplyDeleteSo gorgeous and so sad that it was ruined. Maybe it will grow back even more beautiful. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteIt is so sad to hear when these fires take so much. I love showing before pictures so we can really see the impact.. prayers to everyone. Hopefully it can grow back soon and be just as beautiful!
ReplyDeleteHow sad! It is often hard to imagine as one day you might see something and then the next day fire will simply take it all away. Thank you for sharing your story with us!
ReplyDeleteIt had to be sad to see the destruction, hopefully they will get the fires under control and mother nature can do her thing to make it beautiful again.
ReplyDeleteLots of prayer for the residents. It really sucks when things like this destroy things that are dear to our hearts. Thank you for sharing the beauty of it through your pictures with us.
ReplyDeleteIt was a beautiful place and I have faith that beauty will spring from the area again. Here's hoping..
ReplyDeleteThat is just so sad. It really was beautiful.
ReplyDeleteHow terribly sad! I hate seeing things like this happen! I know it really hurt to see such a beautiful place where you have happy memories literally going up in smoke!
ReplyDeleteWhat a blessing you have such recent memories of that area. We had a significant historic building burn down in our area a few years ago late in the night and it felt important to wake my kids up and take them to see it, as well as talk to everyone I knew with memories of being inside so that we would never forget what it had been. Aside from all the devestation, fires do also create opportunities for beauty to thrive once again. Hope it comes back to it's full beauty quickly (even if in a different way)
ReplyDeleteSo sad. It's really hard when you have experienced a place and then due to whatever disasters it disappears. Beautiful pictures.
ReplyDeleteAll of you hopeful people. I live in one of the neighborhoods that was threatened. I hiked that mountain at least once a week. I watched it burn from a nearby hilltop. It will never be the same again in my lifetime. The chaparral will recover - but it will all be chaparral. The pinon, juniper, and oak - the old growth - its gone. I'm angry. This was the doing of a person. Most likely a single idiot out shooting targets on the last day before the planned closure. I don't care if it was an accident, I hope the responsible are found out and punished. I hope they become an example that makes the next idiot think twice.
ReplyDelete