Flagstaff, AZ

Yesterday we decided to put a day off to good use. I recently picked up the July issue of Phoenix Magazine because I wanted to check out the "30 Summer Hikes" article. Obviously there are a ton of places to hike right in or around Phoenix but it is too damn hot to do them this time of year. So Keeper and I picked one up in Flagstaff in the Coconino National Forest to do yesterday. We weren't sure how Chloe would do on a hike (worst-case scenario: she gets tired halfway through and refuses to walk anymore and we have to carry her back to the car...) so I chose a shorter, 6 mile hike called Sandy's Canyon Trail. We hit the road a little after 7:15am and drove north to the mountains. We stopped for gas about 20 minutes south of our exit and noticed that...it was cool outside! The temperatures were in the 60s! I wondered if I would get cold hiking in a tanktop...
We found the trailhead and started hiking. Sandy's Canyon Trail is tailored to viewing ancient sand dunes (see right). We started the hike at the top of a gorge and and then quickly plunged down a steep rocky trail. It felt weird to be in a lush, green forest after almost 3 weeks in the dry and dusty desert. Chloe was very good on the hike. She was fine when she met other dogs (and their owners) along the way and didn't get tired at all. After getting to the bottom of the gorge the trail opened up for a mile or so through a grassy meadow. I knew the weather was calling for thunderstorms in the afternoon and we saw some clouds and heard some far away thunder rumbles, but we kept on. The turnaround point was marked by a cave at the base of the dunes. It was really cool (see right). We decided to give Chloe some water (and cheese) and eat our lunch in the cave. When we noticed lightning outside I was glad we had refuge in the cave. The storm was right overhead and we decided to wait it out. There was no way I was going to risk getting struck by lightning by walking back through the open meadow anyway. Chloe, like most dogs was not thrilled about getting caught in a thunderstorm. In fact, she royally freaked out. After a half hour or so, the worst part of the storm had passed us but there were more dark clouds on the way, so we decided to take our chances and head back to the car. The trail had now turned into a giant mud puddle, which Chloe loved. Too bad she had just been groomed the day before. We ended up getting back to the car safe, but drenched and muddy. It was a gorgeous hike and I would definitely go back and do some others in the Coconino National Forest. Chloe was a champ as well. She didn't slow down once and I can't wait to take her again. On the way back we stopped at rest stop and I took some pictures of the scenic view (see below). We were not thrilled to get stuck in the worst traffic ever getting back into Phoenix. The drive home from Flagstaff should have taken us a little over 2 hours and it ended up being well over five.