This month of January has just flown by so fast. Inspired by the Ken Burns documentary series “The National Parks”, one of my sisters and her husband (both from Ontario) joined my husband and I on a trek west over the holidays. Christmas Day found us hiking down the Bright Angel trail in the Grand Canyon. Words cannot express the experience. It was 10 degrees when we started out; the sun was shining and wind was minimal. It took us 2 ½ hours to go down 1 ½ miles. Three out of the four of us (not me) had cameras. Every step and stop revealed incredible, breathtaking sights and views. I was thrilled to have snow again on Christmas day, only to learn that so did you back in Arlington Texas!

Three days later we found ourselves in warmer climes (the Canadians decided they had had enough of the cold!), hiking in the red rocks outside of Sedona AZ. I fell in love with an incredible Manzanita shrub. The red, twisting branches were so striking - I wonder if I could grow one in my yard.

For someone who loves green hills as opposed to desert, I found myself drawn to the landscape as we continued to drive south. In Saguaro National Park we hiked amongst the gigantic cactus. These monsters can grow as tall as 45 feet and live as long as 150 years. The old gnarly ones are fascinating. Woodpeckers and flickers create holes for nesting. In subsequent years, house finch, purple martins and even owls take them over.

I had no idea that there were pistachio, pecan and walnut orchards in Arizona. The Gila National Forest stretches from desert to forested hills. Watching the sandhill cranes returning from their daily feeding to roost in the marshes at the Bosque del Apache Wildlife Refuge was spectacular. I could go on and on…but it is back to work and gardening in Texas.