My friend came up to visit me yesterday. She needed to pick up a ring in Sedona, so she drove up here and picked me up first, then we went to Sedona together. This is the third ring she's ordered from this jeweler, and now she's thinking about a fourth.
I don't even wear one ring, I can't imagine four. Well, I used to wear one ring, and every once in awhile I have phantom feelings, like I'm still wearing it. Sometimes I mindlessly try twisting it with the thumb that's on the same hand.
After walking around Sedona, we headed back up to Flagstaff through Oak Creek Canyon. My friend and I wanted to go on a hike, or as we would prefer to call it, "a leisurely walk through the woods." Well, my friend pulled off on the side of the road, at a spot that I thought she was familiar with, like, I thought she specifically wanted to hike down to the creek from this point. But no.
At this point in the road you couldn't even see the creek, you could barely hear it. We ended up half walking, half sliding down this steep, rocky incline, and we were both wearing sandals. By the time we got to where we could actually see the creek, we were on a rock face still a good 15-20 feet above the water. It was a beautiful view. But I was praying that we didn't have to go back up the same way.
We finally got to the water's edge, but I had a cut on my toe, so I only put one foot in. Ever since my friend worked at Slide Rock, I have been convinced that the water in the creek is teeming with e.coli bacteria. We sat there for awhile, me enjoying the mellow heat, and she enjoying the relative coolness.
She kept hoping that it would rain, but while that would have been nice, just because rain is always welcome in Arizona, I was kind of hoping that it wouldn't. I didn't want to have to walk along the road in a wet white t-shirt. Guys yell enough as it is, they don't need encouragement.
We ended walking up through Slide Rock State Park and then back to her car. The park was out of the way, but at least there were stairs up to street level. I always feel guilty about going to Slide Rock without paying the entrance fee, but I figured that since we weren't actually using the park it would be okay this time. We were just passing through.
I love creeks. There's something about the water running over the rocks, and the trees so close by, that makes everything seem cool and happy and peaceful. Rock-hopping up a creek reminds me of happy days, when everything was right in my world.