The little unexpected treasures in life are magical...

Opening our front door I crinkled my nose, saying aloud "What is that smell?"  Didn't take my nose long to hone in on where that smell was coming from.  A clogged and smelly dishwasher.  My husband took a trip to the local ACE Hardware store, added Drano, and Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach to that stopped up drain.  After letting the Drano do its work I turned on the dishwasher to clean the inside.  I was standing with my back to the dishwasher when I felt a wet coldness on my heel.  I turned, looked downward then twirled around and started laughing!  Drano + Clorox Ultimate Care Bleach = BUBBLES.   YIKES!!!  It took me hours to clean up after running hot water (no choice) through the cycles several times until there weren't any suds left.  What I was, and still am amazed at, was the color of the tiles, they came alive!  I thought the coloring within the ceramic tiles was wearing off, looking worn.  Now my floor is revitalized!  I always believe there's a reason for everything...no more clogged drain, no more smell and a beautiful tile floor.  Woooo Hoooo!

Next morning I started hiking again mainly to get back into shape.  Sometimes out of no where my body looks like it had never had any exercise of any kind, YIKES!  Yep, gotta hit the road and whip this body back in shape.

So now I'm back to exploring, one of my favorite things to do.

I used to drive out to McDowell Mountain Park 8 miles from home, park my Jeep Rubicon Unlimited (did I tell you I Love My Jeep!), strap on my backpack, with trekking poles in hand, boots crunching on the Sonoran Desert floor I'm ready for discovery, and to take pictures.  I'm not out hiking in the McDowells these days, instead I'm discovering my home town.  So if you see me hiking around on the roads or washes with backpack and trekking poles smile and give me a wave.

Closing the front door to our magical retreat in Fountain Hills, AZ, I started walking on asphalt roads turning here, turning there, another turn here and before I knew it I was in the same wash I walked with my grandson when he was a little guy, bringing back joyous memories of finding golf balls!  His five year olds face gleamed with excitement as we found nearly 30 golf balls filling a bucket and using Grandma Willy's skirt.  Wow, that was fun.  That little guy just started driving and now lives in the state of Washington.

So there I was reaching under prickly pear cactus, at the base of a saguaros, reaching in the creosote bush, under a  palo verde tree finding many golf balls laughing with the delight of a five year old.

Heading home I notice a dirt driveway, a new sign and four parking spaces including a handicapped space.  Hmmmm.  Curiosity and exploration takes over as I cross the main road stepping into the area and seeing the dirt trail.  Hmmmm.  Before I know it I'm long down that trail where I had never been. The 1.2-mile trail was built with the help of volunteers from the Sonoran Conservancy of Fountain Hills.  There were signs describing a variety of plants including saguaros, cat claw, desert lavender, Mormon tea and chuparosa and tiny pincushion cactiI.  Ended up hiking 8 miles that day, not a bad start.


What Magic are you seeing through your eyes?  I'd love to hear.


Living Passionately,
AriZona