Christopher Creek & "The Box" Canyon

Taking a break from uploading Hawaii snippets to show how we spent the day after our nation's birthday. We drove up east of Payson to Christopher Creek Canyon.

Here we are at the creek. Simone amused everyone by her love for the place.




Then we headed over to the Canyon. The ranger at the creek told us to go out onto US260 back towards Payson until we saw the signs on the left (south side) that said "No Parking." That's where we were supposed to park. The canyon is about a mile hike into the woods. There's a trail...sort of. You can just make it out in the picture below.



The canyon just kind of appears out of nowhere but we might not have gone the right way.




The water was a little brown due to the run-off from the rain but they say that it's good for your skin.






Here's Cécile going for a swim.



And then she was gone.



Ah, there she is. She was just talking with some other people who were enjoying the canyon.




Simone didn't really like the water as much as the grass.



One interesting note at the end of the day. We were following another couple out of the canyon and back to the cars. They took the trail that went to the left. Simone went right. Cécile followed the other couple so she could bring back more water that we had in the car while Barry went after Simone. It turned out Simone took the correct trail and led Barry directly back to the car. Dogs are cool like that.

After successfully navigating the woods and leading her friends and loved ones to safety, Simone decided to chill for the entire drive home.



Good dog.

More Hawaii - Musiquarium

We went to the Blue Dragon across from the Kawaihae Harbor one night. It's a nice place with a great atmosphere but the food wasn't very good at all.

More Hawaii - Another Sunset

More Hawaii - Pu'ukoholā Heiau

Heiau means temple in Hawaiian. This was kind of an important one. You can go here if you want to learn more about it (or go to wikipedia). Better yet, just go there. There's a public beach right next to it. It's awesome.

More Hawaii - Pololu Valley

More Hawaii - Swimming With Dolphins

We went swimming with Spinner Dolphins in the wild. They swam around the general vicinity that we were swimming/floating/snorkeling in and every once in a while they would go by us or under us. It was quite a thrill. They're amazing animals.

Our Boat


Our Guide


Our Captain


Our Ride






Our Dolphins


This picture was taken by Philip Greenspun and shows pretty much what it was like.



After Swim


It was a long day.

Hawaii

We finally made it to Hawaii. It was the best vacation ever.

Vegas Views

A little video of our little trip.

Joshua Tree in AZ

We had to stop along the 93 outside of Wickenburg to get a picture. Barry would like to mention that stopping on a little patch of gravel at 85mph isn't as easy as it looks. He thinks the Jetta might need some new tires.

(Editor's note: Barry needs a new camera also.)

Vegas, Baby!

Cécile's first weekend off in a long time. We met some friends from France up in Vegas. Here we are at...well...you know.

Jojoba Trail

Today we drove out to Bartlett Lake and hiked the Jojoba Trail. It was a little too much for Simone. She'll be sleeping for the rest of the night.