Today after checking out we start with a visit to the Flagstaff Farmer’s Market. We are not sure if we will be able to find parking but we find an optimal spot, right at the entrance so in we go following the throngs of people. There aren’t really that many stands but they certainly are popular, it seems the whole city turned up.
We explore a bit and even buy some fruits and vegetables as we will be home in the evening and hope they can survive the heat of the day.
Today we decide to eat breakfast at Josephine’s. This is after the previous evening where we couldn’t find any place that wasn’t full, at least this time we easily find a place to sit and then it is time to order.
The food is plentiful and good and we are happy that we were able to get seating, even if it was for breakfast only.
After getting overcooked the previous day while hiking today we deciide to hike at much higher elevations and hopefully escape the heat. This means we climb almost up to Snowbowl to hike the Arizona Trail towards Bismarck Lake, a section we never hiked before and hope has some shade.
And then we start on the short connector trail to the Arizona Trail. This section is usually very busy and it doesn’t disappoint us today but soon we are at the trail and no one else is going in our direction, hooray!
The trail then starts quite level through a beautiful forest with both pines and aspen before reaching our nemesis, a meadow where we would have to pass through the unrelenting sun.
However the sun today has relented and has hidden beneath the clouds which is very welcome and we enjoy passing through the meadow looking at flowers and butterflies.
It is in fact a beautiful meadow with some nice views of both the San Francisco peaks and Kendrick peak as we continue on on the beautiful trail.
There are also birds and flowers and we stop to enjoy them as we make our way from forest patch to forest patch following the trail.
And then we hit the Aspen Loop which is joining the Arizona trail for a short distance. Here we meet a few other hikers that are hiking the loop. And also the most useless signs we have seen for the Arizona trail, instead of showing distance to the next attraction it shows distances to Mexico and Utah. While interesting as a novelty it is useless otherwise though.
As we leave the Aspen loop behind we also leave behind all other hikers. From here it is just us and the chipmunks and squirrels that are very carefully watching us as we pass by.
There are butterflies and birds and we enjoy watching them as they flutter and flitter past as we make our way down the trail.
The most beautiful sections are the aspen ones, they are very special with lots of interesting birds and also welcome shade as the sun decided to come out again.
We continue on the trail passing through meadows and trees while looking for mushrooms, which are not out yet, and birds, that are certainly out today.
The weather is very changeable today with sun then clouds then beautiful cloud formations. We stop for a while to enjoy the formations in the sky before moving on as the sun gets out.
In one of the patches of forest we encounter a family of Williamson Sapsuckers, they are quite beautiful and curious as they explore us for a while before moving on. Nearby in a meadow we find a green tailed towhee, both birds that we really enjoy seeing.
Soon we are again walking through the aspens and here we decide to take a break, eat some snacks and do some stretches and yoga or something similar enjoying the fresh mountain air.
Too soon almost we arrive at our goal, the Bismark Lake. It is a lake in name only, no water, but there is a cache here that we found years ago and it is a great turnaround point about 4 miles into the hike.
The return trip is mostly uneventful if we don’t count the animal encounters. Like the praying squirrel, is it praying for food, for us to pass by or something else? And nearby we also see deers, running away from us and then stopping further away and just sitting down and watching us. No praying though.
There are chipmunks and flickers, all of them in pairs or even throuplets, likely parents with chicks. They are fun to watch until we feel drops of rain falling, really weird weather today.
As the rain starts and stop repeatedly we make our way faster towards the car passing by the Snowbowl area and then arriving at our car without any major rain falling. And then it is time to return after a beautiful time at higher altitudes with lots of birds and animals and special views.
