We are near the end of our three-week trip, so it's my turn (it's me Bebop) to write the blog. While dad was at Havasu Falls, mom and I went to Flagstaff. They have a lot of pine trees and sticks there, and the weather was nice.
After we all reunited, we went to a town called Prescott, where we met some friends for dinner. I didn't know them, but my parents did. It was a restaurant with an outdoor patio that allowed dogs. My parents friends fed me some food from the table, so they are now my friends too. We hiked to a lake called Watson Lake. It's in the middle of some granite rocks, which mom really liked. The water was a little low, and it was a bit stinky.
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| Bebop at Watson Lake in Prescott |
The next day we drove to a park called Dead Horse Ranch State Park. I don't know who is in charge of marketing, but I could have come up with a more attractive name - and I'm a dog. Fortunately, we didn't see any dead horses. We didn't see any live ones either, but we did see their horse hoofprints on the trails. We walked along the Verde River and around some lagoons.
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| Bebop at Dead Horse Ranch State Park |
Our final major stop was Sedona, AZ. Our campground backed up to Oak Creek. Dad has hiked here many times. We hiked an old favorite - the Secret Slickrock Trail. On our second day, we decided to do a hike that dad has not done before. It's called the Subway Cave. It was about a 6-mile round trip, with 1,100 feet of elevation gain. We started early in the morning because it's popular and can get crowded. This was not mom's favorite time of day, but she hung with us.
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| Bebop on the Secret Slickrock Trail in Sedona |
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| Elena in Oak Creek |
At one point, we came upon at least six deer just off the trail. One of the deer was a bit aggressive toward me, as there was a baby deer a bit back in the trees. I assured her we meant no harm, but she actually followed us down the trail a bit to make sure we were leaving.
We finally got to the base of the cave, and I thought dad was a little nuts with this selection. We had to climb and claw our way up a 45 degree slick rock to reach the cave. I'm very brave, so I took off first up the south edge of the chute. At one point it was so steep that my claws slipped, and I fell down a bit. I caught myself, but I decided I had enough and shot past dad and went the other way. Dad coaxed me back in front of him and gave me a butt boost to get up the slick rock. Then I went over to say hello to a lady coming down the other side while dad tried to scramble up and hold my leash at the same time. We both made it, but mom was still down below. She waited for down traffic to clear and clawed her way up the north edge of the chute. 
Deer on high alert
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| The steep slot up to the Subway Cave. Elena is climbing in the middle picture. |
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| Bebop keeps an eye on Elena at the Subway Cave |
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| Family photo at the Subway Cave |
When we got up there, it was an interesting cave. It had ledges on both sides of the chute and looked like a keyhole. There was already a local cave with that name, so this one was called Subway Cave. After we took a few photos, dad and I crawled around the ledge to some Native American cliff dwelling sites. Mom didn't like the tiny ledge and slid back down the chute on her bottom (in a controlled manner) to wait for us. We made it around the edge to some simple cliff dwelling areas and petroglyph. Dad and I took the alternate route down, which was a little less steep.
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| Exploring the Sinagua cliff sites |
Overall, it was a fun adventure and an interesting cave. Four paws up. Until next time.
- Bebop
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