This morning I drove 15 minutes to Scottsdale to explore. It was pretty dead, I guess it was too early for people. I walked 1.5 mi and drank a latte (I gave up coffee almost two weeks ago – so I got a little buzz).

I realized it was too early to head back to my Airbnb, so I drove to a place called Fountain Park and took a short walk and snapped a few photos.

It was still early so I decided to do a hike in the Tonto National Forest. On the drive there I passed by Saguaro Lake and stopped for a photo.

The hike is called EJ Peak aka Lone Mountain and it’s about 3 mi round trip with a 700 ft elevation gain. I wasn’t prepared to hike. I didn’t have my hiking shoes, I had my hiking sandals on and I didn’t have my hiking poles, so I only made it about halfway up because there was a lot of slippery scree and I didn’t want to fall.  Especially since I broke my shoulder back in July on the first day of a trip.

The parking lot is way down on the right in the valley in the above photo.

I’m back at the Airbnb to get organized for tomorrow’s activities and then on Sunday I’ll be spending 3 days and two nights in Sedona.