Out of Iowa

Pictures of The dogs running and playing in the field.

2008-03-18T17:41:00.000-07:00

Playing with the dogs

2008-03-18T17:04:00.000-07:00

Sledding Against each other

2008-02-25T15:21:00.000-08:00

Sledding Together

2008-02-25T14:59:00.000-08:00

..and into Africa via Arizona

2008-02-20T17:22:00.001-08:00

One of our day trips while in Sedona was to an animal park/reserve called "Out of Africa." This was not like any zoo I had ever been too. It had a large open area for some animals to freely roam (with a bus tour), and even those animals that require more safe enclosures (lions, tigers, bears) had enclosues that were large but still viewable from observation booths with platforms for fence free viewing. (the enclosures and fences did exceeded the minuimum recommended height in case you were wondering)

The animal handlers were very comfortable with the animals, and they offered education on their topics of expertice, along with some hands on education with witty humor about poop. If you like tigers, its for you. if you like walruses it is not. 99% of the animals are land predators, and prey. they did have a few turtles in one enclosure though.

The Tiger Splash show was worth it all. watching the trainers and handlers play together and swim together was amazing. It was amazing to see the large tigers leap into the air and splash into a heated pool with the trainers. hightly worth the side trip. (25 minutes southwest of sedona)

Check out the website for more information http://www.outofafricapark.com/

Hiking, etc.

2008-02-20T15:06:00.000-08:00

While on our trip to Sedona, AZ we did several days of hiking. We did climb to the tops of a couple of the red rocks. Overall we hiked about 25 miles of trails, mostly over rocky terrain.

We had some opportunities to try some "climbing" which we carefully evaluated the odds that we would succeed vs. the odds we were doing something stupid, and then we went ahead anyways. Actually we played it pretty safe, but agreed that if we want to get some climbing equipment to conquer those challenges safely.

The highest peak we hit was about 5900 feet, which required a climb of about 1500 feet over 4-5 miles. One of our trails consisted of a trip through a canyon, so we had a mile of ice for a trail, but it was worth it when we got to the top. would have been easier with studded shoes though.

We generally stuck to the Moderate trails this trip (7-10 miles each), but we plan on returning to attempt some of the 25 mile strenous wilderness trails in the future. More than likely we would have to camp overnight on the trail to make it all the way through it, and I am sure we will have the approriate equipment to experience the most that the mountain has to offer.

Arizona Traveling

2008-02-09T19:43:00.000-08:00

Today was the 2nd day of travelling for our Arizona Trip. Day 1 (8th) we travelled from Nashua, to El Reno, Oklahoma where we stayed at the super 8. We had a wonderful Mexican dinner at a local restaraunt. It was, i believe, better than Plaza Mexico in Charles City or Mason City(sorry Mark)

Today (2nd day) we travelled to Grants, New Mexico where we decided to stay for the night. during our day we took a couple hours to shop in Albaquerque. we didnt get to see alot of the major sites due to time constraints, but felt we would return someday and see some other areas of the city.

Tomorrow we will be seeing an Ice Cave and Wolf Preserve enroute to Sedona, Arizona along with a few other scenic stops. we should reach Sedona around 4pm (MST).

I will provide some details and pictures as I accumulate them.