Fall Hiking in Prescott

Every year on Ed's birthday, we take a little weekend getaway (the benefits of being born near a 3 day weekend). This year, we chose Prescott!

Neither of us had ever been there before, and we thought it'd be fun to explore a new place that actually got some seasons. 

Our first stop was a hike, on the Peavine Trail, a Rails to Trails project that promised a flat, smooth grade, leaving us free to enjoy the day. 

We Phoenix hitting the high 80s that weekend, we were so thrilled to be enjoying mid 60s on our midday hike, and couldn't stop exclaiming about the fantastic weather. It's been a very long time since we've been able to go on a hike at 11am and feel wonderful the whole time. 

Of course, Ed being Ed, he wasn't completely content with our very quiet trail, and suggested we try the short off-loop. Of course, the sign said that it was extremely difficult and technical. Ed promised it wouldn't be so bad :)

We were featured with some more beautiful views of Watson Lake - a man made reservoir whose rock structures reminded us a bit of Big Thunder Mountain. 

There was definitely some climbing on rocks to be done, but all in all, it was pretty mild. That said, I was happy that our adventure was short and we got back onto our regular trail.

Once we got back on the trail, the sides of the trail started heading upwards. The red granite was everywhere, and quite spectacular. 

Many more "big thunder mountain" rocks were everywhere, which reminded me not only of Disneyland, but of their inspiration at Squaw Valley. 

A gap in the rocks showed us another offshoot of the lake. Sometime, it would be fun to come back and kayak here. 

Finally, we reached our turn around! 

4 miles roundtrip might not seem like much, but it's the furthest I've gone since getting pregnant, and I was pretty excited about it (and pretty tired by the end). It's been a very active week, with 2 runs, an intense yoga class, and then this hike. I definitely earned our rest in the hotel later!

It was fun to try out my new maternity running shirt (from GAP!) and my cheap, new, larger running shorts, that hopefully will work perfectly for the rest of this journey. 

As we finished up that last mile, we both enjoyed how lovely it was to spend this time together, in cool, crisp air, taking in the fall colors. 

The perfect way to start the birthday celebration!