Saturday was an eventful day. We spent our morning volunteering at our Bountiful Baskets pickup, which was super busy because the other Flagstaff location was closed for the week, so we had twice as many baskets to prep, and twice as many folks to meet-and-greet!

Afterwards, we packed up a picnic dinner and the dogs, hit Arby’s for a quick snack, and headed out Woody Mountain Road to the annual Penstemon Festival at the Arboretum at Flagstaff. With 85 degree temps and three pups in the (shade-covered) truck, we only stayed long enough to lay claim to a couple handfuls of plants and run. However, it was a gorgeously perfect day to be hanging out at the Arb.

The Arboretum at Flagstaff

We grabbed three penstemons, a blank flower, a couple cinquefoils, and some hummingbird flower to fill in a spot where we’ve ripped out an old juniper bush.

Woody Mountain Road

After hitting the Arboretum, we stopped off to let the pups out to run. Toby and Sidney were having a good time fetching sticks.

The Rim

We headed out to a favorite spot on the Rim. Part of our goal was to hold a little memorial for our recently deceased dog, Tasha, a border collie-heeler mix who could walk on water, and her buddy Nikita, our heeler who passed away five years ago. After paying our respects, we went to a viewpoint above Bear Sign Canyon that provides a spectacular view over the Sedona area.

Dax was quite certain he heard thunder, and opted to stay in the safety of the truck instead of facing certain death while enjoying the view at the Rim.

Rogers Lake

We wrapped up our adventure with a picnic at Rogers Lake. We drove around to the west end of the dry lake so we could enjoy the superior view while eating. I made a version of chicken and grape salad sandwiches, with grilled chicken and no nuts. I also pruned one of my basil plants and made a tomato salad side dish, plus we had the usual fresh fruit, sliced cheese, hard boiled eggs, and a slice of Trader Joe’s Chocolate Peppermint Loaf.

The monsoon brought rainbows (and then, rain).

The pics did not come out well at all, but as we sat in the truck finishing our sandwiches, a pair of elk came out onto the dry lake bed to graze.