Our 23rd Anniversary Getaway

I love celebrating special occasions and I consider my wedding anniversary to be one of those.  Last week Russell & I had a little get-away to the high country.

I planned it but didn’t tell him where we were going, although he knew it involved water because when we walked out of the house to leave, he saw this…

The boys had loaded it for me the night before – late at night when there was no chance of Russ seeing it.

Our destination turned out to be Blue Ridge Reservoir.

I’ve never identified a duck before!  Is this a Red-breasted Merganser?

Could this be the male and female Red-breased Merganser?  Or perhaps the green headed duck is a Mallard?

 gorgeous views

This Blue Heron made its home in this area of the reservoir and was just standing there…

…or so it seemed.

Amazing! We then watched him swallow the fish in ONE bite.

He looks kind of prehistoric.

Audrey wanted to send something special for our picnic. We weren’t allowed in the kitchen while she prepared us this chocolate covered fruit.

I read this saying this morning and it’s so very fitting for Miss Audrey…

“many of my smiles begin with you”

She’s a darling, full of zest and life.

Okay, where were we?  I got a little distracted there when I saw that bowl of fruit.

After our picnic, which consisted of Salads from Trader Joe’s, Watermelon, PB&J sandwiches, Sun Chips, Ice Water & Audrey’s dessert, we got back in the canoe and started rowing back to where we started.  Along the way, we saw this adorable sight.

Those little ducklings stayed up with their momma even when she was paddling furiously. I don’t know how they did it.

Then we were off to Pine, Arizona where the population is less than 2,000.  We stayed at Pine Creek Cabins which were super clean and nice!  Just a suggestion… if you do stay there, do not, I repeat, do not eat at the adjacent restaurant Pine Creek Smokehouse.  It was not a good experience.  But the Pine Creek Cabins are lovely, so if you want to stay somewhere close to Strawberry or Payson, it’s an excellent choice.

Pine was established in the 1800’s, so there are several old homes there.  This one dates back to 1882.

The Honey Stand where we purchased Prickly Pear Salsa and Prickly Pear Jam that has no added food coloring.  I’ve never had Prickly Pear Salsa before.

Strawberry Schoolhouse – the oldest standing school in Arizona.

And since we can’t get enough of goats 😉 we visited The Fossil Creek Creamery briefly.

They milk their goats 2x/day and make their own goat cheeses and goat fudge.  The owner sells his goat cheese to 30 specialty restaurants in Phoenix, with one ordering 30# per week.  I love reading/hearing stories of entrepreneurs.  It’s always interesting the many ways people can make a living!

We finished off our day, with a mini-dessert picnic in the woods somewhere in the National Forest.  I loved it! (That’s Martinelli’s Apple Cider, btw.)