Rain, rain go away, come again another day

 Vicky and Danny want to go out and play!

The monsoons have arrived.  Dan and I headed out on a hike, and yes, there were clouds and a 20% chance of rain…with thunderstorms in the forecast by noon. We figured that we had plenty of time for a leisurely hike.

It was beautiful early in the morning…. billowing clouds and the air fresh and cool temperatures from rains the night before.

And then a light drizzle started that turned into a torrential downpour within seconds.  We discovered that our water repellent windbreakers were not even one bit water repellent.

We looked like a couple of half drowned cats by the time we got home, but we were laughing as our shoes sloshed in the mud and rain ran into our eyes and down our necks.  

After living in the miserably rainy Pacific Northwest for the first 68 years of my life, I was sick and tired of rain, constant drizzle, and cloudy skies.  We have endless days of sunshine at our Southwest homes.  We love waking up every morning and seeing blue skies. But I have to admit that we now look forward to the Arizona monsoon season.  We need the rain here.

And the monsoons (with flood warnings) are here now!

Just before the the clouds opened up and rain broke loose, it was a dark as it would be hours after sunset.  We could see lightning and hear thunder approaching our cabin from the north, high on top of the Mogollon Rim.

The sweet thing about where we live is that, within a few hours, the sun broke through the clouds and once again, it was warm and sunny. And we could sit outside on our deck all afternoon.

Today we took a hike in the mountains, went on an unmarked trail, discovered a magnificent view overlooking Fossil Springs ravine with rock formations that rival Bryce Canyon, and got caught in a monsoon. It was an adventure and it was fun!