Last day in the mountains

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We are woken again by the rain in the morning however by the time we go out for breakfast it has stopped but it still is overcast. We decide to explore the area so we drive on muddy roads up to the nearby mesa.

On the way we notice two deer and while we try to get a good picture they elude us always moving behind trees or bushes to frustrate us. In the end we only get one acceptable picture before moving on.

Stopping on the mesa we are surprised at how quiet and out of the way it seems even though we are only a few miles out from Flagstaff - we don't see another soul during the 3-4h that we hike around. There are lots of meadows with beautiful flowers and we think this should be a great spot to watch the leaves change in autumn due to the large number of oak trees. We find lots of mushrooms but unfortunately again none that are edible as far as we know. Returning to the car we pass a nice water tank with quite a few birds nearby.

Then it is back to the Valley with only one more stop at Willard Springs exit to examine it for potential campsites in the future. We drive for a while on the road which was paved previously but now it is badly potholed so we try to be as careful as possible. Finally we stop as we see our first (and last) cows for the trip - we take a few pictures and then take a short hike through the forest. There are a few campsites but none that are that extraordinary so we return to the interstate and then to the heat of the Sun Valley.

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