All packed up, ready to hike the canyons with a group of friends, and snow.  May 1st.  It's Colorado.  Last Wednesday's hike was a fantasy in rock.  We found a narrow canyon we thought was named Fat Fred or maybe Slim Jim.  It's not on our maps, which made it all the more intriguing.  Hiking across the flat desert we had to watch for cactus.  The trail was mostly non existant.  Coming to the rim of the little canyon we lost the trail completely and tried to find our own way down.  Half of us slid, scrambled and scratched down the red rocks in an unlikely spot.  The smarter half kept looking and found a much better way down, and ultimately a safer way out at the end of the day.  We wondered at the name, as the first couple of miles were beautiful and in no way slim or fat.  We'd heard that someone had been stuck at one time, but in these regions there are many tall tales.  Not far up the road is Escalante Canyon where bank robbers escaped over a trail that still exists.  It's not much of a challenge on foot but the tale tells of them riding horses over the narrows. 
Another mile up our canyon and we found our narrows.  It was a boost and a climb.  Lil Bit had to be handed up, much to her mortification.  Even the larger dogs couldn't scramble between the boulders.  Luckily none of us had had a large breakfast and we squeezed ourselves through to a breathtaking veiw of the Grand Mesa.  There's still a considerable amount of snow up there, but down in the canyons we were taking off our sweaters.  The reds of the rocks blended into oranges and many shades of brown.  Flash floods had created unbelievable sculptures of nature.  A rewarding hike.
How I had looked forward to getting out again today.  Instead, here I sit, snowed in.  Sulking a little.  It's not the nice snows of winter, but the wet nasty snows that hurt the fruits of spring.  I hope the apricots and cherries come through.  I'm a little higher than the orchards, but the trees are budding, even on my little lane.  A few daffiodils are bravely pushing their heads up.  Tomorrow it will be spring again.  Hopefully.