Alex In Wanderlust

I live for the thrill of the journey and mystery of the unknown. This is my attempt at sharing my love for the outdoors and photography.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Never too many candles 🔥|| #Phoenix #arizona #candle #candles #candlelight #lighting #photographyislife #photographylovers #igersphx #instagramaz #igsouthwest #shotsbyyou #wander #wanderlust #igersoftheday #igers #igdaily #igaddict #instagood #instadaily #arizonacollective

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Prescott, Arizona - June 2015 - Part 1

Ventured up to Prescott the last weekend of June to meet up with Brittany’s parents who were in town for the World’s Oldest Rodeo. Saturday we all drove out to Jerome, Arizona about an hour outside of Prescott to visit the historic hillside mining town and stroll through the old Ghost Town of Haynes. Sunday morning my sidekick and I drove out to Lynx Lake for a relaxing hike around the lake and to enjoy the much cooler summer weather.

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Denver - May 2015 - Part 3

More pictures from our day spent in Rocky Mountain National Park. Plenty of wildlife all around and beautiful scenery to take it. We will hopefully be calling Denver home around this time next year.

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Denver - May 2015 - Part 2

We spent all day Sunday in Rocky Mountain National Park, just outside of the town of Estes Park about an hour and a half outside Denver. We were lucky to catch a break in the stormy weather (which we loved) to get out for a hike and some sightseeing before the rain came down again. We hiked the Cub Lake Trail, roughly about 5 miles. The trail took us through the meadows out to Cub Lake before heading to the top of a plateau where it descended back down into the valley where we followed the river back to our car. Colorado is beautiful.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Denver - May 2015 - Part 1

I was surprised on my birthday by my parents and girlfriend with a trip to Denver for Memorial Day weekend. We arrived in Denver early Friday afternoon to overcast skies and perfect 60 degree weather. After we grabbed our rental car we headed into the city and found our centrally located hotel downtown. Spent the rest of the evening walking the downtown area, eating and drinking our way from Brewery to Brewery. Saturday, we woke up early and walked to the nearest “B-Cycle” station where you are able to swipe a credit card and after a daily fee, are able to check bikes in and out as many times as you like for 24 hours. Denver is the only city in the U.S with a bicycle system this large and hundred of miles of paved bike paths to back it up. We took our bikes along the Cherry Creek Trail about 4 miles out to the Neighborhood/Shopping District of Cherry Creek. On our way back, we stopped in Denver’s Capitol Hill district and explored on foot. Spent early Saturday evening listening to music on the streets at Denver’s annual “Day of Rock”, a free event with 6 stages and many bands playing all day/night long downtown. After the music we headed out to the bars with some Family/New friends.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Waterwheel Falls - May 2015

Over the weekend we ventured up to Payson, Arizona to check out Waterwheel Falls, part of the East Verde River. The weather was perfect for exploring up the river and playing around the falls. Not really an official trail here once you get out of the parking lot, just follow the river and make your own. We continued on after Waterwheel Falls just passed where the East Verde River converges with Ellison Creek to an area called Ellison Cascades. Lots of flat rock for the creek to wander around and over creating numerous small swimming holes. Beautiful day for a beautiful adventure.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Heading to peak 4104 along the Doll Baby Trail in the Mazatzal Wilderness - Payson, AZ. #peak4104 #dollbaby #dollbabytrail #mazatzalwilderness #payson #arizona #hike #hiking #arizonahiking #hikearizona #explore #wander #wanderlust #adventure #igersphx #instagramaz (at Mazatzal Wilderness- Tonto National Forest)

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Picketpost Mountain - Feb 2015

Our trip to Picketpost Mountain in Superior, Arizona was one of my favorites to date. It began with another early morning drive out to the small mining town of Superior to grab a camping spot and set up our tents before heading back to tackle the peak. Picketpost stands 4,377 feet tall and is about a 4 mile round trip hike with 2,200 foot elevation gain. We started the morning off following the wrong trail for a few hours before we decided to turn around, turning our 4 mile hike into a about a 10 mile hike. The infamous mailbox at the top was placed by a hiker in 1994 who brought it all the way from his home in Lynden, WA (of all places). He wanted to relocate the mailbox somewhere safe where it would no longer be vandalized or run over by various vehicles at the end of his driveway. The mailbox is full of years worth of notes and log books from past hikers. Next to the mailbox is a bench that someone hauled up in pieces and welded together. Amazing hike with amazing views. Sunday morning on our way back to Phoenix we stopped at the Arizona Renaissance Festival, those pictures coming soon! 

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Mountain Mailbox

An edit of a picture I took of the infamous mailbox at the summit of Picket Post Mountain - Superior, AZ.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Gray Wolf

Another Selective Color, my favorite photo from Bearizona.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

View from 5024

First in a series of Selective Color versions of my photos. Hopefully getting some canvas prints made for the walls of our new apartment.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Yuma, AZ & Los Algodones, Mexico

We traveled down to Yuma, Arizona over the weekend to visit my Grandparents. Yuma is only about 3 hours drive southwest of Phoenix on the way to San Diego. Spent most of the afternoon over in Mexico, shopping and drinking in the border town of Los Algodones. Afterwards we drove west out of Yuma on Highway 8 to catch a glimpse of the immense Imperial Sand Dunes - mountains of sand as far as the eye can see. Took a few hours to explore historic downtown before heading to dinner where we ate with our new avian friends. The rest of the evening was spent relaxing and enjoying the cool desert breeze on the porch while watching another beautiful Arizona Sunset.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Bearizona - Feb 2015

A few photos from our most recent visit to Bearizona Wildlife Park in Williams, Arizona. Bearizona has a drive through portion where you navigate your own vehicle through multiple enclosures (even Bears and Wolves) but they also offer a guided tour in an open air school bus, do both! After you drive through, park your car and check out the walking section of the park where you can catch raptor shows and the chance to feed some of the smaller animals in the park.

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Brown’s Peak - Jan 2015 - Part 2

A few more from our Brown’s Peak trip. From the summit of Brown’s Peak at 7,657 feet, it is said you are able to view 1/4 of the entire state of Arizona. We were lucky enough to make the ascent on a crystal clear day, giving us the opportunity to gaze as far as our eyes would allow us in any direction. In the distance we were able to clearly make out Humphrey’s Peak (12,633 feet) about 2 hours north in Flagstaff, Arizona. Spent the night camping on Lake Roosevelt and woke up to a beautiful view of the sun rising over the lake.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Brown’s Peak - Jan 2015 - Part 1

A collection of my photos from our trek up Brown’s Peak, one of the icon “Four Peaks” and the only one with an official name. The morning started out with a rugged 12 mile dirt road up to the trail head before the short but daunting accent by foot. The path was clear to the very base of the peak before we were required to scramble up the rocky cliffs to the summit.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Flatiron - Jan 2015

Above are some of my favorite pictures from our hike up Flatiron Siphon Draw trail in the Superstition Wilderness back in January of this year. This was our first “serious” hike since we had been living in Phoenix and the hike responsible for all of our adventures that were to follow. Peak 5024 at the top still has some of the best views in the valley.

[alex-in-wanderlust]

Superstition Ridgeline, Peak 5057 - Part 3