Located near Parks, Arizona off of Old Route 66, the hike along the Keyhole Sink Trail is an easy 2 mile roundtrip hike through the ponderosa pine forest.
The Keyhole Sink Trail is wide and easy to follow and ducks in and out of the forest.
The Keyhole Sink Trail is used by cross country skiers and is marked for them with blue triangles.
The forest along the trail was full of a wide variety of mushrooms. Here a couple of yellow mushrooms push up through a clump of grass.
A few wildflowers were blooming along the trail Here is a closeup of Skyrocket Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata).
Skyrocket Gilia.
Beetles hunting for nectar in the bright yellow Bearded Cinquefoil (Potentilla crinita) flower.
Lichen covered boulder field.
Boulder in the grips of a fallen log.
A mushroom pushes through the forest floor revealing its bright red cap.
I was amazed at the variety of mushrooms that I saw. Here a pair of white ball-like mushrooms.
Brown mushroom.
Cream colored mushroom.
The cap on this small reddish mushroom is splitting apart.
A red mushroom pushing up from beneath the pine needles.
Yellow mushroom.
Small mushrooms among the pine cones, pine needles and volcanic rock.
This bright orange trio of mushrooms really caught my eye.
The caps of these bright orange mushrooms appeared quite sticky and slimy.
A line up of six Ponderosa Pines (Pinus ponderosa).
Ponderosa Pines.
Bright orange mushrooms emerging from a cover of pine needles.
Closeup view of a spectacularly colored reddish orange mushroom.
Weathered grain of a long ago fallen ponderosa pine.
Western Yarrow (Achillea millefolium).
A view through the forset along the trail. The cliffs in the background suggest were very close to Keyhole Sink.
Keyhole Sink is a small box canyon with a small pond at the base of the wall during the wet season.
Keyhole Sink and the end of the trail. A nice place to sit and relax and enjoy the solitude.
Keyhole Sink.
Petroglyphs on the canyon walls at Keyhole Sink.
Petroglyphs on the canyon walls at Keyhole Sink.
The cliffs at Keyhole Sink.
Interesting colors on the canyons walls.
The cliffs at Keyhole Sink reflecting in the pond.
Jagged cliff walls.
Late afternoon sun lighting up the walls.
A lone plant gets a foothold in the rocks at the base of the cliff.
A fallen tree lays at the the base of a small cliff in Keyhole Sink.
Keyhole Sink.
Keyhole Sink.
A small Aspen (Populus tremuloides) grove near the entrance to Keyhole Sink. Behind the trees you can see the old log fence that surrounds the entrance to the sink.
Interesting patterns of bubbles in a small pool of water.
A small meadow along the Keyhole Sink Trail.
Late afternoon sun filtering through the forest canopy.