The beauty of this place had me grabbing my camera as we made our way along the path much to John’s chagrin.  Passed by people twice our age and a runner who was on his fourth lap of up and back may have been disheartening for him. And yet I was determined to be present and notice the little details of this hike. Though we had two choices at the beginning of the hike, the 7 1/2 mile loop around the rocky outcropping or the climb to wind cave. We chose the most popular one, little did we know at the time that there was more to wind cave than the cave itself.  Aptly named Wind Cave, we had a nice breeze as we climbed to the cave area.  As we neared the cave, the path split with a sign warning hikers that they could continue “at their own risk” as if hiking wasn’t that already.  We followed the arrow to the cave which was pleasantly shaded and full of people chatting, enjoying the view of the valley below.  As we sat and enjoyed our lunch, along came the inhabitants of the cave, darting between rocks and the occasional branch, peaking out of crevices.  Soon they were running up to our shoes, clearly wanting what was in our hands, streaking across our backpacks.   Hoping for a handout, we place a cracker on a rock and one brave little chipmunk darted forward to nibble it’s treasure before scooting back to safety.  Emboldened by the chipmunks a ground squirrel made it’s lumbering appearance clearly well fed with it’s round tummy.  It peaked over the rocks wanting more of a delivery service than a go get it service.  The crowds had diminished by this point and more chipmunks crept out of hiding.  The inquisitive creatures explored every area looking for crumbs left behind by groups of hikers.  As the hikers left, the presences of voices departed and the sounds of the desert returned along with the hummingbirds who made little homes in the cracks of the cave. Having watched enough of the rodents antics but not ready to return we decided to “hike at our own risk” and turned the corner to continue south along the rim of the rocky outcropping.  Here we discovered a trail marked with blue dots leading up and over the cave to the ridge of this group of rocks. Treated by 360 degree views it was worth the scramble up.  Meeting only on other group at the top. We paused, trying to pick out the different landforms and identify the Superstition Mountains and the Tonto National Forest.  This spot lent itself to panoramic photos. Photos taken we headed down the trail again following the blue dots. Taking a wrong turn, back tracking and finally making our way to the cave we could see the parking area at the trailhead had thinned out quite a bit.  All along the path down the desert animals reappeared especially the humming birds.  The flitted here and there, clashing with other humming birds as they disputed their territory with the ocotillo and saguaro flowers.  We met less and less groups of people making their way up. Each time coming into contact with people, we noticed the disappearance of the humming birds. If we were quiet they would make their appearance, buzzing right over our heads. The sun now quite high in the sky shown down finally coming to rest upon the lichen on the rocks bringing that muted color to life.  The ground animals had bedded down by now and lizards no longer ran across the path, but camouflaged themselves on the rocks soaking up the heat of the day. We took their cue and made for our car and home base to wash off the dirt of the trail and soak in the pool until the desert cooled enough for the next adventure of the day.