They approached the base of the nearby mountain. Yzzie stopped and pointed up, way up.

"You're kidding, right?" Xander's eyes travelled up the north face of Camel Head Mountain to the cliff that Yzzie pointed at.

"No, I'm not." Yzzie answered him. "It is basically hiking upwards. There will be very little climbing, I promise."

"I can't do that," Xander folded his arms, "it's almost straight up."

"Tourists climb all the way up to the nose, over on the south side, all the time." She pointed to a much higher peak.

"Now, I know you're kidding." He responded.

"It's true. Of course, they have a groomed trail to follow..." she admitted. "But you have me as a guide."

"What was it that Crazy Horse said at the battle of Little Bighorn?" Xander asked rhetorically. "Oh yes, now I remember: 'Today is a good day to die'."

"Don't be so dramatic." She punched him softly on the arm. "You'll thank me once you see the view from up there."

"I suppose," Xander said, "it's not as though mountain climbing ever killed anybody."

"You're so funny!" Yzzie answered. He noticed her eyes roll as she said it.

Armed with a canteen full of water and a four foot long twisted Mesquite branch for a walking stick Xander followed his cousin as she picked and wound her way up the ever steepening slope. Soon they got to an area where it was too steep to go directly upwards so Xander followed Yzzie as she took a more horizontal line. Then she turned about a hundred and sixty degrees and came back toward Xander only a little higher on the slope.

"This is called a switchback," she informed him as she went by, "When first you go one direction across the face of the mountain, and then turn and go back the opposite way."

"Switchback," Xander repeated, trying to catch his breath from the exertion, "got it."

"It helps take the steepness out of the slope," Yzzie added over her shoulder.

"Kind of like slalom skiing, only upwards without the skis or the snow." Xander threw in his two cents worth. "Or the fun," he added wiping his brow for effect.

"Yes," Yzzie snickered and leaned upon her makeshift hiking stick. "I guess we can take a short break when you get up here."

Xander noticed that she wasn't sweating at all, while his arms and legs glistened in the sunlight. This stoppage was for his benefit alone. Yzzie carried two canteens, one on each hip, while he had just the one. Yzzie also had a small backpack. Xander unhooked his water flask and took a large swallow. He hated to admit that Yzzie was right, but even the water tasted better out here.

"Pass it over," Yzzie said, as she reached for his canteen. "We'll lighten your load."

"What about you?" Xander asked. "You're carrying two of them."

"I'm used to it." She explained simply, as he handed the flask to her.

The horses and crash site already looked pretty small from their vantage point and Xander estimated that they were only a third the way up to the cliff. Staring downward, Xander felt the beginnings of a sense of accomplishment. It had been a while since he'd felt anything besides persecution and loneliness.

"This isn't so bad," he admitted out loud.

"I knew you'd like it." Yzzie said, nudging her shoulder against his. "I'll make an avid mountain climber out of you before the end of the day."

Xander jumped to his feet. "Let's go!"

Forty minutes later, Xander noticed that Yzzie's shirt sported a few damp perspiration stains as she hoisted herself onto the large granite boulder that made up most of the cliff.

"Grab on," she told Xander as she hung her hiking stick over the cliff edge. The last fifty feet of the climb had been the steepest, with the final ten pretty much vertical. Strong arms pulled the slight boy onto the granite expanse. The top of the expansive rock was almost flat. Sandblasted by summer wind storms, the polished surface looked like a floor from a fancy law office or upscale mall.

"We're here?" Xander wiped some sweat from his brow. "I actually made it?"

"This is it." Yzzie confirmed. "Congratulations, you are officially a mountain climber now."

"I can't believe it," Xander said, as he slowly spun around and soaked the whole experience in. His tired body found new energy. He felt great.

The pair picked a good spot to sit down and then swung their legs over the granite ledge. It was only about twenty five feet below them to the slope, but they were more than a half mile higher in elevation than when they started their hike. The horses looked like ants. Gazing out over the tops of some of the surrounding smaller mountains inspired pure awe. The rugged red rocks set against the backdrop of wispy white clouds and an aqua blue sky ranked as one of the most beautiful things Xander had ever seen in his life. He and Yzzie just sat there silently taking in the view for several minutes.

"How did you find this place?" he asked, running his hand along the shiny cool surface.

"Mom showed it to me," she told him. "She used to come up here with her sister, my mother, when they were young."

"I'm glad she did," he responded.

"She'd love to cut the top two inches of this rock off and put it in our kitchen." Yzzie said, remembering her mother's words.

Xander glanced behind him. Dramatic ebony streaks and scarlet vanes splashed across the snowy white and grey surface. "I can see why."

The boy turned back around. He looked down to where they'd started the climb and retraced their steps up the steep slope. He'd never done anything even remotely like this before. Xander still didn't quite believe he had made it all the way up to the cliff top. The city boy had even begun to get the hang of horseback riding by the time they'd arrived. Horses didn't actually smell as bad as he thought they would. Maybe living on a ranch wouldn't be so bad, after all.

"Thank you, Yzzie." Xander expressed his gratitude, unable to keep his feelings in. "This is truly amazing."

"It is," she confirmed, "isn't it? I never tire of this view."

"Yzzie," Xander said, "I have to admit, I thought we had absolutely nothing in common. But we both survived horrible crashes."

"We're family." Yzzie smiled.

"Yes we are," Xander bumped his shoulder into hers.

"I thought you were a bit of a..." His cousin struggled to find the right word.

"A nerd?" Xander said, helping her out.

"Well," she said, "kind of, but I was wrong."

"No, you were so right about me," he laughed.

"You are cool in my book, Xander." She bumped him back, and then set a bag of homemade trail mix between them. They snacked on raisons, nuts and M&Ms and gazed silently at the sights in front of them for several minutes.

"This is the best time I've had since," Xander paused, realizing that bullies and space ships hadn't been monopolizing his thoughts for the first time since that eventful night. "Well, for a while."

"You can see Snoopy's nose clearly from here." Yzzie pointed to a rock on the lower mountain.

"That is a big honker," Xander snickered. "That mountain looks nothing like Snoopy."

"It actually does from down below on the Sedona side," Yzzie started to explain, "I'll show you next time we're in town."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Xander teased.

"The Lakota Indians used to call it the Chiye Tanka Mountain a long time ago," she informed him. "Chiye Tanka means 'Big Elder Brother'. That was their name for Big Foot."

"I didn't know that," Xander admitted. Then he asked, "Why was the name changed?"

"I don't know, to tell you the truth," she replied, "Some marketing genius must have changed it for the tourists. That and it really does look like Snoopy laying on his doghouse and staring at the sky."

"Not from up here," Xander shook his head and squinted his eyes. "It looks more like an ape."

"Or a big elder brother," Yzzie said.

"I think we should call it Big Foot Rock," Xander decided, "Or Yeti Ridge..."

"How about Abominable Snowman Peak?" Yzzie laughed.

"Sasquatch Mountain," they declared together and bumped knuckles.

Xander picked up a small stone and tossed it over the edge. They watched it sail outward, then begin a long descent down to the ground. It bounced and tumbled a long time before stopping.

"That is the furthest I've ever thrown anything in my life," Xander told Yzzie.

"You could more than double that throw just by visiting the Grand Canyon," She laughed. Then something far below caught her attention. "Hey do you see that?"

Yzzie pointed down toward the western base of Snoopy Rock. All he could see were rocks and more rocks. After a few seconds he shrugged, "What am I looking for?"

"Do you see the black spot down there?" she asked, continuing to point.

"Where?" Xander tried to follow the direction of her outstretched finger.

"Past the stone you threw," she told him. "Do you see those three trees clumped close together?"

"Yes," the boy answered, spotting them.

"Behind them there is a large rock," Yzzie directed his attention.

"Got it," Xander confirmed.

"On the other side of the rock there is a black spot," she continued. "That looks like it could be the mouth of a cave."

Xander nodded.

"I've never seen that cave before." She explained to him excitedly. "You can only see it from this spot."

"You were lucky to see it from here," Xander stated.

Yzzie cleared her throat meaningfully.

"I mean," Xander rephrased his statement, "it was only a matter of time before an expert explorer like Yzzie Anderson discovered it."

"That's much better," she laughed. "Let's check it out."

"Maybe we'll find some Grizzly bear bones in there," Xander wondered out loud.

"Black bear bones possibly," Yzzie told him. "There aren't any Grizzly bears in Arizona."

"The scientific name for Grizzly bear is 'Ursus arctos horribilis'." Xander recited from memory.

"You're making that up." Yzzie was skeptical.

"It's a true fact," Xander confirmed. "Ursus americanus is the name for Black bear."

"It is a little weird that you know stuff like that," she pointed out, "but it's cool, too."

"Should we go back to camp and get the kerosene lanterns first?" he asked his cousin.

"We can take a quick look first, to decide whether it is even worth exploring." Yzzie said, patting her backpack. "Besides I have a pen light in here."

Going down a mountain took a lot less effort Xander was relieved to find out. Much faster, too. In less than an hour he and Yzzie stood at the mouth of the hidden cave.