Change of Plans

After years of perfect adventures where everything happens like clockwork and nothing ever goes awry.........WHAT?  Not in this blog!
The plan was to meet up with Dave and Jon for a four day Grand Canyon hike. This time we were to go "off corridor" which means on a less popular, less maintained trail to a camping area less well developed. You know, more adventurous,
Like before, we spent the night at Mather Campground at the rim so we could get an early start. We stopped for coffee, but arrived at the trailhead, loaded up and started down by a little after 8am. When you are retired, that is early. We were hiking Hermit's Trail. Right from the start you recognize that this trail is more primitive than South Kaibab and Bright Angel. It is narrow. There are rocks on the trail that nobody has kicked aside. The trail map labels some areas as "rock slides." We found out that means rocks, sometimes truck size boulders, have fallen across the trail from the cliffs above. This trail is "less maintained," so the boulders block the trail. No problem. You just climb up, over, and around them, find the trail on the other side, and continue.
But, did you ever wonder if more boulders would fall today? They fell sometime in the last twenty years. Not millions of years ago. The Grand Canyon is dynamic. It is slowly getting bigger.
Oh well. You can't worry about stuff like that. Keep calm and hike on.
The many deep steps started taking a toll on Peggie's knees. At some point she was hurting at every step. (Here I use the word "step" to mean a stair step, but many of them are knee high) The extra weight of the pack puts more strain on all body parts. Balance can be hard to maintain. Stepping down is like stomping. For Peggie, this time the pain became unbearable. Finally, she let us know how bad it was. We all talked and agreed that she needed to return to the top rather than continue down to the river. We determined that Dave and Jon should go ahead and enjoy the trip as planned, while Peggie and I returned to the rim.
By then it was mid-afternoon. We knew we would not get out before dark, but that we could find a spot to sleep somewhere. The hike out is hard because it is uphill, but you don't have those knee pounding down-steps. Unfortunately, the damage to the knee made going up those same steps hard because the pain robs you of the strength needed to lift yourself and the heavy pack. I often assisted with either a push or pull on the larger steps. We made slow progress.
A clap of thunder warned us of an approaching storm. We donned our rain gear just in time as a squall came over. I kept checking the trail map, hoping we would make it to Santa Maria Spring, where a stone shelter would provide a good overnight shelter. (I know, redundant, but it can't be helped) We passed up three good level tent sites because they were so exposed to the strong winds that getting the tent set up would have been problematic.
Finally, approaching darkness, and a really steep treacherous section of trail forced us to set up on a site that would not have been appealing under ideal conditions. Not level, covered in fist size rocks, and barely larger than the tent, we made it work. We moved the larger rocks, set one side against the cliff, weighted the tent with backpacks and bodies and managed to get sleeping bags in place. There was just enough room to get around the outside of the tent without falling into the abysss, so I went around, reaching under the tent with Peggie guiding me from inside, and swept away more rocks under our sleeping areas. Thank goodness for good air pads. During the night, I kept sliding downhill into the tent wall, but every time the wind whipping the tent woke me up, I scooted back to the top.
Next morning, we set out again with about 3 1/2 miles and 2000 feet to go. It took over an hour to get to Santa Maria Spring, so we were glad we stopped the night before and didn't try to make it in the dark. A very nice man there offered to take some of Peggie's pack weight to the top, but we foolishly turned him down. Later wished we had accepted the offer.
We got to the top in a little over four hours. Not bad, considering. We stopped often.
The drive home was uneventful, and we soaked away some soreness in the hot tub before getting 10 hours of sleep. Tired? Uh huh.
Now, all I have to do is drive back up and get Dave and Jon when they hike out tomorrow as planned. Can't wait to hear how it went for them.

(not Klingon) Birds of Prey

It is Spring in Tucson and we are busy planting new flowers and creating other landscaping touches in our long neglected front yard. Peggie is the creative force and I am the shovel-wielding dirt mover.
Yesterday the work was interrupted by the appearance of two hawks in a tree across the street. They arrived with what looked like a small bird in hand (talon). One of them ate while the other stood guard on a higher branch. Over a period of hours, they flew off several times. Sometimes one, sometimes the other, sometimes both. But returned each time after brief absences. They preened and cleaned and fluffed. At one point I had to make a (second) trip to the hardware store to exchange irrigation parts. I was pleasantly surprised to see them still in place when I returned.
Luckily, they chose a tree with bare branches at the top, so we often had unobstructed lines of sight. Usually, by the time I get the bird book out, the bird in question is gone. But this time, I had binoculars, book, and lots of time to compare the birds, front, back, sideways, and in flight. I determined them to be sharp-shinned hawks. Very similar to Coopers hawk. They did a lot of seemingly aimless branch hopping. They actually tried to mate at one point.
Finally, at dusk, with a lot of activity on the street, both birds flew off in different directions.
It was by far the longest and best observation of hawks we have had.
So, I guess I have to finish the yard work today. All those new plants have to be connected to the drip lines.

Bushwhacking

Yesterday we went bushwhacking into the foothills of Kitt Peak.
To get there, you have to drive seven miles of dirt track. That is always fun. We saw a pair of caracaras. They are like hawks, maybe are hawks, and are Mexico's national bird. We saw jack rabbits that would outweigh a medium sized dog. We saw mule deer running through the thickets.  It was range land, but the cattle were absent. Maybe already moved to summer pasture.
After we drove as far as the fences would allow, we walked up a draw that had its beginning up the side of the mountain at enormous granite cliffs. We were able to get almost to the base. Maybe 200 yards shy, before the desert became impenetrable. Yes. The desert. Mesquite and catclaw so thick we would need power tools to hack our way through. The reason was water. Both sides of the draw had surface water feeding the trees. At the bottom of the slope the water went underground. On the slope, at least one dam had been built many years ago, and the streams on both sides had pipes taking water to tanks lower down. On the flats a beekeeper had set up an apiary, and his bees were busy at the surface water. Several of the bushy desert plants were in bloom, so I bet there will be much honey. There is ample evidence of ancient people in the draw, from pottery shards,  to flaked stone, and grinding holes. There was some evidence of more modern people, as well. You know, rusty cans, bits of wire, concrete dam, spent shell casings.
There are some trails. Sort of. Hunters have stacked a few stone cairns to show the way, but thorny plants sometimes barred the way. Some boulder climbing worked for some areas, and in other areas, we just pushed through. We gained perhaps 300 feet of altitude over about three or four miles. We were surprised (in a good way) not to encounter any rattlers. The views were amazing. The rock formations were awesome. The flowers were pretty. The weather was unbeatable.
A good way to get tired.

Adventures in second childhood

We are very committed to staying active and in good physical shape. So we eat right and exercise.
Hiking has become a favorite form of exercise. But sometimes there isn't enough time for a good trail hike. Luckily, Pima County has a well developed system of paved urban trails for hiking and biking. We can walk out our front door and access the trail without having to drive.
While walking on these trails, we encounter far more bicycles than walkers. We talked about how important bikes were to us as kids, before we were old enough to drive. We both rode our bikes everywhere.
Well, long story short...we got bicycles. And, as the saying goes, you don't forget how, it's just like riding a bike. Of course modern bicycles are more complex. Ours have 21 speeds. Remember when a three speed bike was exotic?
And safety. When we were kids, cars were not equipped with seat belts, and bicyclists never dreamed of wearing a helmet. Well, now we are older and wiser, so we use both.
But what if we want to take our bicycles with us when we travel? We need a rack to fit on our truck. Except, when we travel, we usually pull a fifth-wheel trailer. So, we need a rack for that. Voila! There is a hitch receiver on the back of the trailer, and it is the same size as the one on the truck. Problem solved.
Today will be the first time we load the bikes on the rack and drive to a trail access point. We have been just putting the bikes in the bed of the truck. We can't just ride out the front door and access the trails on bikes, because there are areas of soft sand that, while easy enough to walk through, are not conducive to riding. On our first bike ride, I fell when the front tire tried to continue straight, while I tried to turn right.
We push farther each day. We are up to fifteen miles and will exceed that today.
Did you know that the muscles you use to walk are not the same as the ones you use to pedal a bike? Did you know that bicycle seats and your butt are not instantly compatible?
So, yes, there are some sore points. But, what fun!

Making up for lost time

It is a sad commentary on my dedication to this forum that my last entry was three months ago. One would think life has been dull in the interim. One would be mistaken.

Following Thanksgiving we packed the truck and headed for New York. This is only the second time we have driven there. The first was preretirement when we delivered Greg's car to him. He wanted to have a good used rust-free car from Arizona. He flew out here and bought it, but didn't have enough time off for the drive. Since we love a good road trip, we agreed to the delivery.

This time, we had rented a nice cottage in Chappaqua for thirty days on AirBnB. We wanted to spend Christmas with the family without being underfoot for the whole time. We loaded the truck with everything we needed, plus several large tubs of stuff Greg had left behind when he moved out. He now lives in a house bigger than ours, so we decided he should store these things himself. Plus, we thought his kids might enjoy some of his childhood treasures.

So we set out. We watched the weather forecasts closely and chose a northerly route for the eastbound leg of the journey. As an added benefit, we could stop to see Vada and the kids in Iowa, friends from Air Force days in Ohio, and friends from Skagway in Pennsylvania. Good visits with all three made for an enjoyable cross-country trip. 

Scenery-wise we were not disappointed. We didn't expect much visual stimulation on the Nebraska-Iowa portion, but were pleased at seeing thousands of migrating geese, both in the air and on ponds.

We were also treated to glowing branches in the tops of leaf-bare trees covered in frost and lighted by the rising sun.

Our timing was perfect as we reached Vada's just as the kids were coming home from school, but unfortunately had to leave before Matt got home. Still, it was dark when we crossed the Mississippi at Davenport. 

Our time in Chappaqua was perfect. We were minutes from the kids by back roads, and minutes from the city-bound train by foot. We transported grandkids to and from school and activities on numerous occasions. We volunteered (I think Greg volunteered us) to help with a holiday event at A's school.

We were guests at a number of great musical performances including Tomoko's faculty recital and one of her student's senior recital. We got into the city several times and attended many Broadway shows and had an unforgettable dinner in Brooklyn with Manhattan's skyline across the East River.

After Peggie's birthday, we went to Philadelphia for a few days to visit Casey's BFF. We left Casey there. We toured Independence Hall and saw the Liberty Bell.

On our way back home, we stopped in Asheville, NC for a look at Biltmore Estate in full Christmas regalia, and a tour of the arts district. Then we headed west for a visit with Peggie's brother, Jerry, just east of Nashville. After that it was just a long drive home. Texas is way too big. We skirted Dallas/Fort Worth on a loop freeway, but were in urban traffic for over an hour. There was a bad accident on I-10 just west of El Paso that took an hour to get around. Since that was the only such event on the entire 6,000 mile trip, that is not bad. (No one was badly injured, but a truckload of lumber was scattered across all lanes)

The best part was coming home to a completed remodel of our kitchen and downstairs bathroom. All new everything. And it was all done while we were gone. It did take us a week to unbox all the stuff and find the right places to put things. We found all kinds of stuff we just didn't need anymore. I think six boxes to Goodwill, and two trash and two recycle barrels. Not bad for 28 years in the same house. 

And just as we were almost done with that, we stumbled on a (nearly) new fifth wheel we wanted. Ours was 17 years old, and while still in good condition (we lived in it last summer) we worried that expensive repairs were about to be needed. So we had to take everything out of the old trailer, and put it in the new one. You've all done that when trading in a car, but this is like moving from house to house. So we have done a lot of packing and unpacking in the last few months.

Oh, that can be my excuse for not posting! That IS my excuse. Good one.

It Was....

Fantastic, Amazing, Wonderful, GRAND!!!!
The Grand Canyon. We say it all the time without thinking about the adjective in the name. It is just the name of the place. But when you experience it from the inside, the adjective takes on its original meaning. The place is truly on a grand scale. The sheer size of it. Hundreds of square, no, cubic miles. It is deep, wide, and long. And old. Very, very old.
The top layer of rock at the rim is older than dinosaurs at 270,000,000 years. The rocks at the bottom are 1,000,000,000 years older. The Colorado River carved it out beginning more than 5,000,000 years ago. Now, the Canyon is widening faster than it is deepening. In another five million years it will only be a little deeper, but will be twice as wide.
Peggie and I, along with brother-in-law Dave planned our trip for most of a year. We applied for camping permits and were denied. So we applied again and got three days and two nights below the rim. Dave has been hiking for years, and this was his sixth Canyon trip. Peggie and I began training less than a year ago and researched and purchased gear. We got a trainer to design a hiking-specific workout routine to build up the muscles used in back-packing. We took local hikes. We spent the summer in Colorado where it is cool enough to hike in summer and became acclimated to higher altitude. We honed and refined our packing to minimize weight.
Then our assigned date arrived. November 3rd.
We picked Dave up in Cottonwood and drove to Mather Campground on the South Rim. We drove through torrential rain with a forecast suggesting snow by morning. We got a break in the rain long enough to set up camp. It snowed lightly overnight. Cold, but not bitterly.
Down we went. And down, and down, and down on the South Kaibab Trail. Not far along is a place referred to as Ooh-Ahh Point. It is when you get your first panoramic look into the inner canyon. It could have been called Oh, Wow! Point. In modern vernacular is would be OMG! Point.
We pulled ourselves away and continued down. The descent is 4860 feet in 6.1 miles. The first view of the Colorado River is deceptive. It appears to be just a long rifle shot away. But we can't travel that path. The next time you see the river it is within pistol range. But the trail goes a different way. Finally, after hiking 10 of the 6.1 miles, the river is close enough for a professional outfielder to throw a rock into it. It is still more than a mile by switchbacking trail. Which is 5 miles for your tired, sore feet, legs, and back. After hours of one foot in front of the other dogged, determined descent, you are within spitting distance of the powerful Colorado. But its 100 feet below, and 300 yards of trail to get there.
By the way, it is important to note that firearms are prohibited in the National Park, so don't try the rifle or pistol shot. It is illegal to disturb the plant and mineral resources, so no rock throwing. Spitting is permitted, but check wind direction  first.
At the end of that first week of hiking, we came to a tunnel that leads to a bridge across the river. It was built in 1928 and still feels solid. Bright Angel Campground is just on the other side of the river. You just need to coax those twenty pound feet to carry your hundred pound pack past the ruins of an ancestral pueblo, past ranger housing, three tenths of a mile to the campground. That is now an actual total distance of 6.4 miles. We did it in 6 hours, arriving at the camp before 3pm. We got set up in time to attend a ranger talk on the geology of the canyon at 4, at Phantom Ranch.
It was full dark at 6:30, so we went to bed. Exhausted. And excited.
We arose in time to help ourselves to free coffee at Phantom Ranch, eat, pack up, and set out for Indian Gardens Campground before 8. We were in no hurry, as it was only 5.1 miles to climb 1200 feet. Literally, a walk in the Park. Aches and pains of the day before were quickly worked out as we began using a completely new set of muscles to climb, rather than descend. The trail follows the river for a while through rock that was created over a billion years ago. Amazingly, it doesn't look a day over 50 million. Of course, until a million years ago, or so, it was covered by over a mile of other rock, so it is newly exposed to the eroding of wind and water.
After the fairly easy part of the trail, we reached Devil's Corkscrew. Does the name suggest the difficulty? Uh-huh. But here is the good part. At one point I suggested a sit-down break. (As opposed to a stand-still-and-catch-your-breath break.) This part of the trail is in a side canyon about 200 feet wide. I took up my binoculars and scanned the far side for wildlife. Seeing none, I relaxed. Then, I spotted a Desert Bighorn Sheep standing atop a rock, on the skyline, posing for Field and Stream. I swear she hadn't been there ten seconds earlier. Then, with all three of us looking, we spotted first one, then three more lower on the hillside. One of them was the classic ram with fully curled horns. Magnificent! We watched as they grazed on shrubs and began descending to the creek about 200 feet below. We were surprised at the noise they made knocking loose rock down ahead of them and clicking their hooves on bare rock. When we heard voices of other hikers coming from above, they froze in place and became almost invisible. Eventually, a dozen or so hikers and a mule train came by and the sheep assessed the danger as minimal, and continued on down for a prolonged drink. We also moved on.
Indian Gardens is quite lush compared to the rest of the trail. It has a flowing creek and full grown cottonwood, mesquite, and willow trees. Deer wander fearlessly among the campers. Squirrels sometimes sit up and beg, but signs warn against feeding them, lest they bite a finger. (That is the leading injury treated at Grand Canyon Village Clinic.) I turned my back on our table down at Bright Angel the day before, only to turn and discover a raven trying to help himself to some boiled eggs we had in a bag. After setting up camp, we set out the 1.5 miles to Plateau Point. This is prominently visible from many of the rim view points. You get a spectacular view of the river and trail below, as well as rim-to-rim views above.
Once again, we hit the sack at dark, and slept twelve hours.
We left Indian Gardens before 8 and started up the remaining 4.5 miles of trail. This is the hardest part. Not only because it is the third straight day of hiking, but it is brutally steep, climbing over 3200 feet. The push begins at Jacob's Ladder, a set of switchbacks climbing past the three mile rest house. It is three miles from the rim and provides drinking water and toilets. A mile and a half further up is another rest house, followed by the steepest leg of the climb. The temperature had been dropping as we climbed. At this point the snow from the day before was frozen on the ground, which was hard as rock, and the puddles were glazed with ice. Until a mule train came along, after which, all the puddle ice was broken. Those mules just step wherever! And poop wherever, too. Watch your step! Near the top of the last switchbacks we met more casual hikers just down for a brief experience of the canyon. Some carrying cups of coffee from the snack bar. In the last half mile we finally walked into sunshine for the first time that day. We had been in rim shadow for four hours. We hit the top in just under five hours. Not bad!
We opted to head straight to Cottonwood for a celebratory dinner, stopping only in Tusayan for a beverage. At that stop, we were a little stiff and sore. Stopping for gas in Flagstaff, we stretched a bit, but were less sore. After hot showers at Dave and Margie's we felt downright spry.
Coming home today, we are proud to say we are feeling good. All the workouts and training and practice hikes paid off. It wasn't easy. But it sure wasn't impossible. We will go again. Right now, we are thinking April, when the weather again will be not too hot, not too cold.

We're Ready!

Yesterday we took our final conditioning hike. Seven miles in the Tucson Mountains. The hike up Wassen Peak, the highest point in the Tucson Mountains at 4687', is 3.5 miles each way and climbs almost 1700 feet. Not exactly Grand Canyonesque, but close enough. We were awed by the variety and beauty of the rock that makes up the mountain. Saguaros in all their variety, as well as ocotillo, prickly pear, cholla, barrel cactus, and jojoba. At the peak we were treated to 360 degrees of view. Kitt Peak to the west, Picacho north, Catalinas and Rincons east, and Santa Ritas south.
The best part was that we could declare ourselves fit for the big challenge next week. We have our packs honed down to just the essentials.
And we were entertained with repeated fly-overs by a 50 year old KC-135 and a pair of F-16s of the Arizona Air National Guard shooting touch-and-goes.

Meanwhile, back at the house, the kitchen/bath remodel is coming together. Tile and other fixtures are arriving FedEx almost daily. Our cabinets are being built, appliances are on order. And we haven't busted the budget. Now, if the schedule can be kept, we will return from NY to a finished project.

Grand Canyon, here we come!

Home again, for a while

We arrived at our house just after dark, in the rain. We love the rain....but, come on, when we have to unload the trailer?
So we prioritized and brought in just the essentials for tonight. Tomorrow, tomorrow, the sun'll come out tomorrow.
Maybe.
On our final Colorado hike, we found a fairly easy, fairly level trail and decided to hike 2 1/2 hours in, then hike back out for a total five hour hike. Good plan. We carried our full packs even though we were not spending the night out. Good practice.
As you know, we always appreciate seeing wildlife when we are in the wild. On this day, which was the first day of elk hunting season (we wore bright orange) we returned to the trailhead, loaded up and headed down the mountain. We came around a curve and saw... a bear! Yeah. The second Colorado bear for us, and we were safely in our truck, and didn't have to think about bear spray.
It was a smallish bear who ran up the hillside a ways before turning to watch us.
So we are back home. Have a lot to do, and have to continue our training for the big Grand Canyon Adventure.

Adventures of the Contractor Kind

I'm sure everyone who knows us knows about our battle with the Amana heat pump. After years of wrangling with the contractor, a new guy took over and provided us with a replacement at his cost. It is a Lennox and has worked fine. Except, one feature is a WiFi connection so we can monitor and set the temperature from Peggie's iPhone. We tried to do that on our way back from Colorado last week and it was not working. Turns out that lightning can knock it out. And did. So, once again, we returned from a summer in cool country to a broken heat pump. Frus  trat ting!!!

For a horror story about remodeling contractors, you can talk to Greg. We know that story, but we are going ahead with a remodel of our own, anyway. We think we have a contractor we can rely on. He did our upstairs bath/bedroom with no problems, so now we need to do the downstairs bath and the kitchen. Neither has been upgraded since 1987, and we did not go for fancy back then, so their age is showing. We are going to NY for six weeks in December and January and he thinks he can get it done in that time frame. That would be fantastic, as living here with no kitchen for weeks would be very difficult. We are trying to select appliances as they are costly and will have to serve for years. We already know the cabinets and fixtures we want. The counter top is decided. The tile guy came today and he has some ideas and will come back with samples and a cost estimate. Between our Grand Canyon hike and Thanksgiving we will have to pack everything and store it on the patio behind plastic shrouds. FUN!!!

Meanwhile, back in Colorado, we will continue our hiking, sans bear spray, and perfect our gear stowing tricks. We want lots of fall color and no nearby wildfires.

Southwest Colorado

We left the dry heat of Tucson summer for the cool mountain air of Southwest Colorado. We stayed (are staying) at an RV park in Dolores. The park is on the Dolores River and it has a fishing pond where we enjoyed watching a family of river otters when we first arrived.
Our stated goal was to hike the many trails in the local area in training for our November hike into the Grand Canyon. We are hiking from 8000 feet to 12,000 feet, so the altitude was challenging at first, but we are getting used to it. Climbing 2500 feet in a mile is challenging at any altitude, but, that is what you have to do to get out of the Canyon, so training for it is good. Some of the trails are multi-use. That means you have to beware of horses, bikers, or the dreaded motorcycles. Dreaded, because they all have to go as fast as possible all the time. Luckily, they are also loud, so you can hear them coming. Unfortunately, they are loud, so all wildlife is scared away. Also, they really, really tear up a trail.
We are doing two and three night hikes and refining our packing. At first, we took too much food. Food equals weight, so getting the right amount makes the pack lighter. Lighter is good.
As to the aforementioned wildlife, we have seen deer, elk, coyote, marmot, pika, grouse and cattle while hiking. You can add turkey and bear to the list when you include driving. Oh, yes, the cattle in those mountains are just as wild as any of the native animals.
The scenery is nothing short of spectacular. This, too, is good training for the Canyon. We stop often just to take in the views. Wild flowers! The word "profusion" describes the wild flowers. While hiking between 11,000 and 12,000 feet one day it occurred to me that "the scenery takes your breath away, and the altitude keeps it."
Speaking of taking your breath away..... have you ever been maced?
Well, don't be.
I was accidentally hit with bear spray, which is worse than mace according to the doctor I saw later.
Peggie and I had stopped to filter water to replenish our supply. We were loading up to continue when she bent over and the hip belt of her pack triggered the bear spray canister in her pocket. It was pointed behind her, which is where I was standing. Hearing a hissing noise, similar to a tire rapidly going flat, I turned to see what it was. It was an orange tinged brownish fluid streaming just to my right. I screamed "BEAR SPRAY" and moved left. Then I realized I had been hit. My nose and throat closed off and my eyes burned. Peggie saw what was happening and straightened up, stopping the spray. Then she called for me to get water on my face. I threw off my glasses (not normally a good idea) and leaned into the creek splashing water on my face. When I tried to open my eyes they burned like fire and I couldn't see. Peggie guided me across the rocks in the creek to a grassy area where I could lie down. The canister had instructions to rinse for 15 to 20 minutes if spray got in the eyes. So that is what we did. We used all the newly filtered water and Peggie filtered more, until I could open my eyes without pain and I could see clearly. During the process, I was worrying how I would hike out blind if the rinsing didn't relieve the burning, and what permanent damage would be done due to the delay in getting medical attention. Then when my eyes stopped burning, and I could see clearly, I wasn't sure I needed medical attention. Peggie's cool headedness and common sense took over. We hiked the remaining seven miles faster than any other time, got to the trailer, showered and changed clothes, then headed to Durango, the nearest emergency room. The shower was interesting. As soon as water hit, the bear spray was reactivated, identifying every inch of skin exposed. It felt like a bad sunburn. Peggie discovered that she had been hit some, as well. The fumes made us cough.
The emergency room staff was wonderful. While we were checking in, the triage nurse was notified and came to take us back. His first words were, "I want to hear this story." While he was taking info, the doctor came in, introduced himself, sat down, and said, "I want to hear this story."  The doctor and nurse explained what they were going to do and told us that they often treat mace victims because the Durango police use mace to subdue belligerent arrestees. So another nurse came in and carried out the procedure. He numbed my eyes with drops, then washed my face and hands, then used a Morgan lens. It is a large contact lens with a tube attached. Warm saline solution flows through the tube and washes the eye. When we were finished, the doctor examined the eyes and pronounced them healthy. Whew!
Moral of the story: If you are ever threatened with mace, submit. You are going to be arrested anyway, why suffer?
We double washed all of the clothes we were wearing, washed all hardware and everything we were carrying, even took our packs to the car wash and power sprayed them. All of his caused a new bout of coughing. I discovered I had to rewash my face the next day, because touching it caused my eyes to water again.
Second moral to the story: If you have to use bear spray on an actual bear, ask the bear to move downwind first so you don't get back spray on yourself.
Suggestion: take your hikes in the Grand Canyon where there are no bears, and leave the bear spray at home.
Peggie & Bill--Adventures = Good name for a blog.

2015 Adventures

We leave the dry heat of Tucson just in time to miss the monsoon. I think we have had temps as high as 111 officially at the airport.
We are going to spend the muggier months in the high country. Dolores, CO to be specific. Okay. Not high by CO standards. About equal to Flagstaff. But there are higher mountains all around and we plan to hike them. Hiking is best done at temperatures well below 100. Well below.
We will still have Wifi and cell phones if you need to contact us. If you don't have our email or cell phone numbers, you probably don't need to contact us.
We are looking forward to this new experience. Previously, our longest CO stay was two weeks, so two months will be a treat. We will hope the forest fires all burn somewhere not near us. There will be fires. All the experts say so. But, elsewhere, please. That's all we ask.

Happy Fathers' Day

Happy day to all the fathers out there.
I was awakened with a skype call from Greg and Julian. It was 7 am here, time to get up, anyway. The little guy can (and does) repeat anything you say. He also demonstrated that he can hold up two fingers and say "Two" when asked his age. And he now says "Julian" when asked his name. Previously, he said "Bebe" when asked.
Peggie and I are really getting in shape. We will go to the Y this morning to get in another workout. The hiking is on a weather-conscious hiatus. Even at 5 am the temps are too high to go far enough before it is just too hot. When we get to Colorado next week, we will resume daily hikes, with some overnighters to become familiar with all our new gear.
We were not selected for our desired October dates at the Grand Canyon, but we will reapply for November, and the last resort will be to just show up and hope to get a cancellation slot. In the meantime, we will take day-hikes on a variety of trails.
The closest thing to an adventure lately was a drive to Pleasant Valley and a hamburger at the Antler Cafe in Young. We met Don, Karin, Margie, and Dave there and exchanged some equipment and maps. The drive is quite pretty. We saw just one deer high-tailing it up the mountain. Pleasant Valley is the site of Arizona's most famous range war/feud. The Tewsburys and the Grahams fought the Pleasant Valley War for five years in the 1880's and '90's.
Today is the summer solstice. Yesterday was the hottest day of the year so far. Temps in the area were over 110, with extreme heat warnings for the entire Sonoran Desert below 5000 feet. As long as our new A/C unit keeps working, we will be comfortable.

The Blues in Silver City

The annual blues festival in Silver City, NM is now called Blues and Bikes, or Bikes and Blues, or some such combo. Motorcycle enthusiasts have always been a significant portion of the crowd, so the organizers decided to include all kinds of motorcycle activities to the event. It seems to have been a success from what we could see.
We have not been to the whole thing since we began spending summers in Skagway, but this year there was live music in the park on Friday night. In the past, Friday night music was just in bars.
Since we first attended this event in 199? or 20?? it has grown tremendously. It was the 20th annual this year and they announced that it has grown from one afternoon of music with around 300 attendees, to the current two and a half days with several thousand attendees. For us, it has been the official end of school and the beginning of summer. This year, it was just another great weekend.
The weather cooperated by being in the low 70's instead of the 90's. In fact, we had to don light jackets by 5:30 all three nights.
We waited too long to make reservations, so just like 2012, we had to bunk in Lordsberg 45 miles away. It is a pretty drive through oak and juniper deer country. (The yellow warning signs say so)
This was the second time in all the years we have driven that road that we actually saw deer. Once on Friday evening as we left for Lordsberg, and Sunday morning on our way in. And they weren't crossing the road either time. Always good.
The music was good. The crowd was infinitely watchable. We met people from Tucson, Silver City and Las Cruces who were seated in our vicinity. Coming home tonight we got a few sprinkles between San Simon and Willcox.

Five Days in Madera Canyon

After our rattlesnake rattle, we decided we needed to hike elsewhere. But where?
It is getting too warm to hike locally unless we get up at (ugh) 4 a.m.  So we drove south for an hour to Madera Canyon. We chose a trail that begins at 5400 ft. and fifteen degrees cooler. We intended to hike to 6700 ft. I didn't make it. Not only is it a serious climb, but the air is thinner. My lungs and legs said "AAAYYYYY!" So I listened. Peggie has been training longer and is in better shape, so she went a little farther up the trail.
We decided that the thing to do was take our trailer and camp there, get acclimated, and hike. So we did. We found a good spot in the campground and set up. We hiked every day on a different trail. All of them go up...and up...and up some more. All of them were breath-taking both in difficulty and beauty. The good news about an up trail, the return is down.
We are training for the Grand Canyon which is down first, then up. Hmmmm.
Some turkeys went through an adjoining campsite, but that was it for wildlife.
As far as "adventures" go: can you hear "WHUUMP" ? That is the sound of propane igniting. That is an okay sound inside the grill where the burner is. It is not an okay sound outside the grill where the gas line from the tank is not supposed to leak. Well, I knew to shut off the gas at the valve. But without a replacement hose, that ended grilling for this trip.
Cooking inside is not as much fun, but doable. Our stove has an igniter switch that uses a spark instead of a pilot light. Fine, except when it comes apart and doesn't spark anymore. So we have to use a butane lighter to light the burners.
Our kitchen faucet has a broken handle that we have made do with for years. But now it leaks a lot, too. Time to fix that.
This was a fun trip. Glad it is over. But now repairs to be made. After spending money on parts and pieces.

Three rattlesnakes and a gila monster, oh my.

The forecast was for cooler than average weather with a small chance of rain so we planned to hike Pima Canyon again.
The small chance of rain produced rain early so we waited at home for it to stop, then headed out about an hour and a half later than planned. Well timing is everything. Had we gone on time, would we have seen three rattlesnakes and a gila monster?
The gila monster came about 30 minutes in. He was smallish for a monster, less than a foot long, but he had the courtesy to move from under a bush just at the moment his rustling made me look. Peggie got a photo and a video, which maybe she can post here. If not here, maybe on facebook.
We continued to the first dam, which was our previous turnaround point. Met a nice fellow there and we chatted about nice hikes in the area, then set out to go beyond. We didn't check mileage but we had gone a fair distance on up the canyon when we encountered a sizable rock in the trail. Peggie watched me climb it, and decided she saw a way around. When she took her detour she alerted a rattlesnake who apparently took exception to her path near his resting place. He set up a buzz. We looked hard, even made a recording of his alarm, but never could get a visual. We surmised that he was in or under a dead log. Anyway, we made a mental note of the rock so we could be careful on the return trip. We enjoyed the rest of the hike. The Canyon is like British Columbia, it just keeps being more beautiful around every bend. But after four hours we turned around.
As we approached the rock that was so well guarded, we moved slowly and kept our eyes peeled. We banged our sticks around the rock and got no reaction so we carefully edged past. About six feet down the trail...BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ. This time he was in the open. But, remember my rules for wildlife spotting, on the way back, it is a new sighting. Especially since we really had no sighting the first time. So he was using his buzzing tail and about a foot and a half of body to hang onto the rock and had the front foot and a half or so coiled like a spring. His eyes were on us. His forked tongue was getting our scent. He was a green mojave. The worst kind. They have a neurotoxin similar to coral snakes and cobras. We were still three hours up in the canyon. But the trail was about five feet from his head, and he only had one and a half to two feet available for a strike, so we hurried past.
This took some of the fun out of the hike. Now all we were looking for was snakes.
And. Voila! A few hundred yards further...BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Peggie says I jumped. I don't deny it. I looked at the spot my ears detected as the source, and this guy was nice enough to move his head right into my focus point. BIG HEAD! I then could see the rest of his body. Not coiled. His head was actually stretched in our direction. So, he was also five feet off the trail, in a bushy area, and not coiled, so we hurried past.
Well the rest of the hike out was uneventful, thank goodness. But mojave rattlers are not a fun thing to encounter. We may not hike Pima Canyon again this spring.
On the road leaving the area, two roadrunners crossed in front of us. Where were they when we were facing snakes?

Da Man? We'll see...

Going outside to grill salmon, and that latch I so proudly fixed fell off again.
New diagnosis: stripped threads on the screw that is supposed to hold it.
So, trip to Lowe's for a whole new latch. Maybe today or tomorrow.
In the meantime, we have been working hard to get in shape for our future Grand Canyon hike. We can now do 10 mile hikes in the Catalinas with no ill effects. Our new backpacks are arriving this week, so we will begin to load them a little at a time to build up to a full-weight pack.
The desert wildflowers are a little past prime now, but still plenty of them. The cholla and prickly pear are now beginning. What a brilliant range of colors they have! The palo verde trees are intense yellow as they flower. Even the mesquite are flowering. Not good for the sinuses, but pleasant for the eyes.  The saguaro are beginning to bud, so we have that lovely display yet to come.
The cardinals are everywhere trying to win the affections of the fairer sex. They look and sound beautiful. We saw a family of javelina one day, but no recent bighorn sightings. There is a sign warning that mountain lions have been sighted recently. But not by us.
The water in Sabino Canyon comes from snow melt, so there is much less of it now. Back in November when Peggie first started hiking there with a friend, she had to carry trash bags to tie around her shoes at several crossings. Now the water all goes under the road, and at one bridge the water has gone totally underground.
Soon, we will have to drive to higher elevations to hike. That will be good for training our lungs for the altitude at the Grand Canyon rim, but it is necessary to avoid the extreme heat of the lower desert.

And it's not even Christmas

We got the gift of family last week.
GajT came to visit. We went to the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, and Cottonwood. You might think Cottonwood doesn't fit in that list, but that's where my siblings all live. We got to share an Easter picnic with everybody.
Las Vegas was a different experience with young grandkids along. They are always fun to be with, but you do different activities in Las Vegas with kids, than you do without them. Except, we did find some after-the-kids-are-asleep gambling time. I came out ahead on that for a change.
The Grand Canyon has not visibly changed since the last time I was there, but some literature I picked up says it is several cubic yards wider and deeper than it was a few years ago. Peggie and I walked down Bright Angel Trail about 3/4 of a mile and about 3 miles back to the top. From a viewpoint, we saw a California Condor drifting on the currents. It was big. First one we have seen since they were re-introduced several years ago.
If you ever go to Las Vegas from here, or vice versa, take the time to stop at Hoover Dam. The view from the new highway bridge is amazing, and the view of the bridge from the dam is spectacular.

Who da man?

I. am. da. man!
First, I was making a meatloaf. That's right. Preparing food. Manly.
There was a little bit left over so I decided to form patties and grill them outside for lunch.
Grilling red meat. Manly.
When I came back inside, I noticed that the latch on the sliding door was broken.
Noticing a problem. Manly.
Never having encountered this exact problem in my 60-ahem years on the planet, I had to examine the mechanism and determine how it worked. Do I even have to say it? Manly.
Then I had to gather the proper tools. Which I had. Testosterone is flowing!
Next I had to disassemble the latch, reassemble the latch and reinstall it on the door. Even though this task required the use of three hands, I did it with only two. Manly.
The best part? Peggie was in the shower. She won't even know there was a problem until she reads this. And the problem is already solved. Ma-an-ly.
To recap: Home repair   1          Trips to hardware store  0
So, who da man?
That would be ME !


And the grilled meatloaf patty? Delicious.

March-ing on

Margie had free passes to Out of Africa, a wild animal park near Cottonwood, so we went up there to see that. They have mostly rescued animals native to Africa, but also black and brown bears and tigers.
All together now...."Lions and tigers and bears, oh my!"  Good.
The grizzly bears were very small, and the black bears were very fat. The lions and tigers are awesome animals. They have a performance called "Tiger Splash" in which handlers tease playfully with a couple of tigers to get them to leap high into the air and land in a pool of water. The handler is also in the pool. With a playful tiger. We were there on a Sunday, which is one of the three days of the week that they feed the predators. That was fun. They throw huge hunks of meat, or chickens, or turkeys over the fence. They hand feed the grizzly through the fence. (chainlink)
Anyway, we drove home the long way and were rewarded with a spectacular wildflower show.
Now we are getting a few days of light rain, and March Madness has started, and grandkids are coming to visit next week.
Life is good.

March in Tucson

We had a little cold snap last week. It rained most of one day and the high temp was 57. We had to put on jackets to go out. Now, though, temps are on the rise and in 70's on the way to 80's next week.
Moon was full last night, and will be just past full tonight. So we are going to take a moonlight hike in Sabino Canyon tonight when the moon comes up just after 7pm. We will stay on the road so as not to trip and fall off a cliff. It would be nice if some wildlife (not mountain lions!) show up.