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.
Tuesday, May 5, 2015
Friday, April 24, 2015
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?
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?
Tuesday, April 14, 2015
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 7, 2015
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.
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.
Sunday, March 22, 2015
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.
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.
Thursday, March 19, 2015
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.
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.
Friday, March 6, 2015
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.
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.
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