Our beautiful, green-flowery desert has dried up and turned brown. The only color over the landscape is some yellow from the Palo Verde trees, and an occasional yellow, red, and orange from some cacti. Mostly, it is just brown and crisp. The winds have been blowing almost every day (some days much harder than others) and is causing the State some concern over fire danger, but so far only a couple small fires have been reported and taken care of. This last week temperatures have all been in the high 80s to mid 90s. Thank goodness it is still cooling down to the low 60s in the evening. Again, it is a “Dry Heat” after all!!
Since the last time I posted, we have only done a few caches and attended one caching event. The event was a lot of fun because it was in the west valley, and we got to meet other cachers that we knew by name only. Plus, the event was at a local pub and the food and drinks were excellent!!
Tomorrow is Ken’s last day in the rock shop. He just has to do some cleaning of equipment and making room for a door to be punched through the wall into a storage area in order to increase the size of their work area. The increase in work space will give the guys (and gals) a much nicer area to work. There has been such an increase in membership this year that they really needed it. Of course, the Lapidary shop is a huge draw for new residents and helps the park owners keep their spaces filled.
I will continue to wire wrap some of Ken’s finished stones (pendants), but Ken is taking some of his finished pendants and placing them as the central drop on beaded necklaces. Ken is doing the beading and making some very pretty designs. We hope to have many items finished and ready for the next season’s craft and art show. Plus, he is finishing up some to be donated to next season’s raffle during the rock hound chili dinner and stage play.
We only have two more weeks left here and are in process of sorting out what will be going back to Oregon with us. Seems we always end up with more than we really need here and with the cost of fuel, we are going to skinny down some of the “stuff” we are hauling around.
Once we get “back on the road” again, I will post more often and keep everyone up-to-date on our trip. Until then, we hope everyone stays safe and healthy.
April 27, 2008
April 15, 2008
Another Adventure!!
Today started off so nice, but soon turned kinda sour!
It was a hot 98 degrees yesterday, but cooled to the mid 60s by this morning. Since it is to be very warm this afternoon, we decided to hike to a cache early this morning while it was still cool (supposed to be 94 by 5 pm). The cache is a puzzle and we had to figure out the coordinates by solving several questions and math problems (which we had done).
We drove about 15 miles west to Gold Canyon and found the 4 wheel drive (ATV) road that would get us closer to the cache (took a while because road was rough and we had to find our way through a maze of trails). The closest we could get was .25 mile (half mile round trip hike). We noticed that the cache was located across the crest of a small hill (approx 200 ft elevation) from where we parked the Jeep.
Since we were going to be crossing “snake” territory, we both were packing pistols (never know what you will encounter in the desert). Anyhow, the hike was over typical desert brush/cactus, but in places it was rocky and our legs and socks took a beating from the once green plants that are now all dried up and brown. Of course the cactus was in full growth, so we had to manipulate our way around and through them (ouch).
Once we got to the base of the hill, we had to climb up a rocky terrain through more brush and cactus. When we got to the top, we marveled at the view and enjoyed the nice breeze while having a drink of water. We then went to the other side, found the cache and signed the log sheet.
Going down the hill was not as easy as climbing it. The rocks were loose and in places there were some steep drops. Needless-to-say, we didn’t take the same route back as we did going up. We actually made a loop to and from the cache site. Surprisingly, we didn’t encounter any snakes or other critters while hiking.
As we got to the Jeep, I took off my waist pack (where my gun WAS at) and I noticed the gun was GONE!! I yelled to Ken that it was gone and had NO idea of where I could have LOST it. My gun is a Stainless, S&W, 638 with laser sights ($$$$) so I was devastated that it was gone. Thankfully, both GPSrs have a back track feature, so Ken took both of them and headed back up the trail where we had just came, while leaving me at the Jeep. I watched him for a while, but the terrain is kinda up and down, so lost track of him until I saw him heading back up the hill...evidently, he hadn’t found anything up to that point. He searched around up there for a while, and I then saw him coming back down. Since I knew how we had gone in, I decided to head back out that way and see if I could see anything. I didn’t have my GPS because Ken had it following my path (we don’t always travel in the same steps). Anyhow, I knew where we had traveled and went in slowly looking at every bush along the way. Ken met up with me pretty quick and NO he hadn’t found the gun. He then handed me my GPS and we both headed back to that hill, AND back up it!!
Did I say it was going to be warm today? Well it was!! By this time the temperature was rising and the sun was very hot beating down on us. We made it to the top AGAIN (Ken way ahead of me because I was still searching every bush) and still NO GUN!! Since it was getting warmer out (very warm by this time) we decided to give up the search and take off back down the same way we had hiked out the first time. Anyhow, I was really upset about losing the gun and wasn’t sure IF we would find it even if we decided to come back and search when it got cooler.
God was on our side because as we neared the Jeep (about 200 yards away), Ken yells “THERE IT IS!” I couldn’t believe it!! It was lying in the middle of the path, by a rock, plain as day. Seems when Ken first came back this way following my GPS track, he was on the opposite side of the bush from where my gun was lying and didn’t see it. Boy was I relieved!!!!
After getting to Jeep we were hot and tired, but happy we found the gun. Guess the GPSrs paid for themselves this day!!
It was a hot 98 degrees yesterday, but cooled to the mid 60s by this morning. Since it is to be very warm this afternoon, we decided to hike to a cache early this morning while it was still cool (supposed to be 94 by 5 pm). The cache is a puzzle and we had to figure out the coordinates by solving several questions and math problems (which we had done).
We drove about 15 miles west to Gold Canyon and found the 4 wheel drive (ATV) road that would get us closer to the cache (took a while because road was rough and we had to find our way through a maze of trails). The closest we could get was .25 mile (half mile round trip hike). We noticed that the cache was located across the crest of a small hill (approx 200 ft elevation) from where we parked the Jeep.
Since we were going to be crossing “snake” territory, we both were packing pistols (never know what you will encounter in the desert). Anyhow, the hike was over typical desert brush/cactus, but in places it was rocky and our legs and socks took a beating from the once green plants that are now all dried up and brown. Of course the cactus was in full growth, so we had to manipulate our way around and through them (ouch).
Once we got to the base of the hill, we had to climb up a rocky terrain through more brush and cactus. When we got to the top, we marveled at the view and enjoyed the nice breeze while having a drink of water. We then went to the other side, found the cache and signed the log sheet.
Going down the hill was not as easy as climbing it. The rocks were loose and in places there were some steep drops. Needless-to-say, we didn’t take the same route back as we did going up. We actually made a loop to and from the cache site. Surprisingly, we didn’t encounter any snakes or other critters while hiking.
As we got to the Jeep, I took off my waist pack (where my gun WAS at) and I noticed the gun was GONE!! I yelled to Ken that it was gone and had NO idea of where I could have LOST it. My gun is a Stainless, S&W, 638 with laser sights ($$$$) so I was devastated that it was gone. Thankfully, both GPSrs have a back track feature, so Ken took both of them and headed back up the trail where we had just came, while leaving me at the Jeep. I watched him for a while, but the terrain is kinda up and down, so lost track of him until I saw him heading back up the hill...evidently, he hadn’t found anything up to that point. He searched around up there for a while, and I then saw him coming back down. Since I knew how we had gone in, I decided to head back out that way and see if I could see anything. I didn’t have my GPS because Ken had it following my path (we don’t always travel in the same steps). Anyhow, I knew where we had traveled and went in slowly looking at every bush along the way. Ken met up with me pretty quick and NO he hadn’t found the gun. He then handed me my GPS and we both headed back to that hill, AND back up it!!
Did I say it was going to be warm today? Well it was!! By this time the temperature was rising and the sun was very hot beating down on us. We made it to the top AGAIN (Ken way ahead of me because I was still searching every bush) and still NO GUN!! Since it was getting warmer out (very warm by this time) we decided to give up the search and take off back down the same way we had hiked out the first time. Anyhow, I was really upset about losing the gun and wasn’t sure IF we would find it even if we decided to come back and search when it got cooler.
God was on our side because as we neared the Jeep (about 200 yards away), Ken yells “THERE IT IS!” I couldn’t believe it!! It was lying in the middle of the path, by a rock, plain as day. Seems when Ken first came back this way following my GPS track, he was on the opposite side of the bush from where my gun was lying and didn’t see it. Boy was I relieved!!!!
After getting to Jeep we were hot and tired, but happy we found the gun. Guess the GPSrs paid for themselves this day!!
April 13, 2008
Warming Up!
Today was our first 90 degree day!! It really was 94/62 and tomorrow is supposed to be even warmer. We have had a lot of wind which helps a person feel cooler, plus it is only 4 percent humidity…… It ‘s a DRY heat after all! This won't last for long because a "low" is blowing in from the north on Wednesday, then we should be back in the 80s for a while. Still not time to use the Air Conditioners yet....maybe by the time we leave in May.
My how time flies! Earlier this month, our son Bill turned 45, our daughter Leigh will be 43 at the end of May, and the youngest son (Dean) is 37. Yikes, it is so hard to believe we are old enough to have kids that old. To make us even feel older, our youngest grand-daughter is expecting a little girl late June (her first). The three "greats" we already have are 5 1/2, 3, and 1 1/2. They are growing up way toooooooo fast. Jessie and Louis haven't picked a name for the new addition, but they still have a couple of months to make that decision.
Ken just finished up several pendant & ear ring sets for a resident in the park who is leaving in a week. He did a beautiful job on them and is now working on more for next season's arts and crafts show. They have reduced the rock shop hours to a half day on Mondays and a full day on Thursdays, so we will have more time now to go caching (if it doesn't get too hot that is). The rock shop will be completly shut down at the end of the month because we are leaving around the 10th of May. Won't open it again until sometime in November.
During the warmest part of the day today I wire wrapped a couple more of Ken’s stones and still have a few more to do. It can be fun watching the wrap take shape, but it can also be frustrating when it doesn’t do what you think it should. The poor fingers take quite a beating working with something so hard to hang onto and then trying to wrap a thin wire around it. Hopefully, as time goes on, I will get better.
Here is some of what I have done. If you click on the picture, you can get a much better look at the stone and wrap. Also, from there you can also go to our web album and view more of our pictures.
More later!
My how time flies! Earlier this month, our son Bill turned 45, our daughter Leigh will be 43 at the end of May, and the youngest son (Dean) is 37. Yikes, it is so hard to believe we are old enough to have kids that old. To make us even feel older, our youngest grand-daughter is expecting a little girl late June (her first). The three "greats" we already have are 5 1/2, 3, and 1 1/2. They are growing up way toooooooo fast. Jessie and Louis haven't picked a name for the new addition, but they still have a couple of months to make that decision.
Ken just finished up several pendant & ear ring sets for a resident in the park who is leaving in a week. He did a beautiful job on them and is now working on more for next season's arts and crafts show. They have reduced the rock shop hours to a half day on Mondays and a full day on Thursdays, so we will have more time now to go caching (if it doesn't get too hot that is). The rock shop will be completly shut down at the end of the month because we are leaving around the 10th of May. Won't open it again until sometime in November.
During the warmest part of the day today I wire wrapped a couple more of Ken’s stones and still have a few more to do. It can be fun watching the wrap take shape, but it can also be frustrating when it doesn’t do what you think it should. The poor fingers take quite a beating working with something so hard to hang onto and then trying to wrap a thin wire around it. Hopefully, as time goes on, I will get better.
Here is some of what I have done. If you click on the picture, you can get a much better look at the stone and wrap. Also, from there you can also go to our web album and view more of our pictures.
More later!
April 6, 2008
Pow Wow
Yesterday we went to our first Indian Pow Wow. This was a small gathering of local Indians (Phoenix area) who had a dance competition in Gold Canyon (approx 20 miles from us). Earlier in the year a larger group of Indian tribes from all over the U.S. gather in Globe (45 miles away) to compete and have a huge Pow Wow. When that has taken place, we have always been busy, so haven't gone.
Before this competition took place, the audiance was invited to dance with the dancers and celebrate the good weather and honor all the service men serving this great country. Plus, they honored their/our maker with their lively drums and music chants. It was something to see and hear.
After the crowd participation, they got down to individual groups of competition. The groups ranged from "Pampers" to Seniors. Pampers was those very young and not allowed out alone at night. The kids were the ones who could go out alone and through the teens. Then there were the seniors.
This is one cute little "pamper" Indian, but he wasn't in the competition. However, he was the hit of the whole show!!
Another dancer.
Teen girl competitors.
We took many more pictures which I have posted on our web album. In order to view the album, you can click on any picture in this blog and it will take you to the album where you can view all the photos.
After getting a sense of what a Pow Wow is all about, you can be sure that we will attend the much larger one next year.
Before this competition took place, the audiance was invited to dance with the dancers and celebrate the good weather and honor all the service men serving this great country. Plus, they honored their/our maker with their lively drums and music chants. It was something to see and hear.
After the crowd participation, they got down to individual groups of competition. The groups ranged from "Pampers" to Seniors. Pampers was those very young and not allowed out alone at night. The kids were the ones who could go out alone and through the teens. Then there were the seniors.
This is one cute little "pamper" Indian, but he wasn't in the competition. However, he was the hit of the whole show!!
Another dancer.
Teen girl competitors.
We took many more pictures which I have posted on our web album. In order to view the album, you can click on any picture in this blog and it will take you to the album where you can view all the photos.
After getting a sense of what a Pow Wow is all about, you can be sure that we will attend the much larger one next year.
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