Meridian_2 |
Thursday, February 28, 2008
A quick trip to Meridian road
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Like a lunar landing, only rougher
Look how green the lower slopes of the Superstitions are.
I drove on out towards Canyon Lake. On the way out there, I had an idea for a different kind of video. So here it is; Apache Trail from the viewpoint of my armpit. The wind kind of blew the camera around, so you might get motion sickness.
Oh dear, after more than an hour the video is still processing. I'll have to add it to the blog later.
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Mexican Gold Poppies
I almost didn't go out to get pictures. Suzanne was going to go with me, but she bent over to pick something up and hurt her back. It didn't feel right going by myself when she was supposed to be with me. Then, on Usery Pass Rd, a girl on a bicycle swerved in front of me. The only reason I can imagine that she would have done that is that she is suicidal. I was planning to go to Four Peaks road, and as I drove down Bush Highway, I kept thinking about the construction at 87 and how I might have to drive through town on my way back because of that. I was looking for a place to turn around when I came to the road to Butcher Jones park (just north of Saguaro Lake). I decided to see if there were any flowers at that entrance to the Rolls.
Less than a mile into the Rolls, I came to a patch of Mexican poppies on the side of a hill. I spent almost an hour there taking pictures. A couple of them turned out OK. The poppies are the only flowers that are blooming in any numbers so far. I did take a few pictures of an Arizona lupine, but they are all out of focus. Anyway, click below to see the pictures.
Rolls_2008 |
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The other side of Bulldog Canyon OHV area
On the road approaching the entrance, I stopped to snap a few pictures of the Superstition Mountains. I'm glad I did, because a few minutes later a sheet of thick, dark clouds moved in from the northwest and it got dark.
I decided to try driving up a road that Skid and I had been on with our ATVs last summer. Back then I thought that I wouldn't want to take my truck on that road, but it wasn't nearly as bad as I was afraid it would be. When I stopped and got out to look around, I thought about how yesterday's short hike had made my chest tickle all night. That and the neighbor's dog barking resulted in me getting only 2 hours sleep. The hill I was looking at was a little steep, so it would make me breathe hard, which would make my chest tickle even more tonight. I just couldn't resist it, though, and up I went. The pictures would have been much better if the sun had been shining, but here they are.
BC_2008_02 |
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
I'm back!
The desert is soggy from all the rain. It's humid out there; you can see it in the pictures.
BC_2008_02 |
Friday, February 08, 2008
Cure for cabin fever
There were a lot of tourists out today. It looked like there was a crowd at Tortilla Flat. I didn't drive all the way down there, though. They seem to have put up a couple of new buildings there. Maybe they're restrooms; I think that's why most people stop there. If I ever stop there, it's for the ice cream.
Click below for the pictures.
2008_02_08 |
Monday, February 04, 2008
Mountains, clouds, and snow
I wasn't even half a mile from home when I looked over at the mountains and saw that the clouds had lifted completely off them and sure enough, the tops were covered with snow. I called Richard to let him know and he told me about a rainbow, but I couldn't see it from where I was. Check his blog for all that. He got some pictures. I was headed towards the Superstitions when Richard called me back to tell me that there was a lot of snow on Four Peaks, too. I could see a little of Four Peaks and decided to head out Bush highway, hoping the clouds would lift from Four Peaks, too. It looked like better picture potential in that direction.
As I was driving towards Four Peaks, I looked back at the Superstitions. The sun was shining on them. The snow on top was brilliant white. The base of the mountains was emerald green. In between were red, orange and brown rocks. I was in heavy traffic. I couldn't get a picture. Man, that would have been a fantastic picture, even if there were light poles and car headlights in it.
I stood on a group of about 5 rocks, hopping from one to the other to see around cacti or palo verdes, taking pictures of the snow and clouds around Four Peaks and the Goldfield Mountains for about 45 minutes. I was thankful when it got too dark to take pictures, because my fingers were too numb to button my coat. It was so pretty I didn't want to leave, but I had to thaw out. On the way home I had to stop a couple more times to get pictures of clouds and mountains. Ah, it's good to be back in the desert.
Click below to see the pictures.
Snow_2008_ |