Jet Contrail Sunset

If it weren't for jet contrails, this might have been a boring sunset. They helped add some color to it, though. There are pictures of a couple of other things, too.

Sunset_2007_05_30

James sees Bulldog Canyon

Today James and I went for a drive through Bulldog Canyon OHV area while the girls took showers, put on makeup, etc. He enjoyed it out there just as much as I do. Maybe we'll get a chance to go for a hike out there later this week. Our guests have a pretty full schedule, though. Here are the pictures.

BC_2007_05_28

Finally identified

In March of '06 I asked if anybody knew what the metallic stuff on this rock is. I never got a response. This morning I was surfing the web and found pictures of something similar. It looks like this might be molybdenite, an ore of molybdenum. It's often found near quartz, and there is a lot of quartz where I found this rock. I believe the rock itself is quartz (except for the molybdenite part, of course).

 

Easing back into it.

It's been relatively cool all week, and today the air was a little clearer, too. I had to go out to Bulldog Canyon. It was only 92 when I got there. I've been a little lazy since I was sick, so I didn't start out with a lot of climbing today. I hiked along a low ridge for a little ways, enjoying the view, the birds, the breeze, the sunshine, the bees, etc. Here are the pictures. There's a short video of a bird. Unfortunately, videos seem to lose a lot of resolution when they are uploaded.

BC_2007_05_24

Nothing new

Nothing new today. I added a couple of pictures to yesterday's post, though. I looked at my pictures again and discovered I had more pictures of deer than I thought. They're just hard to see.

Back to the end of Meridian

I haven't been for a hike at the end of Meridian road for a while. I went there today to save some gas. It's very close.

I've seen lots of deer tracks out there, but never any deer. Today I finally saw 5 of them, though. I took six pictures but only managed to get a deer in one of them. They kept hiding behind cacti and Palo Verdes.

I came across a wild beehive in a hole in the side of a wash. I tried to take pictures of them but the bees just didn't show up.

You could find the ironwood trees with your eyes closed today. They are covered with flowers. Just listen for all the bees buzzing and there's an ironwood.

Meridian_2007_05_20

A few more.

There was another storm tonight. It wasn't as close as last night's, so I got out of the truck and climbed a small hill to get pictures.

You would think that if your camera shutter was open for about 40% of the time, you would catch about 40% of the lightening flashes. I only got about 10% of them. I took 149 pictures tonight (a few were of mountains and clouds) and 12 of them had lightening in them. This is why I don't gamble.

Since the lightening was far away and spread across the horizon, I had to be zoomed out to catch any of it. I had to crop most of the pictures so they wouldn't look like a tiny light in a sea of black.

Lightening_2007_05_17

Just one...

There was a huge thunderstorm east of here late this afternoon. After dinner I decided to drive out towards Canyon Lake to get some pictures of clouds or the sunset or whatever turned up. I pulled off the road halfway between the Superstition Mountains and Canyon Lake. I was going to get on top of a small hill to get pictures of the sunset. It seemed like the lightening was far away. Then I heard thunder less than 10 seconds after a flash. Not a good time to be on top of a hill. I got back in the truck. The lightening flashes seemed to last a long time so I though I might be able to catch some. Out of about 40 attempts, I got one.

 

1900

That's a road, not a year. I'm not supposed to be out in the sun much yet, and it was pretty warm today, so I decided to take a drive up FS172. It had been a while since I had been there and I wanted to see if it was any cooler up at the Rogers Trough trailhead. I didn't find out, though. I was driving along 172 and passed a little side road labeled 1900. I had to see where it went. It's very narrow. You can see in the pictures that it is just wide enough for my truck. The last time I was on 172 there were ATVs everywhere. Didn't see a single one today. I guess people don't ride them as much when it's 104 outside.

In some places out there, the soil is very red. It would look just like Mars if it weren't for the plants and animal tracks in the dust.

The pictures:

1900_2007_05_13

When I got home from work yesterday, I wasn't completely exhausted. The antibiotics are doing a great job. I had to go out and enjoy the desert before I went to the airport to pick up Suzanne and Lindsey. I stopped along Apache Trail to get some pictures of the mountains. You've probably seen pictures like this one before, but I think this one is pretty.

 

Missed one

I think there was a very pretty sunset tonight. I couldn't see much of it from the chair on the back porch, though. My head hurts, my back hurts, and my skin hurts. I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to get some miracle drugs.

 

Sunset

I got home a little late today, and the lawn needed mowing, so I plopped down in front of the TV and watched an episode of Startrek. I did get out later to get a so-so picture of the sunset, though.

 

Curses, foiled again.

I tried to get to the top of the Goldfield Mountains using the route shown on my map (it's in yellow). Halfway up, I realized I had been up there in almost the exact same spot before. I didn't make it to the top last time, either. It was too steep and too hot. I went in the morning this time because I didn't want my hike to be cancelled by storms again. I had forgotton how brutal the sun is, even on days that are just a little warm. It was about 92 out there. Seemed warmer, though. My water was getting too warm to drink. I didn't make it to the top, but I did see lots of pretty things. Here are some of the pictures.

BC_2007_04_29

I think the snake is a coachwhip, aka a red racer. Click here to read about the coachwhip snake. Here's a short video of the snake making his getaway.

Wind, dust, rain, no hike

I had plans to hike deeper into the mountains of Bulldog Canyon OHV area this afternoon. When I was about to leave the house, though, I noticed that it was unusually dark. I looked outside and saw that we were in the middle of a thick dust storm. I decided to drive out to Bulldog Canyon anyway. I was hoping it would clear up by the time I got out there.

Here's a short video of a helium balloon used to advertise some new homes being built near our neighborhood. It's really being whipped around by the wind. You can see that the air is kind of dusty, too.

Here's a few pictures of various things I saw while I was out. Richard called me at about 2 this afternoon to tell me that he saw black smoke coming from the mountains north of here. He probably saw that burning microwave relay station in the pictures. I took that picture at 4.

Dust_storm_2007_04_28

Another ridge in Bulldog Canyon

There's a small ridge in Bulldog Canyon OHV area that I have made a few half-hearted attempts to reach the top of. I was always stopped by something, usually sunset, once by Lindsey's stomach cramps. This time I was determined to get to the top, though. I changed clothes and ate a snack when I got home from work and headed out. It wasn't until 6 pm that I started up, though. It was 78 and there was a light breeze when it wasn't blocked by terrain. This is the ridge I climbed:

It doesn't seem to be so horse shoe shaped when you are on top of it. Also, those parts that seem to have gentle slopes seem much steeper when you are on them. There's a very nice view from up there, especially if you like looking over cliffs that seem to drop away forever. I couldn't make myself get closer than about 3 feet from that edge, though. Here are the pictures from this hike:

Conquering another ridge in Bulldog Canyon

There are a couple of pictures of the view, then there's one of a stand of teddy bear cholla. I learned that you shouldn't talk on your cell phone when walking through them. I didn't start down until close to sunset, so I called Suzanne while I still had a good signal to let her know I was OK. I kept walking because I was running out of daylight. By the time I got to the other side of those cholla, both feet were covered with cholla balls and they were halfway up my legs, too. I managed to shake them off and kept going, but I kept getting poked by cholla needles until I took a shower.

There are some pictures of cholla flowers and the setting sun. I turned to get that picture of the sun and briefly thought about moving to the left a little so the tree wouldn't be in the way, and almost screamed at myself. The cliff was 3 feet to my left. Ever since I started taking pictures (25 years ago?) I've worried about falling while trying to get in position for a good picture. I hope I never do that. Talk about embarrassing.

I added some of these pictures to my map of Bulldog Canyon, in case you want to know exactly where I was, and even if you don't.

Another Arizona Sunset!

Today we had another one of those beautiful Arizona sunsets. I took 45 pictures of it. It's a good thing I don't have to pay for film, developing, or prints. I'd be broke.

Here's a few of the pictures, including some with airplanes, birds, and rooftops.

Sunset

Tucson Mountains video

Here's the video I made in the Tucson Mountains on Saturday afternoon. If while watching it you get bored but you keep watching in case there is something interesting, don't bother. Stop right then and save yourself some time. I'm afraid the entire thing is difficult even for me to watch. I got bored explaining what was what to Suzanne. That's so sad. I need to figure out a way to spice up my videos of the desert. Or just stick to pictures.

I wish I had taped the little girl that growled at me on one of the trails, or the look on her parents' faces when I growled back. I missed a great opportunity there.

Weekend in Tucson

Suzanne went to a nursing conference in Tucson on Saturday. I've been wanting to check out Saguaro National Park, so I went along. Well, I went along for other reasons, too, but I did want to see the park. It's split in to two pieces. I went to the part on the eastern side of Tucson Saturday morning. It's a very nice park, though their visitor's center parking lot is way too small. I had to sit in the van for several minutes waiting for a place to park. A very helpful gentleman in the visitor's center described a hike that would be about 3 miles long. That sounded good to me. My foot has been acting up lately so I didn't want to walk very far. It was about 60 out there with a light breeze. A lot of plants had flowers, so there was a lot to look at.

I had always thought prickly pears were boring plants, but now they are covered with pink and yellow flowers (both colors on the same plant). They were very pretty. The ocotillos also had flowers, but I'll try not to overwhelm you with pictures of them again. Click below to open a new window with the Saguaro National Park Pictures.

Saguaro National Park

I had to walk slowly so my foot wouldn't hurt. Walking slowly makes my hip hurt. I was ready to sit down for a while by the time I hobbled back to the van. I grabbed a bite to eat at McDonald's and went back to the hotel to take a nap and then pick up Suzanne from the conference. She was already at the hotel, though. They got out early. She wasn't feeling too good, though. Some kind of intestinal bug. Well, we weren't going out to eat and there was still sunshine, so I headed for the Tucson Mountains. They are some small mountains on the west side of Tucson.

I had driven through the Tucson Mountains in January but didn't have time to stop. Now I could check out a trail or two. Now the bad news. I left my camera in the hotel room. Bummer. I had the video camera with me and it will take pictures, but they look so bad I can't stand to let you see them. I'm putting a video on Google Videos but that will look bad, too, since they seem to reduce the resolution. Tough luck. I may not put a link to the video on here until tomorrow. The upload is going very slowly.

I ate at Church's yesterday evening, but Arizona Church's don't have fried okra. What a disappointment. Then I made 2 or 3 trips to the pharmacy as I nursed Suzanne back to health. I must have done a good job because this morning she felt good enough for the drive up to Summerhaven, on Mount Lemmon. I'm still trying to get some good pictures of Mount Lemmon. In the mean time, here are some that I took today.

Mount Lemmon

Back in the desert again

I haven't posted anything about hikes in the desert for a while. I've been kind of busy. Here's one thing that kept me busy:

Pool

The pool had way way too much mineral build up in the water. I think it was about to start forming travertine on the waterfall. Richard and I just found out that you aren't supposed to drain your pool if it's over 85 or the plaster will crack. It was cool this past weekend and was probably going to be the last cool weekend before October. I really wanted to change the water because I haven't been able to use the pool for the past two years. It made my skin itch. It got really green because I wasn't able to balance the water and therefore couldn't maintain any chlorine in the pool and if you get any algae it clogs the filter and you can't circulate enough water to keep more algae from growing and it's a big mess. It looks a lot better now. Enough about the pool.

I have also been very busy at work for the past few weeks. I was able to leave on time today, though, and headed out to Bulldog Canyon as fast as I could. Oh, it was so nice to be out in the desert again. I really missed it. It was in the mid 70's with a nice breeze. Perfect. I went to check out the place that rock climbers like to use there. There aren't any places to attach ropes. Maybe they just wrap them around a rock. Anyway, here are the pictures.

Rock climber spot

I've put some of these pictures on my map of Bulldog Canyon.

A map!

I've been busy at work lately. Getting home too late to hike. Yesterday, though, I discovered something awesome online. Google Maps now lets you create your own customized maps. You can put place markers on it that have descriptive text and can also have pictures and movies. I've thrown together a map of one of my favorite places to hike (Bulldog Canyon OHV area) to demonstrate. If it opens in map mode, click on satellite or hybrid (in the upper right corner of the map) to see the terrain. Click on the place markers to see the text/pictures. Click on a picture in a balloon to go to the full size version of the picture.

Click HERE to open a new window with my customized map. Be sure to bookmark it and check back now and then. I'll be adding more pictures to it over the next few days. Please let me know what you think. (Click "comments" at the bottom of each post.) I think the customized maps will be a great way to show where I am on my hikes.

Thanks to my friend Steve in H-town, who says last Sunday's mystery bird might be a cedar waxwing. He included this link to a page with pictures and a description of the cedar waxwing.