Another Hiking Day

Although I had gone for a hike yesterday, I accepted Kevin's invitation for a hike this morning.

The hike was a series of forest trails on Mingus Mountain.

It was a long steep grade going up. Of course, that meant there was a long steep grade going down again.

The terrain is mostly chaparral with ponderosa pine, pinon pine and alligator juniper. Some of the alligator junipers were huge and no doubt centuries old. Most would have provided some great gnarled specimens for the photos I took. However, with other trees and brush in the scene, I could never get the stark beauty of those ancient trees.

The branching of this dead tree against the blue sky was a good second to my original hope.

Look close and you might see Kevin sitting on a rock in the shade removing a rock from his shoe. At least he had a rock to sit on. Early in the hike, somehow I managed to get a thorn in my shoe poking mid foot. Without a sitting rock, I sat on the trail and removed the offending thorn.

Other than rocks and thorns in shoes, it was an uneventful but enjoyable hike.

Amusing Email Spam

We all get internet spam of one sort or another. No doubt we all have received a forward -- that has been debunked on the Snopes site. These forwards are from friends and acquaintances who should be more skeptical and do internet research before forwarding. The most recent forward from a road acquaintance was the "Proposal for the 28th Amendment". I am not sure how long it has been going around the internet, but I have seen it several times from well meaning acquaintances over the past five years -- perhaps more. Nothing dies on the internet.

This time it wasn't a forward, it was an email. I didn't get upset by this email. I found it very amusing. Actually humorous.

Hello Sir / Madam,

This is  Mr. Kevin Avery, regards to your company to order some Barbed Wire Roll. Kindly email me back with the types you have in stock and the type of payment you do accept then we can proceed on with the order ASAP.

 Looking forward to hear back from you soon.Thank You.

Best Regards,
Mr. Kevin Avery.

Even though "Kevin Avery" sounds like an American/English name, apparently English wasn't the author's first language.

The more humorous part was Avery's desire to purchase a "Barbed Wire Roll". From the demand side, how many people with internet access have a need to purchase barbed wire. From the supply side, how many individuals who actually deal in barbed wire would have gotten this email.

Wondering further, I wonder why my name was selected to receive this email of the millions of email addresses available. The only connection to my space on the internet and barbed wire is a post from five years ago -- June 2009. I had found a wire spool for barbed wire on a hike and mentioned it in a post.

It was a good day. Entertainment came via an amusing email.

Awaiting The Rains

The Prescott area is laced with hiking trails. With the available options, it may be a while before I repeat some of the hikes.

A year ago, the Yarnell fire claimed 19 lives of a fire fighting hot shot team from Prescott. Memorials of those who died can be found in many places from downtown to the hiking trails.

This memorial was on the Goldwater Lake Trail. Within the center of the heart and barely visible is the number 19.

The risk of fire from a lightening bolt is a very real threat considering the very dry conditions. After a relatively dry and mild winter, the summer monsoons are awaited with anticipation.

On one of the several hikes I took, I stopped to chat with a couple who were seated on a rock by an area that should have been a small creek. They commented to me that in the 35 years they have lived in Prescott, this is the first time they were at this creek and there was no water.

With lots of hiking trails, hiking will be an every other day event awaiting the summer monsoon rains.

Red Arrow

Seeing Red Arrow on this business in Prescott caused a recollection of Morrison Wisconsin memories from 50+ years ago.

The Red Arrow sign reminded me of a very small country tavern about a quarter mile from the farm where I grew up. Prior to the Red Arrow Inn, it was Dodge's tavern. Dodge was a nickname because he was a "Dodge" man. A life long bachelor, Dodge lived in the back half of what may have been a building measuring 20 feet square. Inside was running water, but the restroom was an outhouse. With about eight stools, it was enough to support Dodge for most of his life.

The tavern was located at the intersection of Wisconsin State Highways 32 and 96 about a half mile from the farming village of Morrison on Highway 32. (Today County Highway W).

Wisconsin State Highway 32 is designated the "32nd Division Memorial Highway".  The shoulder patch of the 32nd Infantry Division was a red arrow.

Since the Red Arrow Memorial Highway passed by the front door of this country tavern, the Red Arrow Inn was a logical name chosen by the new owner. The Red Arrow Inn was also where I practiced the craft of bar tending. Since I already had a job, I am not sure why I wanted to tend bar. It didn't last long before I let the license lapse.

Tending bar at the Red Arrow Inn was an easy job. It was mostly beer with the rare call for hard liquors. One requested drink was a Boiler Maker -- a shot glass of whiskey and a glass of beer as a chaser. Ouch.

Subsequent visits to the Red Arrow Inn were as an infrequent customer with University studies taking priority.

I was younger. ambitious and no body pains. The Red Arrow brought back great memories.

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How about a comment to relate your memory of the Red Arrow Inn at Morrison Wisconsin.

Train Hopping

Thirty years after Ted Conover wrote Rolling Nowhere, Conover shared the experience of riding the rails with his son. There were no Google maps or smart phones in the early 80s.

Riding the rails in the 21st century was a very different experience as Conover relates this latest riding the rails in an Outside article Rolling Nowhere Part Two.

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Rolling Nowhere was originally published in 1984. My mini review of Rolling Nowhere can be read at Riding The Railroads. 

Hike Workout

Most of the recent hikes in Tucson (2400 ft elevation) were almost flat walks of 3-5 miles. This hike in the Prescott area began at a trail head at 6000 feet. Since I wasn't accustomed to this altitude, I huffed and puffed (and an occasional rest) to the first high point at 6500 feet. More high points on this hike were to follow.

Hiking through chaparral, juniper and pinon pine, it was a very different hike from those most recent hikes in Tucson. Although this area is out of the desert, there are varieties of cactus that exist here.

Easily identified is the alligator juniper. Who named this an alligator juniper. Was the guy from Florida and home sick. It sure doesn't remind me of alligator.

Moving up a ridge, a recent fire (less than three years) was quite evident with several ghosted trees. Nature didn't stop being natural. There were wild flowers. New shoots came from the base of burned shrubs and agave plants.

With a stiff wind blowing from the southwest, it tough on some parts of the narrow trail. Soon it was time to head back and downhill to the trail head. 

Although only a three mile round trip hike, these steep hills provided a good work out.

No doubt there will be more.

No Doubt A Great Story

I will never know what the story might be.

Driving in Prescott Valley along highway 69, I was able to catch a photo of this car heading ahead of me. There was too much traffic to catch up and soon the car was through the next traffic light.

It appears to be an early 1950s Buick sedan. The car hadn't seen a coat of paint in a many years. Note the exhaust pipe on the right side. The history to this car must have included some customizing. Was the job finished or is this a work in progress.

Then there is the surfboard atop the car. Prescott is a long way from any serious surfing. I doubt the nearby lakes would produce enough of a swell on a windy day to make for good surfing. However, I really don't know.

Perhaps that surfboard atop a car in Arizona is a good conversation starter. The surfboard may make it also easier to find the car in a crowded parking lot.

I may never know the story unless I have the good fortune to cross paths in Prescott in the next couple of months.

Eat Butter

For decades the standard recommendation was to exclude saturated fat from your diet. Forty years later the headline on the cover of Time says to Eat Butter.

Finally. The science of fat has gotten some attention.

However, it will take a long time for people to get the message. There have been decades of brain washing about the hazards of saturated fats. It has become truth for too many people. That includes doctors. Changing belief is not easy.

Yup. Eat butter.

No Home In Tow

I recalled the last 13 years of travel when my home was always with me. This first trip from Tucson without my home in tow meant packing for this trip. I was bound to forget an item or two. I did.

The trip north from Tucson meant stressful travel through Phoenix. I don't recall being so stressed when I was driving my truck and trailer when passing through Phoenix over the past ten plus years. In those nomadic years, I drove 55 to 60 in the slow lane and don't recall being stressed. Now that I have a car that can zip along at suggested speed limits, it seems I am in competitive mode keeping up with the traffic.

Something over 200 miles from Tucson, I made my arrival at a park model at Orchard Ranch in the Prescott Valley. This will be my base while exploring Prescott Valley and beyond. Chino, Cottonwood, Sedona and Jerome  will be some of the places that I will visit. That along with some hikes should keep me occupied.

As a new park model, I was the first renter.  By late afternoon, the untested  A/C was finally blowing cold air. I didn't care about the TV they were in the process of installing.  The good part is that the non-stick cookware hasn't been abused. As the first renter, there are no left overs from previous renters. That meant a trip to the grocery to stock the kitchen and buy some items -- including toothpaste -- I forgot when I packed.

This is the new life traveling without my home in tow. I miss it.

Packing Day

Planning and packing for three months away from home is not easy. It's been stressful for this guy who rarely has a stressful moment.

The three month destination is a park model near Prescott (Arizona) at Orchard Ranch RV Park. The unit is furnished with the basics. So I am bringing hiking stuff, clothes (not the entire collection of Hawaiian shirts), cameras, computer stuff and items for the kitchen.

For the past two weeks, I have been eating down the contents of the refrigerator. The remaining items and condiments will fit comfortably in the 28 quart cooler for transport to the refrigerator at Orchard Ranch.

This packing for a move to another location would not be a problem if my home was on wheels. That was the way it was just six months ago. Just hitch up and move to the new location. 

However, that was the previous chapter of my life. Now as I make this temporary move, I have a packing day.