Gadget’s Airstream Chronicles

I was a little tired last night.  A long and exhausting day.  Of course, a good one.  But I left some things out I’d wanted to mention.

Saturday’s rodeo was my first rodeo ever.  This ain’t your first rodeo son, is it? Yup, it was!

The one thing that struck me at the rodeo had nothing to do with the bucking horses or bulls.  The working horses caught my attention, and I enjoyed watching them.

What do I mean by working horses?  I mean the ones that deal with the rowdy ones after it’s all done.  Two guys on horse back would round up the angry, kicking, jumping horses after “the ride” was over.  These horses were amazing.  Horse and rider would neatly manage the bucking horse right back into a gate.

Watching the working horses I could see they were all about management.  They’d shoot right up to a bull with their riders swinging a rope.  The horses didn’t flinch from their duties.  Pretty darned amazing if you ask me!  The blurry shot to the left is the back side of one of the working horses and it’s rider.  At the ready when someone gets bucked!

I can see how large herds of cattle could be managed by a few guys and their horses now.  With a horse like the ones I saw you could keep most anything in line.  Just amazing stuff!

Shifting gears - More horse talk.

Go figure, a horse heavy post.  In addition to the horses I watched on Saturday night I now want to talk about a few other horses I met yesterday.

As we were returning from Sycamore Canyon we rounded a bend in the road and came to a stop.  2 people on horseback were on the “road”.  2 additional horses were in tow carrying gear.  4 horses, 2 people.  They gave us a wave and we stopped to chat for a few.

The riders asked if we’d seen water up ahead.  They were doing an extended trip on horseback, and were looking for a water supply for their horses.  We’d seen nothing, and let them know.

We had seen troughs at the abandoned cabin a few miles up, and green water in the catchment system there.  Clearly people come up to ride in the area, and that seems to be what the catchment system was for.

The girl / woman (seemed awful young) mentioned that they’d heard of a creek not too far ahead.  We’d seen nothing, and let them know that.

Apparently the couple is crossing the country on horseback.  One of the pack horses had two plastic “Wal-Mart” style lawn chairs on it’s back.  We’d seen them in the morning camped on the Verde River, and now during the afternoon 17 miles from where we’d last seen them.  They were rugged looking, and clearly spend the bulk of their lives outdoors.  The man in the couple had leathery skin, and he was completely dust covered.  The woman was too.

I found myself wondering, “Is this a husband and wife or father and daughter?”  She seemed far too young to be a wife, and I expect she’s only recently out of high school.  What’s their story?  Riding to Colorado?  No major supplies?  Just a rifle on the man’s horse?  Plastic chairs on a horses back?  What’s that all about?

They said they were heading on to Colorado.  In 2002 they’d ridden from Washington state to the Southwest, and now their journey continued.  Once in Colorado they were going to ride the Great Divide.  Interesting trip for sure.  In the end, I was left with many questions about the nature of their trip, who they are, and if they were running from something, or like Thru-Hikers, just interested in a journey.  I sure hope they found some water for their horses…….

****By the way.  The last two photos are HDR experiments from yesterday’s shooting.  Not as cool as the courthouse, but interesting.  I’ll continue working with these photos and see what develops!  Pun intended.

Well, it hasn’t really felt like days off at all.  Busy would be the best way to describe things.

Yesterday I let myself rest a little in the morning.  A late start to the day, but then lots of running around.  The first big errand….well, not really an errand…..but it did involve running around.  Sadira gave me a call to let me know that an Arts and Crafts style event was happening on the square.  I had to go.

See, last year I noticed that there was a regular Bonsai dealer at the shows.  I’d been thinking about adding a little tree to the Airstream, and finding out the first big activity on the town square was happening I jumped in the truck and stopped by Sadira’s.

She was under the weather yesterday.  Sinus infection done, food poisoning in full effect.  One thought here gang.  Shrimp & Arizona….don’t do it.  Just don’t!

We hit the show and sure enough, bonsai trees were available.  I looked around, then wandered the square for a while deciding on what to do.  Finally we returned to the little tent full of trees and I picked my Airstream’s new resident.  You’ll see photos soon enough.

I once had a wonderful little bonsai for years.  High school.  It thrived.  Then I went to MA for a few weeks and my mom watched over the tree.  One night on the phone she told me she’d accidentally killed the tree.  She thought it could use some fertilizer (NOOOOOOOOO) and the tree went brown pretty quick.  Whoops!  Still, she was the best mom I could ask for and I still miss her.  Happy Mother’s Day mom.  A new little tree is along in the Airstream now.

I dropped Sadira off and headed for home.  Quick lunch and then I ran up to the Rodeo Stadium.  Yes, I got to photograph the rodeo.  No, I’m not satisfied with the shots.  I needed a 1.8 lens for this stuff, and I didn’t drag one along.  The rodeo started at 7:30, and even with the lights in the stadium the action was so fast that the lenses I brought didn’t cover it.  A few interesting shots that I’ll play with in Photoshop.  Maybe you’ll see them down the road.

I didn’t get home until almost 10, and I was starved.  So I sat up and made a late dinner.  Didn’t get to sleep until nearly midnight.  Ah yes, restful!

This morning was an early rise.  I headed out to the north side of Sycamore Canyon with Sadira, Tom, & DaNece.  2 hour ride in on the super bumpy roads through Perkinsville.  Nearly a 3 hour hike toward the canyon (no water already, lots of dry beds), hot sun, winds with some type of eye irritating  pollen, and a generally wonderful time!  Glad to have shared the adventure.

Our “haze” has returned to the skies, and the blues were really washed out today.  I’ve heard it’s hazy from here to Georgia, so who knows what is up.  So, many of the landscape shots today were sub-par to say the least.  But there was one thing that caught all of our attention.  The flowers heading into the area.  Blues, powder blues, oranges, and purples.  The purple really got me.  Cactus flowers once again (hey, they’re not red).

As we made our way in we began seeing new (to us) flowers that really stood out against the red rock background.  Small green cactus with purple flowers.  One here, one there.  As we neared our destination clusters of the flowers.  Big clusters.  They seemed to be everywhere.  Even along our hike we found more of these wonderful cactus (I’ll look them up in my book tomorrow).

I have dozens of good shots.  They’re all slightly washed out, but I’ll deal with them in Photoshop tomorrow.  High afternoon sun, even with haze, yields less than brilliant results.  But the shots here are currently unedited.  And they’re still stunning flowers in my opinion. 

Finally, after hours driving in, hours hiking, and hours driving back we returned to Prescott.  Sadira wasn’t feeling too well, and I was a little off.  Hot hike, lots of dust, lots of exertion, etc.  Plus I got too much sun.  So we basically crashed on the couch for a while, and finally got enough energy to get moving again.  Sadira headed off to Costco, and I went to do some shopping at Fry’s.  Groceries you know.

After some rest this evening I decided to head to downtown Prescott to try setting up a few exposures for doing an HDR (High Dynamic Ratio) photo.  My intention was to get Whiskey Row and the St. Michaels Hotel.  I’ve gotten many exposures this evening, and only started toying with them.  I only took one set of exposures of the Courthouse, and the result was the photo at the start of this post.  My first satisfying HDR photo (to me at least).  I only tone mapped it after feeding the 3 exposures into Photomatix.  No real tweaking beyond their basic tone mapper.  I like it.  There are places for HDR to be used……more will follow.

That’s it for the evening.  10 p.m. here and I’m beat.  Tomorrow, laundry, errands, and who knows what else.  Wonder if I can fit a 3 hour nap in somewhere?

Ah, finally an opportunity to catch up on the blog. So, now things will get caught up from the past few days….. Ummm, ok, sure. How about I just tell you about today as it will take forever. The rest can wait. Well, I suppose that’s not fair. So, I’ll give you the summary.

I’ve been super busy. Bert & Janie pulled in the other day, and I’ve been wanting to show them around the area, but go figure my schedule isn’t working super. So, we’ve gotten time where we could, and they’ve been exploring on their own (making me jealous as I’d like to explore more too). We had a wonderful morning in Jerome yesterday, and I had to cut it short. Wet blanket and all……. There, you’re caught up.

Easily Entertained Guests

Bert and Janie seem to be enjoying themselves. I don’t need to put on elaborate shadow puppet shows or anything. Instead, they’re getting a feel for the Prescott area while they develop a travel related article. I’m glad to be a part of their discovery of this place I now call home.

Last night I tried to decide on the best activity for today. A ride down Perkinsville Road, with a trip out to Sycamore Canyon? That was a possibility. But then I considered the length of the ride. 2.5 hours out there minimum. Not such a super plan, even though I desperately want to get back there.

Another trip to the Promised Land

So this morning I gave Sadira a buzz to run another thought by her (yup, Sadira came along too). Instead of the big off road trip all that way, how about a trip to the Promised Land climbing area? Janie was very interested in petroglyph photography, and I remembered seeing a few in the canyon. Sadira agreed that might make for a nice day, so we settled on that for the trip plan.

We all gathered together at 9 this morning and headed out in the Titan. It’s all scratched from driving into the remote areas, and I didn’t see any need for Bert to get “Arizona Pin Striping” on his truck. So the Titan was full of gear, cameras, and people. Fun!

The Promised Land was reached by 10, and we began the hike into the more interesting portions of the canyon. I pointed out climbs, the spot where an owl dive bombed me, and we all watched a few red tail hawks playing areal games. I’d forgotten a few spots where “navigational issues” could take place, and everyone had the opportunity to experience some awkward rock scrambles.

Getting further into the canyon we saw two folks wrapping up from a climb. I think Janie was a little disappointed about missing a photo opportunity. We chatted with the guys for a few, and they headed on out.

Other photo opportunities

As we prepared to head further in I remembered the spot we were at had a petroglyph. I turned back, pointed it out to everyone, and the cameras came out. Ah how markings on rocks catch the attention of some….. Guess I’m included as well, as I think they’re pretty slick.

After a quick round of shots we continued further into the canyon following the mostly dry river bed. As usual, the sand was extremely soft, and the rocks in the bed were slippery beyond words. Fortunately nobody really wrenched an ankle or smashed anything too important.

It’s at this point that Sadira is reading along saying, “What about my bruised and scraped ankle?” Ah, you walked it off nicely. Personally I think walking through the bushes with the scratchy stuff was harder on both of us. I’m still finding scrapes here and there!

Along the way we found a few spots that still retain water. Half of our difficult rock scrambles were due to these spots. Either wade in or find a way around. We all selected remaining dry.

While remaining dry we always paid attention to the wet areas. You find some interesting and unique things in them. Like beautiful green plants growing up between the rocks. Hey, just one of those “for instance moments.”

During our whole hike we were all looking in a dozen different directions. And that’s great! We found petroglyphs all over the place. Ones I’d never noticed before. Of course, my normal visits to the Promised Land normally encompass trucking toward the climb we’re going to do, unloading gear, climbing, snacking, climbing some more, and then trucking on out when we’re all tired. Today it was walking, looking, shooting, snacking, walking more, additional photos, and finally walking out slowly (and of course, being tired).

End of the line

We reached my normal stopping point in the canyon and settled in for a snacks and some nice conversations. Bert and Janie enjoyed our stop, and Sadira was happy to get further in. The last time we’d visited the area together the river was running, and it was difficult to get far. Monsoons had just finished, and the Promised Land seemed more interesting to folks with rafts than folks with packs on foot.

While sitting at a favorite climbing spot I remembered one of my missions for the day. Check out the cave. If you’ve seen shots from my climbs in the Promised Land you might remember a cave in the background. Looking up from our lunch spot we saw the cave once again, and decided to take a walk up. I led the way, Bert right behind, and Sadira following up. Janie opted to stay below and take photos of our progress up to the top of a set of cliffs where the cave was.

As we neared the top Bert passed me and headed on into the cave. From the ground it looked to be a sizable and deep opening, but once we were in front of it we realized it didn’t go that far. Still, it’s an interesting formation, and even climbers like it.

Why I say climbers like the cave is due to the fact that it’s full of bolts. Climbing bolts. Clearly the area is used as a practice spot for people who like dealing with roof problems. You can get completely upside down and climb with a rope. The cave was loaded. Maybe someday I’ll get back to roof problems, but not today.

Bert went inside the cave and took a series of shots of Sadira and I coming toward the cave. I think it’s safe to say he had fun up there. We did too, and everybody took plenty of photos.

After hanging out in the cave for a while, and shooting away, we decided to take a look into the canyon from up top. It was a unique perspective that I’ve never gotten. Sure, climbed other spots, but not this particular wall.

As we were looking below Bert hatched an idea for a photo. Sadira and I marched back down to join up with Janie while Bert stayed above. He wanted a shot of 3 people hiking up a canyon, and he wanted to take it from a high spot. So, we made our way down and joined up with Janie.

Sorry to say for Bert, but we didn’t go fast. As I neared the bottom Janie shouted up that I was near some pretty flowers. I detoured and found them, and sure enough, they were vivid. Just your standard hedgehog cactus, but the really looked great.

I spent a while shooting, Sadira continued to navigate downward, and Bert waited above.

Ah, the things folks do for a photograph. Now I understand a little more. If you see something that would make a better picture, set it up. Even if that means having a few friends march up the canyon while you stay behind. Another one of those, “How did they get that photo?” moments revealed. Now I know!

We finally made our way down, and marched up the canyon. Bert waiting above, and finally we saw his face and lens from the cliff high above. I noticed right below him a pair of chains hung off the rock face. Ah, another climb! And Bert was right at the top. How cool.

We marched up the canyon, Bert got his shots, and then he started coming down. As we waited we found more drawings on the walls of the canyon, and we proceeded to take more photos. By the time Bert joined up we were well into discovering that the wall we found told some form of intricate story. It wasn’t a simple picture or two, it seemed to be some kind of book documenting where game animals were, what it took to get them, and how they were gotten.

The petroglyphs we found were detailed. Some type of game (maybe antelope), drawings of human feet (we think) going up the wall to the game, squiggles with fire atop them, what looked to be a ladder, and so many other symbols. Wow! So much I never noticed in the promised land!!!

We all took time to photograph a good deal of the wall. Sadira broke out her camera, Janie had hers, I had mine, and when Bert came along he brought his right back out.

As he setup his shots Janie was there to assist. Janie explained that these were the moments when photo credits showed up with both their names. Yet another mystery revealed! They make a good team!

Finally we wrapped up with our shooting. I was getting hungry and tired, we’d been out tromping around for hours, and we all had enjoyed ourselves. Sadira and Janie were talking “Life is Good” shirts, so we headed out for Manzanita Outdoors. Janie needed a few new shirts!

There’s the wrap on today. Now really, did you need me to write a bunch about yesterday? Hmmmm? I don’t think so.

Oh, and so I don’t leave you hanging. We did hit the outfitter, Janie did get some “Life is Good” T-shirts (3 I believe), and I finally got some substantial food (after doing laundry first). I’m not getting into what laundry detergent I used, or any of those details. I’m tired, many photos are here, so be glad in a long post once more…..

And by the way, today was wonderful! Thanks to everyone who joined me today!!!!

As you may know, I’ve been searching for a cliff dwelling near Perkinsville for quite some time.  Once again, with some new information provided by a person I recently met I headed out again, knowing I was closer to finding these remote ruins.

The Titan was ready for another off road trip early.  My Garmin GPS V (normally used on my bicycle) was mounted on the truck window.  It has local topo maps loaded on it, helping me to identify where canyons might be off the beaten path.

In addition to the Garmin, my Yaseau VX-5R was hooked up and squawking away for most of the ride.  Glad to find out that even way out along the back roads of Perkinsville I can still reach the Mingus Mountain repeater.  That means even while I’m exploring, I’ve always got a tie back to the world in the event that I get stuck.

On the ride out I listened in to local HAM operators chatter away.  Somebody is currently selling a Nissan Frontier.  His friends all encouraged him to sell his Toyota Tundra instead, as they all wanted to buy it.  Others talked about making radio contacts over seas.  It was fun and entertaining to tune in and learn about my HAM neighbors. 

As with every ride toward Perkinsville things were bumpy, slow going, and covered in dust.  Fortunately I didn’t have to go all the way to Perkinsville.  Instead, a few miles before the “town” I took a left to follow along with a set of power lines.  Destination….the canyon that the Verde flows through.

I never did find the canyon.  See, what my most recent guide neglected to tell me was how many cross roads intersect with FS 164.  And he did tell me I eventually would leave FS 164.  So, I tried to explore as many as possible.  After 2 hours working my way up and down roads I finally decided it was time to turn around.

No complaints on not reaching my goal.  The ride out into the unknown is fun.  Finding the cliff dwellings would have been a bonus.  And not finding them just means I need to return and search some more.  I’ve GPS’d the spots that don’t work, so I’m narrowing it down!

I’ll let you know when I finally find the ruins!

So, let’s get a gallery up, shall we?

How about two?  Anza Borrego….oh, I haven’t even imported 600 photos today….more to come……  :)  Heh!

[Show as slideshow]

Yet another report from Anza-Borrego. Unfortunately, things are wrapping up here. Tomorrow the 6 hour drive home will start, and the regular days will resume. You know, hiking, climbing, off-road adventures back in Prescott.

Oh, wait, that isn’t so bad, now is it?

Today started a little later. A day to sleep in. 6:45 wake up. Nice. The cold has finally backed off, allowing me to fully enjoy a day without DayQuil!

Early on we learned that Larry & Bill would be extending their stay one more night. Too funny! They decided to head home tomorrow, just like us. We’ve seen so many Airstreamers here this weekend, but it’s great to see them again. After all, we met up here last year same time. Wouldn’t be the same without them. And yes, Rich Luhr was missing, but we tortured him good with phone calls, pictures, and post cards….. Hey there Rich!

Larry had mentioned that some Airstreamers from a local chapter were heading to Hawk Canyon to view wildflowers. Apparently the word was the flowers were really popping over there. So Sadira and I decided to take a morning drive over there to check it out. While we found no amazing wild flowers, we did find a super cool off-road ride, and an interesting canyon that will be re-visited by me some day (soon I hope).

We made our way into Butte Wash (please, not juvenile jokes gang), but not very far. A group of off-road Jeep folks were totally blocking the road. 4 Jeeps, parked 2 wide, with one guy standing on the hard top of his Jeep watching in the distance. He was watching for someone, and it wasn’t us.

Finally the roof top Jeep owner noticed us, and flagged us around. Fortunately I saw a “path” where someone else had once driven around, so no major damage to the desert flora. Still, it was 5 degrees beyond rude in my opinion. I’ve found that often with people, whether it’s yielding the trail to a hiker who’s going up while you’re going down, or folks off-road on a dirt path which can only fit one vehicle, nobody is willing to yield. I always step aside as a courtesy, but if I didn’t there’d be a problem, as nobody else seems to notice others around them.

Kind of like people hiking up a trail talking away on their cell phone about last night’s sexual escapade. They just don’t seem to even know people are around them.….

Making our way around the fun four by fours with the idiot owners we headed off in search of Hawk Canyon. It was a cool ride in with lots to see. One thing we noticed…..all the cholla cactus are dying off out there. They’re all black, as if they’ve been burned. I saw one that had green on top, but the base was black, and clearly dying. I wonder what’s happening with those plants in that area.

We finally made it to the parking area for Hawk Canyon, and we found a ton of cars. No flowers, but many cars. And a few people around. Apparently a Cub Scout troop was in hiking the canyon, and 2 eight year olds were currently missing. Hmmm…..not a great sign.

As we got ready to head into the canyon our Jeep friends came rolling in. Sure enough they were waiting on friends with another Jeep, and one person on a dirt bike. I’m glad the road blocking tactics they employed helped find their missing friends…..

We were about to head into the canyon when we saw the big group also walking in. Extremely loud for 10 in the morning, and each with a tall boy beer in their hand.

It’s at this point I should mention the importance of hydration in a dry and hot climate. You’ve got to stay hydrated out here, or in AZ for that matter. And there’s nothing that says hydration like a Coors Tall Boy Silver Bullet. Or maybe two. I’ve heard tell that Camel Back Water packs are now endorsing Budweiser for their hydration bags……and that Gatorade is working on a new Miller Light / Sports drink combo.

Given how loud the crew was going in, we decided to take a ride further away from the rowdy group and see what types of views of the badlands were available. We didn’t have to go far either. Amazing views, but still a little haze in the sky. Nice morning though. We parked near the end of the canyon, and soon from within the canyon we heard our new found friends whooping it up. Ah, they made it through….how nice.

We decided to head back up to the canyon entrance and give the hike a whirl for ourselves. Given how quickly the other crew went through we knew it was a short hike.

We made our way back to the parking lot (a big open dirt area) and learned the lost scouts had been found. Good news! We strapped on our water packs, rounded up our cameras, and made our way into the canyon. And no, I didn’t have any beer in my water bag….I can’t have beer. If I did have beer it wouldn’t be swill like Coors. It would be a tasty Bass Ale instead…..to stay hydrated you know.

As we made our way into the canyon we were both excited. It was really cool, and downright stunning! It was also a few degrees cooler than up above, so we didn’t have to bake so much in the sun. Bonuses all around!!!

We wound our way through the canyon and soon enough heard a loud group coming back up. Our well hydrated Jeep friends no doubt. They were all happy, and proceeded to make their way through as we let them pass. I noted that several were carrying not one, but multiple crushed beer cans and looking a little glassy eyed. Nothing like starting the day off with a smile in mother nature!

Moving further into the canyon we found things becoming tighter and tighter. At two points my backpack caught on rocks and I had to stand tip toe in order to get through a tight squeeze! Wow, pretty interesting. A little disconcerting too.

I’ve been in caverns and caves. Been in places with no sunlight, and been through points in caves called the “Lemon Squeezer” that other family members could not pass through. And I’ve never had an issue with tight spots…..until today.

We got further into the canyon, to a point where the walls were so close no daylight was coming in. It was like a winding cave. And I thought to myself, “You don’t have problems with tight spots. You’re fine. And suddenly with that thought, I was uncomfortable. Ah, now I know why beer was necessary in the canyon.

I turned around, told Sadira I was turning around, and shortly we out into a wider spot. Ah, better! Where’s my beer???

So, a claustrophobic reaction. Not good. I decided to head in once more. This time we made it further, and I was fine. Until we got to a squeeze where the pack would have to come off. For some reason that made me really uncomfortable. At that point I decided to head back out. Save the full canyon tour for another day, and give me another reason to return once again (with plenty of beer in tow……just kidding).

While a little disappointing, I did get well into the tighter part of the canyon.  Who knew a random thought floating by like, “I never have problems in tight spots….” would suddenly unnerve me.  I’ve had a similar experience un-clipping from a climb and pulling rope up to rappel.  It happened once, and I hung there wondering if I’d be ok.  I reminded myself I’d done this dozens of times, and there was no reason to get nervous, but it happened all the same.  Sometimes the most familiar thing can rattle you.

The hike out of the canyon was fun.  We found other slots and walked up to see where they went too.  It wasn’t a fast hike out, and in the wider areas I was fine.  Even in the mildly tight spots it was all ok.  I think the lack of sunlight and overly tight area was the thing that really spooked me.  Next time I’ll head back in, no random thoughts, and happily get through.

After popping out of the canyon we decided to return to the Airstream.  Lunch, and then a hike up into Palm Canyon once again looking for Big Horn Sheep.

But I’ll save all that for another post.  Yup, only covered the first part of this long and fun day.  Just writing about it has tired me out.

Man, I need a Tall Boy Silver Bullet…… 

Well, this morning was anything but remote. An early a.m. meeting at work….on my day off. Go figure!

Fortunately I was freed up by 9:30. What to do with the available time? How about a big round of laundry??? Yeah, things sure are exciting here around the Airstream lately!

Finally, at noon I was totally free to do something other than chores. With laundry finished, the truck re-organized, and a few things rearranged in the Airstream it was time to head out along another Arizona back road. Sadira popped up to ride along as well. A day of rest and photo ops!

We headed out to Tonto Rd. I’d already ridden along it once, but I wanted to look at a house I like out there once again. Too bad I missed the road completely and ended up in Skull Valley. Ah well, we caught the road on our return trip! While in Skull Valley we stopped to snap a few interesting photos, and that made missing Tonto Rd. the first time acceptable.

I must say, I had one big surprise in the parking lot of the Skull Valley market. As I rounded the building I found a “Moose Parking” sign. Here, in AZ? Moose parking? I’ve got to return and see who it belongs to and what the story is behind it.

Oh, if you didn’t know, I miss moose! Always loved watching them back in New Hampshire. There’s just something about them that’s interested me since the first time I saw one live and in person!

After watching for a moose or two for the appropriate amount of time we headed off back toward Tonto Rd. Driving through Skull Valley is interesting. Very desolate. Few homes, the dirt double track here and there, and little going on. I like it!

On our way back we did find Tonto Road, and we headed up and along the dirt road for the latest adventure. I can’t say the road is remote like the path to Sycamore Canyon I took the other week. But it was good enough for a guy who was too busy this morning to go anywhere fun early!

Along the way we ran across a herd of free range cattle. They were road side doing their thing (chewing, mooing, and generally standing around), so we pulled in for a few photos. Several watched me as close as I watched them. Ah, cows…..

The cow watching wrapped up quickly after a pickup blasted by us at 40 - 50 mph. Wow, cruising right along for a washboard road. Maybe as I adjust to the roads I’ll fly along them too……and then again, maybe not.

The truck did well once more along the back roads of Airzona. And with my new HAM antenna perched on the roof I was able to hit several local repeaters, even way out along a dirt road near Skull Valley. That makes me feel a lot better about exploring way off the beaten path. Glad I went to HRO yesterday. A new antenna, the odd bakery truck, and a stop into the Mac store. Totally worthwhile!

I’ve mentioned the Backcountry Adventures Arizona book several times now. So, what’s it all about exactly?

The book is pretty simple. It covers all of Arizona, and some amazing rides and areas to visit. The book includes full color pictures of the suggested routes, maps, and turn by turn GPS instructions. The authors really went for extreme detail.

While I’m not an “off roader”, I’m guessing I’m an “off roader light”. Ever since finding the Promised Land with Andy and Brooke this past summer, I’ve enjoyed heading out onto the back roads of Arizona looking to see what’s out there.

What I’ve found in the book are reasonable rides for guys like me, and more challenging rides for those who want to have their big Jeeps with power winches, cool little shovels, etc. It covers everything, and there’s a ride for most any off road skill level. Extremely cool if you ask me.

Since I’ve picked up the book I’ve selected several upcoming trips. Several will be super long, but I think they hold some amazing sites. I know, I still haven’t found that set of cliff dwellings out near Perkinsville. I’m still looking, and hopefully I’ll find them this Spring.

Look forward to my next free day, I’ll be heading out exploring once more!