Pinkley Peak

Thursday I had the opportunity to go where I had not gone before. Pinkley Peak is located west of the North Puerto Blanco Road five miles north of the VC in an area that is lightly visited. There is a picnic area at the turn around with restrooms and ramada covered picnic tables. A nice place for quiet contemplation.
8:30 put the three of us there, ready to go. It was going to be a warm day so I would have voted to start earlier, but here we were.
The initial mile or so was an easy walk across the desert heading for a prominent wash on the southeast side. The underbrush was sparse and well scattered. A gentle rise all the way. Into the wash, again rising up. Half mile up the wash, our first obstacle, a water fall (less the water), actually a series of them rising quite abruptly a couple of hundred feet.
After some sweating and scrambling it was time to pause and look back down. A good feeling to see what we had done in a relatively short time.
That look down also brought a feeling of sadness and disgust, because our view was also of piles of trash. Discarded clothing, food containers, water bottles, shoes left behind by our noctural visitors. Those folks who travel by night and hide out during the day, carrying their dreams of a better life and jobs in the US and those carrying something much more sinister and illegal into our country.
We shook off that bad vibe and continued climbing. Up this wash, across that ledge, up that water fall, around that palo verde tree. Watch for loose rocks, don't want to slip. Watch where you put your feet and hands, snakes can be there. Climb up, rest and take some water, eat a snack. Need to keep hydrated and energized. Glad I wore long pants and long sleeves because the rocks and branches are always nearby to scratch and prick me.

Finally we reach the saddle where I leave my walking stick and the other drops theirs. Time for the pinnacle. I found it easy and loved climbing on and through the boulders and in s short time we were on top. Great Views! 10:50 am.  Found the Bench Mark on the summit, but no elevation was given. 3147 is what it is.  Seemed higher.  Half an hour for lunch and conversation and it was time to descend.
I am not too proud to back down in areas where it is too steep or too scary to go down "front first" and much of the pinnacle was just that. In a short time, back to the saddle, pick up the hiking stick and resume our descent. My hiking stick bacame an essential part of me on the way down. It was an extension of one arm. It allowed me to slow my progress in areas where it needed to be slow; areas of marginal traction. (Descending is more difficult that ascending because gravity is trying to suck you down the hill faster than you want to go.)

We traveled roughly the same route down as we did up and returned to the vehicle by 1:15pm. Happy to be back, safe and sound.

Saturday March 3, 2012

Today R and I are on the schedule as "C". That means we are to do our evening program. It's a time we look forward to. The visitors like it ans we have a good time. The "C" schedule means that one of us goes in aobut Noon and spends the afternoon in the Visitor Center and gives the 1:30 patio talk. It's my turn today so I have a couple of hours before I put on my uniform and travel to the VC. It is close enough to walk.
Half an hour ago I grabbed my towel and accessories and walked across the driveway to the volunteer building (the Sonora Room) to take a shower. As I exited the trailer I saw a movement at the edge of the paved patio next to out trailer. A medium-sized lizard was hunting. As I slowly peeked around the camp chair it jerked and wounded a moth. The moth flopped around for a few seconds and then disappeared inside the mouth of the lizard. It was so fast that I almost did not see it happen. One minute it was there and the next all I saw was the edge of the wing sticking out of the lizard's mouth. One second alive, another second lunch.

New Program

I have been asked to present a patio program for a group next Wednesday. Twenty minutes on the Sonoran Pupfish. Of course I can't bring myself to do a conventional "This is a pupfish, blah, blah, blah. They live, blah, blah, blah....." Can't do it. I have to make it more unusual.
Last night during supper I had a brainstorm. "What if I were to offer some fishing tips or a guide service to fish for the elusive pupfish?" That would be unusual. That would be fun.
I need to think about it some more....

Cactus in Bloom

The wildflower bloom is in retreat. They are out there, just harder to find. But with the ebb of the wildflowers the cactus flowers are beginning.The little cactus, the pincushions were first and quick. The Hedge Hog Cacti are blooming now. The Buck Horn and Stag Horn are showing a few blossoms but in a week......
Soon the "big guys" will be starting their show. The Saguaro, Organ Pipe, and the Senita cacti have begun. There is a Senita over by one of the renger houses that has produced some blooms already and I know of one Sgauaro that has buds developing right now. It's fun to tell our visitors where to go to see the new blooms.
With the warmer weather come reptiles, lizards and snakes. That really gets our visitors excited. Every day a visitor will come in with multiple pics of a lizard or snake that they have seen. "What is it?" is the question. so we look in our books and have a discussion and learning happens, right there in the visitor center. Learning can be such fun.

You can see how small the bloom of the Senita is. It lasts for only one day.

Final Trip to QBQ for 2012

Today was the last scheduled trip to Quitobaquito for this season. Everything went well. Nineteen people had a good time and learned about the history and biology of the place. There was room on today's trip for five "standby" passengers because the five media people that where scheduled, failed to show up. Poor for them but a good thing for those who decided to take a chance.

Old Friends

What is the definition of a friend? Someone you can see after several years and pick up your conversation as if it had been just days. That's the way it was on Monday. R and and I went to Yuma to see friends that we volunteered with at Gila Cliff Dwellings in spring of 2009. Ollie and Harriet, who live just north of London, sent us an email saying that they were coming to the west for their holiday this year. We arranged our schedules so that we could meet in Yuma if only for part of a day.
We didn't do anything exciting that day, just hung out, ate good food, laughed, told stories and generally had a great time. Good bye guys. Hope to see you again, soon.

Friends are a Gift from God

Rainy Sunday in Arizona

Awoke to the sound of rain spattering on the roof. Not sprinkles, but drops, large drops. First slowly, then faster and faster. A regular rain. Being an Oregonian, I know about rain. I went back to sleep listening to the drumming on the roof.
About 7:30 I thought it was time to walk the Peaches and Mollie. The rain had lessened but not quit. I donned a coat, found an umbrella stowed in the pickup and hooked up the girls. Luckily they were ready to "take care of business" so we didn't have to walk very far. Because of all the concrete in the Phoenix retirement park where were staying, much of the water did not sink into the ground but ran down the street. The problem with the city - Pavement. .62 inches of rain means flooded streets.

Hilda's 1,1,1 Cookies

Hilda's 1,1,1 Peanut Butter Cookies

1 cup peanut butter
1 cup sugar
1 egg

Makes about 25 small cookies

Double amounts for larger batch

Mix together and bake at 350 for about 10 minutes.

for a variation add 1 cup of chocolate chips

Yummy Cookies !

3,2,1 Cake

3, 2, 1 CAKE



These individual little cakes are amazing
and ready to eat in one minute! They are perfect
for whenever you feel like a treat without all the fat
and calories that cake can have. Genius idea!



INGREDIENTS:

1 box Angel Food Cake Mix

1 box Cake Mix - Any Flavor

2 Tbsp. Water



Makes 1 serving.



DIRECTIONS:

In a ziploc bag, combine the two cake mixes together
and mix well. For each individual cake serving, take
out 3 Tablespoons of the cake mix combination and

mix it with 2 Tablespoons of water in a small microwave-safe
container. Microwave on high for 1 minute, and you have
your own instant individual little cake!



KEEP remaining cake mixture stored in the ziploc bag
and use whenever you feel like a treat! You can top
each cake with a dollop of fat free whipped topping
and/or some fresh fruit.



Helpful Tips:

This recipe is called 3, 2, 1 Cake because all you need
to remember is

"3 tablespoons mix,
2 tablespoons water,
1 minute in the microwave!"



TRY various flavors of cake mix like carrot, red velvet, pineapple,
lemon, orange, etc. Just remember that one of the mixes has
to be the angel food mix; the other is your choice.
The flavor possibilities are endless!



NOTES:
The best thing is, you open both cake mixes into a gallon
storage bag, one that 'zip locks' or 'self-seals', or a
container that seals tightly. Shake the two cake mixes to
blend and then make the recipe. Storage of mix is simple,
put it on a shelf. No need to refrigerate, since the mix is dry.

Always remember that one of the cake mixes MUST be
Angel Food. The other can be any flavor.
The Angel Food is the cake mix that has the eggs whites
in it. So, if, anyone is allergic to egg whites, you CANNOT
serve this recipe

QBQ again

This morning was our umpteenth trip out to Quitobaquito. Nice sunny day. temp in the 60-70. The road has een graded so is much better than it was the first trip this year. No surprises. LE have been told to be less visable and so they are. Our guests seemed to enjoy themselves.

Time Change

Oh Dear what do I do? Is it Fall Forward? Spring Back?

Oh wait, I'm in Arizona.

Nevermind !

Taxes

Last night I finished our taxes for 2011. For the third or fourth year in a row I used Turbo Tax. I waited for the coupon, purchased at Costco, stowed with the 2011 paperwork until all the 1099s and other crytic tax info that is mailed out at the end of the year.
After about 8-9 hours of hunting for papers and arranging them, and typing the numbers into the program, Turbo Tax tells you that you have successfully completed your federal taxes and for an addtional $20 TT will do your state taxes for you. OK
So it's done and I'm done. It's like a have just completed a term paper, or just run a marathon. It's great to get it behind me.

Sonoyta

For the first time in my life I have driven into Mexico. In 1971, while we were stationed at MCB Twenty Nine Palms in California, R and I rode with friends down to Ensenada, Mexico for the week-end. Now, 41 years later, we again ventured into the country to our south.

The reason for the trip was food. Food can be a powerful draw. We were invited to dinner at the home of a friend who lives in Sonoyta. So six of us volunteers piled in our pickup, four in another vehicle and we drove the five miles down to the border. I had emptied the bed of the truck and rolled back the tonneau cover so that the border agents would not have any questions. I cleaned out the interior and even washed the truck. I’m not sure why I washed the truck. Maybe the border agents would treat me better or be less suspicious if my truck was clean.
With apprehension, I eased my vehicle slowly across the international threshold. A series of speed bumps, a couple of stop signs, a wave-on by a uniformed agent and we were in Mexico. No explosions, no gun toting drug runners, no dirty barking dogs. And the road was even paved!
Just past the entry gate I located (with help of my passengers) the small office that sells Mexican insurance. Full coverage for my truck was $20 for 24 hours. The insurance form required my vehicle vin number, my Oregon license number, and either my drivers’ license number or my passport number. All that was easy and after a signature and a twenty dollar bill, the paperwork was completed. By the time I got back to the truck, our hostess arrived and we followed her through downtown Sonoyta. I was paying close attention to my driving and trying to follow the other car, so I did not see much of the town, but what I did see reminded me that we were no longer in the US.
A couple of left turns and a right brought us to our destination, a modest but nice house. The interior was neat and clean, with large tiles on the floor. Two tables were placed end-to-end with extra chairs around them in anticipation of the guests and a wonderful smell was coming from the kitchen.
In a few minutes we were sitting down at the table. Sopes ( so PEE ahs) were the fare for the evening. I’ve never had sopes before. Not sure what all the ingredients were, but it was good! The initial portion on my plate consisted of three sopes, but I managed to consume another.
After plenty of great food and great conversation, we reloaded our truck and the mini caravan headed back toward the US. After a short drive we were back at the crossing. I rolled down all of the windows before reaching the northbound speed bumps. I gathered up six passports and handed them to border agent. I was expecting to see him stamp them but I guess they just scan them now. After less then five minutes, the agent called out our names and handed the passports back to us. No frisking, no body searches, no hassles.
My passport is not a virgin any more. Yipee!