Monday Jan 09.2023

 When the boys and I got on the trail this morning the yesterday's full moon was going down as the sun was brightening the eastern sky.  The lighting was very cool.  Here is the moon as we got back to the trailer.

Rain in the Desert

 As you know, we are in Arizona.  When I say Arizona to friends in the Midwest or Northwest, most or them think, " Lawrence of Arabia riding his horse down a huge sand dune with a single saguaro cactus nearby.  Nothing is further from the truth.  There are four deserts in the US.  All very different.  All four of them are present in the state of Arizona.  The most prevalent and most beautiful desert in Arizona is the Sonoran.

    So rain, desert.  Do they sound like they go together?  Actually, they do.  The Sonoran Desert has five seasons.  Winter is the rainy season.  the second half of summer is also a rainy season.  It is the time for the "Monsoons", thunderstorms that blow in from the Gulf of California.  The winter rains are slow and nurturing.  The Monsoons are violent, loud, and often cause flash flooding downstream of the storm areas.

We have had three periods of winter rains, one in early December, one over Christmas weekend and one New Year's weekend.  Probably a total of 5 inches over the periods.  The wildflower display this spring is going to be awesome.

Queen Creek has been flowing since December 5th.  Heavey early in the month, dropping to almost a trickle and then building with the Christmas and New Year's rains.  It is good to see water flowing in it.  Notice how turbid the water is.  This was taken yesterday.  Today the flow has lessened, and the water has cleared.

 

Aloe Bloom

 It is the second day of Winter.  I have a bloom to show you.  Because Aloe are from the Southern Hemisphere they are beginning to bloom.  Here is an early Aloe bloom.  More to come.

Where Have We Been?

 Good question, but you know the answer.   On our way down to Arizona.  So here's the trip.

Day 1:(Fri)  Canby to Redmond : (156mi)  Left Canby before 10am  ( very good)  Drive over Santiam Pass was uneventful.  A little snow on the side of the road.  Arrived at RV Park in Redmond about 3:30.  Supper and conversation with Jason and Toni _ Priceless !

Day 2:(Sat)  Redmond to Standish, Ca:  (335mi)   Dry conditions, mixed sun, Arrived at RV park at 4:30.  

Day 3:(Sun)  Standish to Tonopah, Nv:  (308mi)   Sunny, dry, best fuel price (4,75) arrived at RV park 4.  Cool night at 6000 ft.

Day 4:(Mon) Tonopah, Nv to Cal Nev Ari, Nv: (280mi)  Nice dry drive, open skies.  Arrived at 3pm.

Day 5:Tues) Cal Nev Ari to Yuma:  (225mi)  Got going by 9am. This is my least favorite part of the trip (from Cal Nev Ari to Parker. narrow, curvy, "up and down").  Arrived at Quartzite about 1pm.  While fueling up, someone mentioned that one of the tires on the trailer was "dragging".  Thinking about the bearing problem we had two years ago, I checked all the hubs.  (No heat, so not the issue.)  Further searching revealed the back tire on the passenger side was missing one of the treads.  Yipes !  I called a local tire shop and found out that a new tire was in stock. "We can do it today"  Drove over and waited 2 hours until we could get the trailer into the shop.  Further searching revealed the problem; a broken spring.  The other three springs were sagging as well so the trailer's day was over.  All needed replacing.  The shop said they could do it.  The Trailer was unhooked.  We grabbed what we thought would last us the 3/4 nights in a motel; clothes, shoes, dog supplies, meds, cooler full of snacks,  Found a suitable motel with Travelocity on our way to Yuma.  By 6pm we were checked in and unloaded.

Day 6: (Wed) Trip to Los Algodones, Mexico:  (10mi)  Visited our favorite dentist and discovered that the work recommended by our local dentist is not needed.  On day is all that will be needed.  If the trailer was not an issue, we could have driven to BTA on Thursday .  However, the parts were scheduled to arrive on Friday.

Day 7&8 (Thurs) Trip to Imperial Nat. Wildlife Refuge on the Colorado River.  Perfet example of a riparian zone in a desert environment.  There were 3 Desert Tortoises that had been "pets" so could not be returned to the wild.  Each on has it's own space to roam and a den for brumation.  The day we were there one of the areas was being worked on so "Digger" was in a plastic container which he did not like.  

 

Isn't he a cutie?

Day 9  (Sat)  Yuma, Quartzite, Superior)  (250mi)  Picked up the repaired trailer.  Drove east on I-10 and arrived at BTA about 1:30  Set up in the rain.   (but that's another story) 

Be careful using a logsplitter

    Last Tuesday I helped a friend split some logs into firewood.  We rented a professional grade log splitter.  It is a powerful, but dangerous tool.  We were doing fine until I got my finger in the wrong place.  After a couple of hours at Urgent Care, I "single-Handedly " help him complete the task.

It's interesting that my middle finger has assumed the roll of the index finger since the accident and is helping me button and snap and even typing on the keyboard.

I get the stitches out on Friday after Thanksgiving but will remain bandaged and in the splint for at least another week.  Also Friday we begin our trek to Arizona.  

Snow At Night

It's that time of year.

My son took this on the road near Prineville, OR a few nights ago.

 

Winter

 It has arrived.   Early   Snow in the mountains and the passes.  Cold temps here in the valley.  I think that it maybe got to 50 today.  And LOTS of rain.  and Wind.  It reminds me of why we head south in three weeks.  Ugly weather, but that's why Oregon is so green.  Grass, trees, moss.....

  I'm ready to go,  Randa too.  The trailer is more or less ready.  Truck needs and oil change and possibly transmission.  Then there's the loading, but we can't do the food yet.  

   Hopefully the snow level will subside so that the pass highway is safe.  If not, we wait.

   Now we start planning for next summer.  Coast ?  Bonneville?  Somewhere else? 

  In the meantime, here is a photo I took this summer at the Newport Acquarium.