Sunday, November 28, 2021
In the park
Used to be we spent a fair number of volunteer hours in Saguaro National Park. Life before Covid. My main gig was working with 3rd and 4th graders on field trips. In the G.O.D. (good old days) we had at least 2 field trips per week and up to 10 volunteers. Now we are down to 2 volunteers and only one field trip (total) was scheduled for this season though we hope there may be more before spring. I also devoted Saturdays to guided walks, then patio talks. Now there are no adult programs (allowed by the park). So I am spending Saturdays and whenever doing what I call Ranger by the Road; spending two hours at one of the interpretive pullouts talking to people, answering questions, ...
I quite love to do this, get to meet people from all over the US. It never fails that the person with the most questions shows up just as I am getting ready to leave. Counted 56 contacts on this last Saturday. Kit is still doing bike patrol around the loop road.
Wednesday before Thanksgiving we "hiked" the Mica View trail (1 1/2 mile easy walk). We were fortunate to see a rattlesnake which I guess means it is still the warm season. People always ask (worriedly) about rattlesnakes but this is only the second I have seen in over 10 years on park trails. I know this trail pretty well having done weekly guided walks here for a number of years (my cholla walks). I am tracking the demise of the granddaddy saguaro which was one of the stops on my walk--until one day it was down across the trail. No event that we can tell--just old age. Now it is just a skeleton.
I also noted that the cholla (cactus) that held a good example of a cactus wren nest has recently fallen--the nest is still amazingly intact. And my favorite Christmas cholla has died. Luckily there are new ones near by.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
I quite love to do this, get to meet people from all over the US. It never fails that the person with the most questions shows up just as I am getting ready to leave. Counted 56 contacts on this last Saturday. Kit is still doing bike patrol around the loop road.
Wednesday before Thanksgiving we "hiked" the Mica View trail (1 1/2 mile easy walk). We were fortunate to see a rattlesnake which I guess means it is still the warm season. People always ask (worriedly) about rattlesnakes but this is only the second I have seen in over 10 years on park trails. I know this trail pretty well having done weekly guided walks here for a number of years (my cholla walks). I am tracking the demise of the granddaddy saguaro which was one of the stops on my walk--until one day it was down across the trail. No event that we can tell--just old age. Now it is just a skeleton.
I also noted that the cholla (cactus) that held a good example of a cactus wren nest has recently fallen--the nest is still amazingly intact. And my favorite Christmas cholla has died. Luckily there are new ones near by.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
In the park
Friday, November 26, 2021
Thanksgiving
Since this is our last season in Tucson I thought I might blog "standing still" at Far Horizons. We've been here since Nov .9. We have a Thanksgiving tradition of a bike ride along the Rillito. This year there was a forecast for wind but we decided to give it a try since it was our last one after all. We portage the bikes to a park near Columbus St. and ride west to Children's park. The wind was coming from the east so it was a breeze getting to our turn around point. But just like in sailing "it's always a beat home", Riding into blustery wind is not fun, esp. when it is gusty. Grit was flying up the wash and it got in our mouth, eyes, and rasped the skin. I didn't have trouble pedaling my e-bike--just keeping upright and on the path. It's a 12 mi round trip ride with half of it into the wind.
We were ready by eve for a traditional dinner of Cornish Game Hen on the Barbie.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
We were ready by eve for a traditional dinner of Cornish Game Hen on the Barbie.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
Wednesday, November 10, 2021
Arrived
Other than the long days of driving (mostly Kit) the rest of the trip was uneventful. We love the new 202 that lets us bypass Phoenix proper. Arrived Monday before 5. Then a tiring day of removing desert, dust, unloading and unpacking and figuring out what we forgot. And grocery shopping. Today we are doing laundry and taking a rest. It seems really quiet there but ran into lots of people we know while out walking. Is the long drive worth the sun and pool.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
Carol Harma--from my iPad
Sunday, November 07, 2021
Foodie hell
This has not been a good trip for food. Pray we get to Tucson soon. The first night we had dinner in our hotel which was convenient and OK--although I couldn't believe they wanted to serve my beef bourginon on mashed potatoes with cheese and bacon? The second night we were in Wells, land of no restaurants--so we ate at the casino. Had to walk through smoke filled casino to get to the restaurant and wait... because there was only one waitress. We could not get beer in the restaurant but would have had to go into the smoky casino to get beer--so had water with my chef's salad (which was very good). Tonight takes the cake. I wish there were cake.
After a long long day of driving through the nothingness of Nevada. (FYi Love's no longer carries Books on CD.). And driving through Las Vegas with the sun in our eyes.
So we came to the motel in Henderson which served us so well last spring. Then they had free lasagna and wine. Alas not tonight. We headed across the parking lot to a tavern with food just across the parking lot. We have eaten in sports bars before but none with hundred of TVs all with hockey game on maximum volume. Another senior couple was waiting for their food to go because of the noise. There were like 5 guys in this bar and yet the volume had to be over the top. So.. We checked all our apps for something else in the area and came up empty. The desk clerk at our motel suggested a nice Mexican restaurant which she said was 9 minutes away but turned out to be 20 minutes away including freeway driving. We decided not to do that. We decided to skip the beer and go to Denny's which was nearby. They were short staffed, nothing on the menu appeals (they don't even have Kirsten's favorite cheese sandwich), and there were screaming kids. We left. There was a gas station across the street where we could get beer!! And a Burger King nearby as well. Surprise! They were closed except for drive through. So Kit got the car and got us food finally! What a disaster it's all been. Tomorrow is 411 miles to our place in Tucson so we won't have much time for food and shopping.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
After a long long day of driving through the nothingness of Nevada. (FYi Love's no longer carries Books on CD.). And driving through Las Vegas with the sun in our eyes.
So we came to the motel in Henderson which served us so well last spring. Then they had free lasagna and wine. Alas not tonight. We headed across the parking lot to a tavern with food just across the parking lot. We have eaten in sports bars before but none with hundred of TVs all with hockey game on maximum volume. Another senior couple was waiting for their food to go because of the noise. There were like 5 guys in this bar and yet the volume had to be over the top. So.. We checked all our apps for something else in the area and came up empty. The desk clerk at our motel suggested a nice Mexican restaurant which she said was 9 minutes away but turned out to be 20 minutes away including freeway driving. We decided not to do that. We decided to skip the beer and go to Denny's which was nearby. They were short staffed, nothing on the menu appeals (they don't even have Kirsten's favorite cheese sandwich), and there were screaming kids. We left. There was a gas station across the street where we could get beer!! And a Burger King nearby as well. Surprise! They were closed except for drive through. So Kit got the car and got us food finally! What a disaster it's all been. Tomorrow is 411 miles to our place in Tucson so we won't have much time for food and shopping.
Carol Harma--from my iPad
Saturday, November 06, 2021
On the road south
We are heading to Tucson for one last winter. So far the traveling has been quite fine. No rain. Kit forgot his raincoat so had to buy one at BiMart in Baker City so we are prepared if it does rain.
Left Friday morning and did over 400 miles--a lot for us. All freeway driving. Hwy 84 is not as bad as I5 but after you leave the Columbia gorge it does get a bit boring. Stopped last night in Baker City. Had a great motel (Quality Inn) where we could park just outside our door and wheel the bikes in--lots of room. Fitting bikes into a hotel room always a challenge.
Today (Saturday) we only did 350 miles which was plenty. When you travel through the wastelands of Nevada there are only so many choices of places to stay. We chose Wells (a non-place on the crossroads of Hwy 93 and I 80. We've stayed at this Hampton Inn before and they let us store our bikes in a downstairs meeting room. No gourmet dining in this place though. The taco trucks were closed so we chose the casino. Once you get past the smoke the food is quite good. We would like to have made Ely but it's still 2 hours away. So we will head to Henderson tomorrow. All back roads with sparse traffic until we get to Vegas.
We've been playing hop and jump time zones today. Pacific to Mountain and back to Pacific in Nevada. Tomorrow is the end of DST so we fall back--which we will ignore. Arizona is in Mountain time but doesn't do DST so we end up keeping our clocks on whatever time it was when we left home. ?
Carol Harma--from my iPad
Left Friday morning and did over 400 miles--a lot for us. All freeway driving. Hwy 84 is not as bad as I5 but after you leave the Columbia gorge it does get a bit boring. Stopped last night in Baker City. Had a great motel (Quality Inn) where we could park just outside our door and wheel the bikes in--lots of room. Fitting bikes into a hotel room always a challenge.
Today (Saturday) we only did 350 miles which was plenty. When you travel through the wastelands of Nevada there are only so many choices of places to stay. We chose Wells (a non-place on the crossroads of Hwy 93 and I 80. We've stayed at this Hampton Inn before and they let us store our bikes in a downstairs meeting room. No gourmet dining in this place though. The taco trucks were closed so we chose the casino. Once you get past the smoke the food is quite good. We would like to have made Ely but it's still 2 hours away. So we will head to Henderson tomorrow. All back roads with sparse traffic until we get to Vegas.
We've been playing hop and jump time zones today. Pacific to Mountain and back to Pacific in Nevada. Tomorrow is the end of DST so we fall back--which we will ignore. Arizona is in Mountain time but doesn't do DST so we end up keeping our clocks on whatever time it was when we left home. ?
Carol Harma--from my iPad
