Not So Insane Camping
Jon and I went camping last December. That was an insane trip. A couple of weeks ago we decided to attempt another trip. This time we planned on going to Mt. Graham, but had a backup if the weather was bad. The weather forecast for Mt. Graham sounded like our last trip so we decided to go to Haigler Creek. We camped at the developed campground at Haigler Canyon. You can camp free most anywhere, but at the developed campground you have a bathroom, bear proof trash can, and a nice prepared tent location with a picnic table and a fire pit/grill.
I really prefer this type of camping. Especially when the trip involves a little fishing as well. We chose Haigler Creek based on an account that the forest service stocks prize fish into the creek as an attempt to lure fisherman away from the crowded creeks into the less occupied areas. My first attempt to catch one of these prize fish didn’t turn out too well.
After not catching anything I set about looking for a better place to fish. I didn’t find a good fishing hole, but I did encounter some wild blackberries. I ate a few and then picked a couple handfuls to have with breakfast. They tasted very good on the pancakes.
After breakfast we packed up our stuff and headed out to fish for a few hours before leaving. We were more dedicated this time and found a few good spots to fish. I got a couple of bites and then landed a small rainbow trout.
We found an even better place to fish. I caught a fish and just as it’s mouth touched the air it wiggled free. Jon caught what we believe to be the same fish. The fish freed itself in the same way it did for me. It must have a skill for getting loose.
One of the best parts about going camping is the opportunity to see the wildlife. The butterfly below was a fun find. Even more fun was discussing the creature causing the footprint just to the upper right of the butterfly. A skunk was the final consensus, but perhaps we were wrong. Any ideas?
What in the world is the plant in the two last photos? It looks like a cross between a squash, okra, and cotton.
Electrical Storm
Tonight a big electrical and wind storm moved in. Right now the wind is gusting to about 50 mph and it’s pouring cats and dogs. This must be a microburst. I haven’t seen rain like this since I was in a tropical storm in Chile. The intercloud lightening about an hour ago was awesome.
[MEDIA=1]
8/29/08 – Weather service reported that the temperature during the storm was 64 F. We got 2 inches of rain. Wind speed 54 mph with gusts to 75 mph. No wonder all the branches on the mulberry tree were pointed in the same direction!
Adventure
I just had a fun little adventure. A little tabby kitten was running behind all my stuff out back. I went to chase it out of the yard. As I chased it out front it darted into the house through the door I had left closed, but not enough to catch the latch. It darted into H’s bedroom. Being as messy as it is it took me about 5 minutes to find the thing cowering under her bed. After a little scuffle it tried to hide on top of the books on the first shelf. Unfortunately for the cat that was a nice place for me to grab it. It scratched me and I threw it out her door and down the hall. It decided it didn’t want to leave so it ran into V’s room. I saw it run under the bed so I went and closed H’s door and the bathroom door, and placed a box across the entry into the family room so it would have to run out the open front door. I lifted up her bed to grab the cat and it wasn’t there. I searched around her room. I cleaned it the other day so there wasn’t many places to hide. Crap, it was in the closet. I pulled a few boxes out and saw the tip of it’s tail. It was hiding behind a huge stack of boxes. I pushed one corner of the boxes up against the wall so it was wedged in there and it started to hiss. If there is any sound in the world I hate as much as a cat hiss I have yet to hear it. That was it. It had to go. I grabbed a bib out of the basket and wrapped it up so it wouldn’t scratch. It wiggled free and ran into the hall closet where the kids keep all the pillows. One by one I threw out the pillows and after the last one I got it to run out the door.
I guess I learned my lesson. Always close the door until it latches.
At least it wasn’t a rat, although had it been I would have had no qualms with just killing it. I may hate cats, but I still have trouble killing them.
Funny Signs
You might have to right click the image and select ‘view image’ or equivalent.
“Ice Cold Ice”
I saw this marquis in St. George a few weeks ago. I wonder if there is ice that isn’t ice cold.
My Amazing Wife
That’s right. My wife is amazing. Not because she is incredibly smart (which she is), not because she is incredibly beautiful (which she is). She is amazing because she has the wonderful ability to make people feel better. She always makes my day better, and I see her do the same for others. She’s also incredibly brave. Brave enough to spend nearly 6 weeks on a road trip with the kids while I stay home and work. I feel very lucky/blessed to have her in my life. Even if she is 1500 miles away right now. I feel even more blessed to know that she will be mine for all eternity. Laurie, thankyou for saying yes, and giving me the most wonderful years of my life. I know that every year with you can only be more wonderful than the last.
I love you!
