Vegging

Creative Cacti

 That title sums up my life for the last 3 months, and its been a good thing. Enjoyed a solid 3 months on The Mesa until a early November snowstorm made the decision for me to take the 4000 foot plunge down the mountain to more reasonable weather.

Drying clothes Mesa style

A brief week stay at Roosevelt to catch up with some old friends then back to Tucson to be with the family for the holidays.

Interesting rig

Then the inevitable. 3 outta 6 years Ive been nomadic The Turtles broken down right as I pulled into the folks house. Never like a breakdown, but if its gonna happen its a fine spot. Turned out to be a $150 repair so in the grand scheme of things not to shabby.

Ginger dreaming of days up in the forest.

Thanks to those who emailed in concerns for my well being. Ill try to keep yah up to date a bit more frequently. Thanks for stopping by,, Good Day!

Cinder City

Still hanging out on the Mesa.Temps been hanging out in the upper 70's, so I'll probably be staying put for awhile yet. Done pulling all those pesky weeds. Took a bunch of pictures, but wasn't doing the property any justice. Decide to do  a video of a walk around instead. Here's what a few thousand smackers will get you in northern AZ.

And if youve been living under a rock we have rare Supermoon solar eclipse Sunday night.

Thanks for visiting! Good Day!

Weeds

 Was getting kinda chilly up at 9500ft, so decided to head back to the Mesa. Only to find my lofty mountain property had been completely overtaken by weeds! No Hoa's or pesky neighbors to tell me to get rid of them, but they are here, and driving me a little bit crazy. Plus it gives me something to do.

So for the past three weeks Gingers been chasing rabbits, and I been pulling, spraying, and burning away. After 26 gallons of spray, and 9 tanks of propane think its safe to say in the next week I should have won the war on weeds. Here's a few more pic's....

 Neighbor's stopped by for a visit.

 Fresh roasted Hatch Green Chile's. During August and early September the southwest mainly New mexico harvest over 150 million pounds of them. Bought mine from a lady roasting them on the side of the road. 

 Pain in the butt to peal and de-seed, but well worth the effort.

 Ginger hoping she gets a bite of Green Chile Cheeseburger.

 Black caterpillar invasion. They've been literally everywhere! That was the box my propane torch came in. All those guys crawled in it overnight. Few even managed to crawl into the Busch Light as well, which was a little shocking going to grab a wobbly pop, and grabbing something furry instead. 

Thumbs up cloud. Thanks for visiting!

Good Day!

Ice Cave Hike

On a recent visit to the Reservoir. I lay awake listening to some teenagers talking about a magnificent Ice Cave they had discovered out in the forest. Figured the next morning I'd  take a hike out into the woods in search of this great cave. After about a 4 hour hike going cross country was time to throw in the towel, and decided to head back to camp.

Upon returning to camp I did some googling, and it turns out its a very popular hike in the area, which has some how eluded me for many years. Heres a few pic of the hike.....

Ahh yes and there it is turns out to be a short 2 mile hike from the reservoir. Climbed down into the cave a little ways. It was kinda cold and creepy. Next time ill be sure to pack a working flashlight.

Gingy hunting rabbits from her picnic table perch

Thanks for visiting! Good Day!

The Forest Hermit

 The title pretty much sums up my life so far this summer. Found a great spot 9400ft, good internet, weathers been in the upper 60's, and almost no hassles from anyone. So figured why not stay a couple weeks, which turned into more like 7!

 Daily hikes have been about the most exciting part of my stay, and even those have been pretty uneventful for me at least. Ginger stirs up tons of critters. Sure beats a early morning commute! Heres a few more pics.........

 Stay got cut a few days short. When a family decided to have there reunion right in my camp. Ended up being about 10 motorhomes, tents etc...so decided to move on. Family was enroute so figured id find a spot with some facilities.

Thanks for visiting! Good Day!

10000ft

 More like 9500ft, but 10000 just sounds better. Off for a long Independence day hike! Here's a few more pics of my home for the last few weeks......

 Smoke rollinf in from a fire down near Globe.

 Seen a few Elk, Deer, Turkeys, and plenty of cows

Log Dog

Happy 4th of July Everyone!

Los Burros Trail

Currently up at 9500 feet, but heres a hike I did a few weeks ago while at Los burros campground loop is 14 miles moderate inclines, and there is a shortcut if the whole loop is to long. Cutting the distance down to 9 miles.

 Mere minutes on the trail I ran across a man claiming he had just come across a wolf, then moments later another guy who had just seen a mountain lion chase down a elk. 

Couldn't help but think these two fellers were in cahoots trying to scare a green horn outta the forest. It almost worked, but got to thinking my drive into town is probably 10 times more deadly then a hike in the mountains. In the end I made it! Not without some aching feet. Heres a few more pics

 Very old corral

 Old non functioning wind mill used to provide water for game at one time

First time Ive come across these wild strawberries. Very Tasty

 Honey suckles use to eat these as youngin growing up in the sticks in rural MN

Use to eat these in my younger years too, but had a much different affect then the honey suckles. will save that story for another day.

Happy trails

Mountain Lake Lookout hike

Picture from the trail with tower barely visible. Trailhead leaves Los Burros Campground about a 7 mile hike unless your following me turned out to be about 11. Someone had knocked over the sign pointing the way dam vandals. Eventually ran into a group of ATV'ers who put me on the right track. Elevation gains about 550' . Heres a few more pics....

 Robin eggs

 The black Mesa in the distance is the same one that can be seen from my property. With a good set of  binocs you could zoom right in.

 48ft tower. Not a fun climb for those afraid off heights

Well worth the views though

Good Day!

Back to Burros

Been many many moons since I been back to Los Burros. One of my favorite spots just never able to get internet. This being my first year up here with my Yagi Antenna figured Id give it a shot. Success!!! Not blazing 4G, but I was able to muster up 3 bars of 3G enough to feed my internet addiction for a bit.

Los Burros was the Ranger Station back in 1909-1910 Ranger rode his horse daily to the top of Mountain Lake Lookout to check for fires. Not sure how they battled forest fires back then. Considering we struggle today with all of our modern equipment. Took the 3 1/2 mile hike up to the look out, but will get to that in a later post. Heres a few more pics of Los Burros

Horse Corral

Rangers Station

Campground host. Pretty neat lil set up. Ill try to grab a few more pics when he returns

Coyote that came into camp. Ginger did plenty of barking, but didnt chase, which is a good thing. Often times they send one coyote in, then the dog will chase them back to the pack.

Ginger displaying her acrobatic abilities. She get cruising on downed trees much smaller then this on a hikes. Talking mid 80's even up here at 8000ft, so heading to higher elevations in the morning.

Good Day!

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