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Cave Creek days and nights02 giugno and on to WordPressWell, I've tried MSN Spaces and Blogger and Yahoo. So it's on to WordPress. I've started a hosted Blog using WordPress. The intention is to consolidate several blog experiments into one ongoing blog with categories.
The blog is called One Stormy Day (that's www.onestormyday.com)
I'll keep this up for the foreseeable future, but all new posts will be at One Stormy Day.
Check it out and say hi. Thanks, Jack
Ps I’ve also created several lenses at Squidoo: www.squidoo.com/benjaminfranklin www.squidoo.com/retireinarizona www.squidoo.com/computerconsultant www.squidoo.com/gasolinealley31 marzo AQG 2006 Quilt ShowJudy took on the task of being the Quilt Show Chair for the Arizona Quilt Guild's 2006 show. Hundred's of terrific quilts are exhibited to thousands of show attendees. Judy put together a great team of volunteers, planned and delivered a terrific show. A week before the start ASU called to tell her that the building traditionally used for the quilt exhibits wouldn’t be available due to a water pipe break that knocked out the building power. She and her team responded by reorganizing the show layout to deal with the loss of planned space and try to fit into the hastily substituted ASU facilities. The result was, in many ways, a better exhibit. She also exhibited four quilts that she had made; entered three of them in judged categories. Judges awarded her three ribbons! Friends have been asking to see some pictures, so here they are. 06 marzo Cliff dwellings in Rogers CanyonThe Heavenly Hikers went back to the Superstition Wilderness this Saturday. It took a couple of hours of rough dirt road driving to get to the trailhead called Reavis Ranch. The Rogers Canyon trail splits off and follows the canyon. It's mostly downhill going into and down the canyon. Which means it's a tough uphill hike coming back! The prize is some accessible cliff dwellings at the turnaround point. A long day - 6 hours of driving, and 6 hours of hiking, but worth it!
We explored three caves. One had several rooms, but it was pretty dark. Wish we'd had a flashlight. We had lunch in the front yard of one of the dwellings, looking back up the canyon. Pretty special! 23 febbraio To The Top Of Black MountainYesterday, Ed and I climbed to the top of Black Mountain. WOW. It’s not often I get to the top of a mountain peak with a full 360 view. Despite some haze/smog we could see Four Peaks to the Southeast; follow Cave Creek Road South into Phoenix, turn and watch the same road meander around Black Mountain, through Cave Creek, into Carefree, and slice off to the Tonto Forrest. We could see some of our regular hiking targets like the Go John Trail in the CC Recreation area and Elephant Butte in Spur Cross.
The directions are simple: take School House Road till it ends and start walking in a straight line till you get to the top. For me, it was a very difficult hike; continuous upward climbing, with no level stretches to reload your muscles and your lungs; up a path that is barely scuffled into the rock strewn mountainside. Yet we kept meeting people who claim to do the hike on almost a daily basis! The path roughly follows a long spine or ridge. From a distance this ridge seems to gently rise to the top. Up close and personal it’s tricky. As you climb, you have what seems to be the peak in sight. It stays in front of you and seems reachable. As you near it, you realize that the line of sight has tricked you and the apparent peak is just a spiny hillock and you are only 2/3rds of the way to the real peak! 25 gennaio A hiker needs good equipment . . .I've been breaking in my hiking hat and shoes - think i made some good choices! My old hiking shoes were just heavy duty sneakers. No real support, no foot protection. Result is sore feet during and after a hike. Not good. Looked at REI and The Hiking Shack. Went to the Outdoor Warehouse at the suggestion of Donna Duck. Good suggestion.
Found my hat. A Barmah hat. Made in Australia so it has the "outback cache". Leather brim and top - mesh crown. Great fit and I look cool! Around $35 which seemed a bargain. My new hiking boots are by Danner. The 6 inch Instigator Brown GTX. Around $150 which seemed an extravagance, but now feels like a good investment. I've been breaking them in for the last couple of weeks, and like them. Great protection for my feet - feel I can scrabble over any rocky path and not be afraid of my foot sliding or ankle rolling, or worse yet getting dinged by rocks that seem to jump at your toes. Good protection makes a happy hiker. Speaking of hiking . . .Ed and I have gotten back to our weekly hiking outing. Today we explored a possible hike for him to take visiting grandkids on. the specifications were: short enough for young attention spans, mild hiking trail, and something interesting to see. Took him to the Clay Mine that I showed Tim and Tom when they visited from New Jersey. It's a relatively short hike with an interesting mine to check out. Nice place at the crest of a hill for the required snack stop - it overlooks a horse coral for a trail riding outfit.
Hiking the Dutchman Trail-Black Mesa loop in the Superstition Wilderness.Saturday January 7, I joined a group called the Heavenly Hikers, from All saints Lutheran Church in Phoenix on a hike in the Superstitions. Great group, great hike. The hike was described as easy to moderate, but I found it challenging. A longer hike than I've had in quite a while with moderate climbs throughout the route. I was ready for it to end, but very glad I stayed the course. The Superstitions Wilderness is an awesome area, filled with great hikes and sights. This loop had some great views of Weaver's Needle. There is a large patch of Chollla's, taller than any I've seen before, that the group called a Cholla Forest. It's on the Mesa, about 2/3 of the way through the loop. We hit the trail about 9:30 AM, and got back to the cars around 4 PM. Learned a little more about hiking and my capacity. A welcome stop for a beer at the Mammoth Bar at Goldfield made the hour's drive home bearable. 07 agosto The perfect cup of teaMy mother Blanche was a tea drinker. My Aunt Orphie was a tea drinker. Little surprise that I became a tea drinker as a youth. Fell out of the tea habit as an adult. Now in my second or third childhood I've gone back to tea. A perfect afternoon or evening drink. Might even be healthy!
After some experimentation, I found a tea taste I like - Earl Grey, and Earl Grey Green tea. I use the tea bag because it's easier and works just fine. The problem I found was getting the taste right. Take the tea bag out too soon and it's weak. Bleh! Leave the bag in too long and it's bitter. Double bleh! The manufacturer's recommendation of 3-5 minutes doesn't work for me.
Then I found the secret to the perfect cup of tea. Use two tea bags. I use one each of the Earl Grey, and the Earl Grey Green. I pour almost boiling water on the tea bags and let steep for exactly five minutes. Resist the temptation to dunk or jiggle the tea bags as they steep. When the timer sounds, immediately, take out the bags without squeezing (makes it bitter again). Perfect!
The trick is the two tea bags. Good strong tea taste that is not bitter. The time is obviously a personal variable. Try it and let me know if it works for you?
p.s. My Aunt Orphie would leave the tea bag in until she got around to her first sip - might be an hour! Then she'd save the wet bag in a saucer, with others. She'd re-use the tea bags later. I loved Aunt Orphie and thank her for the introduction to tea, but am not recommending this last tea tactic. 22 luglio The Minnesota Walleye, oh my, oh myLast year when we were driving around Southwestern Minnesota looking for quilt shops and bookstores, we ended up in Windom around 5 o’clock at the Prairie Quilt store. While Judy and her mother Margaret browsed the quilt store I worked the dinner problem and asked the owner where the best meal in town was. She said it was not in Windom but in Bergen. She called in her husband who runs the next-door, feed store. They both promised us the best steak and seafood in Southern Minnesota and advised us to hustle. No reservations and there will be “people waiting in the parking lot by the time you get there”, first come, first served. Good advice!
Take US 71 South from Windom Minnesota, about half way to Jackson; turn left on MN 30, and a mile or so later you run smack into the middle of what used to be Bergen Minnesota at the intersection of MN 30 and MN 21. On the map it's the exact middle of nowhere. You are in farm country. I’m told that before the Interstate went in that Bergen actually was a town of many residents and businesses. Now it’s just a crossroads with an antique store, a meat locker, and a bar & grill. There is no outside sign. Look for a house, with a big deck and big parking lot in front. The only sign is a cardboard “Open” sign in the window.
Wait, that’s not just a bar & grill; it’s the Bergen Bar & Grill. They serve the best Walleye, of my! Here’s how you do it. Order up a pitcher of beer. Then order the beer battered shrimp appetizer – six is plenty for three people. Delicious jumbos that are juicy and fresh. Don’t waste time and space on the salad and bread (so-so, ho-hum). Go directly to the Walleye. Order it pan-fried (beer battered is ok, but that was what the shrimp were there for). Walleye is probably my favorite fresh water fish. It’s got a nutty, mild flavor and Bergen serves the best. They also serve value. Their pan-fried dinner is $9.95 and you get two nice fillets. I think you’ll pay more ($14 to $20) for a single fillet in most other places. After that meal, you’ve earned the right to sit there and smile for a few minutes. Don’t let the people standing in the doorway waiting for a table spook you. They’ll wait, cause they know it’s worth the wait.
Just got back from Minnesota, where Judy, Margaret and I visited the quilt shop and timed it so we’d be in Bergen’s parking lot when they flipped over the Closed sign to the Open sign. Still haven’t tried the steak, because they’re still serving walleye. Oh my, oh my.
(so what's your fish story?)
01 luglio Can you hike a museum?Summer heat and the Cave Creek Complex fire have taken away our semi-weekly hike. So today we re-toured the Pueblo Grande Museum and restoration in downtown Phoenix.
http://www.ci.phoenix.az.us/PUEBLO/pueblo1.html (Didn't take the camera, and couldn't find any good images on the I'net).
The site is a mound and surrounding compound including some buildings and a ball court. Attributed to the Hohokam, and dating back as recently as the 1400's, this mound grew over time. It seems like ground level buildings were filled with trash, debris, dirt, and then built upon. Eventually it's a large mesa like mound that has the latest course of buildings on top. Were the buildings ceremonial? Did the tribal elite live at the top? The bulk of the tribe lived in homes that surrounded the mound like a sprawling suburb, essentially spilling Northward.
We got there to open the place and tour the mound and outside complex first. Then went into the A/C and toured the exhibit. Very well done.
Hard to imagine this in an ancient setting, by a flowing Salt River. Today it is sided by a city street and a train track, and is minutes from Sky Harbor Airport!
Now, where else can we go for a cooler summer hike?
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