Another Loop De Loop, This Time With Hans and Lisa

Welcome to Arizona, where summer spends the winter — and hell spends the summer. A "locals" aphorism.

After The Storm: "Romancing The Stones"

"She looked out of her window. How blue the sky. The mountain peaks stood up like dark spears. Patches of snow shone in the sunlight, running down to the edge of the vast green belt of forest land…. Arizona! There was no place in the world so full of romance and beauty and natural things that stir the soul."   ~Zane Grey, The Water Hole, 1928

When Old Man Winter Deals You Lemons, Make Lemonade Slushies

So it snows on our "parade." Boo Hoo. But it doesn't do a damn bit a good to throw a fit and whine. I mean gee, Mark, try to save your energy for bigger battles, you know, the life and death ones.

Wasson Peak

This year the Jet Stream has been horseshoeing deep into Old Mexico. Storm after storm, followed by cold front after cold front; it's wreaking havoc with our limited winter wardrobe. 

How to evade disappointment

I have yet to repair our two flat front tires, so we hike. Whatever...doesn't matter. Ever notice that people who hold the lowest expectations are generally the most highly satisfied in life?

Mountain Lion, Lost Dog, Trail Angels and a 2014 Used Sue Bee...FSBO

This Morning, Bobbie reminded me of an important omission in yesterday's post...

"If it wasn't for bad luck, ya'll, I wouldn't have no luck at all"

“It is important to emphasize that this is science, not mysticism...an ancient skill that we are all born to practice. This innate "sense" has been largely forgotten...because modern lifestyles demand we engage in mostly logical, deductive thinking, rather than using our intuition. Our ability to extract meaning from interrelated phenomena such as bird behavior, wind direction, plant growth, and sunlight has atrophied." “The Nature Instinct: Relearning Our Lost Intuition for the Inner Workings of the Natural World,’’ by Tristan Gooley.

A Well Bouldered Sonoran Desert Hike Through Catalina's Snowcapped Mountain Foothills

We are comfortably boondocked next to an old corral in the well-bouldered foothills of the Catalina Mountains. A mere stone's-throw from camp, the 50 Year Trail meanders by. It leads to dozens more trails that twist and wind through pristine Sonoran desert. Stately saguaros salute with arms pointing every which way as we explore the upward reaches of some of the most captivating country imaginable... 

"Into this world we're thrown..."

According to Craig Childs research in his latest book, "Atlas Of A Lost World," people were migrating to North America before they even knew it existed. Why?

A Group Bike Ride To Granite Mountain: Poppies!

"Just living is not enough... one must have sunshine, freedom, and a little flower."  Hans Christian Andersen

Obscure 125 Year Old Desert Resort Springs To Life Again

I'm guessing it's been twenty-some years since Bobbie and I explored an obscure and rugged backroad to take a peek at the century old Castle Hot Springs. We found it pretty much in ruin back then, but my oh my, from fire and ash rises a new "Phoenix," or at least a new resort destination for well-heeled Phoenicians.

Climbing Vulture

"Fear the vulture, and the vulture will come. Fear nothing, and you are the vulture."