Javelina

Not a great pic, but I was so excited. This is a javelina (collared piccary, not a pig) crossing the road. I'm like a little kid when it comes to seeing animals.

Chiricahua National Park

Unexpected Pines

So, the story is we unexpectedly found ourselves among the pines. We dreamed of camping on the desert floor, but the National Forest campground was full. The ranger pointed us up a mountain to a primitive State Forest site. Twelve miles further and 2000 feet higher we pitched our tent at 7000 feet. We saw patches of snow across the dirt road. We brought a light tent and light sleeping bags and no wood. The fuel we picked up for our pocket rocket stove was the wrong size. So we gathered wood and built a fire and froze. We suspect it probably got down in the 20s. Gene left the tent to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and came back shivering uncontrollably. He couldn't stop shaking for about 20 minutes. We slept (sort of) with our bodies cemented together. No, that isn't very poetic, but that's the way it was. Maybe I'll think of a better way to describe it later. The next morning we were happy to find out we were still alive. We climbed down from that mountain and headed for Bisbee. Our taste for more camping this trip had run fairly dry.

Little Pink Garages

We were listening to John Mellencamp shortly after we took this pic. Arizona puts a whole new spin on little pink houses (and garages).

Dropping Out

We're sitting at a coffee house in Bisbee and we have stories to tell. But for now I just have time for a pic from a few days ago. We've camped and survived, but barely. Now we're enjoying the Bisbee air, which frequently has the aroma of pot wafting by. This is the home of society dropouts. I love this place.

Dry Rivers Blue Sky

Arizona is dry, but it's a warm dry. Still, I'm a Midwestern girl. I'm not used to rivers that look like this one. All along the side of the roads and highways we see signs. "Do not enter when flooded." I'm dying to see that time. This is our second visit to Arizona and we have yet to see a drop of rain.

There's a lot to be said for a blue sky, however. You can see the birds. Yesterday two Harris's hawks and a red tail hawk circled above our heads in the desert. Later, two A10 warthogs from the military base screamed by.

Higher Elevations

A short 25-mile trip up a mountain and we came across this stuff.

Dead Embrace

Shadowlands

Yes, I've been quiet, living in the shadowlands. Well, not actually. Just trying desperately to get enough stuff done so that we could escape from the cold for a week. We've run off to the desert, a totally foreign land. I have no language for this place. It's like landing on Mars. I'll post pics when I can. I'm not too happy about this one. I'm not quite that fat and Gene is not quite that skinny.

Weather

This March snow looks so serious and grim. Seconds later the sun is shining, the water is pouring off the roof. You can’t take March snow seriously. Birds are chattering. Spring is on its way. I’m lacing my boots. It’s almost time to go tramping through the fields to examine the stones.