Category Archives: Hiking and Nature

Contentment

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Posted by on in Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Service Activities, Social, Spiritual, Striving

December 13, 2016, Prescott-

I will be sending my cards, and a few gifts, out on Thursday evening or Friday.  It will be cutting things close, but this year, I have chosen responsibility over sentiment. Besides, I need to buy a new printer.  Toys for Tots, NAU (my alma mater) and the young people of Streetlight will also need to wait until then.

I am happy, overall, with how my life has panned out, this year.  I am in a position of very intense public service, have a solid circle of friends, am reasonably respected in my community of residence, and have been able to maintain my health and vitality.

My son is holding his own, and getting ready for a great leap of faith and fortune, early next year.  My family, mostly in Massachusetts and Florida, with several scattered in other parts of the country, has been mostly healthy, this year.  I lost two aunts and a cousin,thus far, in the course of 2016. I also saluted an elder who inspired me greatly, as he headed to God’s Eternal Army.

My other love, Nature, rewarded me with a complete hiking circle around this beautiful city, and I have come to the final three segments of an amazing trek through the Sonoran Desert:  Dec. 26-27, and January 6, will find me in the southern sector of Black Canyon National Recreation Trail.  The 19 men who perished while fighting a wildfire in Yarnell, on June 30, 2013, have a memorial place, in Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park.  I will visit that place, on December 29, making my way along the 7-mile round trip trail that brings the visitor to the place where this unspeakable tragedy unfolded.

This year has brought tension, annoyance and suffering to many, perhaps more than in some years, and less so, for others.  I am grateful for having had relatively good fortune, while being prepared, should challenges come my way, in 2017.  A stable job, re-connecting with some friends who have been off my radar for a few years, and good, if too brief, visits with family, give a good backdrop for whatever might lie ahead.

 

Clearer Vision

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Posted by on in children, Education, Family, Hiking and Nature, Matters of Faith, Social, Spiritual, Striving, Travel

November 29, 2016, Prescott- Now that my backlog of stuff has cleared up, somewhat, it’s time to consider what 66 has in store for me, or I, for it.

Fitness:  I like going to Planet Fitness, as there is a place for everyone, with a feeling of community and non-judgement.  People of all ages, sizes and ability levels exercise together and support one another, either silently, or as “spotters”.  My current plan has me there, three days a week.

Hiking:  Related to fitness, and to photography, my hikes vary in length and in difficulty.  They have sustained me, in many ways, for nearly 58 years.  The next twelve months will take me to:  Prescott Hotshots Memorial State Park, in Yarnell;  the southernmost three segments of Black Canyon National Recreation Trail, in New River; Spur Cross Ranch, Cave Creek; McDowell Mountains Desert Preserve, Scottsdale; the San Francisco Peaks, Flagstaff; the Grand Canyon and who knows where, in AZ and elsewhere.

Work:  I was asked to consider being lead teacher in my current classroom.  I respectfully declined, preferring to see a younger person have a shot at that opportunity- as I am not devoting more time to the courses necessary for re-certification, and  given that I plan to work full time, for 4 1/2 more years, then go on to other pursuits, at the end of May, 2021. Children, and their well-being, will always be one of my highest concerns, though, wherever I am.

Family:  This means both biological and of choice.  Thankfully, there is no one in my biological family who would not be in my family of choice.  The former consists of about 140 people, including my mother, siblings, son, maternal and paternal relatives, and in-laws.  The latter has grown to at least 300, including many who will read this, over the past twenty-five years.

Travel:  My main immediate priority is time with Aram, after Christmas and before he heads to Korea for his next Navy assignment.  Between now and the end of May, I will be mostly in the Southwest and southern California, as work and my Baha’i activities keep me close to Home Base.  Mid-March may find me in west Texas, re-connecting with old friends.  The summer’s focus leans towards the Northwest, and possibly the Great Plains, but much could change, in the interim.  My Back-East visit looks to be in December, 2017.

Spiritual:  As most of you know, I am a fervent Baha’i.  We will observe a significant anniversary, on October 22:  The bicentenary of the Birth of Baha’u’llah, Founder of our Faith.  A committee is planning a dignified and welcoming commemoration of the event, here in the Prescott area.  I will support and take active part in the event that is put together.

I also support the ecumenical event, known as Hope Fest, which will also occur in October, for its sixth year.  We all are living under the same blessings, coming from One Heavenly Source, in my view.

Writing:  I still very much plan to put together, and publish, a volume of mixed short prose and poetry, between January and March of the coming year.  Online, a series of posts on this site will be called 66 Days of Sixty-Six, being a random group of days that celebrate this age.

It’s going to be a great, if often challenging, year.  Stay tuned.

 

 

Creative

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Posted by on in Family, Hiking and Nature, Inspiration, Personal Values, Striving

November 13, 2016, Prescott-

Yesterday, I contented myself with walking along an old BLM service road- going up and down a couple of moderately steep hills, for the sake of maintaining stamina.  It worked, and among other things, I slept very soundly. Today, a couple of short hikes, a visit with a couple of disabled veterans, and two meals with small groups of friends, filled the day nicely.

 

More importantly:  Thirty years ago, today, a bundle of creativity came into this world.  He has never ceased to amaze us, his extended family, with his repertoire of novelty.  Now, in order to more fully extend the range of his film-making, he has established residence in Los Angeles. I look forward to seeing more of his work, in various film festivals.  It is indeed just a matter of time before his name and face are recognizable.

Creativity has brought an enormous passel of what makes life worth all that we must endure.  If necessity is the mother of invention, certainly ingenuity is its midwife.  I look forward to what’s next.

Bringing people together, takes the greatest degree of creativity.

 

Getting Around

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Posted by on in Education, Hiking and Nature, Personal goals

October 27, 2016, Prescott-

A brief update:  My landlord is in town, for a few days of repairs to our quadplex and grounds-keeping. He is considering allowing me more responsibility in the quad.  I plan to keep our backyard looking better, with his blessing.  A terraced garden has been my dream, for many years, and I hope to finally get it done.

Our team at school is upgrading the day-to-day curriculum, finally.  I am building a word wall and will post multiplication and division tables, over the next several school days.  Halloween is a half day for the students, and a few hours of planning work for us.  So, I will hopefully get a lot done, in the above regards, on Monday afternoon.

I will head down to Phoenix on Saturday, attend a morning meeting, get in some hiking and attend a Halloween party at the home of some friends, in midtown.  Sunday will be another day for hiking in the Table Mesa area, this time starting earlier in the morning.

Next week, I will begin to collate my poems and short essays, for the book which I want to put forth, in January.

That’s it for tonight.

 

Table Mesa- Part 1

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature

October 23, 2016, New River-  I was on the northern fringes of this scenic community, at the northern edge of Maricopa County, for about two hours, this afternoon.  Two accidents, one involving two vehicles and the second involving twenty-two, framed my drive to and from here and Prescott.

The first accident shut the freeway for about forty minutes, until the vehicles and their occupants could be safely removed.  I got to the exit, curiously called Table Mesa (“mesa” being Spanish for table.), around 1:30.  The drive to the Table Mesa trailhead, of Black Canyon National Recreation Trail, was another ten minutes.  Although it was still a bit on the toasty side (93 F), there were several people at various sites along the way in.  There were a few target shooters, at the rifle range, about 1/4 mile west of the highway.  A few ATV drivers were on hand, as well.  Some hikers complain about All Terrain Vehicles, but I see them as good folks to have around, as long as they stick to the plentiful mine roads and don’t tear up the vegetated terrain.

My game plan is to hike this segment of the BCNRT, in three stages.  The first, and shortest, was a preliminary jaunt, from the Table Mesa Trailhead to the edge of Williams Mesa-Little Pan loop, about 3 miles, round trip.  This was definitely enough for today, as I had a service act to do in Prescott Valley, beforehand, and the afternoon temperature was,as I mentioned, quite warm.

This segment of  trail is easy- to -moderate, and has no outstanding features, other than the dry, grey limestone of the Agua Fria Riverbed, about 3/4 of the way to the loop.

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Table Mesa itself lies about two miles west of the BCNRT, and is one of several such flat-topped promontories in this region.

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There are a few smaller outcroppings nearby, such as the one below, which could easily have served as a hideaway or vantage point, during the conflicts between Apaches and white settlers, in the 1870’s.

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Williams Mesa, to me, the most majestic of the area’s tablelands, lies another 3 miles northward.  It will be the focus of my second hike here, most likely in early November.

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The route for the loop is marked by a single green flat pole, with Williams Mesa Trail as the west route and Little Pan Trail as the east route.  It will wait, patiently, until I can devote a full Saturday or Sunday.SAMSUNG CAMERA PICTURES

The drive back was most sobering: The aftermath of the 24-vehicle pile-up, which resulted from a cattle hauler, whose brakes had apparently failed, losing control, was still very much in progress,at 3:40.  As several drivers made the wise choice to double back northward, and go around through Prescott or Camp Verde, to return to the Phoenix area, the northbound lanes of I-17 and the westbound Hwy. 69 were slow going, as well.

It was great for our area’s restaurants, though, including my dinner-time choice, Leff-T’s Steak House, always a laid-back and gracious place for a burger or fine steak. I’d been away from there too long, and crowds don’t bother me, so the Ranch Burger, salad and plenty of iced tea went down well, as several Phoenix-bound people took in several NFL “games of the week”, and the waitresses bantered with the regulars.

On Juniper Mesa

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, impediments, Inspiration, Striving

 

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Juniper Mesa, from George Wood Canyon

September 4, 2016, Walnut Creek, AZ-  This settlement is only intermittently populated, when researchers from Arizona’s public universities, and Prescott College, show up to conduct their monitoring of the high desert’s overall health, in an area far from any permanent, sizable human community.  A few ranches break the landscape and, indeed, one of those ranches, just west of Juniper Mesa’s main trailhead, is sealed off from anyone not associated with its operation.

I came out here, in mid-afternoon, to explore the sky island known as Juniper Mesa.  The place was, in the 1870’s and 80’s, a military encampment, an extension of Prescott’s Fort Whipple.  It was, to the cavalrymen of the time, the perfect spot for a railway station, with the route commencing in Prescott, going through Del Rio (now Chino Valley) and pushing clear to the Colorado River, at Hardyville (now Bullhead City) and, from there, to San Pedro, one of the ports serving Los Angeles.  The railroad was built, but it went north, to Ash Fork, then to Seligman and Kingman, connecting with a much larger, transcontinental track, the Santa Fe.

 

So, Juniper Mesa has reverted to a lonesomeness.  I was the only person on the trail today.  Fortunately, I have come to expect that, even in areas closer to Prescott.  The large pack, with an ample water supply, a first aid kit, two knives, a detailed topographic map and a sturdy flashlight, along with one of my trusty walking sticks, has been an integral part of my communes with nature.  What has occasionally caused chuckles, from the smug hipsters doing lakeside botanical and entomological research in Prescott’s city parks, is, to me, a must on any hike lasting more than an hour.  Besides, it wasn’t too long ago, that one of those individuals had to be rescued from Watson Lake Park, a ten-minute walk from a North Prescott business district, because she was dehydrated and delirious.

I saw fairly fresh horse-hoof prints, along the way and smelled fresh bobcat urine, trail side, closer to evening, but it was the insects and I who had the place to ourselves, from all outward seeming.  Juniper Mesa could be for lovers, but so far, it is for the soloists.

I used three trails, in the course of my loop hike:  Oaks and Willows; Juniper Mesa (rim)  and the steep Bull Spring Trail.  Oaks and Willows meets Walnut Creek Road (County Road 125), proceeds through the lush George Wood Canyon to the top of Juniper Mesa, then branches off to the northeast.

Here are some scenes of Oaks and Willows.

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Broad trail, along the Oaks and Willows, Juniper Mesa

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Thick scrub, George Wood Canyon, Juniper Mesa Wilderness

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View across George Wood Canyon

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Sign, gnawed by black bears, over several years

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Heart of George Wood Canyon, Juniper Mesa Wilderness

Once atop the mesa, I basically followed Juniper Mesa Rim Trail, though finding it rather sparse, in several places.  Horse trails, though, are easy to identify by their indentation into the ground.

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Alligator Juniper, top of Juniper Mesa.  I almost see a parrot’s face, in the branch stump.

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Bear image, small sandstone, Juniper Mesa Rim Trail

Bears are reported to be common here, but I saw no sign of them- not even old scat.  They are probably further north, or in areas more sheltered from the lightning that hits Juniper Mesa frequently, during the monsoon season, that is in hiatus for several days.

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Lightning-struck tree, Juniper Mesa Rim Trail

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Lightning-struck piece of limestone, and heart rock, Juniper Mesa Rim Trail

The rock above was given a fierce countenance, by a recent lightning strike.

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Cairn, Juniper Mesa Rim Trail

Large cairns mark Juniper Mesa Rim Trail, at several points, especially after Oaks and Willows Trail branches off to the north.  A half-mile further east, I bid farewell to the benign rout along the rim, and began the descent, on steep Bull Springs Trail.

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View of Walnut Creek settlement and the Santa Maria Range, from Bull Spring Trail

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Hazy view of Walnut Creek settlement, from Bull Spring Trail

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Limestone cliff, east end of Juniper Mesa

The cliffs seen above, and in the next photo, were redoubts for Yavapai and Hualapai warriors, who resisted the U.S. Cavalry in the 1870’s.

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Limestone cliffs, east end of Juniper Mesa

After climbing down from the mesa top, I followed Bull Spring Trail, into the darkness.  Although it was along this trail, that I smelled the bobcat’s markings, the animal itself stayed out of sight, and only small insects, attracted by the flashlight’s beam, showed me any interest.  It took careful attention for me to find the last trail sign, returning to the nub of Oaks and Willows Trail that led me to the car, but I enjoyed a very deep sleep tonight- far from Juniper Mesa.

This is one of several places, in the middle of Arizona’s “nowhere”, that have been on my hiker’s list, in the wake of having completed Prescott Circle.  Stay tuned for others.

 

Tales of the 2016 Road: Crystal Clear in Georgia

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Posted by on in Family, Hiking and Nature, Social, Travel

 

July 17-18, 2016, Newnan, GA-  I got up earlier than usual, on Sunday morning.  It was 12:30 A.M., PDT; 3:30 A.M., Eastern Daylight Time.  No, I wasn’t planning an assault on one of the Great Smoky Peaks- the nearest, Mt. Mitchell, being an 11-hour drive, anyway.  The occasion that set me on the road, at 4:30, was a 12 Noon lunch at my brother’s house, in this western Georgia town, some 240 miles north of Hudson.

Breakfast on the fly, and  brief gift shopping at Florida Citrus Center, in Jasper, on the Georgia state line, were my only diversions, en route to Newnan.  I actually made it, right after the Noon Bell.  After meeting, and being escorted to the lunch table, by my fourth grand nephew, I joined brother and the gang for cranberry chicken salad and a variety of fixings.

The centerpiece of the afternoon was us all taking a pontoon boat ride on man-made, but crystalline, Lake Redwine.  This reservoir has none of he brownery of most southern lakes, perhaps because its fill level is well-managed.

Here are several photos of the lake and its surroundings.

Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA

The pontoon took the seven of us around the lake, under the able navigation of my brother and nephew, in a bit under forty-five minutes.  You can see how the lake is a place of solace, for so many, even on a warm summer day.

Boom along Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Lake Redwine, GA
Greater Sandhill Crane, Lake Redwine, GA
Small island, Lake Redwine, GA

The place has different ambiances, at sunset,

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and at dawn.

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First light along Lake Redwine, GA

After my nephew, niece-in-law and the kids had left, the three of us headed up to The Hil, a farm-to-table restaurant, in the rustic community of Serenbe, several miles north of Newnan.  This would be a place where I could feel well at home, also, but for the price tag. The Hil’s cuisine, though, is thoroughly refreshing.

 

Serenbe, GA
The Hil Restaurant, Serenbe, GA

The day was exhilarating, and prepared me for Monday.  This day was spent in well-rewarded service, taking two of my best friends in all the world to tend to personal matters, enjoying fine meals at Pappacito’s (lunch) and Six Feet Under (dinner), with a viewing of the film, “The Shallows” (Blake Lively’s character faces down a shark, after it bites her leg), in between errands and meals.  Six Feet Under is so-named, as it is located across the street from historic Oakland Cemetery, Atlanta, where the golfer, Bobby Jones, among other prominent Atlantans, is laid to rest.  It’s said that there are those who practice putting on the cemetery grounds.  Six Feet Under, though, is rather a lively place.  I liked the fare at both establishments.

Since my mood was far more relaxed and upbeat than those of my last visit here, five years ago, Newnan and Atlanta likewise felt more like home.  It was well worth the long detour down to both Florida and Georgia.

NEXT:  Back west, through Tennessee and the Great River Valleys

Tales of the 2016 Road: Bushkill Falls and Busted Pipes

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Posted by on in collaborating, Family, Hiking and Nature, Striving, Travel

July 7, 2016, Middletown, NY-  This is another of those years when I could not be present for my son’s birthday.  He was at sea, anyway.  I rose early, at Glick’s Greenhouse compound, and bid Beth and Dave a fond adieu.  My goal was to reach Saugus in time to visit a bit with a nephew and his family, who were visiting from Indiana.   Some goals don’t get reached.

The day began nicely enough.  I made good time past the Lehigh Valley, and its tough, surviving cities of Allentown, Bethlehem and Easton, jumping on Rte. 209, past the Stroudsburgs, to Bushkill Falls, where my in-laws spent their honeymoon, and several subsequent wedding anniversaries.

The privately-owned park retains its magic, and offers a fairly extensive network of hiking trails, some of which are paved.  Families and single wanderers alike were having a fine time, this morning.  Here a few of the scenes I encountered, in this Pride of the Poconos.

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Entrance and concessions complex, Bushkill Falls, PA

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Approach to Main Falls, Bushkill Falls

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Main Falls, Bushkill

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Signs of a rain forest, Bushkill Falls

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Frontal view of Main Falls, Bushkill

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Nice picnic spot, near Bridal Veil Falls, Bushkill

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Bridal Veil Falls, Bushkill

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Cave, at foot of Bridesmaid Falls, Bushkill

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Bridesmaid Falls, Bushkill

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Pennell Falls, Bushkill

Pennsylvania has had copious rain, so far this summer.  Thus, the rain forest ambiance of Bushkill Falls, and other places in the Poconos, make for a lovely vacation stopover.  The sense of peace and tranquility I found there, sustained me through what followed, in the afternoon.

After stopping in Port Jervis, NY, in the Three Corners region of New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and enjoying a hearty lunch at Muller’s Diner, I sensed something was awry with Nissan.  Once on I-84, it was worse:  Lack of acceleration reduced my speed to 50.  It was fortunate that I made it up the road apiece, to Middletown, and found a Nissan dealership.  The men took two hours to find and fix what their diagnostics said was the problem:  A clogged front exhaust pipe.  Thanks to them, I was back on the road by 4:30.  It was too late to see nephew and his family, but I made it safely to my mother’s house by 10 PM.   Safety is always first.

Tales from the 2016 Road: The Other Half Gives

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Posted by on in Community, Hiking and Nature, Historical, Social, Travel

July 3, 2016, Ponca City-  I spent about forty minutes visiting this spacious northern Oklahoma town’s three major landmarks, all associated with the oil magnate, E.W. Marland, and his family.

Prior to arriving here, I stopped at the roadside memorial to Chief Joseph, logistics chief of the Nez Perce, in the mid-Nineteenth Century.  The captive Nez Perce, native to Idaho, had been brought here, to Tonkawa, in 1877, and made to remain there, until 1884.  They were allowed to return to Idaho, then, and given the choice of becoming Christian and staying in Idaho, or retaining their old ways, and being moved to Colville, Washington.  Chief Joseph and his band chose the latter.  Below, is the photo of the memorial to him.

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Memorial to Chief Joseph, Tonkawa, OK

Ponca City, in Osage country, has among the earliest ties to the petroleum industry in Oklahoma.  It is, nonetheless, among the state’s most spacious and well-appointed communities.  Here is a look at downtown.

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Grand Avenue, Ponca City

City Hall is also strikingly modern.

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Ponca City Hall

There are two homes, built by E.W. Marland, which feature prominently in Ponca City’s civic life.  Marland’s  Grand Home, built by him in 1916, now serves as the city’s cultural center and Indian Museum.

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Veranda, Marland’s Grand House, Ponca City

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Full view of Marland’s Great House, Ponca City

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Original Marland Oil Company Flag Staff, Ponca City

Ernest Whitworth Marland had a sincere respect for the sacrifices made by women, on the prairie, and had this statue built, in their honour.

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Pioneer Woman Statue, Ponca City

The Marland Mansion, where the family lived after 1916, is the centerpiece of a city park, and is maintained in the spirit of the early 20th Century.  I toured the grounds, as the interior is not open on Sundays.

The Marland children, George and Lydie, are honoured with statues, at the northern and eastern ends of the property, respectively.

George Marland
Lydie Marland

The mansion itself was built in grand, European style.  Ernest was a generous man, and did not spare himself or his family of that largesse.

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Marland Mansion, Ponca City

There is a wealth of flora on the grounds.

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Rhododendron bush, Marland Mansion, Ponca City

There is an extensive walking trail around the grounds, which I did not have time to explore, given my invitation to a Fourth of July gathering, east of Joplin.

The pond, though, lends a serenity, and a wildness, to this most epicurean of parks.

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Pond, Marland Mansion grounds

The park is a refreshing place for Poncans to gather, so in my view, E.W.’s largesse has had a good long-term effect.  Now, as long as we keep moving towards cleaner energy….

NEXT UP:  Christmas in July

Tales from the 2016 Road: Back to the Texas Panhandle

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Posted by on in Hiking and Nature, Social, Travel

July 1, 2016, Amarillo-  Any road trip that involves I-40 will entail a stop in Amarillo- at least as long as Texas Tidbits is around to spin a yarn or two.  Wes has been a friend for about ten years now, since I started reading his recollections of his town as it was, in the heyday of Route 66.

Southwest 6th Street, below Georgia Avenue, is a pleasing remnant of that time, and may as well be called Amarillo’s Fun Zone.  It reminds me of the North Side, in Fort Worth, or old downtown Nashville.

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Southwest 6th Street, Amarillo

The Goldenlight Cafe and Cantina is a good place for old men and young ladies to see each other as human beings, in search of an appreciative listening ear and reassuring arm around the shoulder- so I’m told.  The folks who were here today seem to get along well, and the photo board shows many more, of people who have befriended one another, over the years.  Wes has taken to this place, and its regulars, since Blue Front became a more upscale establishment.  Oysters for breakfast don’t quite cut it, in the Amarillo he calls home.  We each had our choice of hamburger, and shared a “small” basket of fries.  (Remember, this is Texas.)

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Interior of Goldenlight Cafe and Cantina, Amarillo

Wes was a bit more pensive than usual.

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Wes, in the Goldenlight

After lunch, I drove Wes over to another of his favourite haunts, the Dragon Bar.  It’s a small neighbourhood joint, close to I-27.  Wes pointed out a mural, across the street.  He said it was designed by an attorney who organized the Freedom Project, which focused on getting innocent people released from prison, a while back.

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Street mural, 15th Street, Amarillo

Wes was tired, after a fashion.  So, bidding him farewell, I headed towards Oklahoma, but via the upper Panhandle, stopping by Lake Meredith, a popular local boating site, west of Borger.

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Lake Meredith, TX

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Lake Meredith, TX

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The wild prairie, east of Lake Meredith, TX

There is much else worth exploring and photographing, in the rough remnants of glaciated North Texas.  It was getting on in the day, though, and Enid, OK was still ahead.

NEXT UP:  Da Vinci, Plant in the Window and Art Deco