Shenanigans in the Desert

18-Feb-2019

Scottsdale Arizona

The blog has been AWOL the last week or so as we have been living the life in Scottsdale.

Staying with our good friend Mary and her pup Gwen Stefani.

We’ve been seeing the sights, eating good food and having the odd cocktail.

We were joined for a few days by other friends from back east and things got a bit crazier.

Funk bands and electric scooter riders late one night was a great bit of fun.

Good to be with old friends again.  Especially since we are now a bit older.

It’s  little cooler with some rain the forecast today so we’ll probably hang around the house.

Won’t be too long before our trek east begins in earnest

Here’s some photos of the recent merriment

Casting Bronze Bells at Cosanti

Carol and Mary

Miss Sciency and Mr Natural

In the mountains east of Phoenix near Tortilla Flats

Our homage to the many Flaming Volcanos we enjoyed at the Honolulu restaurant so many years ago.

The restaurant is gone, having been leveled to create an off-ramp to the Washington D.C beltway 

White Rabbit

Untitled Number Zero

First Class seafood in Scottsdale- Believe it!!

 

Game of Thrones...... Gunship Style

9-Feb-2019

Goodyear Az

Estrella Mountain Regional Park

Maricopa County Az

We’ve been making our way from the frontera (borderline) north toward the bustling desert metropolis of Phoenix.

We plan a rendezvous with friends that could involve potable beverages and comestible delights.

Anyway, we stopped at Estrella Mountain Regional Park to do a hike around.

Turns out we arrived just in time to participate in an Archery class.

So we ignored the hiking boots and put on our best Peter Pan tights...

Kidding.

We had a great time updating our rusty archer skills and playing with weapons and children at the same time.

No children, nor small furry desert animals were injured during 

Afterwards we went to the movie in a big fancy recliner and full bar equipped theater and watched a movie.

Civilization can be rewarding.

Cue the  Theme Music for Game of Thrones

Neither a Church organ nor a Hammond B-3

Organ Pipes Cactus National Monument

Ajo Az

8-Jan-2019

We are back on the trail sleeping once again in the  Cobra Gunship.

Took us a while to remember where all the stuff was.

Our first night back was one of the coldest ever.

We ended up pulling out the sleeping bags before the night was over.

Making coffee on the JetBoil stove was chilly.

Organ Pipes National Monument is in the southwest corner of Arizona near the Mexican border.

The Sonoran desert ecosystem has incredible biodiversity.

There’s also a lot of different stuff growing all over the place.

Much of it has stickers and thorns.

Some of the living stuff has fangs and poison.

We tried to steer clear of that part of it.

Anyway  here’s some photos from time on the trail

Citizen Gendarme..... Quelling the Caravan Invasion!!

8-Feb-2019

Lukeville Az

America is currently on a heightened state of alert.

Apparently hordes are flooding over our southern borders.

Given our current proximity to the southern flank, our love of American, and are desire to maintain safe and legal supply of Mezcal, we thought we could help.

The following picture narration tells our tale.

We started near the town of Lukeville. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol maintains a border crossing as well as significant presence in the area

They also maintain some border fencing, This one up the side of the mountain.

We also found bunches of students who apparently come to schools in the US each day from Mexico then return each evening to Mexico




Time to get started 
We decided to setup in the Ajo Mountains where we could have a great vantage point. 

The invading caravan quickly gave away their location with their cooking fires.

Apparently it takes quite a bit of fire to cook tortillas.

In a short time we located a caravan working up a wash.

Unfortunately we lost sight of them. We decided we needed a higher vantage point so we worked our way up the mountain.

After a couple of miles of hiking we relocated the invaders.

It seems in a very short time their ranks had actually grown.

We were ready to call in CBP, ICE, The director of Homeland security  and MANY others when we decided to take a closer look

Clearly the LL Bean Hiking Boots,  REI backpacks, Gander Mountain Hiking Sticks, Camelbak Water bottles , Colombia Sun Hats, and Patagonia Jackets were a clue.

Turns out this caravan was nothing but Gringos. As pale skinned as you could imagine. Walking around in the desert just like us.

Minus the Hiking Sticks and the fancy water bottles. 

We did check them all for passports and ask them to name all 50 states. They failed at both. 

Ultimately we figured they couldn’t be part of the invasion caravan because it was the middle of the day on a Thursday. 

We knew that any invaders in the US would be at work at such a time.

So, in the end our vigilance turned up no invading caravans. We did enjoy a nice hike in the beautiful Sonoran desert.

In the end we were left with a simple question regarding this whole debate. 

Much like a small town in Southern Arizona.

Easing on down the line

6-feb-2019

Tucson Az

Turns out we’ve stayed longer in Tucson than any other stop in Gunship history.

We’ve been in Tucson for over 3 weeks.

We’ve eaten about all the Sonoran Dogs we need for bit.

We’ve done a bunch of time on the trail all around the Tucson.

We’ve driven around this town quite a bit.

We hope to be back in the future.

But now It’s time to get a little further down the line.

So we’re packing up in the morning and heading toward the southwest.

The smorgasbord that is Tucson

1-Feb-2019

Barrio Rillito Hills

Tucson AZ

Still hanging out in Tucson.

Driving around checking out the 55+ communities, eating hot dogs and other local fare, hiking a bit.

Went to the gem show for a couple of hours today.

It’s overwhelming all the stuff they had there.

Countries from all over the world represented. Brazil, Pakistan, Tanzania, Morocco, China, Colombia.

Even America!!.... And Mexico too!.

It was a United nation of geologic and paleobiologic commerce!.

Spent a few $$ but nothing over the top.

One could easily go over the top.

Apparently this annual show is the place to be if you sell rocks....

So we bought some rocks. 

We’ve extended our stay here in Tucson for about another week.

Then we’re back in the Gunship making our way up toward Phoenix/Scottsdale.

Here’s some of what we saw.

Excuse the fuzzy bird  photos. The lens only reaches so far.