Wandrin Blog

The Gard clan from Boulder were in Tucson for their annual visit. Part of the reason is for the Colorado Rockies spring training. They explored beyond the baseball field. They didn't get it all done, but they made a pretty good dent in what there is to explore in the area.

For a few of the evenings, I joined them for social hours to catch up the new in their lives. In about a month, I will be in Denver-Boulder and we can get together once again.

James, a friend from Denver and also a friend of the Gards, was also in town for a week. James and I hiked a trail at Saguaro National Park and a second hike was in Sabino Canyon. After the hike to Sabino, we headed downtown for Mexican food and a photo tour. (Check my Flickr photos.)

Did you know that there have been two outbreaks -- WOW -- of salmonella in the past five years. That required a recall of almonds. No doubt that was bad financially for the almond growers. So what do they do? They will now pasteurize the almonds. For the full story go to the Almond Board of California However, my cynical mind wonders whether the shelf life of almonds was the real reason for this. With pasteurization, they can be stored improperly and stay on the shelf much longer.

Do we really want to be safe and protected from every possible threat to our life and health? If this trend continues, we will get to the point that our bodies have no natural immunity -- from anything. Except the automobile.

An internet Google search of "Treichel" produced many entries. However, one from the TopoZone.com proved interesting. A named feature on the map was "Treichel Ridge". (Coordinates are Longitude: -119.713 and Latitude: 44.1347.)









After the closeup revealed that it was in Oregon, I wondered whether I would be traveling near this feature. The nearest large city was John Day. Unfortunately, I had traveled that area in 2001. Although I have plans to travel through Oregon this year, it will be down the coast after exploring the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State.

This is a beautiful stop surrounded by desert flora -- and fauna. With Tucson Mountains as a back drop and Saguaro National Park here for hiking, it is one of my favorites stops. With great photo opportunities and the nearby hiking, I will stay here for about a week.

However, $20 a night for electricity is steep when compared to other available places. Considering that the park is almost empty, it would seem that $15 a night would fill the park and make more money in the process. Years ago when I first stopped here, the daily rate was $12. At that rate, the place was full most times. So some bureaucrat decided that they could raise the rate to $20 and make lots more money. Obviously, they did not take into consideration other options available to the camper.

Check out the latest from FactCheck.org continues the Bush administration's spin on the war in Iraq.

At the same time this kind of stuff is being reported, Condaleeza Rice and Cheney among others have the audacity to say that war deaths are the ancillary damage. They don't take it personally. Neither one is fighting in Iraq and neither has a relative there -- or died there. What ever happened to the days when the king (or the great decider) lead his armies into battle? With that approach, there never would have been a war.

Quote from Barry Goldwater in his speech as the 1964 Republican Presidential candidate: "Those who seek absolute power, even though they seek it to do what they regard as good, are simply demanding the right to enforce their own version of heaven on earth. And let me remind you, they are the very ones who always create the most hellish tyrannies. Absolute power does corrupt, and those who seek it must be suspect and must be opposed."

Arrived here this morning before any rains threatened. Chatted with a resident friend for a couple of hours talking about -- lots of things from photography to nudism and beyond. More conversation will follow tomorrow -- perhaps including a photo field trip in Casa Grande.

The snow birds are leaving. There are lots of spaces with hookups and boon docking only had a couple of occupants.

Jeff suggested the Dixie Mine Trail as a near Fountain Hills hike. It was an easy hike through beautiful Sonoran scenery and desert flora from Saguaros to Jojobas. Jeff made the hike a very educational experience as he identified what I was seeing.

Of course after a hike, we headed to a downtown pub to recoup the calories expended. As if I really needed that!

Jeff. Thanks for a great day hiking.

[Note: Flickr photos record some of the hike.]

Hot weather is past... at least for a few days. Today, there have been scattered rain showers all day. More of the same is predicted for tomorrow. That may crimp my plan to hitch up tomorrow and head down the road. Perhaps I can make my journey in between showers -- or I will wait another day.

Bumper sticker:
ANNOY A CONSERVATIVE
THINK CARE BALANCE YOUR BUDGET

License Plate Guard:
I SEE I LIKE I WANT
I WHINE I GET

Business Name:
In Yuma in the middle of the desert was this dive shop: SCUBA COWBOYS

Vanity Plates:

WOOPTDO -- Somebody may be happy

GATER22 -- Couldn't help, but what I saw was an alligator in a tutu

BRNSOUR -- This truck can't wait to get home

BCR8IV -- Good advice

RODEOQT -- Lady from the horsey set goes to rodeo

1BLKRAM.....1TONTOY -- Describe vehicles

BKRCHIK -- Driving a car

Businesses with vanity plates:

MAASNRY....MAPSMTH....IBYLO4U....HOTTUBS....GOLFTRF....GOFAUX

Yesterday, through friends Jeff and Ann, I was invited to Fountain Hills for St. Paddy's Day to the home of Lori and Sue. Also attending were John and Raymond, and Garth and Carol and daughter Michelle.

The pick food was corn beef wrapped in cabbage leaves (contribution from Jeff and Ann) followed by great tasting steaks from the BBQ. That "great" is from a guy (me) whose diet is mostly vegetarian.

I met Jeff and Ann four years ago when friends and I were Geocaching in Oak Canyon north of Sedona. I gave my fun card to Jeff. Jeff's open invitation to drop in has lead to annual visits to Fountain Hills. That in turn has allowed me to meet Ann and Jeff's friends -- and this year's invite to Lori and Sue.

Thanks to hosts and guests for making it a memorable visit and chat.

I now have a few more stories to tell: (1) The vodka really is not on tap. (2) It is time to check in to rehab when a cork comes out of the refrigerator's ice cube dispenser.

Here is a story I related yesterday. It seems appropriate to relate it to an even larger audience via this blog.... Almost ten years ago, I was traveling Australia. On one of my stops I was sitting at a bar waiting for the dining room to have a space for me. I asked the bartender for a glass of the house chardonnay. Shortly a glass of wine was placed in front of me. I sipped and tasted it and liked it. I asked the bartender for the vintner of the chardonnay. His reply, with a heavy French accent, was "Chateau de la Carton".

Before I arrived at Lori and Sue's house, I headed to downtown Fountain Hills to take some photos of green water flowing from the fountain. (Check the Flickr photo link in the left column.)

Catching up after my arrival here a week ago... With the gracious offer of Ed here in Tempe, I am parked in his side yard with electricity and water. The electricity was especially welcome since my thermometer reported 97 degrees outside when I arrived at home this afternoon.

It has been 90 degrees or better for the last week. This is five days before the first day of spring -- not summer. Next week the temps are predicted to moderate by dropping into the mid 80s and even lower by the end of the week.

It was less than two weeks ago when I was griping about the fact that I had been wearing long pants for three weeks. Needless to say shorts are now the daily attire. Perhaps this is Nature's attempt to average out the temperatures.

Last Saturday I went to the Renaissance Festival out east of Apache Junction. It was a hot day, but I had a very enjoyable day hanging out with many of the paying public dressed in period clothes. Click this link to see my Flickr photos. Check out the three guys with unusual hair styles.

Earlier this week, I headed to the Arizona Biltmore near Scottsdale to take photos of one of the more famous of Frank Lloyd Wright's building projects. (For photos, click this link.)

Written as fiction about the author's experiences crossing the country in the late 1940s, this book advises the reader to live in the moment and enjoy it to the fullest. However, the characters of this book seem to live their life to the max with "tea" (marijuana), sex, a lot of booze and hanging out in jazz clubs. With all the crossing of the USA's great scenery, there was rare mention of the beauty of the land all around. The goal of the crossing was the next large city and the bar and jazz clubs.

The book was an enjoyable read to find out what I may have missed. I didn't miss anything. However, my head hurt from the all night jazz sessions in smoky bars and frequent long trips across country in the back seat of a car.

Here we go again. Is there any reason to continue this stupid practice of resetting the clocks a couple of times a year.

This time the US government "reasoned" that it would be energy saving. Turns out that was based on a 30 year old study. Duh! Current research shows that there are no savings at all. Some studies indicate that it may actually cost more in energy usage. It sure has a negative effect on me personally. Most of Arizona doesn't follow this inane practice, so my automated clocks must be reset.

Perhaps in this modern world of lights glowing around the clock and with sensor controlled lights all over the cities and recreation areas, it may be time to have standard times year round.

Michael Gartner writes a great piece (from USA Today June 2006) about his parents and their long lives:

http://www.usatoday.com/news/opinion/columnist/2006-06-15-gartner_x.htm

Once I was parked at Catalina State Park, I spent the next day doing errands in north Tucson. First it was a trip to a Bookman's to sell the book ballast that I had been dragging around for several months. The five bags of books gave me another used book credit to add to the credit I already had. At this rate, it will take several years to amortize those credits. They took most of the books I brought in. The few that remained I put on the store's "donation pile" just to rid myself of the remaining ballast.

Since I am unable to find some of the books I want to read there are times that I purchase new or order from Amazon. Of course that adds to the stack of books. Perhaps I need to be more serious about selling the books at other used book stores on my journeys.

My shopping errands included the annual cleaning of the photo sensor on my digital camera. While driving around that area, I came across the....


No-Tel Motel. There have been jokes about the place for years. It actually exists! It was open for business with no cars in the parking lot and no water in the pool. If I were a brave person, I would have gone inside and talked to the person in the office. With "Free in room Movies, Color and Sound, Heated wawa bed or regular bed", it can't be all bad.

When I left the area, I took a couple of right turns to get back to Oracle. Along the way I noted that motel prices were quite inexpensive. Several were advertising $19.95 a night. That is what I pay for nightly parking at Catalina. However, I have a view -- a much better view.

This Arizona state park is on Oracle Road north of Tucson and on the north side of the Catalina Mountains. This location provides a good stop of nearby hiking. Romero Canyon is the most frequent hike here. The trail continues far into the Catalinas. My hiking never takes me that far.

In only a few years I have noticed more housing and shopping centers along Oracle Road. That in turn has led to more traffic. That fast and easy access is getting slower for my big city shopping requirements.

Most spaces have electricity and water at $20 a night. There are a few spaces that are dry camping at $15 a night. There is a dump on site for campers.

You can take it with you. This all white coordinated RV and trailer arrived at the park. First the Hummer was taken out of its trailer garage and then it was parked. This is one of the few parks where it would be possible to park the length of this RV and trailer combination. Once parked, I noted three people (parents and a teenage boy) and two great danes. One was all black and the other was black and white -- looked like a Holstein calf.