Weekend Storm

We got our most severe storm since we moved here.  At least an inch (probably more) in less than an hour.  It caused some severe erosion along the the driveway that needs to be addressed.

Grand Canyon got some severe flash flooding and it looks like Phantom Ranch will be shut down for a while.

But in the dry times, I got some hikes in and zeroed some pistol optics.

Misc Updates

• Jaya finished her board exams!
• Had a fun Chipper Day
• My potato crop failed - most likely the buckets got too hot
• Put two storage properties under contract and need to raise money
• Pulling lots of weeds
• Getting some decent rain

Mighty Granite Creek

Another local Jeep trip

We started by stopping by the Forge in Skull Valley for coffee.  Then drove east on Poverty Flat and 9261M.  The latter was very rough and slow going.  We got on Epic Interrupted for a bit then took the shortcut on Deuce Power which was also pretty rough.  We took Smooth Operation back home which had great views.

Great views!

Silted up dam

Wedding Weekend

Jaya and Noah decided to have their wedding in Cabo San Lucas.  They chose the JW Marriot as a place where everyone could gather, hang out and celebrate their marriage.  Everything turned out awesome!

Arch moved to the reception

Setting up the arch

Local beach

Mom and dad

Friday night reception

Rocks on the beach

View from our room

View from our room

Jo at the beach

At the Cabo airport

Bengt escorting Jo

The Couple

Just Married!

Leaving the ceremony

Baltimore Ostens

Father-Daughter dance

Mr. and Mrs. Noah Baker

America 250 Weekend Activities

• Fun time at Sharlot Hall Museum's American Heritage Day - lots of fun living history exhibits, brass band, food and more
• Awesome time at friend's house for burgers, brats, and beers
• Skipped the fireworks
• Added some gravel to help erosion along the driveway

More Coffee Truth

Bhaskar Kolhe RIP

Bhaskar passed peacefully, surrounded by family.

America 250 Local Jeep Trip

As part of America's 250th, Lily and I headed out for a jeep trip in the local national forest.  We started out on Tonto Rd, to Fair Oaks to Telephone Rd to Camp Wood Rd.  These were all easy roads and the going was fast. Jordan Well and Mud Tank trails had some tight spots but still were easy going.  We then turned north onto Walnut Creek.  Our goal was to get near Apache Creek Wilderness so turned east onto FR 95B.  Then the trail got very rough and tight.  It took a while to get to FR 95A and Graver Wash to hook back up to Walnut Creek.  From there, we headed back along Williamson Valley Rd.

Overall the trip was fun but rough.  We got in to some great views.

View to the east

Granite Knob

Lily does not stand still for photos

Jaya's Graduation

Dr. Jaya Osten graduated from Bastyr on Friday as a naturpathic doctor!  After 4 long years she is ready to take on the world.  Next up is moving to Tucson, getting married then taking the board exams.

Dr. Jaya Osten!

Part of the visit included some visits to friends and local sites:

• Hiked the loop around San Elijo lagoon
• Dinner at Ki's
• Took my parents to Cabrillo National Monument where we spotted the San Salvador under way.

Along jogger hike

View from Cabrillo NM

Batch of Books

• Laws of Life by Jack Spirko
• One Second After series by William Forstschen
• Masters of the Air by Donald L. Miller
• Dan Kilmer and Enemies series by Matthew Bracken
• Tools by Theodore Gray
• Bring Me the Head of Joaquin Murrieta by John Boessenecker
• Patriots series by John Wesley Rawles

Hammock

My dad gave me an old hammock he has for some time so I put it up.  Since we don't have a good set of trees, I had to dig a post hole for one of the ends.  Our ground is super rocky and hard so it took a while using mainly a digging bar.

Hammock at sunset

Animal Preppers

I recently started seeing a whole bunch of YT prepping videos that were done with AI animated animals.  There are bears, raccoons, tigers, wolves, squirrels, foxes, tortoises and ducks . They are fairly entertaining and often have some good information.  It is fun to see all the errors in the videos that AI generates (e.g. two tails on a fox).  I wouldn't be surprised if these were all done by the same person since they often have similar topics at nearly the same times.

Memorial Day Activities

Lots going on in Highland Pines...

• Happy Hours started up
• Annual Meeting and Ice Cream Social
• Fire patrol near Porter Mt
• Brush clearing

Giant juniper

Mine entrance

Walking Lily

Coffee Greatness

It seems that coffee is really good for you.  Good thing that Prescott is seeing some great new coffee houses in town now.

Boise Trip

We headed up to Boise, ID for a self storage conference.  The conference was well worth it.  We picked up some great information and met good people.

We got an AirBnB in Eagle which is a large suburb of Boise.  It is a very nice town but traffic can get pretty bad.  There are still plenty of farms but I am sure those will be gone in the next few years.

On Saturday, we drove up to McCall.  The drive followed a river gorge up to the mountains and into some beautiful farm country.  We did some hiking in Ponderose State Park and had lunch in a local saloon.  Weather was cool and there was even some snow flurries.

Mother's Day Weekend Activities

• Took NWS weather spotter training at ERAU
• Visited the Chino Valley Cooper Ag Museum
• Attended the MMRG picnic
• Picked up a few items at the Mountain Artists Guild Mother's Day festival

Art Festival

Ham antenna farm

Cooper Ag Museum

Maps!

I love maps!  I have a good collection of topo maps from Tom Harrison, National Geographic, various government agencies and smaller map makers.  The Harrison ones are my favorite but they don't have any outside of California.  I also have many guidebooks loaded with maps.

Over the past decade, I have used various online maps as well.  My go to app for foot travel is CalTopo.  For Jeeping, I use Trailsoffroad and OnX.  As good as the apps are, I always have paper maps when I go on a longer hike.  It is comforting to be able to pull out a map without having to worry about batteries, coverage, etc.

Lonely Gambel Oak

We currently doing alot of clearing on our property.  Jo is concentrating on the hoarhound and I am working mainly on the scrub oak and other brush.  During our efforts, we discovered a lone Gambel oak.  Since it was crowded by alot of scrub oak and mountain mahogany, we clear all that out to give it some space.

Our lone Gambel oak

Sedona Day Trip

Following a chapter in Boots and Burgers, we headed out to Sedona for a day of hiking and burgers.  We drove out through Jerome and Cottonwood  with great desert views.  Our first stop was the Aerie trailhead.  From there we did the Ground Control and Outer Limits trails.  Lily got quite dirty with the famous Sedona red dirt.  On the way into town, many of the other trailheads were very crowded; we got lucky that our hike was almost empty.  In town, we ate at Nick's which had very good burgers and the people were super nice.  After eating we dropped Lily off at Kim's Puppy Palace since dogs are not allowed at our next stop: Red Rock State Park.  At the park, we toured the visitor center which had some nice displays and movies.  We then hiked up to the old Apache Fires house and around the park to Eagles Nest.  The hiking was very nice.  We then got smoothies in town, picked up Lily and headed home.

BACN RIP

The Air Force is looking to retire its BACN fleet.  Hopefully the payload will live on in other platforms.

Holy Stone Drones Suck

I bought a few Holy Stone drones used on Ebay as a cheap way to get into drones.  However, they are very tempermental and basically suck.  They lose GPS, trim and the app is very hard to use.  Not recommended.

Lily checking out the drone

Bridal Show Tucson Trip

Jaya had her bridal shower in Tucson so we made a long weekend of it.  Jyoti attended the shower while I hung out with my dad.  We both spent time with them on Sunday and walked the golf course.

Trailer Gate Rebuild

By brush hauling trailer came with a flimsy dual gate.  It's major problem was that the doors did not have a way to easily keep them open.  So when loading or unloading, they would flop around in the breeze.  They were also much shorter than the sides so it took extra care to cover.

So I rebuilt it in a stake gate style.  This style is removable so there is no problem with keeping it open.  It is also much studier and has better hardware. I am also putting in more tie-downs and using adjustable bungees for the cover.

Just in time for Chipper Day!

New trailer gate

Rooftop VHF/UHF Antenna

I finally got around to installing a VHF/UHF/GMRS antenna on the roof.  Since our roof is so high, I had to get an extension ladder and luckily found one at a local thrift store.  I did get stuck on the roof and had to have Jyoti hold it but I figured it out eventually.  After several trips up and down, I had the antenna installed next to the internet dish.  I was nice to get the LMR-400 feedline down the tube into the shack so I didn't have to string along the house.

Antenna mounted on roof

'Merica

I was up at Compass to zero some rifles and had a though.  There were a bunch of folks on the pistol range.  The rifle range had AR's, FRT's and even a .50.  'Merica!

Chili Cookoff

We hosted the 2025 Highland Pines Chili Cookoff!

I also joined the POA board.