Yavapai County Fair 2024

I never cared for the county fair in San Diego.  It was too crowded and expensive and was more like Disneyland than a fair.  But the Yavapai County fair is more like a traditional fair.  We went to see the animals.  Unfortunately, a big storm rolled in and we weren't able to see the rodeo.

Sleepy pig

Flagstaff Day Trip

For Labor Day, we headed up to Flagstaff for a planned overnight jeep camping trip.

• First stop was the visitor center at the train station.  We picked up a list of local hikes.
• We tried hiking Buffalo Park but there was an event going on and we couldn't get close enough to park.  We then tried getting lunch but downtown was very crowded so headed out.
• Hiked Fatman's Loop which is a very nice loop.
• Checked out Cinder Hills OHV.  It was very crowded and the road was super bumpy so we turned back.
• Drove the scenic loop through Sunset Crater NM - it was raining on and off but we did the short walk at Lava Flow.
• Took the loop to Wapatki NM.  We made a couple of stops along the road but the rain and wind kept us moving along.
• Head down 89 to Whitehorse Rd (FS 418).  The plan was to look for a campsite but it was too rainy so we made the drive through.  It was very scenic and we saw lots of hunters driving around.
• We took Hart Praire Rd (FS 151) and then headed home.

Sunset Crater

Getting caught in the rain

Flagstaff Visitor Center

Jeep Tire Upgrade

In preparation for my recent Sedona trip, I upgrade the tires on the Jeep.  To get some additiona clearance, I went with 35" AO2's on the stock rims.  There is some question on wether you can fit 35's on the rims but it has worked well so far.

To support the larger tires, I also had to get a new spare tire mount.  I went witht the Rugged Ridge Spartacus mount.  This gives the tire more room and also strengthens the tailgate so I can safely mount gas cans on the tire.

Summit 4x4 did great work on the installation.  They even made a custom mount for the stupid pedestrian warning speaker.

Newly installed tire mount

Sedona Vacation

My brother and his wife were in town before their big move and we headed up to Sedona for a few days.  We headed out through Jerome and had a great lunch and coffee.

Once in Sedona, we did a quick hike at Moon Ranch along Oak Creek.  I took a quick swim in the creek right before it dumped rain on us.  After cleaning up, we had a great dinner at Hudson.

We started the next day with coffee at Viewpoint Coffee then hit Soldier's Pass.  This is a cool short trail with plenty of obstacles.  We made stops at Seven Sacred Pools, the sinkhole and the end of the trail.  Lunch was at the airport which is very nice.  Afternoon we headed up Dry Creek Road and made stops at Devil's Bridge and Van Deren cabin.  On the way back, we gave a ride to some folks that were having a hard time hiking back in the heat.  A wonderful dinner was had at Mariposa.

The next morning, we met up at FreeForm coffee and parted ways.  Jyoti and I did Broken Arrow with stops at Submarine Rock and Chicken Point.  One final stop at the closed ranger station and a nice short drive back home.

Chicken Point - Broken Arrow Trail

Broken Arrow Trail

Clouds along the trail

Devil's Bridge

Seven Sacred Pools - Soldiers Pass Trail

Hiking to Buddha Beach

Downtown Jerome

Animals!

We caught some wildlife on our property.

Doe and fawn

Rabbit

Skunk

Turkeys

Bird in Flight

Framing and HVAC

The framing is getting close to finishing.  I think they are waiting for the last of the columns to be delivered.  Hopefully this week.

In the meantime, the HVAC folks installed the duct work and cassettes.  They will finish up when most of the interior is done. 

Granite Basin Hike

On the way back from the house, I stopped by Granite Basin to get in a 4 mile hike by combining Balancing Rock Trail #349 and Surprise Spring Trail #350.  It was very nice forest walk.

Lynx Lake Hike

The hike around Lynx Lake is 2.6 miles with some gentle up and downs.  It closely follows the banks of the lake and is a great way to enjoy it.  We went on a busy weekend and many people were swimming and boating.  It reminded me of Moonlight Beach a bit.

View of Lynx Lake

Sign at the south parking lot

Independence Day in Prescott

Lots going on in Prescott!  Jaya and my parents came into town.

Hit the popular spots: Palace Saloon, Hassayampa Inn, Supersition Meadery, Bill's Pizza etc.

Festival on the square

Parade

Prescott Hiking

Getting a fair amount of hiking in:

• Turley/Boy Scout/Badger Mountain
• Lynx Creek Ruins
• Salida Gulch
• Constellation
• Flume Canyon
• Glassford Hill

Sculptures on Glassford Hill

The view from Constellation trail

Views!

Pteroglyphs on the trail

Prescott Weekend Activities

Lots going on in Prescott!

• Hikes at Lynx Lake, Badger Mountain, Mt. Union Watson Lake and our local park
• Jeep trips to Crown King, Mayer and Walker
• Western Air Show on the square
• 66 Kids book launch show at Elks Theatre

Saloon and cafe (in the background) at Crown King

View towards our house from Badger Mt. Trail

Old charcoal kiln in Walker

Fire lookout on Mt. Union

Framing Progess

 

Framing the south wing

The future view from the front door to the back

Water tank

Slab Is Done

It was been quite a while, but the slab is done!

The slab looking towards Thumb Butte

Lily likes the slab

Lily in the shade of a juniper

First phase of lumber got delivered as well

Moving Weekend

We bid farewell to Encinitas and made the move to Prescott.

Stuffed full container

Loading the Conex

Reasons Why People Move to Georgia and Not California

Sensible nuclear electricity generation.

Property rights for landlords.

Mammoth Cross Country Skiiing Weekend

After getting canceled last year due to excessive snow, we finally got up to Mammoth for a XC skiing weekend.  The drive up was uneventful and we checked into the Tamarack Lodge.  The weather was nice so we did a snowshoe hike up to the top of Panorama Dome which had great views even with the low clouds.  The lodge restaurant was booked so we headed over to the Mammoth Tavern for a nice dinner.

The next day, we had our XC lesson.  The instructor was very patient and had Jyoti up and skiing.  After lunch, we skied around the groomed trails.  For dinner, we had a cheese plate in the fun and cozy lodge bar.  We went to bed early since we were worn out.  The next morning, we go up early and headed out.  We made a stop in Randsburg which was very cool.

Panorama Dome summit

Learning to ski

Hitting the trails

Downtown Randsburg

Hitler Had Some Good Ideas?

 Hitler in Munich, April 12, 1922:

"thus we were the first to declare that this peace treaty was a crime. Then folk abused us as 'agitators.' We were the first to protest against the failure to present this treaty to the people before it was signed. Again we were called on the masses of the people not to surrender their arms, for the surrender of one's arms would be nothing less than the beginning of enslavement. We were called, no, we were cried down as, 'agitators.' We were the first to say that this meant the loss of Upper Silesia. So it was, and still they called us 'agitators.' We declared at that time that compliance in the question of Upper Silesia must have as its consequence the awakening of a passionate greed which would demand the occupation of the Ruhr. We were cried down ceaselessly, again and again. And because we opposed the mad financial policy which today will lead to our collapse, what was it that we were called repeatedly once more? 'Agitators.' And today?

Of course, he took the guns and enslaved those he didn't like.

Ham Shack

I have been doing a lot of radio stuff lately.  Mostly in the field but doing configuration and testing in my shack.  Thought it would be nice to highlight my home station.

My primary home rig is an Alinco DX-8R. It is a nice, fairly easy to use HF 100W transceiver.  I can use in digital modes as well with some special cables.  I bought it used from a retiring ham and got a nice Alinco power supply with it.  With power poles everywhere, I can power all my stuff very easily.

I have been doing lots of emcomm operations, so have my Yaesu FT-817 and QRLabs QDX going as well.  Also been operating various rugged computers and tablets, like the CF-20 pictured below.

The primary antenna I use at home is a Wolf River vertical coil.  I have various coils and whips to go to 80M.  Living in a condo, I have a small space so the vertical is very handy.  I can get a dipole up sometimes but it will go out into the sidewalk.

Ham shack

Wolf River coil

Latest Books

I haven't posted a books read list in a while, but not for lack of reading:

• The Three Cornered War: The Union, The Confederacy and Native Peoples in the Fight For the West by Megan Kate Wilson 
• Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II by Chris Bishop
• Herbal Medic: A Green Beret's Guide to Emergency Medical Preparedness and Natural First Aid by Sam Coffman
• Rosemary Gladstar's Medicial Herbs: A Beginner's Guide: 33 Healing Herbs to Know, Use and Grow by Rosemary Gladstar
• Combat Contrails: Vietnam by William B. Scott
• Crowns in the Gutter by Ted S. Raicer
• Last Boat Out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution by Helen Zia
• Spymaster: Startling Cold War Revelations of a Soviet KGB Chief by Tenant Bagley
• Small Arms of WWII: USA by Ian McCollum