Picket Post Hike

 A little 9.5 km hike today plus a trip to Superior for lunch.  

Picket Post is one of our favourite hikes as it takes us through a canyon with beautiful views when looking up the canyon walls plus a stream running through the canyon floor and lots of large trees.  Unfortunately the fires of this past summer took its toll on this area plus the river bed was bone dry.  While not as lush as usual it was still a great day shared with friends. 

Lunch after a hike at Porters in Superior is always a favourite but in January Porters was bought out and is now a smokehouse.  Food was still great and they fixed the place up a bit but I did miss their Superior hamburger and the atmosphere wasn't quite the same.  We did notice a Porters sign down the street so perhaps they have moved to a new location.  We will check it out on our next trip to the area.  

No progress on the construction today as I was plum tuckered out after our hike and the beer at lunch had me ripe for a nap as soon as we got home.  Hoping to get some of the siding up tomorrow and then things should start to take shape.

Here are some shots of our walk today. 

The sun rising behind the mountains made for excellent light.  

Our motley crew

The fire did a number on this saguaro.  
The ones higher up the canyon seem
to have fared better

The fire burned hot and fast.  
The bark is black and crispy but the inside
trunk looks untouched. 

In the midst of a burned out section this plant is thriving,
complete with beautiful white flowers. 

The foreground would usually be filled with
shrubs and small trees blocking the view.

A few pools of water fed by underground streams provided Chewie
with his favourite activity.  Brings back memories of Charli, sob.  

So glad the fire didn't take all the large cottonwoods and ash trees.  
The small shrubs and grasses will recover in a few years but
these beauties would take decades to replace

Met this group near the end of our hike.  
They are all from different states and bring their
horses with them for the winter.

First hike under our belt.  Many more to come.  In fact we have one scheduled for Monday and possibly a visit to Boyce Thompson Arboretum set for Tuesday.  

Till then.  

Riparian Preserve

 We have been here 3 weeks now and our first desert hike is scheduled for Friday.  Don't think we have ever taken that long to go for a hike but we have been busy.  The fridge and kitchen cupboards are starting to fill up and the liquor cabinet/fridge is well stocked.  We have purchased a couch, picked out some flooring and got a good start on the construction project.  Our long awaited delivery from Lowes containing lumber, windows and doors arrived today so tomorrow we can move ahead in earnest.  

Weather has been great.  Lows at night dipping into the 50s and highs touching the 80's most days.  Phoenix broke a long standing record for most days over 80 in Nov  at 25 days. 

Last winter we ordered 2 e-bikes.  Lori found them a bit big and heavy so we brought one down with us for me to use and she ordered a smaller e-bike for herself.  We will keep them down here which leaves me the other bike to use when at home.  We will probably get more use of them down here anyway.  Her bike arrived Monday and we are ready to hit the road which will be a nice supplement to our 6 KM daily walks.  

Yesterday we took a drive to Gilbert and took a walk around the Riparian preserve.  The preserve is a water reclamation project with numerous ponds and the feathered population can be quite a sight.  

Here are a few of the preserves residents. 

Log rolling competition is about to start.  
My monies on the duck.

It appears we hit siesta time.
Many of the animals were pretty sedate.
Next time we will have to arrive a little earlier. 

This guy saw us across the pond and made a beeline for us.
I think he figured we had treats.
Made quite the wake. 

Hike on Friday so hope I will have some shots of that plus perhaps some construction updates.  

Till then. 

  

Feathered Friend

 We had a feathered friend pay us a visit yesterday.  In fact 3 Harris Hawks were patrolling the field behind us on the hunt for dinner.  This one stayed perched on our fence long enough for me to search for my camera, attach the big glass and get a few shots.  Beautiful birds and so majestic in flight.

Project update.  Framing for one window done yesterday.  Still have all my fingers.  There is a construction ban on Sundays so we went for lunch to Dana Park mall with Mark & Jan and a quick browse of a few stores and an outdoor Craft sale in the parking lot.  Now its time for a bit of reading which will no doubt turn into an afternoon ZZZZZZZ.  

Tomorrow we are headed out to the Premium Outlet Mall to hopefully beat the Black Friday rush plus pick up a few more groceries and some construction accessories.  My neighbours will shortly be longing for the quiet that they experienced last year in our absence.