Damsel took this shot from the Saguaro National Park (West), near the museum. I cropped it down to this panoramic image looking west from the park. We drove up from Tucson to visit the park, then on to Marana, where we stayed for a couple of days to relax and look around.
There certainly is some pretty scenery in Arizona. Click on the image to enlarge.
This is a very pretty flower on what is called a ‘fish hook’ cactus. The cactus is a barrel type with spikes and spines similar to the ‘Devil’s Tongue’ that we have in the patio here at home. I took this photo on the grounds of the Casa Grande Ruins near Coolidge, Arizona.
The red color of these flowers contrasts nicely with the yellow colors of the pollen stems in the center. Click on the image to enlarge.
I planted an umbrella tree in one corner of the yard a few years ago to provide a barrier between our yard and the neighbors. It does the job quite nicely, but, as you can see in the “before” panel above, it’ got a little out of control. Exacerbating the control problem, a group of several California palms popped up behind the umbrella, next to the wall in back. Many people consider this variety of palm a weed – in this case, it’s true.
For the “before” picture, Damsel posed me next to the garden project just as I began to whack away with the branch cutter and chain saw. Two green bins worth of tree parts later, she snapped the “after” picture. It was more work than it appears. The palms were a bitch to clean up, all intertwined and always with the little razor sharp spikes catching on stuff (luckily, I escaped any of them snagging a chunk outta me). Eventually, I will remove the palms completely, before they start moving the block walls.
Remember that little squirrel that kept popping up in people’s pictures on the web? Somehow, that little guy managed to get in the “after” picture. Maybe he was hiding there before – you just couldn’t see him through the thicket.
We took our .38 and .357 shooters to the range today. We scored some .38 special “wad cutters” reloaded ammo last week and wanted to send a box of those downrange. The wad cutters, also known by the rather descriptive term “The Devil’s Suppository,” make a nice distinct hole in paper targets. A while back, Damsel posted an image in “I shot Mickey Mouse,” where you can see the clean holes in the target.
Image: wad cutters – click to enlarge.
We were able to see the holes appear in the target quite well, even though we had taped it to some scrap cardboard an eighth of an inch thick, or so. I would have bought another fifty rounds of wad cutters at the range today, but, unfortunately, they were all sold out. We still have 150 rounds of wad cutters which we will use with discretion.
Speaking of scoring ammo, we found some UMC .357 magnum at our Big 5 store for $31/box of 50. I got a couple of boxes. Expensive, but you never know when the well is going to dry up – again.
Other than a few anachronisms, this is pretty much how Allen Street looked in the days when Doc Holliday Wyatt, Virgil and Morgan Earp got into it at the OK Corral, seen on the left. Click on the panorama below for a closer look.
Wyatt Earp, Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday fought Frank McLaury, Tom McLaury, Billy Claiborne, Ike Clanton, and Billy Clanton. Ike Clanton and Billy Claiborne (who later claimed that he had been unarmed, though some reports credit him with shooting one or more times) ran away from the fight, unharmed. Both McLaurys and Billy Clanton were killed; Morgan Earp, Virgil Earp, and Doc Holliday were wounded.
Halloween (also spelled Hallowe’en) is an annual holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic festival of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints.
Click on the Halloween greeting below to hear our special little message.
I recently posted about our travel strategy of first driving to Phoenix before renting the travel trailer for our vacation in Arizona. The strategy worked out great and we enjoyed the vacation a lot.
Image: The cruise America Travel Trailer at Apache Junction KOA. Click image for full-size. We were in one of several Cruise America RVs there.
When we returned the rental trailer to Cruise America in Mesa, AZ, we inadvertently forgot Damsel’s Canon Camera battery charger which was still plugged in to one of the AC outlets in the kitchenette. As soon as we discovered it was missing, I called the Rental Supervisor, Joe Morales, and asked him if he would look for it. He agreed, and was to call me back later. He did call back later that day, but I missed the call. By the time I got his voice mail, Joe would not have been at work. I sent him an email asking him if he would send the charger to us, with an offer to pay for shipping and handling. The next day, Joe emailed us back saying he would send the charger and advise us of the cost.
Two days later, the big brown truck of goodness (UPS) delivered the charger. It was bubble-wrapped in a small parcel – a real professional-looking package. Damsel was glad to have the charger since the battery was low and you know how she loves to take pictures.
After the package showed up, I sent Joe a follow-up email thanking him for the effort and asked how I could pay them back. Joe sent this response today:
No problem, just let your friends and family know how great we are, nice doing business with you.
Joe said it – they were great! We’ll be back to the Mesa Cruise America for sure. Soon, we hope.