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| This Fourth of July weekend has been long and eventful. Most holidays seem to end almost before they start, but I feel like I have been gone from work so long I will need retraining.
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| As you know, Jerry is attempting to become my neighbor by building a house that almost touches "big rock." Thursday Morning at about 0430 I was awakened by the melodious roar of a cement truck engine accompanied by the clang of the backup warning device. If I were a good neighbor, I would have arisen and offered to help (and the thought did cross my mind) but before I could get my feet on the floor, sleep had reclaimed me. I still can't envision how the house will look, but the "upper floor" is shown in the photo. |
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| Progress marches on, even when the direction is not particularly desirable. With the mine closed and flooded, the demand for rail service to and from it has dramatically decreased, and recently the SMRRC (San Manuel Railroad Company), being the environmentally friendly entity that they are, decided to recycle the rail (taxes on railroads are computed based on track mileage in place). In addition to memories, all that is now left is a few ties, some scrap iron, and one markedly elongated pile of gravel. |
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| This Friday, after attend the wedding reception for Denise Scorse in Snowflake, I visited Ameilia in Eagar and spent a short time the next day attending the reunion of the Mike and Margee Stroud families. When Ameilia left Oracle, her avowed intension was to "move to where there are pine trees." I stopped a couple of miles outside of Eagar, and shot the above photos. This collage depicts a 180-degree view. It is evident that, not only are there no pine trees, there are no trees of any kind. Ameilia always tended to go overboard. It appears that this time, true to form, she overshot the mark and now resides above the tree line. |
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| This is my motley crew that attended the reunion. I was present for only one meal--biscuits and gravy. In my short life, I have probably made several tank trucks full of that stuff, but this was different. They used hamburger as the meat, then (in addition to several packaged mixes that I could not identify) added onions and chopped green chili. In spite of my love of those foods and my reputation for reckless culinary experimentation, I had never even considered that combination. It was marvelous--perhaps the best I have ever eaten. There were those of my family (the deceived few who think onions cause everything from cancer to colon polyps) who went elsewhere for breakfast, but it was definitely their loss. |
 
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| Saturday afternoon, I visited Joan in Woodruff and worked on the Allen Family website. After much discussion, we decided not to password protect the Allen Directory, but to keep it hidden form search engines. It is currently available at www.grandmasweb.com/allendirectory. For those of you who have trouble navigating my site, I would recommend that you follow this link, and then bookmark the directory. It is my intension to keep it as current as information from family members will allow. Nella was in Woodruff working on the Allen house. She used mortar to replace some of the bottom layer where the original rock was crumbling, then used paint color generated by a computer color match to hide it. Can you see the patches? Nella objected to me taking her photo, saying that she was dressed in old clothes that had paint on them. I told her my camera had a paint filter. Can you see the paint on her blouse? |
 
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| Sunday afternoon, I took a short hike on the trail towards Miller peak (south of Sierra Vista). I am re-impressed with the steepness of Arizona's mountains every time I re-visit them, and this trip was no exception. The trail, however, wanders around enough that it has only few steep stretches. I calculate that I traversed two miles and climbed 1500 feet before my knees informed me that playtime was over. |
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On the Fourth of July, I took a short hike in the area AJ calls, "El Capitan." It is the steep stretch between Winkleman and Globe. I am continuing to collect images of flowering desert vegetation, and had noted some uniquely colored century plants blooming there. Some of the rock that makes up that formation is also fossil bearing. In the days when I was still a "collector" I would have brought some of them home. Well, evening is here, the long weekend is finally over, and it is time for me to conduct a detailed examination of the back of my eyelids, checking for pinholes. Hope all of you are doing well. Alan |
