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| A few weeks ago, AJ and Brittney moved across town to a house (and I have waited in vain for a letter detailing that adventure). For this occasion, I thought AJ's t-shirt logo was actually appropriate. |
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This is my idea of a car top carrier. I stopped and tried to purchase it from the owner, but he refused. I did get this photo to guide me in construction of one for my Geo... |
| I also mentioned previously that I had attempted to resurrect my motorized bike. That machine seems to have a lot that can go wrong. After concluding it was again functional, I attempted to ride it to work, and a couple of the things that can go wrong, did. The fuel filter broke (probably from sun damage over the year it sat in the unfinished shed). At that point, it was obvious that the motor was out of service until the repairs were effected, but the machine was still functional as a bike, right? |
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Right! But only for a short while... When I shifted into low for the only big hill left between my house and work, the derailleur grabbed a spoke and wrapped itself around the axle. Since the bike was a gift, and I have a number of derailleurs (from other nonfunctional bikes littering my yard), it wasn't a great financial loss. Still, it was probably the best derailleur I have ever owned, and I regret its' loss. I was also quite late for work. (Ask Barbara sometime about the rescue by her and Sharon Matthews.) |
| The traditional family camping trip occurred over Labor Day Weekend. In addition to visiting friends and family, one of the major draws on these events is the food. I thought it all was very good again this year. I was especially hungry for pizza, and I regret not getting to see what Nathen did with his dessert pudding. |
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Karren came, but Jim was not doing well. |
| Laura and Fred also came. All three photos I took of Fred came out blurry. One of the nice things about digital photography is that you can capture many images cheaply. One of the drawbacks is that you have to capture many images to get a few that are useable. They provider a really nice lunch with a large variety of things for the hike. There was so much food that we ate on it for the remainder of the camp out. |
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Here we are leaving to drive to the trailhead. This would never have passed muster at a Scout outing, but fortunately different rules apply in different situations. |
| The trail, if indeed there ever was one, is badly overgrown. We followed an existing trail (whose destination I have forgotten) to what I call the meadow (although it is mostly thorn bushes). At that point, we left the trail and followed the spine of the ridge. It was steep and brushy, with loose footings, nearly vertical rock faces, and a variety of prickly plants. |
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Looking back at the point on which we were standing, I would guess it wasn't very far (perhaps 500 yards), but it sure took a lot of time and effort to arrive there. |
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At the crash site we ate, took photos, and let the kids run wild. Kids can be pretty destructive, but when an aircraft that large smacks the ground at flying speed, there isn't too much left that can be broken, so we didn't worry too much about what they were doing. Sometimes it's more fun that way. My estimation is that if the plane had had another 20 feet of altitude, it would have cleared the pass, and we wouldn't have had an excuse to visit that area. It is kind of hard to believe, but going back up wasn't as bad as hiking down had been. AJ took the lead, and managed to chart a route that skirted most of the brush and avoided the vertical real estate entirely. I took my GPS to definitively locate the site on a map, but I forgot to take a reading while we were there. Perhaps that gives me an excuse to return one more time... |
| We counted noses when we finally reached the truck, and unless someone grew a second nose during the hike, we didn't leave anyone behind. |
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Upon returning, Ameilia took a page out of Karren's book, and caught a short day-time nap. Somebody caught a picture of her doing so... |
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It's always fun to see the Grandkids. It's even more fun to watch kids deal with Grandkids. I didn't realize it when I was younger, but life has a certain symmetry to it. That which goes around, really does tend to come back around. There are a number of proverbs dealing with that concept, but seeing it for myself makes it "real" and I enjoy watching. |
| About three days before the camp out, Jon called and said he would be in Phoenix on Saturday, and would have a few hours on Sunday free. So, I took Barbara home Saturday night, and she had a good visit with him while he was there. She hugged him 6 or 7 times. Poor guy, you'd of thought she hadn't seen him in along time. Another of the results was that we got to see a beautiful sunset that I don't think was visible from our campsite. |
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Terra brought a couple of games, one of which was jumping ropes. It took some practice, but we got several people jumping at the same time. We tried jumping two ropes, but were less successful at that. Still, I think it was enjoyed by those who chose to participate. |
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With the exception of Barbara, who I had taken home earlier, and Wyatt who was behind the camera, this is the attendees. For a change, we didn't have adverse weather to deal with (although some people think that is part of the fun). We held a discussion about the location (and date) of next years' festivities, but no definitive decision was forthcoming. If anyone experiences an epiphany on this subject, please feel free to share it... |