The
family and I had a great trip to the ranch over labor day weekend. We
did lots of very fun things, but, of course, everything pales in
comparison to the hike. So busy was I with my family this trip, that I
only had one hike (sadness). It was, happily, a most excellent hike!
Mooms and I decided to search for the legendary "missing cabin" (not
going to to into that here), but naturally, we didn't find it. Half way
into our hike, we elected to trek all the way to the mesa that is
always visable from our cabin to the south. We had a lot of fun, and
even came accross interesting things along the way...
For the record, this hike was 6.9 miles. Also, if you look at the map,
you will notice that the hike ended in an odd place, on the "back way"
road. This is because my dear wife, who was getting concerned that our
hike was taking so long, called us and, learning that our position was
six miles away, decided to come and pick us up. She was wanting to go
on a photo shoot that afternoon, and correctly discerned that if she
did not come and pick us up, we would not be back in time for that.
By the way, it was Mooms that took all these pictures (except,
obviously, the ones with her in them).
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While on the hike, my GPS was
strapped to my belt, keeping ever vigil watch on our location. Once
home, I used some "Heidmann Special" software to plot our hike on a
topo map. Click on the map to the left to see our hike frawn out for
you. The hike is the blue line. The green plus signs at the top of the
map are my property corners, and there is also a plus sign marking the
location of the quonset, where our happy hike began. Be sure to view
this full size in your browser (typically, click on the image AFTER you
click on the icon to the left), or you'll never see the hike!
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OK, this isn't a picture from the
hike at all. This is a picture of some kids walking on our property.
The reason I've put this picture here is that you can see the mesa to
which Mooms and I hiked in the background.
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Me, about to leave our property,
via the gate on the far end of our land (I was inside the fence when
this was taken).
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Pretty.
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More pretty.
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Ron's "multi-colored dirt hill".
That's what we call it anyway. Actually, the "dirt" is bentonite, and
it is the stuff of the painted desert.
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Mooms, on Ron's
multi-colored-dirt-hill. Except we were not on Ron's land.
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We found this curious fire ring, in
the middle of nowhere.
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Hi Mooms!
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Our goal grows nearer.
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Good looking guy.
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Out in the middle of nowhere, right
by "Big Lake" (an oversized mud puddle filled with cow poop), sits this
little oddity. How did this get here, and how do you end up flipping a
car in such a flat place?
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Just past Big Lake (really, it is a
disgrace to call "Big Lake" a lake).
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Somewhere in NorthEastern Arizona...
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Here we are! We have obtained our
goal! This was taken from the top of the mesa.
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Moo!
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