A little of this, a little of that
On the Verde River northeast of the metro Phoenix area, water was released from an upstream lake (Horseshoe) to be stored in a downstream lake (Bartlett) to create storage in anticipation heavy rain the next week, and the not to distant spring snow melt in the mountains.
The spillway is unique from most other dams in that you can walk under it – even when water is flowing over it!
I had the opportunity to take a few photos and video of the water rushing over the spillway while walking under it.
Before the weather here in the Arizona desert got really hot, friends Tony, Rich, and Bill (who refer to themselves as the riding group of Old, Older and Oldest), were out riding in the normally dry Lower Sycamore Creek northeast of the Phoenix, Arizona metro area. Since it had not rained for quite a while, they were surprised to see water in it – and a couple of ATVs stuck in the sand!
Old and Older helped them out, while Oldest sat back and watched.
The ATV riding group of Old, Older and Oldest rode their ATVs to the old gold mining town of Crown King, Arizona, in the Bradshaw Mountains (elevation of 5,771 feet). They were joined by Oldest’s niece and her husband, who followed in their Jeep.
Continue reading “The Mill, Crown King, Arizona”
After spending the morning at the Boyce Thompson Arboretum just outside of the old mining town of Superior, Arizona, We had lunch at the Silver King Smokehouse and Saloon. It has been featured on a recent television episode of Arizona Highways.
Great food and good service!
I used a GoPro Max 360 degree camera to capture the image inside the establishment.
I was out by Montana Mountain, west of the old mining town of Superior, Arizona, and north of Boyce Thompson Arboretum, with my brother-in-law today, checking if the area was open so that we could ride our ATVs out there next month. Due the the number of wildfires in the area this year, we were not certain if the area was open or not. We flew our drones while out there. When we left, we inadvertently took the wrong road out. Several intersected where we had stopped.
Continue reading “Historic Pinal Cemetery”
The Union Pacific’s Engine 4014 ‘Big Boy’ Steam Locomotive was passing through Arizona this week, so I thought I’d take my drone out to video it. The largest steam engine built, weighing in at over 1,200,000 pounds, it is the only one functional today. Only 25 were built and they were retired in 1961 when diesel-engine locomotives became prominent. Restoration on this engine began in 2014 and after it was completed in 2019, it was sent out touring the country.
Continue reading “Union Pacific’s 4014 ‘Big Boy’ Steam Locomotive”We headed up to Jerome, Arizona for a class that we had signed up for several months ago. Since accommodations were limited and required climbing stairs in this community nestled on the side of a mountain, something that Karen cannot handle other than a few steps, we checked into a hotel at the base of the mountain in Cottonwood, Arizona, for a couple of nights. As we had lost our of our furrbabies earlier this week, Karen was still upset about Winston’s passing and wasn’t sure that she wanted to go. Fortunately, I convinced her it would be good to get out of town and do something to distract us from Winston’s passing. We both really miss the little furbaby!
Once a year, my youngest son, Jonathan, and I take a road trip from Phoenix to Tucson so that Jonathan can trade in books at the three Bookman’s stores in Tucson. There are two in the Phoenix area and one in northern Arizona in Flagstaff which we will also make trips to trade books.
On our way home from San Diego, we stayed a couple of nights in Kingman, Arizona, so that we could take a day trip to Oatman, Arizona, a former mining town along old Historic Route 66 in the mountains east of the Colorado River. The town was named in honor of Olive Oatman, a 14-year old girl who was taken captive by Yavapai Indians and forced to work as a slave. She was later traded to Mohave Indians and her face was tattooed in the custom of the tribe.
Continue reading “Oatman, Arizona”We arrived at the Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta RV Premium Parking area around 12:30 in the afternoon on the Thursday before the Fiesta started. We only had 30 amp electrical service, which meant we could only run one of the two air conditioning units on the motorhome instead of both at the same time when we have 50 amp service. As it was unseasonably hot, one AC unit was not keeping the RV cool. We disconnected from shore power and ran the onboard generator so that we could run both AC units to cool down the motorhome. By evening, we were able to get by with only one AC unit, so the generator was shut off and we hooked back up to shore power.
