Last Ride of January

 

Riding east on the Bush Hwy with the Goldfield Mountains looming.

The route looks deceptively flat from this viewpoint but we had our share of climbing before and after!

A Year of Sunrises

Astronomy Picture of the Day 

published by NASA on Jan 5 2022 

The featured image shows the direction of sunrise every month during 2021 as seen from the city of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The camera in the image is always facing due east, with north toward the left and south toward the right. The top image was taken in 2020 December, while the bottom image was captured in 2021 December, making 13 images in total. Although the Sun always rises in the east in general, it rises furthest to the south of east near the December solstice, and furthest north of east near the June solstice.

Image Credit & Copyright: Luca Vanzella

Back to Butcher Jones Trail on Saguaro Lake

 On Dec 17th Rose Lynn hiked this trail with the Park hikers. Today, Bill experienced the trail for the first time and we were joined by hiking buddy Jeannie. 

Start point

Turnaround point on the out'n'back trail.

Local landmark, the Four Peaks, is visible on the horizon

 just to the right of the vertical cactus in the foreground

Road Trip!

Today's weather came up windy, grey and unsettled so we decided it was not a good day for hiking and biking but a good time to revisit the scenic mountain areas east of Apache Junction.

We drove east to Superior on Hwy 60, south to Winkelman on 177, north to Globe on 77, an out'n'back route from Globe on 188 to the Roosevelt Dam, and then back home on 60 west. Our weather judgement was correct as it was cool (50sF/ low teens C), very breezy and then it rained on our return between Superior and home. It poured heavily again later in the evening.

The Theodore Roosevelt Dam, begun in 1903 was once the world's tallest masonry dam; it was constructed northeast of Phoenix, AZ to prevent flooding and control the raging waters of the Salt River, provide water for irrigation, and generate hydroelectric power.The dam was completed in 1911 and was subsequently modified between 1989 and 1996. The modification raised the dam 77 feet in elevation, increasing its water conservation storage capacity by 20 percent, adding flood control space to the reservoir, and addressing concerns about its safety as well as the safety of downstream dams. 

Historic/active open pit copper mining operations, the "Telegraph Fire"* of June, 2021, and erosion from extra heavy seasonal monsoon rains this past fall, have all disfigured the rugged landscape along our route. Sadly, the few trees and cactus that call this area home were charred or burned - even wooden guard rail posts have had to be replaced in many locations. As few folks live in these wild areas we saw little evidence of lost homes or ranches.

You may recognize some of the huge mining conglomerates active in the region - Freeport McMoRan, Capstone, BHP, ASARCO, Resolution Copper and Capstone?

The mountain groups in this area have interesting names - Pinal, Dripping Springs, Mescal, Apache, Sierra Ancho.

*The 2021 Telegraph Fire, one of the state's largest wildfires last year, burned 180,757 acres alone in the Tonto forest before being fully contained. The fire originated near Superior on June 4 and its cause is still under investigation.

Our Time in AZ is Half Over.... 😒

Two months ago, we settled back into Rock Shadows RV Resort to resume another winter of hiking and biking in temperatures above freezing! That's been the real bonus of being here while socializing in the normal RV Park fashion has been missing.

😖 ???

The front page of today's Phoenix Arizona Republic illustrates the lack of covid protocols in Arizona and the dire outcomes of those ommissions.

A "Where's Waldo"-type examination of the throng at the start of yesterday's Rock'n'Roll Marathon reveals few masks among the runners who have travelled from all over the country (if not the world) for this event.  Given the headline to the right of the image "Patients Could be Turned Away under strain of Covid, healthcare cracking" it seems that there should be an = sign between the two stories.

Patriotic - coloured sunrise this morning in Apache Junction

as the US observes Martin Luther King Day

About our Electirc Bikes

Yes, we too now have electric bikes! After seeing cycling friends acquire them, much research by Bill, and a scarcity of product in Calgary, they came into our lives in early November.

These e-bikes are pedal-assist only i.e. we must pedal to get any boost. They do not have throttles similar to scooters and some types of e-bikes

There have been a few adventures, such as the the failure of Rose Lynn's controller on our first ride in AZ back on Nov 23. That was easily remedied and we were enjoying our new toys when, just before Christmas, Bill's torque sensor failed. That meant that the system was not recognizing his pedal strokes and therefore was not adding boost to his ride. A month later we are back in business, having spent the interim time riding flat areas where boost is not required!

Here are some other things we have learned so far...

They are heavy (~ 52 lbs with the battery, about 50% heavier than our other bikes). As with our old bikes, they are stored in the box of our truck. However due to the weight and different hub configuration, we’ve had to learn some new techniques to lift them out and in for each ride (the batteries and front wheels are removed for storage). More upper body workout that's for sure!

They are both black – really show the dust in this desert locale!

  Since we are travelling faster down the road, we have found that we need to wear extra clothing on some days.

The Phoenix valley is flat, circled with mountains, so they are great for climbing those hills. As mentioned, we can turn off the boost while travelling flatter sections and when cruising down hills.

Rose Lynn has had to replace the standard seat with a softer version!

The controller can be a little temperamental but we have learned that, just like other computerized devices, turning them off, and back on, usually provides a good "attitude adjustment"!

The controller has many monitoring functions including a visual cue for “most efficient” battery usage. Of course battery life depends on many variables so when Bill uses more battery is that because he is heavier than Rose Lynn?

It's all Good!

Local Retail Taxes

After reading an itemized New2U store bill, we were amazed to learn that local retail taxes total out at 9.6%; our grocery bill states the tax amount without denoting the rate.

So this is how we pay 9.6% retail tax in Apache Junction:

State tax - 5.6%

Pinal County tax - 1.6%

Apache Junction tax - 2.4% (including food!)

Rose Lynn got her Booster shot today!

 

Bill had his booster before we left Alberta; 

Rose Lynn was not eligible until this week.

Happy New Year!

 New Year's Eve day was another wet one - raining in sprinkles and downpours from midday to early New Years Day. Today dawned sunny with blue skies and brisk winds - such a nice change from the past week! Temps are still cool (for here...), around 50F/10C.

For ourselves, family, and friends,

 we wish a healthy, less stressful

 and an optimistic 2022