Assessment of the MacBook Air Project - two reactions!

        Rose Lynn                      Bill

                                     

                     

Hiking Arnett Canyon

Our photos and movies tell the story of our great adventure! 

Five of us were out on a sunny, windy, fresh, day east of Apache Junction in the Arnett Canyon. We didn't walk terribly far (about 4 miles/ 6 kms) but when we came to the third crossing of Queen Creek that meanders through the bottom of the canyon, we called it quits! 

Walking in

In the canyon

Walking out. WEAVER'S NEEDLE is the projection on the skyline

A short video crossing Queen Creek.

 It needed two poles each and coaching from our fearless leader, Jeanne, to get the job done (only 1 wet foot out of ten!).

 Queen Creek is usually pretty dry at this time of year but recent rain & snowfall

 have kept it running strong and clear.

Dwarf Cars

Bill, Mike, Bob and Greg were in car heaven visiting the Dwarf Car Museum* today! The museum is located in a rural area outside the southwest corner of Phoenix (a considerable drive from our location east of Phoenix in Apache Junction!).

Dwarf car beside its 1939 CHEVY sedan twin

Dwarf Cars are 5/8 scale models of vintage cars. They have sheet metal bodies and are powered by 4 cylinder Toyota engines. Many are street legal and have modern comforts e.g. air conditioning! You can read more about these little wonders on the Dwarf Car Museum website below.

Approaching the Museum

Just part of the extensive licence plate collection

Latest Dwarf Car project - '64 Chevy

'34 Ford

*https://www.dwarfcarmuseum.com/

BRRRR!

 It was only 39F /4C here this morning! There was frost on the windshield!! 

Frost on the windshield while, ironically, a tropical palm scene is reflected on the driver's window

This cool Arizona weather is wearing thin...not what we came for! The temperatures are unseasonably cool and are expected to continue; daytime temperatures are predicted to be in the high 50sF/ mid teens C. until the end of January, at least.

John Denver Tribute Festival of Arizona

Joined by Calgary friends, Bob & Ann, we enjoyed an outdoor music festival in tribute to the music of John Denver. The weather was quite calm and sunny but not overly warm (mid 50s F/ low teens C). We were warmly dressed but some chose shorts, t-shirts and sandals!

We learned lots about John Denver's life and his music from the performers who had spent time with him in various ways. The most surprising to us was that he was the author of the song, "Leaving on a Jet Plane", Peter Paul & Mary's biggest hit. Also, for more than eight years beginning in 1949, Denver lived in Tucson and attended school here while his father was stationed at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.

We're in Prospector Park looking east towards the Superstition Mountain

Yard Art

 

Creative use of dead palm trunk

A Hike to Garden Valley

 Our Thursday hike with Jeanne took us to Garden Valley* in the Superstition Wilderness. Lori, from our Park, also joined us for the 4.5 m / 7+ km hike. It was a perfect day for the rambling route and, because of the recent rain, we found water pooled and running in several locations in the essentially desert area.

Just starting out!

Can you see some of the path we walked?

It's the light coloured horizontal line above the rocks in the foreground, 

just to the left of the base of the suguaro cactus!

*Garden Valley was formed by a small group of Hohokams probably a 1,000 years ago when the climate conditions were more favorable. This large valley flat has more than 200 acres of arable land when there is a sufficient supply of water. Today mesquite and cholla have become the dominant vegetation in the area because cattle growers over-grazed the area for the past 100 years. Indeed we passed the remains of ranch corrals along the route we hiked.

A ruin was located in the center of the valley. This structure probably housed twenty-five to thirty individuals, while small caves on the fringe of the valley contained other families. Prior to 1930, the valley floor was literally covered with stone tools used by the ancient inhabitants who cultivated this special parcel of land.

The Superstition Wilderness Area is a significant treasure trove of ancient archaeological sites belonging to the Hohokam and Salado cultures. Mixed among the Hohokam and Salado cultures are the more contemporary Apaches and Yavapais.

It is difficult to estimate when man first occupied these lands in what is known today as the Superstition Wilderness. Many archaeologists suggest ancient cultures were using the region for gathering and hunting subsistence as early as 350 BC. There are lithics or stone tools that suggest a primitive hunting culture may have existence in this area 8,000 – 10,000 years ago. The Salado probably arrived on the scene around 800 AD. These architects of mud and stone left several excellent examples of their work in the region.

Back on our Bikes

 Finally!

Through a series of weather and scheduling events, we had not cycled for four weeks! Unbelievable!

Our first ride of the New Year, Jan 7,  was from home through the foothills of the Superstitions to the east of us - it was magnificent. We've had a couple of more since then and, as the weather dries and warms, we'll be back at it regularly.

Morning Glory

 

Zanjeros Keep Phoenix Irrigated

From an article today in a local paper: 

Map of Phoenix Canals

(Salt River flows diagonally)

Phoenix was built on the remains of an ancient Hohokam city. When the first settlers arrived, they built their farms around irrigation canals the Hohokam left behind, but they were at the mercy of the Salt river.

In the early 1900s, the farmers got together, and, with the help of the government, built a dam (Roosevelt Dam) to harness the Salt River that runs through Phoenix.The canals soon had a system of irrigation ditches called laterals, which linked farms and homes to the main canals.

For a time, they were such a vital part of life in the Valley that people gave their lateral number rather than their street address. Today, about 24,000 people still irrigate their lawns and gardens (we often see these agricultural properties as we ride along the canals).

Although gravity does a lot of the work, it takes a person to operate the gates and valves in the system; they’re called zanjeros*, “Another word for it would be ditch rider, or irrigator,” said Patrick Krause, a zanjero for Salt River Project.

In the old days, the ditch riders made their rounds on horseback. Now they drive SRP trucks and keep track of deliveries on a computer.

*  ZANJERO is one in charge of water distribution from zanjas.The zanjero was once the most powerful man in any community, entrusted with overseeing its most valuable resource. The expressions most likely came from early Spanish settlers in the SW United States

A zanja ("water ditch" or "trench") is an archaic irrigation system used in the southwestern United States and that word still occurs in various place names as a relic of that time.

Happy New Year!

 

Here we sit on New Year's morning 2023, watching the rain fall in Apache Junction and realizing the comic character was missing one prop...an umbrella!

Last evening we joined friends old and new at our Hall for a New Year's Party. Well, it was supposed to be a party but the band was mediocre and couldn't seem to read the crowd; they were playing pop, rock and country but even though the empty floor crowded with two steppers and line dancers when country was played they didn't keep playing that flavour! We stayed until midnight in New York City (10 pm local time!). Oh well, the party was put on by the Park owners (it seems all activties are free this season) so it didn't hurt our wallets.

A happy, healthy & prosperous 2023 to you all!