Rain Again

I think that the area has now tripled the usual annual rainfall for the year, and we haven't hit the rainy season (near the end of summer).

Again the roof was drumming out a sleepy rhythm through the night. We had a bit of a lull, and a tiny patch of sun, but now being 2 pm, we are hearing rumbles of thunder.

We again have a huge puddle across the drive path near the red water tower.

This morning I noticed that the waterfall had returned, and again the reservoir by which we are residing has a really intriguing brown on green patterning going on.

I still declare this to be the best worst weather we have yet experienced. It was rather amusing as we did an exploratory drive seeing people out with toques and gloves. Now come on, it's not that bad!!

So we first wanted to see if Skunk Hollow was swimming again, and it was, though not nearly as bad as previously, then we decide that since there was not much else to do, we explored some of the side roads along Senator's Wash Road. We found Coyote Ridge, and a few other mesas and such places, but they were all a bit isolated for our liking.

I am enclosing some shots of both the aftermath of the wet, and some of the explored regions.

The Blogger version of this post has a few less pictures, but please revisit the post once I go live on the new page (really soon, I hope) as it is much easier to include a photo gallery in the new format. (The rain is starting again...)

Anyway, I am working really hard to get the new site ready for launch so bear with my less frequent posts. We are almost there.

But for now,

Adieu

Model Air Show, Yuma Arizona

We went to see the Yuma Model Air Show today, and really enjoyed it. When we arrived, they were just launching the red jet and it put on quite of show.

The jet uses real jet fuel, and has a real scale size jet engine. It holds enough fuel for 8 minutes of flight time. It is capable of amazing speed, but is legally restricted to a speed of 200 mph. Watching it zoom by was amazing. It also did some maneuvering that clearly defined the caliber of the pilot guiding it.

Then they called the pilots to assemble their planes on the runway so that the crowd could view them up close.

Shortly after that break, they launched This plane:

It is a relatively simple craft, except that its under carriage is rigged for the fellow lying on its wings.

It can hold up to 3 paratroopers, and the fellow who owns the plane has a friend who runs the plane so that once he releases the paratroopers (I believe one at a time) he remotely controls them while the friend continues to fly the plane.

For the run that we viewed, he only set one paratrooper, but earlier, he released 2.

The following shot is of a B 25 bomber. We didn't see it fly, but it was an impressive replication.

The following video clip is of a Yak. The pilot is performing an extremely advanced maneuver called a prop stand.

We quite enjoyed the event. Less formal activities are continuing tomorrow. We however, will be staying up on the ridge. Again the laundry and sewer beckon.

Ah, well tomorrow is another day, so for now,

Adieu

Cool Shot!!

After I signed off, I decided to try the nearly impossible on a digital "instant" camera - to catch a flash.

It is no where near perfect - the background is doubled, and I don't know if I shook, or the flash altered the silhouette, but the flash is unmistakeable! (Caught just before midnight)

I can't deny, I am really quite impressed :-)

'Nuff said. I will now bid you,

Adieu

Balloon Suppliment

Hello again, just a quick note. There was a pro photo fellow along with the ground crew, so if you want to see our trip from the ground view, this is the link to his shots.

(Thanks again to the gal who started me Blog posting, she has taught me how to bypass the malfunctioning Blogger's button for linking)

I have no rights or claim on the photos, but as it is a public page, I am comfortable linking it for you. (ours are just the first 4 pages of the set, and they are in reverse order)

Again, I bid you Season's Greetings and,

Adieu

Merry Christmas

Let's see, we had hoped to see the parade of lights on the night of the balloon ride. We were just a few minutes late on that one.

My parents and their guests came out to see them the second night.... but they just went on the mesa, and skipped the ridge ... so we missed it again.

Neighbours told us that it alternates regions as the Wash is a very big area. Great, so we will catch it on the third night then..... Sand storm prevented them parading on the third night.

They don't run on Christmas Eve because everyone is doing their Christmas things and are too busy then..... Wait a second, I hear a horn blowing. I see lights coming. They came!!!

And so the highly anticipated show did arrive. It was 9 vehicles dressed in their season's best. My camera behaved poorly, but I did get some shots, so at long last, this is what I caught of the parade of lights:

It was very pretty, and much more impressive than the meager photos relay, but it is all I got. I actually choked up a bit as they passed (common practice for an emotionally high strung sole like myself)

Merry Christmas everyone. I bid you

Adieu.

A Day In Mexico

In honour of visitors from Etobicoke Ontario (To non-Torontonians it would be Toronto) staying with my folks, we went on our first trip to Mexico today.

We started out by meeting the foursome at the new casino just on the California side of the border. If you get a membership (free) you can get deals at the buffet, so breakfast for 2, all you can eat cost $6.95. New members also get a $10 credit for the slots.

Ken and I don't gamble, but the breakfast was worth the membership process. We then parked just north of the border and walked in.

Personally, our goal was threefold. Ken needed glasses, I wanted a replacement window for the rig door, and I was looking for a case to carry business cards in so they don't get tattered. This is the type that holds your cards, not the various cards you collect. (2 out of 3 isn't bad, but this card holder remains elusive.)

So what do you think of Ken's new Armani glasses

We went with a more conservative approach instead :-)

.... So then we wandered around for 2 hours while the glasses were being prepared.

Editor note & Shot: 2 hours later the look was much nicer :-)

And so the wanderings revealed such things as:

You can click some of these and get a better look.

These two sales areas, and many like them are an amazing version of Jeff Foxworthy's, "say it with Krylon". Seriously, these are works of art, but as with most rigs, where on earth would I put them???

The nicknacks of amazingly varied persuasion are everywhere in Los Algodones (which, of course, we expected) I think we circled too many times with varied focuses of the varied party members because the vendors started pointing out which way our other members went. :-)

Amazingly enough, the border was a very short line. Usually, you walk in because the motorized traffic is a really long line. It proved true today too, but sometimes the walking line can be over an hour as well. We were through in less than 5 minutes. SWEET!!

This is the new window in the rig.

And up close through the screen. I really like it.

Well, as the parade of lights is waiting until tomorrow, I know what I will be posting about soon. For now, it has been a really long day so I bid you,

Adieu.

Ken & Donna's Excellent Adventure

Dec 20, 2009

Well, it has finally happened - the moment we've ... well, that Ken and I were waiting for, anyway.

Today with great anticipation, and supreme weather watching (too much wind, = postponement) - we got to go up in a hot air balloon.

They had 2 choices in timing - 0 dark hundred (6:30 am) or 2:30 pm.

If you chose the morning, you meet at the pilot's house for a quick coffee, orange juice, hot chocolate, or what have you. You then do the waiver signing, and receive a briefing on processes, then load up in his vehicle and drive to the launching site.

For the afternoon outing, which we chose, you do the same thing, but hold the liquids.

On the way he told us a bit about the history of ballooning (I was 3rd row back, so missed a lot of it, but I am sure google could fill in the blank).

We then watched the process of getting the balloon ready to launch. They started by taking the caddies with the balloon and the basket out, and pulled out a huge nylon mat on which they lay the actual balloon. That is to protect it from damage on the ground while it inflates.

The basket's upper rack and burner are set up, the balloon laid out on the mat, and connected to the basket, and then a gas driven fan inflate it with cold air. When it is about half way full - enough to make the mouth wider, a second fan is added to increase the speed of filling.

When it is close to full, the pilot carefully gives a few bursts of the burner to coax the balloon into the air. The ground crew are holding lines that direct its ascent while one line remains anchored to the truck.

When the balloon lifts high enough, the crew guides the basket upright. At this point, all passengers must quickly embark so as to minimize strain on the ground crew who is now struggling to rein in the giant that is grappling to be free.

It was done with great efficiency,.... but one of the inside guidelines was tangled, so we all disembarked, the ballon was let down, and they went inside to correct the tangling.

Take 2, the balloon ride. In this scene, the balloon is inflated by fans,..... I think you recall the drill,....

... and they quickly embarked,.... giant ...., oh, right, here we are! The pilot gave a couple long bursts with the burner, and we alight into the sky.......

Editor's Note: (had it worked, a video would have been here, but instead it is viewable in my album entitled TAKE OFF!!! See link at the bottom of this post) There are a couple vid clips among the slides, so check carefully. Most are around the end, but this one is somewhere in the middle

We were airborne for about 1 - 1/4 hours and saw some awesome sites. We were as high up as 4000 feet, and as low (while not yet ready to officially descend) as about 50 feet or so - just above some house rooftops (under full control at all times).

We landed in a field that was between crops at the time, bounced a couple times, dragged a few feet, then fully landed.

The chaser crew went quickly about their business, the balloon's top centre was released to quickly disperse the contained air, and we held ground in the basket until the balloon was fully deflated.

We then were driven back to the pilot's house, each holding a complementary cold unleaded beverage (with another history of the balloon traditions which we were not to take part in...) and were to have a champaign toast, and wonderful lasagna dinner (or breakfast if you chose the early run) and were given a certificate to commemorate the journey.

(We skipped the dinner because we were rushing back to the ridge for the Christmas parade of lights ..... which we missed ... only to find that there will actually be nightly parades until Christmas eve .... D'oh!!)

Editor's Note: The parade of lights is every other night as the Senator's Wash region is so large that they run the ridges in alternating shifts - much to the chagrin of our guests who came out to see them the following night, but I digress...)

Anyway, here are some shots, and a link to my web album for the rest of the story.

Here is the link to more pictures in my web album.

(I had to study a previous link for an album to guide me in dropping the link into the HTML editor, but hey, I'm learning - since I still haven't gotten feedback on why the button for linking is failing, but I digress...)

Okay, that took for ever to upload the video, and I actually finished the following post so now I will bid you

Adieu

Sight Seeing in Our Backyard

A couple days ago, Ken and I decided to follow up with a suggestion of a neighbour, and go up to the water tower behind us to see the view.

To gain proper prospective of the outing, I am first putting a picture of the view from the door to the water tower.

As clarification, I mean the white one in the distance, not the red one. I also walked up to the peak beside it on the right and the bump to the left.

We rode the moped as high as we could and walked up the rest of the way.

This shot is from the peak to the right of the tower. The arrow is pointing to the bikes. (Honest) :-)

The red water tower in front of our rig is on the right near where the water is wider.

This shot arrows the rig, and you can still see the bikes just to the right of the date stamp.

The cell did a couple pan shots for me. The overlap point is the high point just right of centre on the upper shot.

For this one the overlap is the extreme left peak point.

This is one of the locals posing with a smile over a very multi-depth shot.

I am standing on the bump to the left of the water tower in the first picture. I love the way I have the burro, the swampy water, hills, the imperial dam, the road to Squaw Lake (which is just off screen to the right) and then several layers of mountains in the background. The more layers of scenery I can include, the happier I am with the shot.

One day I will have to brave the darker lighting and go at sundown as the sunset should be spectacular from there.

One thing I noticed is that the rocks on these mountains are much different than those familiar to me in the northern rockies. These are a much flaker, brittle rock. It is very intriguing to me.

Well, chores are calling me, so I will bid you

Adieu.

Yuma Outdoor Military Museum

We made a quick run to town on Sunday, then stopped to take in the display of tanks and related vehicles near the Yuma Proving Grounds.

It was a yard filled with multi-generational static displays of military might, and for those who find interest in such creations, it was a sight to see. We wandered around shooting the shooters, and enjoyed the stop.

The linking tool is still malfunctioning. (Hello, Google - are you listening??? Perhaps you will pick up the tab for uploading data instead of linking to a web album... , but I digress....)

... so I am going to just insert some of the highlights.

I took a close up shot of each, and the 4 sides of the info panels. If you would like to see some more of the shots, let me know and I will post them.

For now, Midnight needs to go on a "business trip" so I will bid you

Adieu

Sleepless in Senator's Wash

I found a lot of non-sleeping time last night, and we had an unusual amount of clouds that kept the night relatively warm, and added a bit of mystery to the starscape.

I glanced out the window by the bed and just had to get up to try to capture the view. It was around 5 am, and I still am dealing with the cybershot 5.0 sony camera, but I figured it was worth a try. In the digital world, if it doesn't work, just delete. What a useful button.

So I took a shot on the normal "let the camera do the thinking" settings and got one shot before the battery died.

I came in and switched the battery, and fiddled with the settings and found a night setting.

So I went out to give it a try. I figured that the shutter would likely be left open longer to accommodate the darkness, so I set the camera on a fence post and took 2 shots.

It worked quite well, but missed the orangey hue. On the other hand, the normal setting shot captured the orangeness, but missed the cloudy detail.

Between the series of shots, I think you can at least get the gist of the beauty I beheld last night.

For now I will bid you,

Adieu

Around the Wash

I am attaching some shots of the last few days, but unfortunately, although we did go out on the kayaks - no, really - it's true!! - I can't prove it as we opted to omit cameras on the inaugural run due to the need to ensure stability and, shall we say, ensure the safety of the electronics.

The outing was successful, and we went from the launch a bit toward the south end, then back to the launch to adjust the fit, and back out to the north end. We were only out for about an hour, but as we need to work on our comfort settings, and Ken's back was a bit tight that day, we considered it to be enough for a first go round.

Yesterday my Mother and Aunty popped out for a visit, and after lunch, we decided to drive around the lake to see the other side. It was really beautiful on the far side, and we even saw some well chewed down green grass. I suspect the grooming of the greenery was courtesy of the local burros.

The trail was a bit jagged and rough, and a lot of sharp stones, and gravelled in washouts were needed to cross. I would recommend 4 wheel drive, but the car did splendidly in spite of itself.

I suspect the next time we venture to the other side, we will do it by kayak. It was about 4.8 miles from our site to the far side of the wash.

Also, the water was let out for irrigation, and our big island became a peninsula for a couple days. It has now been restored to its full grandness. I think one of our kayak outings we will explore the big island.

Back to Burros, we had our first daytime sighting of them about 4 or 5 days ago, and I did take pictures, but hadn't gotten them downloaded until now, so I am also attaching a short or 2 of them. :-)

The second shot is actually right outside our door - you can see the frame in the lower left.

I think that about covers it for now, and the laundry needs hanging, so I bid you,

Adieu.