Making plans for nowhere

Sadly, all the fires in the west means it’s not a particularly good time to travel so I’ve been making plans for nowhere and finding sites and sights near home.

I returned from my last road trip in time for monsoon storms to water the garden and everything is growing like weeds.  I wander around the yard and take random photos of things that just catch my eye.  Berta collected really cool rusty stuff for yard art.

Storms come to Yarnell usually in the late afternoon, winds rise, temperature drops at least a little, and only a bit of rain falls.  Not usually enough for flooding, thank goodness.  However there has been a lot of heavy rain and flash flooding all around us.

If the clouds look good but not too dense a friend and I have been driving part way down the Yarnell Hill to enjoy the colorful sunsets below the Weaver Mountains of home and instead look at the Date Creek Mountains.

One night the wind blew so hard I had to hang on tight to the tripod.

But it was worth every minute.

Some nights the show is better than others.

And sometimes we are greeted by neighbors.

One night I parked in the local dollar store lot and actually caught lightning, through the windshield with the dash as tripod.

In preparation for an overnight guest staying in the camper I ran an extension cord over to the 5th-wheel on the lot next door where Berta’s house was before the big fire.  I am once again not sleeping in the house due to nighttime creepy crawly visitors (scorpions).

The next afternoon dark menacing clouds formed to the east moving quickly from north to south.  To the west the sun shone below a layer of clouds through a steady yet gentle rain and I looked for the rainbow.

Later I drove part way down the hill as the sky looked good for light and color.  Was just OK.  I didn’t quite make it back home before the sky opened and it poured.  And it just kept raining.  In fact there was flooding on the main street in town to the point the county brought in the big machines to clear off all the mud and rocks.  It was just sloppy mud at home so I actually drove the car next door when time to go to bed.  A bed I hadn’t slept in for almost 10 months.

Wednesday was the memorial service for Berta and I will post about that separately.  Thursday morning, my friend and I took a walk into the Weaver Mountains which I will also post about soon.

I had hoped to return to the North Rim this week to visit some photog friends and maybe get some shots of the full moon rise.  But with all the smoke I’ve pretty much canceled those plans.  I do understand the importance of forest fire for the health of the landscape, yet smoke is never good and these fires seem so extreme and almost violent with loss of human lives, homes, and wildlife making it hard to bear.  Fortunately, Yarnell is still, knock on wood, smoke free.  So I better stay put for now and enjoy my local sights.  Can you tell I have itchy feet?

In addition, I’m not sure Sierra is in travel mode right now.  She got into a cat fight and has a wound that will take time to heal.  I think she’ll be indoors for a while.  OMGosh, I’ve become one of those #shareapictureofmycat people.