I spend a lot of time watching the world go by while settling into June in Yarnell because there isn’t a whole lot else to do. Comfortable daytime temperatures in the low 90s and perfect sleeping in the low 60s. I have labeled over 1200 photos this month so am into February 2018 now. It’s fun to be reminded of some winter travels to the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge. But otherwise, the days are rather routine with some effort at finding a job.
June started off with the 5th annual Yarnell Memorial Run which maxed out at 500 registrations for 19K, 10K, and 5K versions looping around our neighborhoods. Glad they weren’t all on the street at once. That’s almost more than our little town’s total population even during the heat of summer when the southern Arizonans come up in elevation to cool off. With that said, the race started at 7am and was over by about 10am to avoid the warmest part of even our 80° day. Not being a runner, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me but whatever floats your boat as they say. Like watching paint dry, only slower. As Yogi says, it’s not a spectator sport. Obviously the first group of 19k runners are the most serious and pay total attention to the job at foot.
I mentioned to several people around town that I’m looking for a job and after three folks said “talk to Ed at the Emporium” I headed into town around noon figuring it might be safe without much crowd from the race. I needn’t have worried. I offered my services to cover hours in the store which aren’t currently needed. And I also offered to help with social media for his business as well as other businesses in town and the chamber of commerce. If you google Yarnell, the local websites are either under construction or not frequently updated. I’d almost happily stay in Yarnell this summer if I can make a little money but nothing yet.
Also on the job front, I was referred to Great Basin National Park located in central Nevada along the eastern border with Utah. From 13,000 foot Wheeler Peak to underground in Lehman Caves this park that I’ve never visited might be diverse enough to challenge me. And I’m still waiting to hear from the Inyo National Forest in California. No guarantees but I should know one way or the other soon. Plus I recently applied to Mount St Helens National Volcanic Monument in Washington and Cape Lookout State Park in Oregon. Maybe I can get a Ranger job for the summer yet. Crossing fingers anyway.
I spent an entire afternoon trying to figure out Fiverr to sell myself online for some income. Nothing illegal mind you. Services like data entry, writing, photography, voice overs… I am open to suggestions. I don’t want to slather the blog’s sidebar with “Buy Buy Buy” advertising. It’s not my thing to endorse products I don’t support and believe in and they are few. And besides, that’s no guarantee to income.
One morning I drove the 30 miles to Wickenburg to shop for fresh fruits and vegies. On the way stopped at the Granite Mountain Hotshot Memorial State Park. Parking, along the downhill lane only on State Route 89, for the 2.85 mile trail with a 1200 foot gain and 200+ stairs carved out of the rock leads to a shaded bench looking down to where the 19 firefighters died during the 2013 Yarnell Fire. In the past five months, every time I drove by here the Ranger was sitting in the State Park truck and I thought, I want that job. Although to be honest I wouldn’t want to just sit all day on the job. During the winter the small parking lot was always full and some contractor ran van shuttles between Yarnell and Congress. So I never tried to stop before and have no intention of hiking this trail anyway. This day, I was happily surprised to see a Ranger standing by the trailhead with a table of information and sales goods. I mentioned the truck Ranger who was this young man’s predecessor as he’s only been on the job for three weeks. Guess I missed that job announcement.
Anyway, I enjoyed lunch at Gorditas food truck in the grocery store parking lot which probably saved me money not shopping while hungry. The $4 gordita sandwich with pork was delicious. Did the shopping and got out of town just before the temperature broke triple digits.
Then on the way home I stopped at the base of the Yarnell Hill along State Route 89 where a few flowers still bloomed on a small cluster of saguaros.
A dear friend working at the mule desk on the North Rim sent me a Kaibab squirrel hat pin to add to my collection. I miss her, others, the canyon, and those sweet little squirrels.
I enjoyed company when a long-time friend from growing up in Illinois came for a visit from her current traveling nurse job about two hours away in Cottonwood. She brought me an old (1974?) photo of me and Danny the boyfriend in Bessemer, Michigan on a vacation we shared. Five hours quickly slipped by with chatting about our lives. Where are we going from here? I have no immediate plans yet my bucket list is lifetimes long. She has no bucket list. Berta said the same. I am confused by that. I thought everybody has a bucket list. Do you?
I slayed my first in-house scorpion for the summer. I honestly don’t want to kill them but this one was out of reach, high on a wall above a beautiful print of a strong woman who I hoped would protect me, and my spider roommates don’t seem to eat them. I sprayed that SOB with the nasty shit and stopped it dead in its tracks. And this is why I check the bed every night with the blacklight flashlight for the eerie glow of scorpions in or around the bed. Now I’m more freaked out about them than ever.
I watch the sun rise (sometimes) and set (always) hoping for colorful clouds. Occasionally the clouds drift away and the day turns into fun with the sun.
Otherwise, Sierra and I are just chilling. Come the end of the day, I wonder where it went and what did I do. It’s hard to believe the month is almost half over already and I wonder if I’ll spend the rest of June in Yarnell.
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