A friend from Tucson visited attending the memorial for Berta, stayed overnight in my camper/guestroom, and we enjoyed a morning saunter into the uninhabited Weaver Mountains in my backyard making some interesting discoveries.
Kat is a water-colorist extraordinaire and is hiking the Arizona Trail in pieces then documenting with her Katlas. Above is an example from just one segment. We first met through a mutual friend online and later several times at the North Rim. She is recently retired so should have more time for her art and hopefully a website soon.
I slept in, having stayed up later than Kat, and found her sketching and doing her morning yoga. I do admire her discipline, which I sorely lack. My morning routine ideally requires two hours to lounge over coffee—a quadruple espresso shot with organic dark chocolate syrup, Orgeat (almond) syrup, and organic heavy cream—get online and check email, Facebook, etc. I picked up my pace that morning so we could get out for a walk before the temperature rose past 90°.
I drove us the mile to our start where we climbed over a gate to a graded-gravel two-track road with tall weeds in the middle indicating it’s been a while since anybody has driven here. Perfect.
Almost immediately Kat sees a tiny Horned Lizard only because it moved as it blends in with the road. Not the first time we’ve started out a walk with this lucky sighting but certainly in a different environment from pine forest on the North Rim where we last hiked together.
I so enjoy seeing new perspectives of the surrounding granitic boulders that often appear sculpted and stacked. Gotta’ love geology.
We were exceedingly careful and watchful if we wandered off the road as this could definitely be rattlesnake country. I haven’t seen one yet and am OK with that. Usually it’s mule deer that startle and bound off a ways to stop within sight, then give the once over as if to say, “how dare you trespass here”.
Not too far along we come upon some side roads or maybe proposed driveways that are even less used and sometimes gated.
In early July, I walked up here and followed a drive to a windmill. This time we were on a mission for some old rusty cars Kat was particularly interested in. I guessed wrong on the first side trip yet we thoroughly enjoyed the far view southwest.
Inside of dried Prickly Pear Cactus
I love the evidence of somebody’s dream to develop the land, yet without utilities I’m not sure the county would allow off-grid living. It’s a land where Ravens, hawks, and vultures soar as they lift from the hot air rising from the desert below. Wonder if you could hang-glide from here?
We walked back down to the main road and took another driveway uphill where someone long ago arrived but didn’t leave. Or at least the vehicle didn’t. Abandoned cars and rural road signs often show the light of day from being shot full of holes. I don’t understand the mentality but rather human constructs were shot than animals.
Other relics indicate someone may have dreamed of living here. A water stand-pipe that offers no water, PVC pipe with wires going nowhere, leveled off areas of land small but large enough for a tiny house. We talk about solar, rain collection, and compost toilet, using gray water for gardening, and hauling some water.
Then what the heck, a big bright yellow piece of Caterpillar equipment that has certainly sat for a while but not as long as the other rigs. It has a solar panel on the roof presumably to charge a battery we do not see.
On the return walk we took another side trip with some careful tiptoeing between the plants and moist areas to wander over to the big cottonwood that survived the fire and seems to guard a human made pond that sometimes holds water. Always a surprise in this dry arid land. I have seen it full, and have seen it bone dry, and now in between.
The sun was getting high in the sky warming the air almost beyond comfortable walking and stomachs growled for breakfast so we continued to wind our way back to the main gravel road and spotted several of these Emerald Euphoria Scarab Beetles along the way.
Kat left soon after breakfast and by afternoon dark clouds rolled in, the rain fell, and lightning snapped followed by loud nearby thunder. Once the ground dries a bit and the temperatures drop I’ll take another walk in the Weaver Mountains.
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Although I did get out for a ‘first day hike’ it wasn’t very far or to any destination, just an hour long loop walk from camp. On the 3rd I took a longer walk leaving at 10:30 am while sunny but still crisp wearing a warm hat and plenty of layers. Got water, snacks and backup camera batteries. All set.
Rocks and plants
