Life is all about how well we shift the gears.
Archive for April 2014
Virginia Burwell Morgan Mill 2013 Leave a comment
Bringing Peace of Mind Leave a comment
Bringing Peace of Mind — Computer Painting by kenne
Purple and yellow
The Sonoran yin and yang
Bringing peace of mind.
— kenne
Share this:
Hiking The Picacho Peak Trails 1 comment
Hunter Trail Parking Lot at Picacho Peak State Park
Hunter Trail
Don On The Hunter Trail
Virginia & Ken On The Hunter Trail
Ken, Virginia & Jim On The Hunter Trail
Looking Down From Hunter Trail
Virginia Checking Out The View
Virginia On The Hunter Trail
Virginia & Jim At The Hunter Trail Saddle
Jim & Virginia At The Hunter Trail Saddle
Ken & Jim On The Hunter Trail
View From Hunter Trail
View From Hunter Trail
Canyon Wren
Very Brown Barrel Cactus On The Sunset Trail
Hiking The Sunset Trail
Sunset Trail
View of Hunter Trail Saddle
Picacho Peak
Picacho Peak State Park Photos by kenne
(Click on any of the images to see a larger view in a slideshow format.)
Driving I-10 between Tucson and Phoenix you cannot miss Picacho Peak, a majestic rock monolith on the west-side of the Interstate. The site of Arizona’s only Civil War battle, involving a Union cavalry patrol from California with Confederate scouts from Texas, the peak has served as a landmark by travelers for hundreds of years.
kenne
Share this:
Azure Is To Blue As . . . 7 comments
. . . Gray Is Too Black — Image by kenne
Azure is to blue
Some say as gray is to black,
A safe blue color.
In the rainbow chart
Colors are not black and white,
Fifty shades of hue.
On this gray morning
The sun slowly touches,
Fifty shades of gray.
— kenne
Share this:
Appalachian Mountain Club Hike Mt Wrightson In Madera Canyon Leave a comment
Mt Wrightson Trailhead Parking Lot
Old Baldy Trail
Old Baldy Trail
Old Baldy Trail
Josephine Saddle
Vista
Vista
Vista
Old Baldy Trail
Old Baldy
Mt Hopkins Observatory
Old Baldy
Old Baldy Trail
Old Baldy Trail
Old Baldy
Old Baldy Trail
Vista
Appalachian Mountain Club Hike Mt Wrightson In Madera Canyon — Images by kenne
(Click on any of the images to see larger view in slideshow format.)
This hike by the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) was their last in the Tucson area. We are pleased to have been able to hike with them and share our (SCVN) knowledge and experience of hiking the trails of southern Arizona.
This is the last in a series of postings on the AMC visit to the Sonoran Desert, so let’s remember for a moment . . .
Let’s remember for a moment,
the trail head gatherings,
the greetings, the smiles,
the joy of another hike.
Let’s remember for a moment,
the steep climbs, the switchbacks,
the majestic views at the top,
the masterful returns.
Let’s remember for a moment,
the trail fellowship,
sharing who we are
and common interests.
Let’s remember for a moment,
the pools near mountain trails,
resting tired feet in the cold water,
watching others jump in.
Let’s remember the moment,
the hike alone ridges of granite
and the juxtapositions of water-loving
and drought-tolerating plants.
Let’s remember for a moment,
the rich biodiversity of the Sonoran Desert
which the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum
illustrates through its ecological theater.
Let’s remember for a moment,
the images captured by
our mind’s eye,
lasting images to share.
Let’s remember for a moment,
that which we have added
to life’s experiences forming
a better understanding of self.
Let’s remember for a moment,
the desire, the drive to see
what lies just over the next ridge,
on the other side of the mountain.
Let’s remember for a moment,
lots of mountains, few streams —
all dry this time of year, and my
turning back at the base of Old Baldy.
Let’s remember for a moment,
my friends from New England,
“May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome,
dangerous, leading to the most amazing view.” *
— kenne
* Edward Abbey
Share this:
Manly Legs In Manly Shorts 3 comments
Easter Along The Borderlands 1 comment
Easter Along the Borderlands — Image by kenne
When you’re at the mission
Sixty miles north of Nogales
And it’s Easter time too
It’s so easy to put on airs
At the place where
Father Kino drink the
Spring water that once was
Near the banks of the
Santa Cruz River.
On the first Friday after Easter
The Tohono O’odham of the
San Xavier Reservation
Conduct a candlelight parade
Just as the setting sun kisses
The white dove of the desert
Where she awaits the coming
of the “Excellent Builder”
to complete the second tower.
— kenne
Share this:
Manzanita — To Make Young Again 4 comments
Manzanita – Little Apple — Image by kenne
The manzanita
Adds color to mountain trails,
Small apples to some.
Symbol of accord
Between the old and the young,
Always turning heads.
A mystical plant
Brining forth the hues of thought,
Our earth is reborn.
The smoothness of red
Against the wrinkles of gray,
To make young again.
— kenne
Share this:
Capturing The Moment — New Mexico Groundsel 2 comments
New Mexico Groundsel — Left Image In The Santa Rita Mountains, Right Image In The Santa Catalina Mountains At About 5,000 ft Elevation, April, 2014
Showy spring flowers
Found in the desert mountains
No spring rains needed.
— kenne
Share this:
Capturing The Moment — One Big Squirrel! 3 comments
Rock Squirrel — Image by kenne
This particular rock squirrel seems to prefer the view from a dead tree in Catalina State Park. When first spotted, it was about fifty yards away and because of its size we thought it might be a cat. Moving in closer we could better tell it was not a cat, but a very large squirrel. The body was at least a foot in length with a tail equally as long, making it over two feet from head to tail — we was impressed!
kenne
Share this:
The Feet Have It! 2 comments
The Feet Have It! — Imager by kenne
Be kind to your feet
Transporting you to and from
You keep on walking.
— kenne
Share this:
Appalachian Mountain Club Hikes To Hutch’s Pool In The Santa Catalina Mountains 4 comments
Climbing Switchbacks from Stop 9
Climbing switchbacks from Shuttle Stop 9
Looking back down through the canyon
Pusch Ridge Wilderness Area
Coming Down To The Trail Fork
Coming Down To The Trail Fork
At The Trail Fork
Nearing Hutch’s Pool
Crossing Mountain Creek
Resting At Hutch’s Pool
Resting Feet At Hutch’s Pool
Resting Feet At Hutch’s Pool
Hutch’s Pool
Hutch’s Pool
Swimming In Hutch’s Pool
Swimming In Hutch’s Pool
Swimming In Hutch’s Pool
Swimming In Hutch’s Pool
Swimming In Hutch’s Pool
Swimming In Hutch’s Pool
Swimming In Hutch’s Pool
Return Hike
Return Hike
Stop 9
Stop 9
Stop 9
Stop 9
Trail from Stop 9
Waiting for Shuttle
Waiting for Shuttle
AMC Leaders George & Linda
Appalachian Mountain Club, April 8, 2014 Hiking the Hutch’s Pool trail in the Santa Catalina Mountains — Images by kenne
(Click on any of the “tiled” images to see larger view in a sladeshow format.)
The club members conducted this eight mile hike on a beautiful warm day (in the 90’s upon return). This was their third day of hikes in the Santa Catalina Mountains. The heat began to affect some, but nothing we were not able to handle with the help of SCVN member, Ed Rawl.
On the return one hiker started having a foot problem — now I know Ed hikes with several inserts in his backpack, so he was able to reduce some of the hiker’s pain on the way back.
Ed also came to the aid of a hiker having stomach pains on our return in the heat of the day. He had her sit down, poured some of her water on her and proceeded to pour water from one of his “old sock” covered bottles of ice water into her empty bottle. In no time the hiker was feeling much better — thanks, Ed. Now I know what to do with my old socks.
kenne
Share this:
Capturing The Moment — Parish Larkspur Wildflower 5 comments
Parish Larkspur (Delphinium parishii) — Image by kenne
This deep blue wildflower was near the Hutch’s Pool trail at about 3,900 ft. in the Pusch Ridge Wilderness above the Sabino Basin. I needed help in identifying this beautiful deep blue wildflower, which I received from fellow SCVN members. This one is a much deeper blue than the one pictured in Frank Rose’s “Mountain Wildflowers of Southern Arizona.” The conditions have been very dry in the Catalina Mountains this Spring, producing fewer than normal wildflowers. This larkspur was all alone.
kenne
Share this:
Nature’s Bowl Of Love 1 comment
Nature’s Bowl of Love — Image by kenne
Nature’s bowl of love
Beauty to the eye and heart,
“Earth laughs in flowers.”
— kenne
Share this:
Appalachian Mountain Club Hikes Blackett’s Ridge – II Leave a comment
AMC Hiking Blackett’s Ridge
AMC Hiking Blackett’s Ridge
AMC Hiking Blackett’s Ridge
AMC Hiking Blackett’s Ridge
AMC Hiking Blackett’s Ridge
At The Top
At The Top
At The Top
At The Top
AMC Hiking Blackett’s Ridge
At The Top
Eastern Collard Lizard
Hedgehog Blossom
Hedgehog Blossom
AMC Coming Down Blackett’s Ridge
Prickly Pear Blossom
AMC Hiking Blackett’s Ridge, April 7, 2014. — Images and video by kenne
(Click on any of the tiled images to see a larger view in a slideshow.)
This is the second of two postings on AMC hike on Blackett’s Ridge. The 1st posting was on April 8th.
Enjoy. The next AMC posting will be on hiking to Hutch’s Pool
kenne
The latest WSJ men’s fashion headline:
“Men’s Cargo Pants Turn Refined for Spring:
No longer weighted down by its sloppy,
collegiate reputation.”
Seems that a Massachusetts bro
was mourning over, “retiring bigass
suburban dad cargo shorts.
Godspeed, old friend.”
Sounds like a personal problem
for those who walk The Halls of Ivy,
not the hiking trails of the
great outdoors.
“But there may be life in those pockets yet,”
proclaims the WSJ with a photo
of smooth-faced young men in their
“debonair cargo pants.”
Give thanks, there is a god after all,
but “with real New York attitude” —
this god’s east of the Hudson River.
Give thanks!
— kenne
(This one is for my hiking buddy, Jeff B.)
WSJ — Men’s Cargo Pants Turn Refined for Spring
Share this:
Like this: