Independence Day

Jupiter, Venus and the Moon

This weekend, the night sky gave us a treat: a half moon hanging out with Jupiter, Venus and the star Regulus.

I snapped a few photos, and finally got a decent shot of the four of them from behind our old man Saguaro in the back yard.

From left to right: the Moon, Regulus, Jupiter and Venus.

No matter the weather, heat or cold, get outside.  If only for a few minutes.  

Take a deep breath and watch the stars.  

Camping in a Winter Wonderla---Wait, its May in Arizona!!?

Friday was our fifth wedding anniversary.  This weekend is the Overland Expo.  We decided that a 3 day weekend was in order.  Last year we camped on site.  It was packed.  At the end of the weekend last year, we scouted off site camping spots.  So we had a spot in mind.

I knew ahead of time that this weekend would be cold, wet and possibly snowy.  I wasn't prepared to see snow as soon as we hit dirt.

I'm not impressed with how Youtube makes my otherwise nice videos seem crappy.  But incase the embedding doesn't work here's a link.

I was worried that there would be a lot of competition for camping.  This area was packed last year.  And with the expo raising their prices, I was sure there would be a ton of people out here.  Nope.  The weather forecast scared everyone but us away.

We made it to the S Tree camp site without any issue.  While we travelled here alone, Mandy, Pete and their kids, plus Mandy's brother and friend were coming.  We knew we would need a decent sized site.  The snow stopped to allow us to set up.  How polite.

We got the basics set up then due to the cold and weather, made our way to the Mormon Lake lodge for pizza.

Back to camp, and a bit of play was in order.

We laid down for a rest;  the rest of the gang arrived after 3PM.  While the weather was polite enough to wait until we set up camp, that went out the window.  They set up in sleet, then finally snow.

The forecast only called for 1 inch of snow.  We had an inch before bed.  Mike woke at 3AM to find it actively snowing and piling up.  By morning, we had about 3-4 inches.  The dogs had a blast.

Link in case it doesn't work.

Elly played with Rommel.  Rommel played with the kids.  Kids two legged and four legged enjoyed the snow.  

The flora wasn't impressed with this odd, out of place May snowstorm.

By the end of breakfast the snow was starting to melt.  Our campsite would get soggy.  

We made our way to the Overland Expo and were sorely disappointed.  As its hosted on a lake bed it was muddy and wet.  It was crowded and the vendors were disappointing.  Collectively, we decided that this year would probably be our last year attending.  That and the weatherman lied to us.  Nothing but cloudy skies was forecast.  It rained off and on all day.  

The most exciting thing at the Expo was a field mouse that Elly tried to eat.  It was a brave little dude and came close to its end several times.

Back to camp, more crappy weather.  Lots of relaxing was in order.  And bundling up.  And fire in a can.  Mandy made dinner, it rained some more.  A rainbow briefly appeared behind camp.

We all turned in early due to the weather and cold.  By morning, the sun was shining, and the temperatures were rising.  Elly enjoyed the sun.

While we all packed up, Rommel was allowed to play again (he hurt his shoulder on Saturday), and Elly recharged her solar batteries.

We drove out to blue skies and a red, muddy road.  Several hours and 30 degrees later, we arrived home.  From the mid 50's to the mid 80's is a leap, but at least it was warm for the dogs to have a bath.  Mike spent lots of time power washing the red mud off the trailer and Jeep.  

Another weekend gone.  The first weekend camping in months.  And our first time camping in the snow.  Despite the weather, I thoroughly enjoyed myself and feel relaxed.  

Until next time...

 

Springtime Sunset

It's been non-stop house stuff since January.  Every weekend is consumed with updates, repairs, additions, wiring, painting, building....  It's been months since we had an adventure, or a break.  And we really do love it here.  It's been important to get these things done before the oppressive summer heat arrives.

But, the new house has its perks.  We have space, quiet, views and dark, star studded evening skies.  And while not every sunset is worthy, this one was.

Dump Truck Planter

New house means loads of projects.  All of the heavy projects are time consuming and irritating. Once in a while I need a tiny project - instant gratification.

A few years back, Mike's mom sent over an old dump truck that he played with as a child.  It was a rusted, beat up, well used.  Not too long ago, while browsing Pinterest (yes, I'm on Pinterest.  Deal with it.), I saw a succulent garden inside an old toy truck.

Today, I made it happen.  I bought some sealant and after drilling drain holes, I sealed the whole truck. Then I planted some succulents, added some river rock and watered it.

Now this cool little dude is chilling on my back patio.

Citrus fetch

Life. Right now our newest adventure is our new house. We finally scored a few acres near the mountain. As thrilling as that is, I'm in moving hell right now. But things are settling down and as seen above, Rommel has learned that fallen grapefruit are not proper fetch toys.

It's the little things in life kids.

The weight of Monotony

Photo curtosy of Post Secret

"Routine leads to regret, habit leads to unhappiness. Certainty leads to boredom. And fear? Fear kills more dreams than failure. Passion. Passion is the only force that leads to destiny. To live the life we've always dreamed of and to become who it is we know we truly are requires acting on desire, taking risks and ferociously (or foolishly) pursuing whatever it is we love."

-AntiHero