A mountain drive

Scrappy is getting restless. Digging holes, breaking fence boards. The boy needs more exercise.

 

It was with this in mind that I decided to hit the road last night after work. I (gently) threw the D90 into the truck, loaded the boy in the back, and set off for the forest. The goal?

 

Heading up to the Mt. Union fire lookout post, then home by way of Poland Junction. With LOTS of stops to let the boy run off his energy. The first of these stops was at the old mine out on Senator Highway:

 

Which, like all abandoned areas around here, is covered with graffiti:

 

And, of course, I love it!:

 

The next stop is the claw truck I posted earlier today:

 

This sucker means business:

 

And then I heard a buzzing overhead. I swiveled just fast enough to catch a helicopter as it flew by, carrying a bucket full of water out of Hassayampa lake:

 

From there we headed up to Mt. Union. You have to park a bit away from the top, so we got a nice 15 minute uphill hike. We were lucky enough to spot some wild turkey:

 

Unfortunately, I didn’t have my big lens, and when we got closer Scrappy scared the birds off. But I was able to sneak up on one of the feathers they left behind to get a macro shot:

 

And then it was up to the very tip top of the mountain, where they keep watch for fires in the area:

 

It must be a lonely time up there, but at least you have a good view:

 

Scrappy loved it, and attempted to hide from me when it was time to hike back down the hill. His choice of hiding places was less than ideal:

 

From here it was a trip down to 5 points, and home through Poland Junction. The sun set as I neared the highway:

 

I can only hope that the dog was placated enough not to destroy the yard today while I’m at work…

 

(Link to all the pictures)

I see a red door

and I want to accordion it black:

(via Neatorama)

 

And another rendition, for people couldn’t get enough of the above.

Ramen Recipes

For my own future reference, because I love using ramen as the base for meals.

 

50 Amazing Ramen Noodle Recipes

Another Zach Arias bit of awesome

If you haven’t seen Zack Arias’ short film ‘Transform’, go watch it now.

 

Zach’s got a lot good thoughts about the scary steps in life, and they apply to people of all walks of life. Along those lines, he came out with another video today:

(LINK)

 

Good stuff.

Pic of the day

Slowly but surely, I’m remembering to pick up the camera. Last night I took the dog and drove up to Mt. Union. Along the way was a monster:

Claw truck used by the logging company.

3 exposure handheld HDR

Costochondritis part deux

So remember last year when I popped my sternum, and took myself out of commission for a few days? Wait, you don’t remember?

 

Yeah, I totally did that again this week. Not stretching this time, just picking up a dumbbell off the floor at the gym. Felt a pop, decided to work through the rest of my routine, and now I’m paying for it. Ooo the sweet fiery burn of chest pain, and the knowledge that there is nothing I can do to fix it, just take it easy for a few days and let it figure itself out.

 

Lesson learned? Pay attention, even when doing simple things at the gym. Stupid me.

Pic of the Day

Forgotten convenience:

Another shot from the parking garage.

More music

I’m always impressed by the single-man band type of music. It used to be that meant watching a guy with a billion instruments strapped all over his body working his heart out.

 

Now they just loop and layer:

(via Neatorama)

Two interesting music-related videos

First off:

Nyle - “Let the beat build”

Awesome because they recorded the audio and video sections all at once. In one take. So a ‘live’ music video you could say?

Nyle "Let The Beat Build" from Nyle on Vimeo.

(via UberSuper)

 

Secondly:

Humanthesizer. Music made by people who have been painted with conductive inks which trigger sound. Interesting more for concept than for the music made, although the music is nice too:

(via BoingBoing)

Journal – Jogging

I let the cold wind buffet my bare skin before the sun rises. I take in all the smells of the lake and the trail. The cow pond poo smell, and the scent of motor oil in the dry creek beds I pass over. The odd twilight as colors begin to be revealed. They coalesce from that dark blue of night, and soon there exists vibrant green, pale orange, dark red.

Scrappy jogs ahead of me, then falls behind, sniffing the underbrush. Birds call out in surprise at our passing. Frogs croak out a welcome to daylight. A heron takes off from shore, no doubt preferring to avoid us. A deer too wishes to avoid us, as it bounds away with scrappy in quick pursuit.

The jog makes me feel alive. It gives so much more energy than it takes. The four hours of sleep will come back to haunt me this afternoon, but for now I am vibrating with life.

While I was away

Melissa Ortiz linked to this video, and I loved it. No sound required, but it will take up eight minutes of your time.

 

Further evidence that women are crazy  :-) :

Pic of the day

I find photographic inspiration in parking garages for some reason.

I don’t know why.

Pic of the day

I made it out to the woods for a little hike with the dogs yesterday after work. Bushwhacking across hillsides and through creek beds, definitely a good time. 

A moss covered branch, taken with the 50mm f/1.8 lens. Me gusta.

Pic of the day

Scrappy-Doo, enjoying the pond near Williams.

He made a bee-line for the mud right after this shot. :)

Currently listening to

Song To Say Goodbye - Placebo

Pic of the day

I love sunrise from my bedroom:

Guns, Guns, Guns

Saturday found me and Chris helping a new tenant transport a table to her house. Conversation progressed as it does, and eventually it turned to guns.

 

Stacy (the tenant) had never held a gun. She didn’t understand the reason for guns. She was mildly scared of guns. We decided to change all that. So we convinced her and a friend to come out shooting with us, along with our third room mate Steve.

 

And so we piled everybody into the 4Runner and headed off to Dosie Pit. I have to say, this girl must be pretty trusting, to take off with four guys into the middle of nowhere with a vehicle full of guns…

 

At first she watched us shoot around for a bit.

Sam (Stacy’s friend) had some fun with the Kimber .45:

 

Steve had some fun target shooting with the Ruger .22 rifle:

 

Chris played with his new Springfield .40 for the first time:

And after watching the boys all have a blast, Stacy decided to pony up to the .22. Trepidation was heavy in the air:

 

We taught her how to hold it, how to use the scope, and then set her loose. A smile grew quickly on her face.

 

Then we brought out the big gun; the 12 gauge shotgun.

 

Steve:

 

With the obligatory ‘badass’ pose afterwards:

 

Chris showed Sam the proper technique for holding the firearm:

 

And he was soon rockin’ it like a pro:

 

Chris did some clay shooting, but I was too busy throwing clays to take pictures. :)

 

And then, we looked at Stacy… we asked if she was ready… she said okay, but only as long as she got to cock it, and make ‘the sound.’ How could we refuse? And so she got the walkthrough, was informed of what to expect when she pulled the trigger, and was ready to go.

 

Her stance was slightly less masculine, but we were just happy to see her with a big gun in her hands:

The smile on her face after firing off a round was huge.

 

As we neared the end of the day I gathered everybody together for a group shot, with guns in hand of course (check out the exposure test shot):

 

We picked up all our spent brass, loaded everybody into the truck, and headed home. I think Stacy left with a slightly better understanding of guns after we were done with her.

 

(Flickr Set)

Pic of the day

Coyote in the creekway:

Pic of the day

Another day in the heat. I have to escape. I gas up the truck, load the dog up along with a couple liters of water and hit the road.

I direct the truck north, looking for cooler temps. I head into the mountains, taking the back road to Williams. It’s nice once you gain elevation. I can open the sunroof and enjoy the cool air rushing through the truck.

 

At some point I pull off the road, needing to make a pit stop and water the dog. I find this, a lovely little pond in the middle of the forest.

A food post, no joke!

When the store has wild Sockeye salmon on sale, I just can’t say no. The bright red color really just catches your eye as you pass it in the aisle.

Personally, I like sockeye more than atlantic salmon. The flavor is more fishy, mildly sweeter, and seems a bit firmer while cooking.

 

My treatment of this fish was simple. An hour-long marinade in some soy sauce with ginger and garlic. Then a hot pan until just barely cooked through. YUM.

 

To accompany, I made my first-ever risotto (using Elise’s recipe as a guide), and it turned out pretty awesome. I think I pulled it off the stove a few minutes too early but since I’ve never had risotto before it’s hard to say.

 

See, I DO still cook. :)