We went out to Kaibab Lodge in the Kaibab National Forest for lunch today. The rain started falling on us on our way home.
The clouds in the sky looked menacing, like it could get very ugly very fast:
We drove out of the storm by the time we got home. There were clouds in the canyon, so I ran across the street to get some photos:
That’s clouds, not smoke. Sometimes a non-sunny day can be more beautiful than a sunny one.
I’m working. Y’all all have a wonderful day. Think about me here:
Contrary to popular belief, not all forest fires are bad. Sure, the ones that are started by careless campers, or arson, or that rage out of control and threaten homes and businesses, those are bad. But when it is a controlled, or managed fire, it is actually good for the forest. Right now at the North Rim, there are a several fires burning that are being managed as part of the natural ecological system that has functioned for 10,000 years. Forest fires are natural. There would still be fire from lightning even if humans weren’t around.
Yesterday, I was witness to a remarkably efficient fire crew, getting ready to burn some of the “piles” that have been sitting along the border between the Kaibab National Forest and the Grand Canyon National Park since last summer. These piles are dead and downed wood that was gathered and stacked by volunteers, to clean up the forest floor. By doing this, it ensures that if there were to be a wildfire, started naturally by lightening, it wouldn’t burn as hot and kill the trees. The picture below is not very clear, but it was the only one I could find of fuel piles.
So, these guys, about 20 or so of them, arrived early in the morning out by the entrance station. They started taking tools and equipment out to the burn area, and setting up a portable water tank. Then they assembled one of the biggest sprinkler systems I have ever seen.
After the fire crew got the water tanks assembled, the water trucks started coming. They continued to arrive throughout the day, keeping the tanks filled. Then, the fire guys started the sprinklers to wet the trees in the area where they planned to burn. They will continue to spray the trees with water during the burn to keep the trees from burning. They are also going to do this burn at night so the entrance station will have minimal impact from smoke during the day.
I thought this whole process was very interesting, as I have never seen the forest crew in action. I can’t wait to see how things work out for this managed burn.
When we came back from town today, back home to the North Rim, the beefalo were out there again, on the side of the road. Today, some were walking in the road, some were just standing there on the side of the road, and others were in the meadow on both sides of the road. Most of the tourists were just stopping to take pictures, but I had groceries to put away. FabGrandpa slowed down to a crawl and just kept going. These two bad boys just stared and grunted at us. I wouldn’t want to be walking, that is for sure….
They whole herd was out in the meadow this morning when we left to go to town. They aren’t buffalo–they’re beefalo.
And they’re not native to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Sometime in the early 1900’s two ranchers in the House Rock Valley area tried to create a hybrid herd of animals that are a cross between cows and buffalo.
They were trying for a better meat product. Their experiment failed for their purposes, but the hybrid herd has survived.
They spend the winter months down in the desert around House Rock Valley, but in the summer they migrate up the Kaibab Plateau looking for water and grasses for food.
They occasionally spend a few days in the meadows along Hwy 67 on the way into the park.They have been hanging out there all week.They are traffic stoppers for sure, because sometimes they just stand in the road.
We both had a pretty rough week, so at the end of the day on Tuesday, which was our “Friday”, we loaded up in the truck and took off for a night at Casablanca, our favorite casino in Mesquite, Nevada. They have some fun slots, free cocktails while you play, and a restaurant that serves a 16 oz. porterhouse steak 24 hours a day.
On the drive down the Kaibab Plateau on 89A, there had been a rainstorm that dumped over an inch of rain, leaving the best view of the area I have had in the four years we have been coming here.
The air was so clean and sweet, with no pollution or dust. The sun set was fabulous, and everything just looked so fresh!
Last week I got a Flip Video camera from Klout and Visa, so I used to take a couple of videos while we were driving to Mesquite. This is the one I liked the best (You might want to turn the sound down because of the wind. I was holding the camera out the window):
We got to Mesquite and checked in at the casino, and played until 2:00 a.m! Then we went to the restaurant, only to find out it was the one day of the month when they close the grill early to clean it, so we had to order a sandwich or a salad–no portherhouse for us! Booo!
The next morning, we got up early, ate breakfast, and took off for Kanab, Utah, where I had my doctor’s appointment to get that shot in my foot for the plantar fasciitis. Let me just tell you, if you have never had a needle stuck in your foot, just the to rear of the arch, you have not lived! That thing hurt like a S.O.B! (son of Bob, if you must know). I could feel it all the way to my toes! It has helped already, though, as my foot did not hurt today, except for from the shot itself. I have to stay off my feet as much as possible for the next few days, though. Today is my normal day off, and tomorrow is a sick day, then I have two days at the campground where I can sit all day. I don’t have to go to the entrance station until Monday. That gives me a total of 5 days not standing all day to help my foot heal.
After the shot, I had an appointment at the dentist for a fitting for my partial plate. That did not take long–he just inserted the metal part to see if it fit right, then he put in a wax replica of the teeth part, and me bite down on it to make an impress of my bite. It wasn’t even nasty like the stuff they used for the impressions.
We also had to buy groceries, so I was on one of those little handicap electric carts with a basket on the front. It was hard to get around on that thing, and people kept getting in the way of it. Let me tell you, if you see someone on one of those things, give them some room. They may not be handicapped every day, you know. Also ask them if they need some help reaching things. I kept having to get up to reach stuff on the upper shelves. That was an eye opener for sure.
The last stop before coming home was at the produce guy who has a garden in the back of his house. He doesn’t pick anything until you get there so all his stuff is really fresh. I got some more potatoes, some carrots, some green beans and some yellow squash. I can not wait to cook those carrots! I have never had them fresh from the garden before. They still had the tops and dirt on them.Here they are all cleaned up:
Yesterday at the Grand Canyon, the sky turned dark and omnious:
There was a lot of lightening, and some very loud thunder, hail, and then lots of rain. We were hoping for rain, because it has been so dry here. While much of Arizona is burning, luckily we haven’t had a fire here this year. A fire ban was put into place last week, so that campfires are no longer allowed in our campground. While a lot of people may have been disappointed because they couldn’t have a fire, the fire ban would not have become necessary if there had been more rain.
Fortunately for me, it did not rain until I got home from work. FabGrandpa was in the process of lighting the charcoal grill so we could cook out. When the rain came, we moved the picnic table under the awning, and continued with our plans, and enjoyed the rain while it lasted. There is more rain in the forecast for this week:
July in Arizona is typically the start of the monsoon season, and this year, we really need the rain. Arizona has six national forests, and with such dry weather, the threat of wildfires is great. Let’s hope we get the rain we need, and lots of it.
