Looking for a nest, and a little hike.

Yesterday the Kadizzles headed to Payson to look for a new home.  On the way we picked up a young couple from Alaska hiking the Arizona trail.  Their map said there was no water on the next segment so they decided to skip ahead and needed a ride.  Checking out homes in Payson it was not long before we ran into Kieth and Patty in front of their almost finished home.  Last year we met them and they helped get us interested in buying a lot in their neighborhood.  They have built a home with an incredible view and many of the custom features they put in the home turned out very well.  Before we had dinner with them we looked at some homes near the airport.  The Payson airport is set up so people living there can taxi their plane home and park it in their own hanger. Each home has a huge hanger door so you can park your plane.  Signs on the streets warn planes will not stop for cars.

Today we headed up to Oak Flats for a hike. Up the stream we went and then took off into the wilderness. The Commander wanted to keep going up the mountain, but Kadizzle thought he spotted a good site where a ruin might be.  As we approached the ruin pottery shards started to appear. The Commander spotted a small snake and was taken aback a bit. It was hard to tell if it was a small rattlesnake.  A little later she got a quick glimpse at another one.  Usually the snakes are bedded for the winter by the time we hike, but seems they are still out.  The Commander became very cautious where she stepped.  The site seemed very large and some large pieces of pottery were all around.  We found one strange all white piece with no markings on either side.

This morning Kadizzle met one of the neighbors in the campsite.  We meet all kinds of people and one thing you learn is never preguess who you are talking to.  The young guy down the way has been living in his van for five years making a living trading penny stocks.  During the conversation with him on the way to the John, Kadizzles asked "What do these companies make".  Ryan said " Nothing, they just hype bullshit".   They make up a story and when it is good the stock goes up, as the story fizzles out the stock goes down.  Ryan manages to use the internet from his van to play the bullshit market.  On our trips we have met several retired airline pilots, an escapee from a federal prison, a nuclear physicist,  doctors,  and all kinds of strange people living on the road.  A lot of these people live on practically nothing and enjoy the solitude.  As they say "Everyone has a story".  It turns out to be so true when you wander around and meet all the strange people living on the road.