Getting up to date at Camp Bumworthy.

When Kadizzle left Camp Bumworthy he left The Undertaker in charge. In fact Kadizzle made The Undertaker the temporary mayor with instructions to keep tabs on things.  After a long session of leveling the Earth Module in it’s new home Kadizzle and The Commander set out to inspect Camp Bumworthy.  Having been gone for several days who knows what mayhem could have ensued.  Dwayne was about to watch a rental movie on his six by six in screen sitting upright behind the wheel of his van.  With a beer nearby Dwayne was cheerful and seemed to have weathered our absence well.  Kadizzle never did get to check on Gary, but Dwayne reported all the parts were coming in to fix us Gary’s truck.  Fixing Gary’s truck has become a community project.  Gordon and Gary both have the same 69 Ford truck and both are madly in love with their trucks.  Gordon wants to be buried sitting in his truck.  It occurred to Kadizzle that Gary would also like to be buried in the same manner.  Since The Undertaker is actually a retired undertaker this could probably be arranged.  One major decision has to be made about burying Gary and Gordon in the truck.  Who get’s to drive?  When the two of them start the journey to Ford Heaven someone will have to read the map and someone will have to steer.  

On down the road Kadizzle summoned The Undertaker for a report.  The Undertaker reported all is well.  The Undertaker managed to shoot three quail out hunting with his young new golden lab.  While getting up to date with The Undertaker Kadizzle got a call from The Commander.  Our crew had been invited to dinner with the crowd in the tent loop.  With some delicious home made chili we met more nice people and exchanged stories as usual.  With the sun down Kadizzle and The Commander peddled back to their new deluxe home with running water, electricity, and sewer.  As Kadizzle peddaled back to camp he could not help but reflect on how many nice people we meet in our roaming life.  99.9 percent of the people we encounter are wonderful. Retired people enjoying their waning days have no reason to be offensive.  

Rain changes everything in the desert.

It looks different, it smells different, and it certainly feels different when the water from the Pacific bumps into the mountains in Arizona and enlivens the countryside.  Yesterday we pulled into our new soggy campsite.  With moisture falling from the sky leveling perfectly was not an option, so here we sit on a bit of an angle doing our morning update.  Today as we are confined to our 400 sq feet we can reminisce the dinner we had in an 8,000 square foot mansion last week.  Most of the bathrooms had more space than our RV.

On the upside our living room has three or four hundred square miles of streams, wildlife, and soon hopefully blooming flowers.  Fog is obstructing the mountain tops and the rain pouring down up there will make some great water falls.  There are several canyons around here that will be gushing with water and it might be worthwhile to make the six mile hike to see them.  The desert is very clever about storing water, and this refill will slowly soak in for months.  We sit on what was once the largest man made lake in the United States.  The lake we sail on in the summer is now the third largest man made lake.  Our home lake in North Dakota is so much bigger than Lake Roosevelt.  Lake Sakakawea has points where water stretches to the horizon and you feel like you are on the ocean.  Lake Roosevelt is about the size of the portion of Lake Sakakawea that is backed up in the Little Missouri.  Lake Sakakawea covers 307,000 acres, and Lake Roosevelt covers 21,493 acres.  That makes our home sailing lake about 15 times larger.  However, Lake Roosevelt has about 15 times more recreational facilities than Lake Sakakawea.

Slipping, sliding, and gliding through life

A complete alignment shop in the desert wilderness was seen in action yesterday.  Paul found out he had a broken spring on his massive fifth wheel trailer.  At our encampment ten miles from a paved road the decision was made to replace the spring. Since Al was a former alignment specialist, and had all the tools needed to launch a spacecraft the job got underway.  It did not take long before the idea was hatched that the entire suspension system should be redone.  Over the course of two days all the axles were removed and all the springs and bushings were replaced.  This meant everything had to be realigned with hydraulic bending and twisting.  The most amazing part of the job was seeing the complete set of tools that Al had.  Al had tools most people would not dream of taking in an RV.  

Al and Debbie live full time in their RV so they have everything.  Kadizzle peered into the cavern under the bed and noticed a small rubber tire.  Wondering what it could be for Kadizzle inquired with Al.  Al explained it was for the dingy, which had a ten horse power outboard.  Then he mentioned they had all the gear to catch crab, and salmon.   Kadizzle has been around a lot of heavy equipment and industrial shops, but had never seen the special push me pull you Al used to put pressure on the axles for alignment.  Wonders in the desert never cease.

Up early the idea was to get while the gettin was good.  It seemed like it was going to work, but as the mud would have it the trailer slid off the road about two thirds of the way out to the highway.  For several miles we had been following a motor grader.  Kadizzle thought if only he could get hold of the guy on the grader the problem would be solved. Lacking a phoine book there was no county officed to call, so Kadizzle called the 911 lady. Kadizzle thought surely she would have radio contact with country employees. No such luck, however the 911 lady did send a Sheriff’s deputy.  By the time the deputy got there we were out.  A bird hunter came along with a well equipped truck that had balloon tires.  As he tried to turn he got stuck in the ditch, but plowed his way out. Kadizzle had seroius doubts that he could pull us out, but Kadizzle figured if he hooked one tire into the oppisite ditch it might work.  The hunter pulled us along in the ditch for about a hundred yards, but the tires finally caught and the truck and trailer came back onto the road.  Al said to deflate the tires on the Tundra and that seemed to help a lot.  The good natured hunter followed us up to the paved road and all was well.  We took the mud encrusted truck and trailer to Oracel to refill the tires and wash off the mud.  Now, hours later we sit back at Roosevelt Lake in our new site with electricity, sewer, water, and a view.  Our life as trail volunteers will begin.

A glorious ride deep into the heart of nowhere.

This morning when Kadizzle arose for the predawn desert interlude to empty the bladdler an orange reddish light was glowing through the door.  Apparently Al was up early getting his super special cooker going for the bisket that will be served later today.  The contraption has an electric blower and feeds food grade pellets into the fire. Cooking time will be eight hours or so.

Yesterday Al unloaded his cycle and we took one of the nicest motorcyle rides in memory.  First we shot down the gas line road. Kadizzle’s first thought was, what would it be like to ride a cycle into a massive leak on a high pressure gasline?  Fortunately we did not find out.  After the gasline ride we went in search of a mountain road that would let us circle back to camp.  After some good false starts that had some challenging riding we found the real deal.

High on the mountain near a communication tower we found an ideal road for testing riding skills.  The road was perfectly cut up, and laid out with ups, downs, gullies, sand, rocks, and you name it.  After miles and miles of nice riding the day was getting late.  Now the thought began to occur, what if it was not a loop and we could not get around the mountain?  As it turned out the primitive road just came to a stop and we had to retrace our tracks.  In the end it was a great ride.  Kadizzle made it with no kerflumps.  Al had two minor kerflumps, but that is part of the game.  Al has a complete set of armor, but Kadillze rides idiot style with only a helmet.  However, when you have no protection you must be more cautious.

Camping in BF Egypt.

Perhaps you know where BF Egypt is.   The British coined the term for the middle of nowhere.  That is where we are currently located.  If  you travel in the desert south of Mesa and past nowhere and then turn right and drive ten miles up a dirt road, and then turn left on a smaller dirt road for two miles you end up real close to nowhere.  The Earth Module has joined three other similar modules.  A group of like minded people gathering to enjoy solitude.  Six of the eight people here are sailors, four long range Pacific Ocean sailors, and two inland sailors.  Everyone is an off road bicycle enthusiast.  The first main activity today will be pedal bike riding the desert.  Al and Kadizzle are planing a motorcycle adventure later in the day.  The Commander has purchased her break the bank new bicycle and is awaiting it's delivery.   At this moment rain is falling.  Hopefully there will be sun shortly or the generator may be needed.  As usual Kadizzle does not yet have a picture for this post, but if it works out soon he will and add it to the mix.

The Horses are hitched

The Commander who rules the know universe woke up this morning uncertain about where to go.  As usual her solution was to toss the decision to Kadizzle.  Kadizzle said he wanted to go back up to Lake Roosevelt with the bums.  At first this seemed like what was going to happen, but now after The Commander consulted our friends down toward Tuscon it looks like we will head that way. There may be some good motorcycle trails there.  Yesterday Kadizzle set out to find some local off road trails. The search proved disappointed. Kadizzle ended up traveling an endless sandy wash.  When he thought it might get better he stopped to ask two quad guys what the rest of the trail was like. They explained it went on for nine miles just like it is. Kadizzle gave up and headed back.  Riding a cycle in one foot of loose gravel and sand is taxing and no fun.

During the search for a place to ride Kadizzle came across some kind of nut harvesting crew.  If a picture can be found it will be included.  It was an interesting device.  Each man drove a piece of equipment to one side of the tree to be harvested.  Two halves of a catchment device were brought together and one of the machines shook the hell out of the tree.  Instantly the appearance of the tree changed and all the nuts fell onto the harvester.  Automation in food harvesting is incredible.  There are even machines that pick grapes now.

The sun also rises

An incredible view greets us as the sun comes up.  We are surrounded by jagged mountains in all directions and can see from the Superstition Mountains to the Four Peaks and clear to the west to many more ranges. McDowell Mountain Park is inundated with the dirt bike crowd peddling to nirvana.  The Commander is going absolutely nuts trying to figure out what bike she should buy and get a good deal on it.

A North Dakota friend is holed up in acute prosperity in Scottsdale and we will have supper with her tonight.  Plugged into power makes life simpler. We have electric heat, TV, and don't have to worry about harvesting electricity from the sun.  When you don't own the land you sit on sometimes you are forced to move.  Since are reservation for today expires we have to move the whole shebang to another site until Monday.

As unusual Kadizzle has been a very good boy.  When Kadizzle has been good it is only appropriate that he buy himself a present.  A monocular is on his mind.  Hiking with The Commander sometimes we get separated and have to find each other across a valley or a mountain.  Being able to spot the little bumble bee is sometimes useful.  A monocular is lighter and will not take up as much room in the pack.  Cheech bought me one a couple years ago and it got lost.

This all gets us to the point.  A favorite saying of Kadizzle is " A man is rich in accordance to what he can afford to do without".  When Kadizzle sits down and thinks about what he wants, it turns out to little or nothing.  So Kadizzle is rich.  That is not to say Kadizzle could not use an autopilot for his sailboat, or maybe a KTM 900 dualsport.  However, a recent article put it very well.  The article said that when people reflect on what made them happy it was experiences not material things.  A lot of truth is in that idea.   Ask yourself this question " If I just had a ---- I would be happy"    Things don't usually make people happy, that is why Kadizzle likes to visit with the bums.  The bums can be so happy with so little.  The other day the two bums had sunshine,  a portable radio, and 24 cans of beer.  They were as happy as many kings in their castles, and many people in their McMansions.

19 Crimes

Kadizzle has no respect for the wines he likes.  Kadizzle had a bad case and still does for Apothic Red.  Darch says it is Apologetic Red, and has made other derisive remarks.  Now Kadizzle has started to like a wine called 19 Crimes. It turns out there were 19 Crimes a person in England could be sent to the penal colony in Australia for committing.   It is a hard choice, but 19 Crimes seems to be winning.

Today Kadizzle took a motorcycle ride into Fountain Hills.  Fountain Hills is a pricey neighborhood, but Kadizzle found a nice house The Commander might consider.  The home is above the price point the Kadizzles have been shooting for, but it was perfect for Kadizzle.  Who knows perhaps we will break the budget, but unlikely.  The Commander is in heat thinking about mountain bikes, it has become an obsession. Today she tried out a five thousand dollar bike. The Commander says she really likes it.  If you don't think this strikes terror into Kadizzle nothing will.

A Bee in The Commanders Bonnet

For Christmas Kadizzle gave into The Commander's desire for a pedal dirt bike.  The search has been underway for several months.  Darch is the culprit in instigating the desire.  So, now the Kadizzle encampment has moved to McDowell Mountain Park to participate in the dealer demo tomorrow.  The Commander just returned from an extensive interview of her latest encounter of the bike riding cult.  There are a million variations of bikes built, and of course The Commander must make a very careful selection that will insure she has the ultimate bike for her abilities.

So we tore up our roots at Roosevelt Lake and took off today for our new encampment.  The machinations of working for the Forest Service are still underway back at the Lake encampment. Kadizzle named Dwayne the undertaker mayor until Kadizzle returns.  Yesterday evening Kadizzle got with Lynn Edwards the book author to buy one of his books.  Lynn was mentioned earlier in this blog as the Edwards Black Jade salesman. Lynn enjoys a good story, and is a good buzz cackler.  Kadizzle bought a book and a cigar for $20 bucks.  Lynn buys 90 cigars at a time from Nicaragua that come in an ammunition box.  Kadizzle is looking forward to the cigar.

We sit here in McDowell Mountain Park awaiting dinner. Our big adventure today was doing the laundry.  We found a very nice laundromat at the Casino.  The Casino run by Indians as usual has some nice facilities.  The number of people who camp by the Casino is amazing. It is nice.  They can have their pockets cleaned daily.

Crashing 101

This is Kadizzle's favorite crash spot.  About a week ago The Commander and Kadizzle rode together down this road in search of adventure.  After Kadizzle dropped The Commander off at a spring he tried to push the exploration farther down the road with the cycle.  Kadizzle enlarged the know universe by about one mile.  On the way out of the valley Kadizzle knew this part of the ride was too dangerous to have The Commander on the back, so up he went by himself only to wreck and get cactus in his ass.  If you have been reading this blog that was an earlier story.

So brother in law Ned came to visit with sister Patty.  Ned and Kadizzle set out to push the exploration even further.  Ned has a 450 and Kadizzle only has a 250. Ned also has much more experience than Kadizzle on this type of motorcycle. At any rate the two old farts reached the last point Kadizzle had ever dared to go by himself.  A discussion ensued about the wisdom of going any farther.  At first reason prevailed, then the duo figured out a way to do something stupid.  Walk down the road, check it out, then drive down.  With a couple stops we finally made it to the bottom of a steep ravine and our brains began to function.  The realization that it would be dangerous, and stupid to go on down a road made of three foot boulders sunk in.  In a fit of wisdom the duo headed back. With some agile riding both of us made it out of the ravine.  Kadizzle knew he must now face his old nemesis that crashed him and sent cactus up his exit the last time.  With his better bike and more experience Ned made it to the top of the bad spot.  The plan was for Ned to come down and rescue Kadizzle if he did not make it.  On the first attempt Kadizzle got about half way up and the wheel caught.  Kadizzle shot off the road and landed upright in the brush.  Kadizzle himself was amazed to have accomplished the feat.  Ned was going to come down to help but Kadizzle made it back to the bottom for try number two.  When Kadizzle saw Ned at the top with his cell phone camera running he knew Ned did not have much hope.  Picking a different route than Ned, Kadizzle blasted up the nasty road. With great joy it appeared he was going to make it.  Ten feet past the week ago wreck something grabbed the wheel and disaster struck.  Kadizzle bit the dust with some minor scratches.   At least there would be a good video of the action.  Hell no, Ned just shot still pictures.  So here we have Kadizzle crashed ten feet past the famous cactus in the ass spot.

Did we learn anything? Probably.  We are two old men, and need to think carefully about what we can and cannot do.  Earlier Ned had dumped his cycle in an unexpected way.

The Sneaker didn't come, and the rats stayed home.

A person living in the wild at Roosevelt Lake has two major enimies, The Sneaker, and Kangaroo Rats.  When the weather turns bad The Sneaker likes to roam about and steal Honda generators.  Last night the weather was looking bad and The Commander declared we were on high alert for The Sneaker.  Kadizzle has been gathering all the folk lore on The Sneaker he can.  Rumors abound.  One story is they know who The Sneaker is, but he moved to Chicago.  Stopping to talk to some camp cacklers yesterday Kadizzle was told a generator was stolen a week ago.  The latest rumor is The Sneaker has a blue toyota older model truck.  The more common belief is The Sneaker drives an older Chevy half ton silver or white.  The Sneaker first scopes the campsites around four looking for Honda generators to steal.  Late at night around two The Sneaker strikes.  In a slip up a Forest Service employee let Kadizzle know about a couple secret efforts they are making to catch the Sneaker.  Kadizzle wonders where all these generators are being sold.  At least ten have disappeared over the last few years.

On high alert the Kadizzles have two motion detector lights set up, and our generator is secured in a special way that will make it very difficult for The Sneaker to get it.  The generator is bolted from the bottom to plywood.  The tire of  the camper sits on the plywood.  If The Sneaker get our generator without making any noise he will get thief of the year award for sure.  Well here it is moring and The Sneaker attacked. The Sneaker is a brave man because about 80 percent of the people here are armed and would love to shoot him. Anyone who would get killed for a Honda Generator is nuts, but such is life.

The othe enemy, the Kangaroo rats also seems to be in control. Kadizzle has tried to make life misrable for those little bastard under the hood of the truck trying to eat the wiring.  Now they are daily subjected to bear spray, dryer sheet smell, amonia, cayanne pepper, and a night light.  The procedure is to leave the hood open all day. The little Jihadist do no like light.  Give a little spray of bear spray once in awhile, sprinkle the pepper, and put the night light in there every night.  One danger of all this is the bear spray and pepper.  The solar night light now has a good coating of bear spray residue, and pepper.  From handling the light Kadizzle naturally got some on his hands.  Soon he realized he head rubbed some in his eye. Not pleasant.  However, there is a worse place to have a little pepper or bear spray.  Kadizzle discovered this when he took a pee and got bear spray on his best friend in a delicate place.

Even a blind Hog ol Root

Years ago Kadizzle had an office beside the head guy who ran the mine where Kadizzle worked.  Hubert Myers was the big cheese and often Kadizzle could hear Hubert talking to someone.  Hubert was from Kentucky and was a real buzz cackler.  A good buzz cackler is hard to beat.  To hear someone with a southern accent tell a story and get going with a hillybilly southern drawl is hard to beat.

Well one day Art Wegerly was in Hubert's office.  Art was a maintenance guy and a good one.  Art and Hubert were having a dust up about how to work on some equipment.  It turned out that Art had predicted there would be a failure if they did not fix something the way Art said it should be fixed. It turned out Art was right, and had been all along.  Hubert did not want to acknowledge that are was intelligent and correct, so Hubert said "Even a blind Hog ol root".   Kadizzle always like the saying.  There is another version "Even a blind hog will occasionally find an acorn".  

Often The Commander catches old Kadizzle in an error.  Kadizzle just replies " Even a blind hog ol root".  Those old sayings sometimes get the job done.  "If you want to run with the big dogs you got to be able to piss on the big trees".

Dare to be Stupid

All is well in the small community of Coati.  Coati is our little loop of the campground made up of bums and old liberals trying to get their last nature buzz in.  Kadizzles little sister Patty is here from Cottonwood and we have been getting up to date on family affairs. Since Kadizzle comes from a family of nine this is a process.

Yesterday we took some novices on an Indian site hike and they enjoyed seeing the sites in raw form and all the pottery.  Kadizzle is so used to hiking with The Commander who happens to be a human steam engine for hiking that it was a big change to go with people closer to the walker category.  In order to get all the seniors up the mountain there were many stops, but it was a good hike in the end.

Today Kadizzle took off with brother in law Ned on a dare to be stupid motorcycle ride.  We tried to extend an exploration Kadizzle had done earlier and got cactus up his hind side.  On this trip we went about two miles farther in to the deep regions of nowhere.  Once we stopped and came to our senses.  We decided we should go no farther, but we did.  Finally we realized we should stop or face grave danger of injury trying to come back up the steep grade.  Kadizzle knew they had made a good decision, but there was the old cactus in the ass wreck spot we did have to make it past.  Kadizzle let Ned go first since Ned was more experienced and had a larger more versatile cycle.  Ned waited at the top as Kadizzle made his first attempt.  With the engine reved up Kadizzle got half way up and shot to the side and up in the air. Fully expecting to crash Kadizzle somehow just landed on the cycle upright.  Fortunately Kadizzle could manage to turn around for a second try.  So now for the next and final attempt.  Kadizzle picked a route and headed up.  Ned expected a crash and Kadizzle thought Ned was filming from the top with his cell phone.  It look to Kadizzle like he had made it past the dreaded cactus crash spot and things were going well, but then the wheel caught on something and the crash was on.  As good fortune would have it no damage was done to the cycle and only minor damage to Kadizzle.  The saddest part was that Ned did not have the camera set on live action, but instead took stills of the crash.   After dusting off and bending a couple things back to original position it was on up the mountain. There seemed to be something magically stupid about crashing twice withing a ten foot area, but all is well that ends well. If Kadizzle can get some pictures from Ned he will add them to this story later.

The mother of all hikes through the Brush.

Today was The Commanders Birthday hike.  So up past Peter Bigfoot's compound we went. The trail was wonderful in every respect.  A nice gentle climb into some wonderful country.  The trail had everything including a gurgling stream.  However, none of this was good enough.  The Commander spotted boulders high up the mountainside.  We had to get closer to the outcrop, so in a fit of unimaginable stupidity we headed off the trail and into the worst brush known to man.  The thick brush was full of cat claws,  cactus, and every mean plant the desert can produce, so thick we had to crawl on our knees, but up we went.  Like idiots we thought it might get lighter brush higher up. The brush never gave up, but finally we did, and made our way back down the same thorn infested mess we just climbed up. With bloody arms, hands, and shirts we got back to the trail.  The desert always has lessons to teach.  Today's lesson was when there is moisture a lot of things grow out of control in the desert.  On the backside of mountains high enough to scrape water from the clouds plant life will flourish. The snow melt will even make it worse.  So the moral of the story is don't think you will find the usual flora and fauna when there is just a little more water.

Burglar and Car Thief trim the yard today.

Finally a nice sunny day the way it is supposed to be.  Today we take The Commanders birthday hike. So Kadizzle has to be a good boy. The bad boys are trimming our yard.  Looking out the window this morning Kadizzle saw what he thought was a woman prisoner trimming bushes across the way.  Turned out to be a man doing his civic duty for stealing a car. Seemed like a nice guy who will be set free in June.  Said he got two years for carrying a gun as a felon.  According to him he had the gun to protect himself from bears while he cut wood.  Kadizzle told him he would be more afraid of the bears in jail than the ones in the woods, but the prison fellow said things were fine at jail and all that jazz is just television exaggeration.  His assistant was a burglar, who said he had reformed.  Both seemed like nice people enjoying the sun shine.  These guys said they would much rather be out here doing some work than sitting in the cooler.  For years Kadizzle has been promoting the idea that North Dakota use people who have committed non violent crimes to improve the parks in North Dakota, but North Dakota never wants to try a different approach.  So The Commander and Kadizzle will set off on a hike on the Campaign Trail up by Peter Bigfoot's.  Kadizzle will turn on the Delorme tracking device and if anyone wants they may be able to follow the hike.  The password is Quinn to get into the system.  Lunches are packed, the sun is shinning and it will be hi ho hi ho its off to the woods we go.

Camp Social Worker tries to patch up bum relations.

Kadizzle has an affection for bums.  People trying to live on the edge are kind of fascinating, and most of them have figured out how to migrate so they can be warm in the winter.  One thing bums develop an affection for is their vehicles.  Often the bums live right in their truck, car, or what ever.  In our encampment Gary the bum is in love with his old truck.  Dwayne the other bum also loves his van, so naturally they became friends and exchanged the usual banter about what they were going to do with their bum wagons.

After our brief sojourn to North Dakota we returned to our campsite.  Kadizzle asked Dwayne how Gary was doing.  Dwayne said he had not seen Gary for awhile.  Something seemed amiss.  Bored Kadizzled decided to go talk to Gary.  Gary was glad to see the old Kadizzle and it was clear he was a bit lonely.  After talking for awhile Gary admitted he had a falling out with Dwayne.  Apparently Dwayne had called Gary stupid.  Kadizzle had no idea Gary was so sensitive.  Gary said he wanted nothing to do with Dwayne until Dwayne apologized.  Dwayne is a gruff sort of guy and talks like he has a frog in his throat.  He looks like a guy who might have been a TV wrestler at one time. Dwayne is a good mechanic, and he has done some work for Gary. The friendship is mutually beneficial.  Gary who is living on $800 a month has an insane plan to invest in expensive parts for his pickup truck that are totally unnecessary.  The idea of something shiny under the hood fascinates Gary.  If this is all going to happen it would save Gary a lot of money if Dwayne helped.  With this in mind Kadizzle thought he might patch things up between the two.  So on the way back Kadizzle stopped and had a conversation with Dwayne.  Kadizzle told Dwayne about Gary's perception of the insult.  Dwayne had a slightly different take on the story, but listened.  Hopefully the two have patched things up.

During the conversation with Gary Kadizzle inquired about the lady bum, Typhoid Mary, that had left camp.  Typhoid sent Dwayne and Gary both Christmas presents.   They each got a bright fluorescent green hooded sweat shirt, and pajamas.  Bums are not big on pajamas, so Gary traded his in at Walmart.  Typhoid Mary has a house in California that she rents out, and she is just learning the ropes of bum life.  However, she makes a great addition to the local bum culture.  Mary likes to take Gary's dog Sammy for walks which works out well because Gary has just about smoked himself to death.  Gary claims he is down to three cancer sticks per day and he does look a little better, but his lungs must look like burnt toast.

Everyone is hoping for some sunshine today.  The solar showers, and solar panels desperately need some help.  Electricity, solar panels, and generators are always big topics among the dry campers.

Edwards Black Jade

Edwards Black Jade is only found in one place in the world.  Just a little bit ago Cissie encounterd the grandson of the guy who discovered it.  One of the great joys of moving about is the people you meet and the stories that go with them.  The old timer told us how he had been at Quartzite selling the last remnants of the jade.  In a sense it is more precious than gold. There is only a known quantity that exist in the world and it has only been found in Montana.  The salesman’s grandfather sent samples to the Smithsonian, and they let him know there was nothing like it anywhere.  Research showed it did not exist in Japan, China or anywhere else in the world that anyone knows of.  The grandfather followed the 12ft in diameter shaft of jade down about 60 ft.  Later some others bought the mine and went down to 80ft.  That was the end of it.

The story about how his grandfater walked up and down the same trail for several years, until onday he stopped and saw a glint near the trail.  Over he went to the black jade and tapped with his hammer. The ring told him it was jade.  In a little bit The Kadizzles will go look at a box full of the last remenants of this jade for sale.  Our jade acquaintance said a woman uses the jade to make knife handles.  Some of her knives sell for ten thousand dollars. Later Kadizzle will update this story with some pictures and more information

This is the complete story

Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose.

The Commander seems to want to change the way the universe works.  Currently the Kadizzles get up and do what they want, when they want.  For some reason The Commander thinks the Kadizzles should take a volunteer job with the Forest Service. Our job would sort of be doing what we do anyway. We would be hiking for the Forest Service and reporting on the condition of the trails in the Lake Roosevelt area.  In return we might get some transportation, and a free camping spot with electricity.  The problem is we would be tied down a little. The Forest Service would like us to commit for three months to working about 24hrs per week.  Committing to anything when you are retired and free is difficult.  So here we sit once again trying to decide if we should tie any strings to the Earth Module.

Back in the Saddle

Back at Lake Roosevelt and settled in. The Earth Module water pump has been giving Kadizzle fits.  So far it has been completely disassembled twice and put back together.  Seems to be working now.  The exact nature of the problem is unknown.  Probably and air lock problem of some sort.  The Commander of course has come up with every explanation from aliens to the Sedona Vortex.

Back with the crazies.  The guy who chased us out of our old spot who claimed he is handi capped is walking just fine.  He could drive the two hundred yards to the shower, but prefers to walk up and back. Apparently his handicap is strictly mental.  Yesterday he stopped by an insinuated a beer would be nice.  He got his last one from us.

Some old camping friends visited last night and told us about their extensive Alaska adventure in their camping van.  Today we went on a house hunt with them up toward Payson.  It looks like rain may be coming.  The Sneaker who stole our generator last year likes to operate on rainy nights so Kadizzle is on high alert.  A suspicious white Chevy similar to what the Sneaker has drove in earlier and scoped the place out.  Kadizzle got his license and has the joint set up for his attack.  The Earth Module is surrounded by three motion detector lights, and the generator is bolted to a piece of plywood.  The plywood is under the wheels of the camper. If the Sneaker gets it he will get the Noble Prize for theft.

Not Looking Good

Raging with energy The Commander insisted we do some hiking to find the Bust Over into the secret canyon. So after researching the maps and setting up routes on the GPS we took the truck and headed up Bull Dog Canyon.  Between the mountain and our truck was a vast area of a plain riddled by deep stream beds.  We tried to stay high above the erosion to make the walking easier. Kadizzle tried to leave a trail of cairns that might help find the way back and set up others to make the hike.  Finally we got close enough to get a good look at the gap we would have to make it over.  The Commander reported after looking through the binoculars it was not doable. Reluctantly we headed back.

Finding The Bust Over

A challenge is what keeps the Kadizzles going.  The other day the Kadizzle crew started working it’s way up an unnamed canyon with the goal of finding a way out of the end of the canyon and on over to Bull Dog Canyon.  Connecting two trails often takes many attempts in rugged country.  So yesterday The Commander and Kadizzle set off on the motorcycle to make a visual check of the Bull Dog Canyon side.  Although there was some debate about which motorcycle route to take the Kadizzles finally settled on the sandy jeep trail that starts near the top of Usery Pass.  Kadizzle warned The Commander riding in sand would be difficult.  When the ride descended into the sandy wash the prediction became true.  At slow speed the cycle crashed into the soft sand.  No one was hurt and it was good practice for wrecking.  Riding in deep sand is very difficult for a motorcycle.  Today we may attempt to establish part of the southern connection.  From a distance it looks like there may be a small cliff that could put an end to our enterprise if we cannot find a way over or around it.

A very nice canyon hike.

Today the Commander and Kadizzle worked on a long time project. We have been trying to find a route to bust over to Bull Dog Canyon from a different canyon.  Maybe you can see the place The Commander labled Almost.  We hiked up there, but it was not the right place.  We need to make another attempt from Bull Dog Canyon.  Anyway it was a nice hike and I will put some pictures on in the morning. The pink line is created by The Commander's GPS.

Cheating

It seems like cheating when you sleep with the windows open in January.  It seems like cheating when you get up and wander to the restroom in your Walmart slummer shoes.  It is easy to forget people are in North Dakota where cars suffer to start, and the temperature stays below zero for days. As the Kadizzles become old goats it is easier to see how old goats think.  Old goats just want to be warm.  If an old goat's house was on fire the goat would stay in it rather than go out in the cold.  Sunshine becomes a more valuable commodity as you grow old.  Some of our old goat friends will follow the temperature North or South just to be comfortable.  This all reminds Kadizzle of a story a simple minded fellow once told at the power plant.

At lunch one day Rick told the story about how he ended up in a military court.  Rich was stationed in Germany.  It was a terrible freezing cold night and the Army decided it would be a great night to test troop readiness.  So at 3 in the morning the leaders banged on the doors in the dormitory and told the soldiers to get up they were going on a maneuver.  Rick refused to get up, and refused to go.

At his court marshall when he was put on the stand Rick said to the prosecutor, "Look out the window, what do you see?, do you see any birds?".   The prosecutor said no.   Rick said to the prosecutor, " Those birds have brains the size of golf balls, and they have enough sense not to be out there,  aren't we any smarter".  Needless to say Rick spent some time in the brig and was dishonorably discharged.  Now this brings us to the point.  Birds migrate.  With a tiny brain they figured out how to avoid the cold.  So the next time you call someone a bird brain, it might be a compliment.

On the trail busting my tail

For Christmas Kadizzle acquiesced to The Commander's burning desire to for a mountain bike.  The cost may bankrupt the Kadizzlites, but it will bring joy to the organization.  Our Canadian friend Darch is responsible for getting The Commander into mountain bike fever.  So today we went with Darch and Bryan to work on one of the gazzillion trails they have built over in the Gold Canyon area.  We saddled up the bikes and rode about a mile and then found the hidden cache of tools to begin work on the trail.  In a relatively short time we completed our task and continued to ride the bikes.  It is evident from a little riding that no one is going to do this sport without some cactus needles in the neither regions, and some bruises.  Kadizzle made a good choice and took the short route back to the truck. The rest of the crew rode on into the desert, and even The Commander said she got a work out.  We were both amazed how easy it is to make a nice trail.  One pleasure in trail making is you get to bash all those GD cactus you have always hated.

Upon this Rock I shall build my church.

We made it to the top yesterday.  The trail has been used very
little and in one year the amount of growth is considerable.  The stream was running a little, but not as much as hoped. Although we have done this hike many times it never gets old.  No one uses the trail so once you enter the canyon and start to gain altitude on the backside you have a huge area to yourself.  It is a good thing the trail is marked with rock cairns, otherwise one could not find the trail.  Once on top the view is spectacular. Below is the Salt River and in the distance you can see the tall buildings in Phoenix.

Preview of Today's hike

The Commander is poised in front of the peak we will climb today.  Yesterday we checked the river to find a place to cross.  This morning we will meet Ruth and Rodger on the Salt River and climb to the peak behind The Commander in the photo.  The Kadizzle crew has been up there many times with Megan, and a lot of new friends.  Once we were up there exploring with two pilots and Kadizzle was befuddled when he found what poor navigators they were on land.  On one trip we had the perfect view of a bighorn sheep.  We got very close and a perfect shot. When we first saw him he was right on the peak like some ad in a magazine.

With the recent snow we may be lucky and a little water may be running.  When water runs back in that canyon there are some nice little water falls.  If all goes well we will be sitting up on top having lunch.  The real beauty of the hike is very few people know of the trail.  Since you have to wade the river on most days, people just do not go into that area.  It is too steep and difficult for horses.  Perhaps we can take the track from the GPS when we are back and overlay it on Google Earth.  If you want to follow the hike live you can go to the Delorme site and track us.  The password is Quinn.  We should start up the trail about 10:30 mountain time.

Look for Sunny Skies Today

The Commander always likes something to worry about, so at 3 A.M. she got up and found the water had frozen.  The magic temperature of 32 had been reached in Usery Park.  Kadizzled boiled a little water and poured it on the outside spicket.  The water came on, big deal.  At sun rise the game was repeated.  If it ever really got cold in AZ it would be an economic disaster.

Like a bee headed toward a flower The Commander is going nuts hunting down the exact right mountain bike.  For Christmas the budget board approved her request to bankrupt the organization with the bike of her choice.  The bike will likely cost what one or two years of college cost Kadizzle in 1972.  Our local Canadian friends are avid mountain bikers and have unduly influenced her.

It is good to be away from the brass ball freezing weather in North Dakota.  It should hit fifty here today and actually return to normal by Monday.  Tomorrow the gang may hike.

Back in the Earth Module.

Heavier from Holiday eating the Kadizzles are back in the Earth Module.  There was so much cold in North Dakota a lot of it spilled into Arizona.  It is a frosty morning deep in the heart of this refuge for old people.  Today the module gets hooked up and moved from Darch's yard back up to Usery.   The warm we paid so dearly for better show up.

Getting here was a long drawn out pain in the rectum.  United flew us on their small jets the whole way and they managed to delay the flight for an hour loading the baggage.  Strangely met three people from ND we knew.  Kadizzle did not recognize any of them, but had actually had one on his sailboat.