Prescott National Forest -- Apr 5, 2015

I decided to go down to Prescott Valley, leaving the National Forest behind, a day early.  I needed food, sundries, free internet, etc.  Thinking I would write this blog at McDonald's made sense with the free wi-fi, plus I was craving some french fries!  Well, I couldn't connect to wi-fi there for some reason.  Hmmmmm...  this blog takes up a ton of data usage.  Oh well.  

So we head to WalMart for everything else, thinking that would be our overnight parking place since I could get everything needed there and it's on the way to our next stop.  Geeze! They don't allow overnight parking.  I called a Cracker Barrel I had passed just down the road...they are always good for an overnight spot.  Nope! BUT, she said its okay to park at the Sam's Club right behind them. Great! Plus....guess what?  After we got parked, I realized Sam's Club has free wi-fi out in their parking lot!  Super Great!  Now I won't have to rush through this post about our week in the Prescott National Forest.  

Prescott National Forest -- 1.25 million acres!

We headed up that "Primitive Road" I mentioned in my next to last post and got to the spot he had mentioned.  Pretty nice....here's a reminder photo....

Of course, Nikko is ready to get some fresh air....and fresh it is!  25* cooler, clean and crisp!  This was our week....

 He jumps out to survey our new yard...always on the alert.  He likes the countryside!

We could walk all around in the actual forest, but that's not a wise idea.  It's too easy to get lost. Nikko is great, but he's not Lassie!  LOL!  So, we kept our walks primarily on the "Primitive Road" by our site. 

In addition to all the trees - mostly pinion and ponderosa pines - and various forest-y bushes and shrubs - a lot of chapparal - we saw a few interesting plants.  Keep in mind the soil here is almost all sand...not rich black soil.  This shrubbery was mostly only by the roadway...I didn't see them looking back into the forest.  Its branches were a very reddish color.  I have no idea what it is, but it was interesting and stood out from the other foliage....                                                                                        

 I only saw one of these trees getting close to being in full bloom...  looks Easter-y!

We're still in Arizona....cactus aren't prevalent up here, but pop up here and there...

These puff ball mushrooms were also right next to the road....

These junipers are everywhere! The are gnarly and ill-formed trees, but the have a unique feature...

They are known as "alligator junipers" because of their interesting bark....

The sunrise was almost behind the RV, but it was pretty through the trees....

We didn't see any wild animals....just HUGE ravens and an 8" lizard that Nikko chased under the RV...and kept looking for it for an hour! 

One thing that differentiated this forest from a lot of others I've been in was the huge...I mean, GIGANTIC granite boulders all around.  Many are 20-30 feet high.  How did they get here?  And those perched on top of others is very cool!   It's rather prehistoric if you ask me!  They were all around our site and throughout the forest where I could see.

We are at about 6900' in elevation.  I immediately noticed the difference/difficulty in breathing when we went on our walks...but it subsided some after a few days.  In some of these photos, you've seen mountain vistas in the background.  From our site, walking 1/2 mile up the road, was one of the park's popular lookout sites.  (I didn't know this when I parked at our site!) 

Note the incline!

All of the following photos were taken from that area.  The road winds on down another 4 miles back into town (but it's not an RV drive).  So, here are the daytime views.... 

 

Pretty!

Once I got up here, I realized we were facing almost directly WEST....you know what that means!

Sunsets!

We walked to the top three different evenings...every sunset is different!

So, what do you think?  I think it was a great idea to stop in the Prescott National Forest!  Nikko and I thoroughly enjoyed our stay.  The weather was perfect (although it was 40* in the RV one morning!) and the sky was that "Arizona blue sky" every day....so blue it doesn't look real! 

Last night, our last night, was the full moon....backed up by the lovely sunset....

Of course, after every sunset is nightfall.  With a big flashlight, Nikko leads the way home...

So, there's a look at this part of Arizona...a teeny weeny part of the 1.25 million acres of the forest. But so totally different than the desert only a few hours away.  

As we sit here in the Sam's Club empty parking lot, Nikko is dead to the world!  He gets really tired, as I do, being "in the city"....all the sights, sounds, cars, bikes, motorcycles, people...it wears us out! He's been such a good RVer!  Except he buried two brand new rawhide chews around our site (I saw him in the act)... but moved them to another spot before I could retrieve them!

Time to think about dinner....which will be the Chinese pineapple chicken over rice I made yesterday, knowing today would be a busy day.  You can make anything in an RV that you can make at home!  

In this same plaza, there's a Sprouts Farmers Market...THE best grocery in the universe, I think! Eventho' I've done my grocery shopping, I might have to pop in there before we leave and get some fresh salmon to grill!  :-)  

Will report in from our next stop...not too far away.  (But I doubt there will be the handy Sam's Club wi-fi there!)  

Thanks to everyone for enjoying Prescott National Forest with us

and

thank you for shopping Amazon through my blog!

Graduation, Mother's Day, Father's Day!

A Tribute to Ansel Adams --- Apr 3, 2015

Most, if not all, of  you know of Ansel Adams (1902-1984).  He was a prolific photographer of black and white landscape images, primarily centered on Yosemite and the southwestern U.S.  He developed, along with Fred Archer, the Zone System as a way to determine proper exposure and adjust the contrast of the final print, resulting in great clarity and depth. That system is still used today in film photography.  Adams primarily used the large-format camera (think "bellows") because of their high resolution, ensuring sharpness in his images.  

I have been reading Ansel Adams' autobiography, and it has inspired me to share some black and white images of my surroundings here in Prescott National Forest.  Like Adams, I love the natural world. Unlike Adams, I do not use a large-format camera, although I have.  Once you've tried an all-manual camera (and viewing your images upside down), you can really appreciate his work and other photographers of his time...and those today who still shoot with large format cameras. (I have many friends who are fantastic large format photographers!)  I have always believed there is nothing like "film" photography.  But, alas, like millions of others, I have given it up for several reasons. Nonetheless, I love black and white photography!  I don't post much on my blog because most viewers migrate toward color, however, I am hopeful that may change a bit after reading this post. Of course, you can learn all you want to about Ansel Adams on the internet.  He was a fascinating figure!  Even if your interests don't lean toward photography, I highly recommend reading his autobiography! (Published 1985).

Following is a collection, without commentary, of some of the scenery around my site here in the Prescott National Forest.  I will be doing a followup post soon, incorporating many of these same photos, but in color and with explanations.  I hope you enjoy my renditions of Ansel Adams-inspired photos!

I will interrupt here for a second and quote a few lines from Adams' autobiography, after a rather scary adventure, that hit home for me!

"Such frightening experiences did not deter my explorations.  I often hiked alone for days, an unsafe practice that is not to be condoned.  I am sure that I found myself in many situations of uncommon danger because of my own ignorance and stupidity.  However, I continued to treasure my solitary excursions....they gave me many unforgettable days and nights and constant opportunities for photographing. "

Thanks for viewing!  Try some black and white photography yourself.  In my opinion, when you are looking at a black and white photo, you are seeing the content only...you are not drawn in by "colors".  

"The snapshot is not as simple a statement as some may believe.  It represents something that each of us has seen -- more as human beings than photographers -- and wants to keep as a memento, a special thing encountered.  The little icons that return from [the photo-finisher] provide recollections of events, people, and places; they stir memories and create fantasies.  Through the billions of snapshots made each year a visual history of our times is recorded in enormous detail." - A.Adams

Northward Bound ---- Apr 1, 2015

The last post left us at Saddle Mountain, ready to leave after opening that box of chocolates only to find that the refrigerator was without power. I never liked that flavor!  LOL!  I checked everything I could think of and nothing seemed awry...except the no power part.    

I called Carter's Mobile RV in Tonopah on Saturday morning (Mar 28) around 11:30am.  The temps are rising to about 93* - not good when your refrigerator isn't cooling.  Carter called me back at 4:30pm and we agreed to meet in Tonopah on Sunday morning at 9:00am.  The refrig is pretty well insulated and food was still cold/frozen at this point.  So.....all this meant we might as well leave Saddle Mountain and head to our next stop.

Carter is, admittedly, a mechanic not an electrician, but he and a guy he brought with him jiggled wires, unplugged/replugged connections and then took the cover off a box in the outdoor compartment.  Voila!  The fuse is out!  They didn't have one of the old glass fuses, but jimmied an alternative together that used the fuse-type in my main electrical panel.  It worked!  And the charge for all this?  ZIP, ZERO, NADDA, NIL!  He said "no charge" because they didn't really know what they were doing.  There are nice and generous people out there!

So, we're on our way north to Prescott National Forest....free camping for 7 days....and 25* cooler! Nikko will love that!  I can probably put the Frogg Togg Chill Blanket away!  

The ride will take us up Rt 89..... fairly un-scenic, initially, although there are forests of saguaro cactus along the way....but nowhere to pull over to take any pictures.  Generally, tho', this was the view...the mountains are scenic, tho'!

Just before getting into Wickenburg, I decide to pull over and let Nikko out for a few minutes.  Low and behold, there's a golf course right there.  And a nice one, too, with mountain views.  

The temps are getting cooler now and there are trees and grass and flowers!  What a change from the desert...and we haven't gone very far, really.  

Nikko likes it!

Time to get rolling..... Oh, wait.....cowboys are crossing the road!  This is horse country up here, so I'm not really surprised, but it was nice timing!  What a nice life they have around here!

Ok,  now we can go....see those mountains?!  That's where we're headed....

I DO NOT like mountain driving....I never have.....but away we go!  This isn't a couple of mile climb....it's about 20 miles.  Doesn't sound far, but when you're going 15 MPH and feeling sick the entire time, plus all the mental concentration it takes to drive 12,000+ lbs around never ending curves and switchbacks, 20 miles is a L-O-N-G way!  This is about half way....we pull over to let the RV cool down and so I can collect myself!  At this point, there's still 9.3 miles left to go.

Pretty views from here, tho'!

And pine trees are getting more prevalent...

After a few deep breaths, we're off to finish this part of the trek.  Of course, we make it, no problems, but I was glad to get into Prescott.  We stopped at Woody's gas station to get gas and some rather vague directions as to getting to the campsites in the National Forest.  Basically, a main, paved road simply ends after going past some housing subdivisions...... and all of a sudden, it turns into this....

I guess we're heading into the forest!  The directions I got were not good ones!  This part of the road was okay, but I never saw the fork in the road she talked about so we ended up driving on some very rough and rutted roads...thinking there was never going to be a place to turn around...but there was...finally!  We turned around and came back to a crossroads.  I flagged down a guy on a 4WD and he was familiar with the area.  He said....just go up "this road" about 3/4 mile and you'll see a good site for your RV.  He assured me I could drive the RV on it.  YAY!  

So, we turned right onto this road...I was having my doubts as to how this was going to work out....

It wasn't great, but it wasn't nearly as bad as the road I had just been on, nor ones I had been on in the past, so all is good!  We get to the spot he was talking about and maneuver a bit to get into the level area, but here we are! In the forest and it's about 70*.  Beautiful!

I'll stop here for now....there will be area photos coming up in the next posts.  This is a beautiful spot....cool, clean, crisp air....azure blue skies....and quiet!  

The refrigerator is still working!  Thanks, Carter!!