Cooler morning starting out but still wore shorts and t-shirt because it was a clear, sunny sky. I know that once the sun starts rising higher, it will only get warmer. Add to that the exertion of walking and a person could work up a sweat. So if the temperature is in the 50o range and the sun is out, I step out wearing shorts and t-shirt...light fleece only if there’s more of a wind than a breeze.
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Decided to start our bike rides earlier in the day...gives us more time
to ride and avoids the setting sun, depending on direction of our route. Today we planned on making a big loop from
Picacho to Why to Gila Bend to Casa Grande and back to Picacho. Big ride but totally doable. And the sky was clear all the way around so
let’s get to it!
Stopped on AZ 86 to see the first crested saguaro I ever saw. It was a good opportunity to stretch and get
some pictures. On down the road, just outside of Why, AZ, is the Desert Diamond
Casino on the Tohono O’odham Reservation.
We usually stop there for gas and a bathroom.
As we
were taking off our helmets, I looked to the right of me, saw an unusual sight
and asked Kim, “Is that a coyote over
there? and why is it just standing there,
looking at us?” I pulled out my
camera as Kim said, “Yes, it’s a coyote.”
We watched it walk away, stop...walk a little more, stop...walk some
more, stop. Each time it stopped it
looked at us almost longingly. How strange! I wonder if it’s healthy
because this isn’t normal behavior for coyote. Then we went in to use the bathroom. Kim found out that this particular coyote is
used to hand-outs from a store up the road (probably in Why). It’s still a wild critter but it’s gotten
acclimated to people hence its presence in the casino parking lot. There
appears to be a guy outside whose job it is to shoo the coyote off the
premises. I wouldn’t think that is the
entirety of his job description, though.
When
we pulled up to park, the sky in the direction we were headed held dark clouds
with streaks coming down from them. Rain?
Inside the store attached to the
casino people were making small talk about whether a storm was heading this
way. Ding Dang!! Kim ordered lunch while I went outside to
check the weather app. We’d already decided the best course of action would be turning
around to head back the way we came because it was still sunny back that way
and neither of us wanted to get wet or get caught in a flash flood situation on
the bikes. Water can run fast in the
road dips built for the purpose of giving water a specified place to cross the
road. Weather app affirmed our decision...rain was heading on a northeast
diagonal from Mexico up to Gila Bend.
Right along the route we wanted to ride.
Kim
went in to give the guy a tip and returned with the money. Said they weren’t allowed to take tips...they’d
love to and were working on it but right now they couldn’t.
Made
it back to camp without getting wet. Had
to put on my jacket and gloves due to a cool wind but we stayed dry and that’s
what matters.
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When
we got back from our ride I got in a quick walk before it got too dark. Made it
to my 10,000 steps. Then I came inside
to sit for the rest of the night.
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A
golden birthday is defined as turning the same age as the day of the month you
were born. My golden birthday was when I
turned 31 because I was born on March 31st. So, along the same lines, today is Jeff’s golden
homecoming. He ‘went home to Jesus’ on March 11, 2010...11 years ago today.
Kim
asked me today if I ever talk to Jeff and my answer was “No, not anymore...I
used to right after he died but yeah, not now.
He does wander through my thoughts every day though.” And today was no exception...however, the
wanderings are just a little different and on some level a little weirder on
this day.
And how incredibly appropriate that “Spirit in the Sky” randomly started playing on my playlist as I’m writing this. 😊
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Using
Charlevoix at my point of reference I looked up the sunrise for the 2020 winter
solstice...I figured Dec. 20, 2020, would have been the turning point for sunrise
like it is for sunset but it wasn’t. January 1, 2021 was the date of the latest
sunrise at 8:20:20 a.m. Then sunrise
started occurring earlier by seconds. And
that was on standard time not daylight saving time. So if we stay on DST all year, would that
mean the sunrise could be at 9:20 a.m., or thereabouts, on Jan. 1st? I enjoy math, but story problems are not my forte
so I may be looking at this wrong but it seems that school will be starting before
it’s fully daylight.
In
addition, since Arizona doesn’t observe DST the state aligns with the Pacific Time
Zone from March through November. This
bill would move them into the Pacific Time Zone for the entire year. Seems the time zone map would have to be
redrawn.
I
looked forward to getting an extra hour of sleep when the clocks changed back in
November. If this bill should become a
law I guess I can kiss that extra hour goodbye.
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Today’s bike miles: 214
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