Kim downloaded an app for his phone that
identifies plants. Take a picture of a
plant and the app will give you the specifics.
He’s been playing with it around the camp and on his walks. There’s a free trial for a week then it’s $20
or something like that for a year subscription.
There are plants in Arizona that we don’t have in Michigan; since
neither of us are botanists, this app is handy out here. Not so sure how much
use the app will get back in Michigan, though.
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It was 57o at 7:30 this
morning...ramping up to be another hot one.
We were out walking a little earlier today than yesterday but not as
early as we should have. Dripping with sweat and seeking shade when we got back
to camp.
Stopped on the way back to grab the trail
camera card. No activity...as in not
even video of Kim repositioning the camera like there was the first day. On
Kim’s other trail cams there always a picture or two of him putting it up and
then coming to get it. This one has a set-up delay to avoid that so maybe he wasn’t there long enough to override the delay or maybe there’s another problem.
A way to find out is for Kim to wait 30 seconds and then step into
the field of view and then check the card again to make sure it captured his
movements.
Walking would require 4 trips...walk the
card back to the camera, move around to test it and then walk the card back to
camp to see if it worked. The third trip
down there would be to return the card and the 4th trip would be back to camp. OR he could just take the truck and
bring his computer along to do all the testing down there. Let’s see....walking in 81o sunshine
with no breeze or driving in a truck with A/C and windows. Actually a tough decision because he wanted the steps but he took the truck...and reported that the camera is working
fine. Now we just need some critters to
use the trail. Gonna give it a few more
days before we check it again.
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Today on our walk Kim brought his snake stick and whittled on it the entire time. Shaved the bark off
The
forked end reminded me of a duck with a slightly open bill. I had a little fun with the stick when
we got back to camp. Gave it an eye, colored the top of its head and then drew
a hat on some cardboard and positioned it just right and voila! a duck wearing
a hat. 😎
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I was
sitting outside and movement on the tree caught my eye...a lizard. Tree is just far enough away that I couldn’t
be sure but thought I saw another lizard...or maybe it was tree bark. Then movement up the tree trunk and more
movement coming up behind. Definitely
lizards, not tree bark. I tracked the
movement with my eyes; it looked like they were wrestling. Good,
they’ve stopped. Whoa, there’s some
tussling going on. Maybe they’re
mating. Easy, easy....get the
camera...find them on the tree...zoom in.
Agh!...keep it steady....what can I use to stabilize the camera? The
other chair. Okay, now, start again...find
them on the tree...zoom in...focus...hit record.. The tree is somewhat shadowed and I’m in the
shadow of the camper...there’s a whole lot of sunshine in between. My eyes were not focusing very well as I
looked at the small camera screen and then up at the tree. Back and forth wasn’t doing me any
favors. Snapped a couple of pictures and
took some video. I knew that I’d have to
see it on the computer to see what I had.
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Decided to ride to the Top-of-the-World, a little town up in the
mountains on Hwy 60. A ‘little town’
might be too generous of a description...mostly it’s a store with the most
eclectic items proclaiming to be the Top of the World Trading Post. It’s a fun place crammed with all sorts of
odds and ends on consignment, mostly from veterans.
Great
day for a ride...84o when we left camp and sunny. As we rode up into the mountains the
temperature dropped to 69 at one point but still very tolerable riding in shirt
sleeves, no jacket. Rode as far as Globe
where we wanted to stop for some ice cream.
Couldn’t find any ice cream places so we opted for a chocolate Frosty
from Wendy’s. A sign on the door
indicated that the dining room was closed but the door wasn’t locked so we
thought we could order inside and take it outside to eat. We were told that we had to use the
drive-thru; Kim explained that since we were on motorcycles the drive-thru wasn’t
going to work for us...besides we only wanted two large chocolate Frosty’s. The
young lady said that wouldn’t be a problem...she disappeared, came back with
our Frosty’s and said they were on the house.
Don’t really know why but she seemed eager to just give them to us. Sat on a cement wall out by the bikes, ate
some cool chocolatey deliciousness, then we headed back the way we came knowing
the sun was going to be a force to be reckoned with...and indeed it was.
Stopped at the Trading Post on our return trip because I wanted a
picture. Really didn’t think it was open
but the owner was just starting to bring in some stuff when we stopped. He invited us in to have a look around...we
bought a boot jack and a raw turquoise rock which I intend to polish. Got my picture, stored our treasures in my
saddlebag and continued on down the mountain.
Lots
of motorcycles out on the road today.
Our route (Hwy 79 out of Florence then Hwy 60 toward Superior then up, through
and over the mountains into Globe) took us into the Tonto National Forest but
really it was mountains more than Forest.
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Kim
was set up to image but then a thin bank of clouds rolled in so he shut it
down. He’s okay with that because he can
get to bed earlier.
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Bike miles today: 167
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