Wednesday, March 24...Louie, Louie (The Kingsmen)

 Walked down Picacho Hwy intending to peek at the game trail...if the soup bones were still there we’d continue on our walk; if they were gone, we were heading back to came to see who took them.

 10:30 a.m...All the soup bones were gone...Yay!  Nothing on camera...Agh!!  Those darn Fairies!!  Time for a rethink on the situation. Kim is contemplating changing the location of the camera. Putting it at ground level may be the answer...maybe the camera is pointed too high so the animal is coming in under the sensor.  But putting it on the ground would require getting to the other side of the fence which would not only be tricky but would also require some trespassing.  Hmmm....what to do?

  Update: 11:30 a.m....Kim just returned from retrieving the camera and he has a plan!  He scouted out a location for the camera...just inside the fence there is a wall of debris that would shield the camera from the road while allowing it to the game trail.  Easily accessible from this side of the fence...no trespassing necessary.  He attached the camera mount to a piece of firewood and tested it here in camp multiple times to see what the field of vision would be.  It’s now ready to be placed on the other side of the debris. But first we have to buy more enticement. 

   Update 12:15 p.m....Camera is in place with neck bones (no soup bones available) strewn about the area.  I’d say that whatever is partaking of the goodies will definitely be caught on video now. 

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   Last night as the rain approached and the sun was setting we headed down the road to look for a nearby multi-stage geocache.  Have to find them in succession to find the final cache. Based on the hints the first stage looked to be in the vicinity of the big tractor tire but there was some confusion on the technology end beyond that point: Kim’s phone indicted one thing and mine indicated another.  We didn’t fancy getting caught in the rain so we headed back to camp without any success. 

   Today we tried again when we went down to check the soup bones and even though our phones were still giving different information we found the cache.  Now to figure out how to find the next stage.

Update:  There was a lot of confusion on my part about the multi-stage cache system but we got it figured out and had some good laughs along the way.  Found two multi-stage caches today...the second cache used a fake pigeon in a tree which was so cleverly done.  I’ve passed that tree many times in my walks and have never noticed the bird.

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   Rained during the evening and into the early morning.  Warmer temperatures are on tap for the weekend so I hope to see some cacti blooms soon.  The prickly pear in the campground look to be ready to pop anytime.

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   Arms, quads and calves are feeling the effects of yesterday’s hike up Hunter Trail.  Knees, ankles and hips appear to be no worse for the experience. 

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   The trunk on Kim’s bike has to be removed when we load the bikes in the camper.  This year the trunk was left at home because it wasn’t needed....well, except for Louie, that is. The trunk is where Louie sits.  So far on this year’s Arizona adventure Louie has been strapped to the back fender with a bungee cord in a most undignified manner.  He hasn’t complained because at least he’s able to ride. 😎

  However, we knew it wasn’t going to stay that way...Kim ordered a luggage rack and passenger backrest and had it delivered to the campground.  It arrived today and was quickly installed.  Now Louie has a new place to ride and he’s very happy about that.  Although he doesn't sit up as high and majestic as he did on the trunk, he’s okay with that; and he’s still held on by a bungee cord but at least it’s not around his waist, making him double over.  I’ll figure out a different way of making sure the little monkey doesn’t blow off when we get home but for now we’ve got him securely attached. 

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It’s a COVID thing:

*The Pinal County Fair which was going to be held mid-March has been postponed until September 2021.

*Coolidge Cotton Days which had been postponed to the first weekend in April has been cancelled.

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 In this area of Arizona I’ve only ever seen canals used as a method of irrigation...no huge sprinklers....and most of the canals are cement. The irrigation canals on AZ 87 (on the way to Coolidge) are not cement; they appear to be just dirt canals and they are filled with water right now.  I wondered out loud one day why the water doesn’t just seep into the ground.  Kim mentioned that maybe the ground reaches a saturation point so the water can’t seep into it anymore or maybe it’s a hard clay based canal that doesn’t allow the water to permeate it.  Googled ‘canal linings’ and found this on Wikipedia:

  Canal lining is the process of reducing seepage loss of irrigation water by adding an impermeable layer to the edges of the trench. Seepage can result in losses of 30 to 50 percent of irrigation water from canals, so adding lining can make irrigation systems more efficient. Canal linings are also used to prevent weed growth, which can spread throughout an irrigation system and reduce water flow. Lining a canal can also prevent waterlogging around low-lying areas of the canal

   By making a canal less permeable, the water velocity increases resulting in a greater overall discharge. Increased velocity also reduces the amount of evaporation and silting that occurs, making the canal more efficient.

The above paragraphs are background; below is the information I was looking for:

   Compacted clay is a simple form of soil canal lining, which serves as a relatively cheap alternative to other methods. Certain clays, such as bentonite, have high water absorption but then become impervious, which makes them an ideal soil lining. It has been shown through studies done in the U.S. that a layer of bentonite 2 to 5 cm thick, underneath a layer of earth 15 to 30 cm thick, makes for an adequate lining system. Typically, porous soils are removed before compacted clay is applied to the bed and sides of a canal.

Another simple method of canal lining with soils entails applying a layer of compacted silt on top of the subgrade of the canal. The use of soils as canal linings is efficient for controlling seepage, but not effective against weed growth.

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   While the weather was good for riding we didn’t take a ride today...other things took up our time.  However, the sky is clear so Kim is out setting up his telescope. 

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