Tuesday, March 29…After The Storm (Mumford and Sons)

    My feet didn’t appreciate doing yoga barefooted this morning.  It was a breezy 54^o and it felt sort of chilling after that last 4 days of 90 degree temps.  And it didn’t warm up quickly this morning either.  I don’t think the temperature got above 65 today.  

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   The campground has been clearing out.  The weekends have been seeing an increase but overall more are leaving than coming.  Time for those who stay the winter to head home. 

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   Because it was cloudy and cooler today it seemed the perfect time to hike in Saguaro Nat’l Park.  No chance of overheating today. 

   Dark clouds hovered out in the distance as we hit the park boundary but it was hard to tell which direction they were heading. Figured the worst that could happen was that we’d get wet so we headed to King Canyon Trail intending to hike 2 ¼ miles to Sweetwater Trail then turn around and hike back.  King Canyon is described as a ‘two boot’ trail, meaning that it has a 300’ to 1000’ elevation change. 

   The trail was slightly inclined for the first 3/4 of a mile but that’s as far as we went because the darkclouds we had seen were heading in our general direction.  Some clouds, accompanied by thunder, had already passed by on the other side of the mountains so whatever came out of those clouds fell to the west of us.  However, I think we caught the edge of it because we were hit by some minor hail and drizzle. Due to the look of the sky we were expecting the rain but the hail caught me off guard.  It lasted only seconds but it started sprinkling fairly steadily after that point.  When we reached the flat spot and looked back at the view we decided to call it good because it looked like a deluge was heading our way.  Not afraid to get a little wet but soaked on a cool windy day was a different matter.

   Luckily, the clouds that looked to be heading right for us got off track and we avoided that rain. Made it to the truck with a slightly damp shirt and nothing worse.  So the hike wasn’t as long as intended but we didn’t get drenched either.  I’m calling that a good day.

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   As we drove out of the park it was evident that it had really rained because not only was the road wet but there were puddles on and off the road.  Then I noticed what looked like remnants of snow layingalong the ‘ditch’ area. “Oh, can we turn around because I saw something weird back there and I wanna check it out.” Hail…it was mounds of good-sized hail!  That and the puddles told the story of the dark cloud that missed us.  We got sprinkles and that area got the downpour…our hail was smaller than BBs that melted almost on impact and that area had hail larger than peas which were still laying around.  Hail in the desert…that was a first for us.

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   Driving along the frontage road on the way back to camp, we encountered standing water in some of those areas with signs that say “Do not enter when water is present.”   ‘Dips’ are engineered into the side roads out here to channel the rain water so entering the dip when the water is rushing across the road could be a dicey proposition.    Today the water wasn’t rushing across the road so it seemed safe enough to drive through.

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   With rain clouds all around the park today we were hoping the see some water coming through a wash but that didn’t happen.  Maybe over where the big rains and big hail fell but not near King Canyon Trail where we were.  In fact the little bit of rain that fell by us was just enough to wet the very top layer of dirt and no deeper.  However, the smell of rain was all around us.  Hot pavement being cooled by the rain has a smell as does freshly wet dirt…and they’re not unpleasant smells.

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   There were puddles around the campground so we know this area got some rain today also.  The kitchen window and Zeus both need to be washed again. Agh!  Rain and dust just make a mess of clean surfaces.

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   Watched a video from the cell cam of hail pelting the camera. And we both thought of the poor owl up in the nest doing whatever needs to be done to protect her babies from Mother Nature.

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Since our hike got cut short we took a quick walk down Picacho Hwy when we got back.  Then after dinner, Kim went out to finish his multi-night image.  Clouds had cleared enough for him to attain the target and let ‘er roll.  Of course the wind always could have its way with the clouds and blow ‘em back overhead but the forecast is for clear overnight skies. 

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   Today’s 40 Days of Lent challenge:  Donate a personal item that will help bring joy to someone else.  Well, I didn’t complete this one as presented.  I did leave a couple of painted rocks around; it is always my hope that they bring joy to whoever finds them.  Not the same, I know, but that’s what I got.