Alarms went off
at 6: 45 a.m. in preparation for Gabe’s hike up Picacho Peak. Not a sunrise
start today because the temperature at sunrise (6:49 a.m.) was supposed to only be 50o, which seemed cool to him.
He still wanted to do it in the early morning, though, to beat the heat
of the day; so he was aiming for a 7:30 start time. While Kim and Gabe were
getting ready, I tried to go back to sleep. That didn’t happen but I stayed in
bed anyway so I wouldn’t get in the way. As soon as they were out of the
camper, I was out of bed.
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Gabe called about
12:30 to say he was back on flat ground, so he made good time…going up. He said
that coming down the back side of the mountain was a whole different ball game.
And he agrees with all three of the descriptions listed above: steep, technical
and strenuous. He used the GoPro to film his climb and from the sound of his
breathing on the video, he got quite a workout.
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We took an
e-bike ride to Eloy while Gabe was on his hike, then returned via Sunshine
Blvd. to Harmon Rd. It was about 16 miles total, but not all those miles
involved exercise. It’s advised to charge the bike battery only when it’s
low…say in the one to two bar range. When we hit Picacho Hwy off Harmon, both
batteries were in the two range; to deplete them as much as possible so they
could go on the chargers, we used the throttle. So, no pedaling for the last
mile or so.
I typically use Pedal
Assist as little as possible to maximize the benefits of being out on a bike. And
if I wanted to use just the throttle, I might as well get on the motorcycle.
But I do appreciate the Pedal Assist boost when going up a hill. 🙂
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When we picked up
Gabe, we headed to Oracle for something to eat because DeMarco’s BLT was calling
my name. Before we went back to camp, we
made a detour to the Eloy IGA, because it’s Piggy cookie day! My favorite BLT
and Piggy cookies in one day…win-win, for sure!!
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After the bike
ride, I sat outside watching the birds for a bit. The Orange Menace was still
out there again, being territorial. When we got back at about 4 o’clock, I sat
outside again. Alternated between reading, dozing, and watching birds. What I
noticed right away is that hummingbirds were feeding without being harassed. Wait,
what?! It left? Without saying goodbye? Continued watching to see if the Rufous was just
taking a break, but nope, hummers were at the feeders for as long as they
wanted to be right up to dark. So, it appears that Rufous #2 has moved on. Will there be a Rufous #3?
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Overall, it was
a low-key day. Bike ride…watch birds…eat… watch birds, doze off, read…eat…watch
birds…take a shower...write in my journal.
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Tomorrow Gabe
flies back to Michigan. In his eight days out here, Kim and Gabe did telescope things,
had fun with the drone, beat the AI guys multiple times at UNO on the Switch,
and rode the e-bikes. There were trips to our favorite food trucks/restaurants and
an introduction to Piggy cookies. We made a mad dash to Big Bend Nat’l Park in
Texas and Gabe climbed two mountains. At one point Kim said something about
having a good time, and before Gabe could answer, I told him that if the answer
was no, he should feel free to keep that to himself. 😉
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Clear sky with a
slightly deflated full moon on the rise. Kim chose the Embryo Nebula (a.k.a.
Soul Nebula) as his target tonight. Hopefully the moon doesn’t interfere.
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