MOUNTAIN SNOW

THE PICTURES IN TODAYS BLOG WERE TAKEN BY THE HUNTERS AS THEY CRUISED BY OUR MOUNTAIN CABIN TO CHECKOUT THE SNOW. I JUST HAD TO PUT THEM ON THE BLOG TO SAVE THEM.

RANTS, YOU MAY SKIP…….

IT’S BEEN A WET JANUARY HERE IN THE SOUTHWEST, AND THAT’S A GOOD THING ON MANY LEVELS. AS YOU KNOW THE WEST HAS BEEN UNDER DROUGHT CONDITIONS FOR MANY YEARS. ONE ONLY HAS TO LOOK AT THE BATHTUB RING AROUND LAKE MEAD TO SEE THE SERIOUSNESS OF THE PROBLEM.

THE SIERRA NEVADA MOUNTAINS IN NORTHERN NEVEDA AND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA HAVE HAD THE BEST MOISTURE, AND THEY ACTUALLY HAVE A CHANCE TO HAVE TWICE THE NORMAL SNOWFALL THIS YEAR. THE LAST NUMBER I SAW WAS 163% OF NORMAL AND WE STILL HAVE 3 MONTHS OF SNOW TO GO.

THE SNOWS IN THE COLORADO ROCKIES HAVE BEEN A LITTLE ABOVE NORMAL AS WELL, BUT NOT STRONG ENOUGH TO MAKE A DENT IN THE BATHTUB RING AROUND LAKE MEAD. YOU CAN’T IMAGINE THE COMPLICATED SYSTEM OF STATE, INDIAN, AND FEDERAL LAWS AND TREATIES INVOLVED IN THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE WATER FROM THE COLORADO RIVER.

WITHOUT GETTING TOO POLITICAL, I PERSONALLY FAVOR THE EXTREME ACTION OF BLOWING UP THE GLEN CANYON DAM AT PAGE, ARIZONA ELIMINATING LAKE POWELL. LAKE POWELL HAS A  LARGE LEAK, AND BETWEEN THE EVAPORATION OFF THE LAKE AND THE LEAK, WE ARE LOSING 300 BILLION GALLONS OF WATER EACH YEAR. OVER THE LIFE OF THE DAM THAT’S THE SAME AS TURNING OFF THE COLORADO RIVER FOR A WHOLE YEAR. POLITICALLY IT WON’T HAPPEN IN MY LIFETIME, BUT DON’T BE SURPRISED AS OUR CHILDREN BEGIN BLOWING UP DAMS ACROSS THE NATION.

WE’VE HAD WET WINTER WEATHER OVER THE YEARS, AND IT MAKES FOR A GREENER DESERT AND BEAUTIFUL DESERT FLOWERS. ALSO IT KEEPS THE WILD BURROS IN THE BLACK MOUNTAINS, WITH ADAQUATE FOOD AND WATER INSTEAD OF ON OUR CITY ROADWAYS.

OH HELL, I’VE ALREADY PISSED OFF HALF THE BLOG READERS BY BLOWING UP LAKE POWELL, LET ME PISS OFF THE REST OF YOU WITH ANOTHER RANT…..

OUR BLACK MOUNTAINS BETWEEN BULLHEAD CITY AND KINGMAN CAN HANDEL ABOUT 500 WILD BURROS, AND I’M SURE SEVERAL WOULD STILL HANG AROUND OATMAN FOR THE TOURIST. THE LAST ESTIMATE BY THE BLM WAS 1700 IN THE HERD. LET ME PUT IT THIS WAY, IN SPOONER AND WASHBURN COUNTY WISCONSIN THE DEAR HERD WAS ESTIMATE (IN 2015) AT 22,900. IF THE HERD GREW TO 70,000 DEER, WHAT WOULD THE DNR DO? THAT’S RIGHT, WE’D HAVE A DEER HUNTING SEASON FROM HALLOWEEN TO VALENTINES DAY. THE SAME LOGIC SHOULD APPLY TO THE WILD BURROS, WHICH BY THE WAY WERE IMPORTED TO ARIZONA BACK IN THE 1800’S BY THE GOLD MINERS.

IT MUST BE RANT DAY, MAYBE IT’S THE COLD AND RAINY WEATHER? I BOUGHT MY NEW BURGMAN SCOOTER A YEAR AGO LAST DECEMBER AND IN FEBURARY, JUST 90 DAYS, THERE WAS A RECALL ON THE SCOOTER. I TOOK THE SCOOT TO MY LOCAL SUZUKI DEALER AND THEY SAID “OH NO, WE ARE NOT QUALIFIED”. SO I TOOK THE SCOOTER TO LAKE HAVASU SUZUKI AND THEY TRIED TO TALK ME OUT OF DOING THE RECALL WORK, THAT IT WAS JUST A CALIFORNIA EPA BULLSHIT RECALL.

I TALKED TO MY BUDDY COLE AND DID SOME RESEARCH ON THE INTERNET AND FOUND THAT THE RECALL WAS WORLD WIDE, AND DEEP INTO THE ENGINE CONCERNING TAPPETS AND CAMSHAFT FAILURE. SUZUKI WAS PAYING THE DEALERS 7 HOURS OF LABOR TO REPLACE THE PARTS, BUT THE JOB TOOK ABOUT 10 HOURS TO COMPLETE. I WENT BACK TO LAKE HAVASU AND REQUESTED THE RECALL WORK, AND THEY SAID THEY WOULD ORDER THE PARTS. I CALLED EVERY WEEK FOR A MONTH, BUT THE PARTS WEREN’T IN YET? FINALLY IN JULY THEY CALLED ME THAT THE PARTS WERE IN. I EXPLAINED THAT I WAS A SNOWBIRD AND WOULD BRING THE SCOOTER IN DECEMBER 1ST. THEY SAID THEY WOULD SEND THE PARTS TO BULLHEAD CITY AND SAVE THEM FOR ME.

WHEN I SHOWED UP IN BULLHEAD CITY ON DECEMBER 1ST, AND OF COURSE THEY DIDN’T HAVE THE PARTS, AND SAID THEY WOULD ORDER THEM….. AFTER A MONTH OF WAITING FOR PARTS, I WALKED INTO THE STORE TO SEE WHAT THE STORY WAS, AND THEY PRETTY MUCH SAID, “WHO ARE YOU?”  FINALLY TODAY I PICKED UP MY BURGMAN SCOOTER WITH THE WORK COMPLETED. NEXT UP FOR THE SCOOTER IS TO TURN IT INTO A TRIKE. WISH ME LUCK!

BY NOW I PROBABLLY HAVE EXACTLY ONE READER REMAINING, UNCLE HANS, SO I’LL CLOSE WITH SOME RECENT HUMOR OFF OF FACEBOOK.

MARK & JAYNE

MARK & JAYNE ARE OLD YELLOW RIVER CAMPING FRIENDS THAT LIVE IN THE DES MOINES AREA. THEY FLEW TO VEGAS ON THURSDAY LAST WEEK FOR A FEW DAYS OF WARM DESERT WEATHER. THAT WAS THEIR FIRST DISAPPOINMENT AS WE HAD THREE DAYS OF WIND, COLD, AND EVEN RAIN AT TIMES. THEY PICK THE MARTIN LUTHER KING WEEK-END TO VISIT BECAUSE MARK IS A CITY EMPLOYEE AND GETS THE HOLIDAY OFF WORK SO THEY GET A FIVE DAY VACATION AND HE ONLY HAS TO TAKE TWO DAYS OF VACATION TIME. THAT WAS THEIR SECOND DISAPPOINTMENT AS DES MOINES AND THE REST OF IOWA WAS SHUT DOWN ON MONDAY DUE TO AN ICE STORM, SO THEY COULDN’T FLY BACK UNTIL TUESDAY.

WE SPENT THURSDAY NIGHT ON FREMONT STREET DOWNTOWN LAS VEGAS, BUT THE WEATHER WAS COLD AND WET SO IT WAS MORE OF A DASH FROM CASINO BAR TO CASINO BAR, AND THE FREAKS STAYED HOME.

AFTER A COUPLE OF DAYS AT THE RIVERSIDE IN LAUGHLIN WE RETURNED TO LAS VEGAS TO WATCH THE PACKER GAME AT THE CALIFORNIA CASINO DOWNTOWN. IT’S A BRAND NEW SPORTSBOOK AND WE SCORED THE BIG LEATHER COUCH RIGHT IN THE FRONT ROW OF A WALL OF FLAT SCEEN TV’S.

BESIDES PERFECT SEATS THEY HAD BUCKETS OF BEER FOR $15 AND HOT DOGS FOR $1.50, AND WHAT A GAME !!!

AFTER THE GAME IT WAS BACK TO FREMONT STREET.  THE FREAKS WERE OUT TONIGHT!

ELVIS WAS SINGING ON THE THE THIRD STREET STAGE, AT LEAST IT LOOKED LIKE ELVIS AND SOUNDED LIKE ELVIS.

  “SUNNY & 64”

AMARYLLIS

THE HUNTERS

THE HUNTERS ARE OUR GOOD FRIENDS FROM SHOW LOW, AND WE MET UP WITH THEM LAST MONDAY IN LAKE HAVASU TO CELEBRATE JOE AND ROSEMARY’S 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY. HUNTER DID THREE TRI-TIPS ON THE GRILL AND WE HAD A FEAST.

TUESDAY THEY MOVED THEIR WINNEBAGO VIEW UP THE RIVER FROM HAVASU TO CROSSROADS RV PARK, RIGHT ACROSS THE STREET FROM US. WEDNESDAY WE TOOK A ROADTRIP TO RED ROCK CANYON JUST NORTH OF LAS VEGAS, AND THURSDAY IT WAS A ROAD TRIP TO KINGMAN AND AN ALPACA RANCH.

IT’S BEEN A WONDERFUL WEEK OF COCKTAILS AND FOOD ON THE PORCH, AND IT MAKES MARY AND I BOTH READY TO RETURN TO THE CABIN AND “THE MOUNTAIN”, EXCEPT FOR THE FREEZING TEMPERATURES AND THE SNOW OF COURSE.