Ms. Pac Man & Blinky

We and three other CV geocachers went back to the desert on Tuesday to complete our geocaching project of Ms. Pac-Man & Blinky. The temps are 15 degrees above normal, meaning unseasonably warm (hot). That also means the snakes are out. Time to get done with what we want to do in the desert as it will only get warmer and the snakes become more active.

Tuesday's project: Ms. Pac Man

leaving before sunrise

our playground

we were in their pastures

lots of saguaros

the only casualty of the day

yup...our jeep

extra man power needed to loosen the lug nuts

setting sun as we left the desert and headed home

Tuesday's accomplishment

That is the short version. For more info, continue reading. 

We left the resort at 6:30 A.M. The plan was to get the rest of the caches in one day. The location of the geo-art is about 40 miles south on a highway and then about 10-15 miles on a dirt, hilly, rutted road that takes almost as long to travel as the previous 40 miles. There was a light breeze which helped make the 89º more bearable. 

We saw hawks, jackrabbits, geckos, and gophers. No snakes. And lots of cows. We were caching on BLM land, which is rented by ranchers. We heard coyotes when we first arrived, but did not see any.

I have been taking a 'Landscape Photography' class on Saturday afternoons. There are about 30 seniors in the class, so we are not getting any one-on-one attention. Last week I am learned more about some of the settings on the digital camera; settings I have rarely or never used. During our lunch break I practiced the 'scene' setting on my Nikon. I have been taking landscape photos all wrong, using the zoom to bring the farthest objects closer. I also learned about foreground and depth of field to get the viewer to feel like they are also in that particular spot with me. I used framing, an S curve, and positioning in the desert photos. I am also very guilty of positioning the subject in the center of my photo. I did not do that with the cows. Now...if I just remember all the tips when I use the camera the next time...

As for the flat tire...We were on our way out on the desert area with 5 miles of the dirt road left before we reached the highway. Hubby wanted just one more cache, so I pulled the jeep off the road onto the  side to allow the other vehicle to pass. Sure enough. I must have run over a piece of mesquite branch just right for it to puncture the tire. I could hear a constant hiss and wondered what on earth caused the sound. It didn't take long to recognize a leaky tire. It was completely flat within two minutes. Thankfully, Rick was willing to help Hubby change the tire. His weight was needed to loosen two of the lug nuts on the flat. Even with the help, it took about 30 minutes before Lil' Red was ready to continue the homeward journey. The sun was just setting as we pulled back onto the highway. The five of us enjoyed dinner at the Greek Restaurant in Florence. We got home about 8:30. A long day, but not an exhausting one.