What a Find!

Last season while in AZ, Hubby removed the winter survival kit from the van and placed it in a cupboard to be dealt with at another time. Today was another time. I was cleaning cupboards in preparation of leaving our winter casa and heading back to South Dakota.

The Odyssey Winter Survival Kit was our fund raiser for the Odyssey of the Mind program back in the early '90s. I think we sold them one for $7, two for $10, or something close to that. I know the parents, students and I make hundreds of them in anticipation of needing funds to travel to the World Finals competition. I had one in every vehicle we drove and made certain each of our kids had one in their vehicles when traveling to college.

What a Find!!! 2-ply TP

snacks & drinks, emergency blanket, enamel cup for melting snow,

materials to make a little stove, large garbage bags, and TP

The candles had melted, one around the handle of the enamel cup which I removed. We'll wash the cup and put in in the Edge 'cause you never know... I put the matches, fuel tablets, and wing stove in the car, just in case...

information about what should be carried in your vehicle

in winter in our part of the country

and the directions for using the wing stove

I never heard if the kit helped a stranded motorist or saved someone, but I do know we sold all the kits we assembled, making several thousand dollars. I think the concept came about when a sudden snowstorm became a blizzard and a number of motorists in our part of the state were stranded over night until rescue personnel could reach them. If nothing else, the winter survival kit reminded people what they should have in their vehicles in the winter, and gave me, as a parent some peace of mind when the kids were on the road. And as coordinator of the OM program, it was a useful product for the purpose of raising funds for our school's winning teams. Ahhhh. Memories. And TP!

Love Letters~3

We were hoping Saturday would be our last trip to the Dromedary Peak area to complete the Love Letters geo-art. The temperatures were to be perfect, in the low 60ºs, sunshine and a light breeze. Our final trip for this season did not disappoint in unique flora or fauna, especially because I took the good camera along for the final trek.

Red Tailed Hawk and her/his nest

another photo

and one more

it finally flew away, but kept an eye on us and the truck

a different bird scouting the area

my other score of the day...a crown blooming 

pin cushion cactus

a fairy duster plant

the brownish, maroon-ish grass is even pretty

a lizard just above and to the left of ©

it really blends well with the desert floor

holey prickly pear

partial carcass of a jack rabbit

a perfect find to end the Love Letter geo-art

the 3 trips were 12 miles of walking according to Hubby's GPS calculations

because the roads were NOT next to the geocaches

but that's okay because we/I got to see some amazing things on the 3 trips

which I would not have seen had we completed the geo-art in 1 day

**Thank You JFOW for an amazing end to this geocaching season**

Love Letters~2

Thursday was our second trip to the desert area around Dromedary Peak to work on the Love Letters geo-art. Again, the photos of the desert flora and fauna are from my phone, so not necessarily a quality of which I am very proud.

our landmark

we followed some of the cows

this looked like a very fresh bite

the prize sighting of the day

a Great Horned Owl in her nest

see her peaking around the arm?

we didn't dare get too close and scare her off

another saguaro with a nest

but I think it was empty

from a distance this plant looked like a dandelion

but when I got closer, it really is a wild flower

narrow, long leaves

white, silvery petals

this saguaro scar looked like a grumpy face

sort-of-like mine after 3 hours of walking in the desert heat

Thursday's accomplishment

Love Letters~1

Recently a new set of geocaches were released in the desert about 15 miles east of us. We didn't think we'd be attempting the Love Letters because we had other geocaches we wanted to complete.  And with going home the end of the month, well...they could wait until next season. But with nothing else to do because of covid-19, and our decision to stay in AZ until the end of March, geocaching in the desert seemed like a very good option to just sitting around. Outside + Vitamin D + Social distancing = Geocaching.

Here are some of my phone photos from our first trip (Tuesday) to work on the Love Letters.

the green desert

Dromedary Peak

our landmark and focal point for the Love Letters

dainty blue flowers on the desert floor

I tried a close-up, but it is not worthy of sharing

I'll see more of them and try again

some of the hedgehog cacti are blooming

often the first blooming cactus in the wild

 globe mallow

soon-to-flower stag horn cactus

steers are pasturing on this state trust land

eating the abundant grass and reducing

the summer fire danger

they cane to the mud hole near where we parked

they are checking on me

as you can see, I kept the truck between us

another stag horn soon-to-flower

darker colored hedge hog flowers

And finally, our wildlife sighting of the day...a rattlesnake...

I noticed it slithering along the road as were headed back to the highway. I yelled, "Rattlesnake!" and the truck came to an immediate stop. The snake was in no way interested in the 3 of us. (If you enlarge the photo, click on it, you can see the snake's path. It crawled under the truck before Terry stopped, turned around and slithered into the grass near the tree.)

Hubby is wearing his snake guards, leather cameod chaps. Terry would not have been very protected had we met this guy coiled and rattling in the desert growth. Luckily, we did not. This was a very good place to see a rattlesnake. Notice how far away I am from the slithering reptile. That's only because I already had my photos!!!

Love Letters at the end of Tuesday

Fountain Hills Art Work

Hubby and I and neighbors Terry & Jane took a little road trip on Sunday to Fountain Hills. We each took our own vehicles, but we did geocache together, practicing social distancing recommendations. It was a perfect day to be enjoying the outdoors. I had not realized the community had so many interesting art works.

The first place we visited was Avenue of the Fountains. I think this street usually has lots of traffic and people, every day of the week. Not so on Sunday! The few folks out and about were out for a Sunday stroll or walking their dog. We could park anywhere!

available street parking

pedestrian traffic

We felt people were taking the coronavirus suggestions of staying home very seriously. We could count on one hand the number of businesses open for customers.

my favorite

this caught my eye...

outside a cat shelter

I know, hard to read, but funny and so true!

another favorite

a metal tree towering above the buildings

so much detail on this metal art work

We also spent some time along Fountain Lake. That is where we saw the people. Some families were having picnics and games on the lawn. Some were just laying on the grass, soaking up the Vitamin D. A few were reading. This is also where we stopped to eat. The pizza establishment had a patio facing the lake. A staff person met us at the door, handed a menu to us, took our order, and brought it back to the door when it was ready. No patrons allowed inside other than to pay. We enjoyed watching the activity along the lake while we enjoyed our linner (lunch and early dinner).

this guy was painting

one more fun metal art work