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I will be seventy this year (damn that’s old). In all that time I had never seen a lunar eclipse before. On this night I got to see a very special one called a “Super Blood Wolf Moon” (who thinks these names up?)
I’m also glad that I had a decent camera to record the event. So, here are my photos from the eclipse. All of my photos were taken while in Tucson, Arizona.
The start of the eclipse was about 8:30 pm local Color starting to showNearly at full eclipseEclipse receding
The black rectangle is where the vent on the new unit will mate up with the wall vent
For those of you that have followed us from the beginning you know that we have had many electrical problems aboard our 2005 Newmar Northern Star.
It all started with the meltdown of our EMS (Electrical Management System) and of our transfer switch (the latter was recalled but the previous owner never followed up). Various electrical anomalies have occurred ever since. The latest one to crop up? it was our 15 year old convection/microwave. It finally bit the dust.
For nearly a year and a half we’ve worried that it would catch fire while using it. It always had a “burnt” plastic smell. I guess that isn’t an issue anymore. The Best Buy Model number is listed below on the photo of our new unit.
Whirlpool 1.9 Cu-ft Convection/Microwave Model – WMH78019HZ
With the exception of some minor compromises in how the wall bracket support is mounted the new unit mated up really nicely. I did have to pull the outside vent cover to insure that the new exhaust and the old vent ductwork mated up. I only had to de-grease the old ductwork and install some metal tape to seal up some gaps that I was unhappy with.
The New unit installed
I am happy to say that after a few days of use we are very pleased with how well this thing works. It does cook hotter than our old unit, and we are still learning how to adjust cook times and temperatures but this is an excellent upgrade.
The Sweetwater Wetlands has an abundance of bird species, it is an oasis in the city. When you first enter the area you are greeted by a gravel trail that takes you around the area. It slowly reveals a marsh with some open water and lots of cover for wildlife.
These water conservation efforts have lead to a bird watching bonanza (Read more about Tucson’s water reclamation efforts by clicking the above photo)
Sweetwater Wetlands is a birders paradise. Many species of birds frequent the wetlands as they migrate through the area.
American CootAmerican CootMalard DuckSweetwater Wetlands Recharge Pond – There are many of these in the area. (Click the above photo to learn more about them.)
House Wren
Marsh Wren
If you find yourself wanting something to do and would like a nice walk while doing it, go to Sweetwater Wetlands and bring your camera.
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Exploring – Gates Pass and Saguaro National Park West
We took a drive to Saguaro National Park West via Gates Pass (near Tucson) to complete our tour of the Saguaro’s. If you have never been in a Saguaro forest before, I suggest that you make it part of your visit to Tucson. These cactus are tall and intriguing. They are worth the visit.
Gates Pass road was first built by a business owner to give more access to his business (click the above photo to read about it) At the apex of the pass you get a great view of the valley below. This area’s geology was heavily influenced by a violent volcanic eruption. The terrain here is very rugged. The scenic turnout at the top of Gates Pass is also a trail head for the David Yetman West Trail and the Gates Pass Trail She made me squint into the sun for this oneI find it amazing that the desert supports so much wildlife. The Sonoran desert and Saguaro National Park boast many animal species.
Sentinels of the Sonoran Desert. If you want to learn more? (click the on the photo above)Walking the only Nature Path in Saguaro WestMedusas Head or Ocotillo? If you know, leave the information in the comment box.Palo Verde, Ironwood or mesquite trees serve as nurse trees for young saguaro cacti. As the Saguaro grows and becomes more acclimated to the desert sun, the older tree may die, leaving the saguaro alone.I wonder how long that rock as been balanced?
Martha and I decided to do an ATV Tour out of Sonoita, Arizona. We opted to take a cross country 4 hour tour which took us through the vast Empire Ranch. It was a lot a lot of fun. Our tour guides were Apache ATV Tours and their website can be found here: http://www.apacheatvtours.com/
The Empire Ranch is located on East Empire Ranch Road, three miles east of the intersection with State Highway 83 (between mile markers 39 and 40). It is 36 miles southeast of Tucson and 31 miles north of the Mexican border. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975, the nomination included only the main building of original ranch headquarters which was 160 acres in Pima County Arizona.
The Empire Ranch House and facilities circa 1900 (Source Wikipedia)
The Empire Ranch represents one of the most successful, long-lived, cattle ranching enterprises in the Southwest and has been in operation for over 140 years. The ranch is located in the ecologically rich Cienega Valley in Southeast Arizona, Ranch owners made full use of and, husbanded well, all of its natural resources – grass, water and soils – in support of their livestock business.
The landscape retains a remarkable degree of integrity both of its natural resources and its built structures and features. Those ecological and historic values were recently recognized by Congress when the landscape was designated as the Las Cienegas National Conservation Area in 2000. Now administered by the Bureau of Land Management, the Empire Ranch landscape still functions as a working cattle ranch and its headquarters are being stabilized and preserved. (source Wikipedia)
Vaquero’s mounted and ready work on the Empire Ranch (source Wikipedia)
The Empire Ranch was originally established in the 1860’s as a homestead ranch of 160 acres with a flat topped four-room adobe ranch house and adjoining adobe-walled corral. In 1876 the ranch was owned by Edward Nye Fish, a Tucson businessman, when it was acquired for $2,000 by Walter L. Vail, a native of Liverpool, Nova Scotia, and Plainfield, New Jersey, and Herbert Hislop, an Englishman. John Harvey, an Englishman from Bermuda, joined the partnership a few months later.
Circa 1890’s
The economic and financial success of the Empire Ranch was dependent upon the ingenuity and determination of two ranching families – Walter L Vail and relatives and, later, Frank Boice and his descendants. Walter Vail expanded the original homestead through a series of strategic acquisitions of land parcels and water rights and effectively secured control of several hundred thousand acres to support over 40,000 head of cattle. Possession and control of these valuable lands and water sources allowed the Vail family to protect the ecological integrity of their most important natural resources – soil and grass – when other ranchers regularly overused and ultimately damaged theirs. Like other entrepreneurs of the time, they invested in other resources and land uses. The discovery of silver at the Total Wreck Mine provided additional financial support for the Vails’ cattle empire.
This lead to the growth of the ranch to an eventually the ranch grew to 115,200 acres, or 180 Sections which made the ranch 180 sq. miles. Today it still remains large by any standard at 46,000 acres owned and operated by the BLM. It is open to recreational activities of all kinds.
Ready to depart on the tourScenery that just won’t dissapoint
Ranch resides amidst rolling grasslands at the transition between the Sonoran and Chihuahuan deserts. The Valley is surrounded by the Santa Rita, Huachuca, Whetstone, Mustang and Empire Mountains. The Santa Rita’s are in the background.
That ain’t a cow!Lunch break under giant, old cottonwoodsMore, “not cows”
