Two more Tuesday Hikes

Surrounded by the Town of Gilbert, the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch is Gilbert's 110 acre waste-water management facility. There are 4.5 miles of walking trails winding through the Water Ranch Lake and 7 accompanying ponds.  

There are apparently over 300 different bird species and various other wildlife that inhabit the preserve.

The Butcher Jones Trail is not new to us. We've hiked this one several times in the last three years.

Storms and Sunsets

These barbed shoots were trimmed from the orange tree.

Kokopelli wall hanging.

This black and white image is actually a color photograph.

Hiking Treasure Loop at Lost Dutchman State Park

Another Tuesday, another desert hike.

We hiked The Treasure Loop trail (#56 shown on the map above)

14C and the trail is still damp from the overnight rain. Luckily the trail was not muddy. 

Perfect conditions for the 2.4 mile/ ~500 ft elevation rise from the parking lot.

The "Green Boulder" (left) and "Praying Hands" (center)

Here we are at the Green Boulder bench at 2580' elevation. Directly above us is a rock outcropping called the Flatiron at 4861' elevation. The peak is a popular jumping off point for BASE jumping. 

We saw 3 daredevils take a flying leap while we were hiking.

Some of the local wildlife.

After the hike we met at Filly's Roadhouse for lunch. The place rocks with live bands on the weekends but was quiet while we dined.

Hiking San Tan Regional Park

Jim and Sandy, Jeanie and Penny, Yvonne and I tackle the San Tan Mountain Regional Park.

Weather conditions were ideal for hiking. 15C, sunny with no wind. Too cool for snakes.

After walking 4-1/4 miles we all needed to sit.

From the park entrance we hiked the trail that circles San Tan Mountain.

It was Jeanie's birthday so we dropped into the Ellsworth Brewery for celebratory drinks and food.

Thanks Sandy, Jeanie and Penny for the photos and videos.

Usery Mountain Hike, Merkle Trail.

Keeping with our Tuesday tradition, today we hiked the Merkle Trail at Usery Mountain.

Tortie the Tortoise

Did you ever think that your petshop turtle could grow into a full-sized tortoise? Well, it can happen if you live the life of "Tortie the Tortoise" in Chandler Az.

Tortie was only 2" long when it was the grand children's pet 8 years ago.

You can stroke his shell and carefully give him little rubs under his head but be mindful that he doesn't mistake your fingers for food.

Tortie gets porridge almost every morning but today Lil is treating him with an apple slice while his owner and Daisy watch.

Rustic coffee table fabricated over the summer.

Our friend Jerry lived at Lac La Nonne for years.  When he decided to pack up and move to Kelowna BC to be closer to family,  we thought a replica of the lake was a fitting tribute to jog his memory of his time living near us. 

The project started by laminating pieces of oak veneer plywood, particle board and 3/4" spruce plywood for backing and strength. The shoreline of the lake was outlined and routed out of the surface layer of oak veneer plywood.

Perimeter framing pieces made from rough-sawn spruce were shaped and sanded smooth.

Framing pieces were shaped, cut to length and glued & screwed in place. Prior to filling the 1/4" deep lake with epoxy, all surfaces were coated with a clear poly-urethane semi-gloss finish. 

Diamond Willow legs and rungs were selected from the woodshed inventory.

Legs and rungs were cut to length and the mortise and tenon joints were made.

The legs were attached to the table top and leveled. The dowel holes were filled, trimmed and sanded  and everything was given another coat of clear finish.

The "lake" was filled with tinted epoxy and allowed to cure for a couple days.

Finally, it was delivered to Kelowna and presented to Jerry by Stan and Susan. He can now simply point to where his house was located and to where his favorite fishing spots were as he spins tales of those giant walleyes that got away.