 Lightning struck this mesquite tree at a friend's house so took a few hours the day before our drive to cut out the dead limbs. Next day....  ....took a pic of our thriving garden, jumped in the SUV and....  ....began our drive, passing Picacho Peak......  ...drove briefly through a rather desolate area of Utah....  ....passed through spectacular scenery in Utah....  ...ascended a mountain and passed through it.....  ....arrived in Salt Lake City after a long day of driving!  Monday now and we had a short day of driving, spending the night in Butte before....  ....continuing on to Lakeside for lunch and then arrived in Whitefish! Much more to come.
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 Having looked at the profile of the "Going to the Sun Road" climb in Glacier.....gulp it appears rather challenging and I've not done anything similar in awhile. So, I drove 14 miles up to Windy Point to begin the 11 mile climb to Summerhaven.  Whoa, what is going on here? A commercial for Kraft Mayonnaise is being created. There were 18 vehicles and two sheriff SUVs to do a one day shoot. I'll be sure to look for the finished commercial.  And then, all this before I begin my ride, this guy has a telescope set up so anyone can view the sun. Pretty cool as I could see flares exiting the sun's surface. OK, then I got on the bike and....  ....began the climb, passing this iconic formation.  Nice view looking down the mountain. What a treasure to have this mountain, only 5 miles from our home.  I fared better than I expected, reaching a point just above Summerhaven and looking to the northwest.  Some new businesses have opened in Summerhaven, much needed but I have no idea what this is but I like the exterior.  I gulped down a diet Mountain Dew and then headed back. I finished with 22 miles and 2600' of climbing. We begin our drive to MT on Sunday and I hope to get in one more ride before we go.
 Yikes! Walked outside into the portico and as I always do, check the corners and look at that! I fetched Amy, she called a neighbor who had a snake stick thingy and.....  ....I grabbed the snake, placed it in a bucket, it promptly got out, I grabbed it again and we walked it about a 1/4 mile into a wild area and released it. This after a visit by another in late June. We're getting a larger bucket, a 5 gallon with a lid so we can transport a snake farther away. I have a sneaking suspicion this is the same snake I removed in June.
 More late afternoon rain arrives! More good news, high temps are forecast to fall below 100 next week, about the time we arrive in Montana.  Another early ride with beautiful scenery.  Our neighbors are summering in the east so unable to do anything about this mesquite tree that is hanging so low people have to walk in the street to avoid. You know me and trees so after receiving permission to address....  ....a few early morning hours with a saw and clippers and it was all good.  I backed up my start time to 5:45am for my most recent ride. Not a lot of traffic, cars or bikes at this hour. The temp was 76 so very comfortable and I....  ....got in 33 miles. One ride we want to do in MT is called, "Going to the Sun" in Glacier NP. Should be spectacular but I looked at the route profile and the climb is quite difficult.
 Dang, what a beast of a summer.  I get Jack out in the afternoons to simultaneously water some plants and give Jack some fun.  The dew point and humidity are at a level that should produce near daily afternoon storms but nothing!  I drove a few miles up Mount Lemmon for cooler temperature and to take Jack.....  ...for a walk.  I'm on my bike by 6:30am at the latest to get in 25-30 mile rides but then, at last....  ....the storms arrived. Yeehaw! The temperature dropped 30 degrees in the span of a few minutes and carried over to the morning where is was a pleasant 73 degrees...to start.  Went to Safeway and while grabbing a cart, saw a tarantula.
 Just outside our wall, a saguaro arm has fallen. If that lands on someone, you'd be lucky to survive! Although, I've replaced the landscapers on our property, the arm lays on community property and the HOA will take care of it through their landscaper. It would take a chainsaw to cut that into manageable pieces.  Our unusually hot July continues. Despite the relatively high humidity, there's been scant rain. I'm grateful for the cloud cover as I head out at freaking 6am to get in 25 miles. I've been thinking about something I have long said and in the middle of this hot spell I can confirm, a summer here is far more livable than a winter in Ohio. I'm researching cycling and hiking in and around Whitefish, MT and will be prepared when we head there in two weeks with....  ....Jack the Dog. Yes, he needs a trim and is getting one next week. The before and after images of him are impressive. We have a string of bells around our door knobs leading to the outside so he can nuzzle them when he wants out. He's not been doing that lately as the heat is uninviting for him too.  Sunset as I take Jack for a walk. Amy is away for a week with her sister and two friends so it's kinda lonely around here.  Saturday arrives and I join a group of 9 for a ride up Madera Canyon. It's 13 miles of climbing which becomes steeper, the farther we go with some 16%+ ramps in the last 2 miles. I've not done a climb even remotely close to this and....  ...with 2 miles to go, drenched with sweat, hot, I spit the bit and turn around. Finished with 25 miles while.....  ...passing massive pecan orchards on my way back into Green Valley, AZ.
 Grandson Ben, daughter Olivia, son Brett and I hit the putt-putt course. Brett beat me and wanted to keep the scorecard.  I visited my mom's condo and consolidated stuff into trash bags and this was the first installment. Fortunately, all was picked up. I selected a realtor and an estate sales entity to handle asset sales. Once I completed all the activities that required me to be in Ohio....  ...back to southern AZ! Above, my flight took me over Four Peaks Wilderness and in the distance, the Superstitions. The Flat Iron on the right than two peaks to the left, Superstition Peak.  Arriving late Sunday, I got a bunch of stuff done on Monday and then on the bike for a 25 mile ride on Tuesday. I really want to be in shape for the Montana trip so will ramp up miles in the next couple of weeks. At least what can be managed in this heat and now a rising humidity.
 After five days in Pinetop, which was a bit of an epiphany for us (by that I mean, our trips to seek cooler temps in WY, SD, MT, CO during summers past have largely not escaped the heat. Here, only 4 hours from home, it was wonderful. Still visiting Whitefish, MT in a few weeks but Pinetop seems an attractive alternative.) we headed home. Driving through Salt Canyon we witnessed an evacuation of a motorcyclist. Then.....  ...my mother, born July 1, 1920, passed away on July 1, 2023, 103 years old. She died peacefully in her sleep and led an admirable life. I returned to Ohio for the service and all that follows. I had a couple of free hours so visited my woods. No time to cut dead trees but did burn some brush and again, admire that which I planted, many years ago.  I had to go to Zanesville, my hometown and realized I was close to where I played baseball. Would the fields still exist...why yes! OK, not in as good a condition as when I played but nonetheless, there they were. I played in a league that allowed a broad range of ages so my first year, the pitchers were all the older players and I spent a season without a hit. But, I do remember making an unassisted double play as shortstop!  Yeah, that's got to be the same bench on which I sat, many years ago.  My son, daughter and I drove to/from my mother's condo, going through boxes, drawers and closets. One afternoon it began to rain and I realized it's been awhile since I saw significant rain. Oh, the humidity...yuck! Of course the visit also....  ....provided time to visit the three grandsons. Anthony, above, broke my reading glasses and then used them as a prop. It's Saturday now, my last full day in Ohio and then back to southern AZ!
 Ours is such a landscape diverse state. The above image could have been taken in the mountains of NC but nope, we're in the White Mountains heading to Big Lake. The elevation of Pinetop is 7000', Big Lake is 9000' which sits at the base of Mount Baldy having a peak at 11,400'.  We pass lush, green fields and thick forest.  The drive is less than an hour and ski runs can be seen as we near Big Lake.  We arrive at a surprisingly uncrowded parking lot, grab a few things and head to the shore. Baldy in the distance with some snow still present.  We were tossing a toy into the shallows for Jack to chase but then I threw it a little too far. Jack had not yet gained confidence in swimming and no amount of encouragement caused him to try. The toy floated out to sea but wait! A boater came by, snagged the top and threw it back. Unfortunately.....  ....not all the way back to shore so I had to wade in, on very slippery rocks and grab it.  With more practice, Jack gained confidence and eventually did begin swimming. The water was very cold, we noticed he was shivering so took steps to alleviate the condition.  We packed and drove to Greer for a first time visit. Enjoyed lunch at this cool little restaurant. Above, I am having to drag Jack to the vehicle. He really hates our drives, lol.
 OK, so our arrival did not time with the best weather, lol. The temps are ideal, sunny but for gosh sakes, so, so windy. Gusts above 30mph, consistent winds at 20.  I stopped to regroup with Amy and this distance was reported on my Garmin. I hoped this was not a bad omen.  We selected a loop route which happened to be mostly down wind but as we turned south, good heavens! There was a 5 mile stretch of cross wind followed by....  ....the final 7 miles straight into the head wind and a return to Show Low. We were beat at the end and took the next day to check out another route.  The new route was an out and back to Whiteriver, inside the Apache Reservation. Down hill all the way and uphill all the way back with 2000'+ of elevation gain. That evening....  ....I ordered a Bloody Mary, not my usual choice but check out the create presentation. Then we began talking to a guy at the bar, where we were seated.  Nice guy who owns a saw mill. Back in 1994, he was asked to cut and transport many spruce trees which were used in the movie, "Stargate". How about that. He was also used as an extra in the movie so that evening, we rewatched the movie and saw some of the wood he had transported.
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