Today’s the first leg of our excursion to Page, AZ to witness the May 20, 2012 annular eclipse of the Sun. We had a good trip that took us from our Wickenburg home, through the Saguaro forests along AZ SR 74 to I-17, thence north to Flagstaff, where we set up camp for the night among the tall conifer trees. Tomorrow, we head towards the ultimate destination with a few scenic stops along the way. Click on the image to enlarge.
This is the smoke billowing up from the Crown King, or Gladiator wildfire. The fire is about thirty miles northeast of Wickenburg. We drove up the hill north of our road where I took this photo. We figure that there is no imminent danger to us from that fire. Click on the image to enlarge.
Saguaros are in bloom all over town. These are not far from the post office where one saguaro has arms low enough that I can get my camera close. The bees love these flowers and are always nearby when saguaros are in bloom. Click on the image to enlarge.
When we go to the dog park all the dogs love it. But, it is dusty hot work. This is how Bay Bay cools off. It may be the bigger dogs water bowl but its his spa. Click on the image to enlarge.
The three of us love the Mama so we got the Daddy to go and get something shiny for her. She likes shiny stuff.
The Daddy says this is a handmade turquoise and coral necklace and earring set. A man here in town makes these and sells them in the old part of downtown.
The Mama was surprised and liked the present. She got a card that the Daddy signed for Bear, Bay Bay and Cabela.
Click on the picture to make it big.
. . . get out of the kitchen. Now that the outside temperatures are regularly above 90° and frequently above 100° (see inset in photo), I moved the baking chores to the patio. Meet my new best friend, the TOAST-R-OVEN.
We prepared our meal this afternoon mostly outside; I baked three potatoes in this oven and Bob grilled steaks on the outdoor portable grill. No heat in the kitchen!
I’m still rehearsing for the eclipse next week. Yesterday, very large sunspot 1476 was strutting its stuff across the solar plasma (still is today, I believe). I stepped out to the courtyard and captured this solar disk image using the techniques for previous solar imaging. If you look closely, you can see sunspot group 1477 above and to the left - look for a pair of slightly dark spots at about latitude 45. Click on the image for full resolution.
