Wordless Wednesdays

Happy Mother's Day

Dad & I went kayaking on Willow Lake today. Yeah, I know it's MOTHER'S day and I went out with my Dad...

The lake was beautiful. We saw a flock of pelicans (yes, PELICANS in PRESCOTT) and then a bald eagle. Who knew that Prescott had such great wildlife!

Kayaking & Geocaching

Today is the first Saturday of Tax Season. We're only open from 9 - 2 this year (9-4 the two years prior) so I decided to celebrate EVERY nice Saturday by going out with Smaug. It was cool and breezy so I put on my rain gear pants.

This is me (notice the red kayak tip and my sneaker) in a little cove having a snack and sunning myself.


I love taking my camera. This isn't a great photo (notice the weed) but it's so much fun to snap pics from the water.

As I was getting on to thinking about heading home (getting cooler, breezy, and late-ish) I heard a couple of people yelling across the lake. I paused, letting their voices reach me when I heard the UNMISTAKABLE sounds of a geocache being uncovered.

I paddled over and found a really nice couple in an inflatable kayak who had just convered a Muggle. (In this case, a non-geocacher.) The couple (never got their names) were kind enough for me to share their cache.

Later, I logged it into geocaching.com. It's cache "GC10WGJ Strika62-2".


This is what the site says about it:

The cache is a small tupperware container located at the base of a small tree under cover.
This cache is intended to be accessed by human powered vehicles (hint: you'll ruin a prop on the approach...)

Additional Hints

Yup, it's an island...


How fun is this! Kayaking and Geocaching all in one day. And, like a good 'cacher, I scooped some trash from Watson Lake on my way back to the boat ramp.

Sun, Water & Smaug

So, I've been over-the-top emotional the past week. And no, it's NOT a girl thing! I've been just down and upset and easy to anger.

Today, after helping Dad & Mom outside at THEIR house (grumpy for a while then happy happy) I started to think about something: How long had it been since I'd been in the sun for any length of time?

Yeah, that would be a month. Since our October camping vacation.

NOT GOOD for an Arizona girl!

So, since I have Smaug stowed on my back porch. I grabbed some leftover broccoli soup, a BIG glass of ice water, Lily, and some tests to grade, and spent an hour in the sun. I feel a lot better. I don't know how much grading I really got done (it's hard to grade in full sunlight -- it's glarey) but I am feeling a TON better.

Note to self: More sun. More water.






What on EARTH was I thinking!

Kayaking Blue Ridge Reservoir

Retroactive posting (posting after the fact as if it happened today.)

We've been wanting to go kayaking on Blue Ridge Reservoir since we got the kayaks. Well, Dad & Alvin wanted to. I'm still scared of the place.


Okay, I went. It WAS scary. The water, the canyon, they're just OLD. The feelings there are deep and strong and silent. It's the kind of water that could swallow you whole and nobody would ever know. I stayed in the sun.


We figured that we kayaked about 6 miles round-trip. We were gone the better part of the day yesterday, after cleaning crayfish and before eating trout. The way back was against the wind. Hard against it.

We fished, trolling, but didn't even get a bite. Nobody who was fishing did. There were several kayaking and boating groups. No shore fishing since there is no shore! I think it was worth it. We stayed far far away from the dam.


Here's what EatStayPlay.com has to say about Blue Ridge Reservoir:

Courtesy of EatStayPlay.com Blue Ridge Reservoir looks more like a canyon-bound river than a lake. Nestled between forested canyon walls it provides picturesque water recreation in a secluded, wooded setting. It is an excellent place to boat fish when high winds make other area lakes too rough for access.Fishing is a popular activity here, rainbow trout are stocked by the Arizona Game and Fish Department during summer months. Because of the steep terrain, there is no shore fishing at Blue Ridge Reservoir.Blue Ridge Reservoir is also a popular spot to kayak or canoe. Facilities: Blue Ridge Reservoir provides toilets and a parking area.Rock Crossing Campground is 4 miles from Blue Ridge Reservoir on Forest Road 751. It provides 35 single unit campsites with tables, fire rings, and cooking grills. Blue Ridge Campground is also in the area. It provides drinking water and toilets (self-composting). Reservations: Reservations are not needed or accepted to use Blue Ridge Reservoir. Best Time To Visit: Blue Ridge Reservoir is not accessible in the winter. The lake is only open during the summer months. Fees: No fees are charged. Accessibility: This lake is not handicap accessible. Rules: Boat motors are limited to a maximum of 8 horsepower. No parking on boat ramp or other posted no parking areas. In many areas, the road is limited to one-way access and there is no room to go around parked cars. Directions: To reach Blue Ridge Reservoir from Flagstaff, Drive 55 miles south of Flagstaff to Clints Well on Forest Highway 3 (Lake Mary Road). Turn northeast (left) about 4 miles on AZ Highway 87 to Forest Road 751 then southeast about 6 more miles to the reservoir. All roads are paved except Forest Road 751 which is graveled and suitable for passenger cars in most weather. Forest Road 751 is closed and the reservoir is not accessible in winter.

Sunday Kayaking

This is the "skull cow" because it looks like it's wearing a mask of it's own skull. Creepy, huh? It was the perfect middle to a perfect day!


Well, the GOAL was to go Kayaking at White Horse Lake near Williams on Sunday. We got up early to get the boats onto the truck in the new carriers and...

We worked
and worked
AND WORKED!

The carriers were just not designed for ROUND bars so two trips to the hardware store and 12:00 noon later, we were FINALLY on our way.

The goal of the trip was two fold:
Go kayaking and
Find Elk (For Dad's fall hunt)

We were at the lake, ON the lake, about fifteen minutes when the storm rolled in, the lightning and thunder started and the RAIN. Oh yeah, we spent over an hour in the truck. Waiting.

The lake was SOOO full that the tube where you put your old fishing line was nearly under water.

But, when I was out on the boat for my fifteen minutes (of fame?) I scooted over to a HUGE bobber floating. I wanted to get it out of the lake (litter!) and give to to Alvin. When I pulled it up, a FISH was attached to it! Dead, of course, but what a surprise. I kept the bobber and gave the fish away.

So, after NOT kayaking, we went for a drive and I was able to do some Feet In The Forest. We stopped by a trail head and took some pics:

Then, we found a stray dog in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE and took him to the police station in Williams. He'll be okay, no doubt.

Dinner at Denny's and then home to start the week. What a day!

Kayak Princess

New designs on CafePress.com! These are two of my favorites. I added about 6 or 8 this afternoon while I was waiting to backup EatStayPlay.com.

"Fishing Princess" the original is a really popular design so I'm trying to capitalize on that by offering a different style crown and a different color.
And, since I JUST took up kayaking, here's a Kayak Princess design!

In other news, I've finally settled on a programmer that will help me bring EatStayPlay.com back to being a 100% free and open website. I'm running backups, checking specs, and hoping for the best. The real goal is to open it up and drive traffic up Up UP!

Then, back door into sales of ads, tees, and eGuides. Wish us luck!