The pumpkin cheesecake diaries: 2-23-2020

You can hardly tell we had as much rain as we did yesterday. The ground soaks it up like a thirsty sponge. There is no mud to speak of...not like up north. It would take a week or two for it to dry out if it rained this hard in Weiser.

I tinkered around close to camp most of the morning. The fender light I'd ordered to replace the one that got wrecked came in on the UPS truck a few days ago. Installation was fairly simple. A little electrical tape and a dab of calking...good as new.

Patty and I rode after she got back from church. The rain really brought out the colors of the desert. Orange poppies, purple lupine and a plethora of tiny wild flowers spring forth from a sea of green grass brought on by the rain. It won't be long and the desert will be an ocean of blooming colors. I wish I was going to be here to see it.

We rode to the power-line and turned East toward Eagle Eye Road. I'd ridden to the fence line when I first arrived. I turned around then, not knowing if it was private land on the other side. We have since found out that it is public access. Patty let us through the wire gate and we were off to explore new country.

Up on a small rise, we came to what looks to be an abandoned homeless camp. Old mattresses, blankets and other debris scattered about and hanging from bushes. Most odd was a Bible discarded among the trash. I picked it up and examined it closer, flipping through pages of big, easy to read font. It was in surprisingly good shape. You would never know it had been left out in monsoon type rains. I have a hard time leaving trash laying around but there was too much to carry out on two horses. I tucked the Bible into my saddle bags and left the rest behind.

We rode as far as Eagle Eye Road. Eight or Nine miles on soggy, wet sand was enough of a workout for the horses. Patty noted the number of baby saguaro sprouting up we hadn't noticed on the way in. That is one of the things I like about the desert. It's always changing. Different lighting depending on the time of day or the season...each bringing it's own, unique visual experience. We spotting a cluster of small, round cactus that neither of us had seen before...you know it had to have been there the other times we rode by. A Google image search revealed it to possibly be strawberry cactus.

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Dave didn't have much confidence in our fire starting abilities with as wet as everything was from the rain. Dave does not fully understand Patty's obsessive compulsive desire to build fire (OCDTBF). Patty and I jumped in the side-by-side in search of firewood while Dave and Cindy went into Aguila for dinner.

A propane torch and 4 amazon Prime cardboard boxes was not getting the job done. We could not admit defeat to Dave. The fire was waning fast. More cardboard wasn't helping. Drastic times call for drastic measures. I had just the ticket under the back seat of my truck. Enter....32oz can of Kingsford lighter fluid.

When it was said and done – that fire could be seen clear to the Mexico border. By the time Dave and Cindy got home, it was burned down to a perfect, foot warming fire worthy of praise. The can of lighter fluid stashed strategically out of sight on a need to know basis.

We sat around the fire looking up at a beautiful, star filled sky. Orion stood guard over our backs as we traced the ladle of the big dipper to the north star. I don't like to think on how near the end of my time here is. I wish I was ready to head back north. If I didn't have to get back, I would stay until the 16 species of rattlesnakes, jumping cholla and the heat drove me out. But...I'm not going to think about that right now. I still have a few days and if I've learned one thing, it's too take each day as it comes and live it to the fullest. You don't know what wonders that one day has in store.