Big Wind Comin' to Madera Canyon... Listen to the Hummin...

I can hear Johnny Cash now. Another storm on the way, this one predicted to put maybe 6" on the spot we're camped... sooooo... we're planning on not being here when it fully arrives.

This morning we got up to a rig rockin' wind... which is really sweet... cuz I gotta get up on the roof and put the Solar Panels Down... I'm pretty good about tippin' 'em up to maximize electrical production in the winter time.

Well... at least with the wind them bees won't be harassing me while I'm laying the panels back flat!

The idea is, we'll either be ready to pull out late this afternoon or first light in the morning. We're not far up this Proctor road, but as much as it's washed in the past, it looks like it could get kinda nasty in the real wet... and I've been on Arizony roads in the mud... not my idea of shining times and high livin'... draggin' a fiver through that crud! ;)

We've taken a few short walks in the lower end of the canyon as we slowly climb back out of the hole that damned flu put us in. Went maybe two and a half miles the two days ago, from our camp on up to the Santa Rita lodge where we'd driven the other day... and then a few shorter walks yesterday...

 ... where I found a Yucca Spike out of which to carve another of our "Natural" hiking staffs... ;)

The thing is super light and stiff... and will carry with it the memory of this place... so how awesome is that? :)

It's been a lil' tough to make myself step outside and walk though...

Writing has been getting in my way! :)

The latest book has now changed names. What I was calling Tears of the Hunter is now... Stalked by a Shadow. It will be the #2 book in my Ben Jensen series.

I'm hopeful, though I've been 'behind' on it that it'll be out this summer. It's really caught fire in my imagination the past few days; with some storyline mysteries getting solved for me. ;) Now, I'm as anxious as anybody else to see how it ends!

So anyhoo... in amongst the weather and spinning a modern western flavored mystery I've been out trying to capture some images to show more of the flavors of an Arizona Sky Island Canyon called Madera...

This redhead was hiding back in the naked branches of a cottonwood just as we turned off the road away from camp... onto the sweet trail they've built in Madera.

This sort of trail is perfect for most of our meandering. They say that an easy strolling hike is better for you than pushin' and straining. To this Ol' drifter it makes sense. If you're the sort that has a tendency to let their shorts get too tight... putting pressure on yourself to forge ahead against the mountain, against the wind, challenging yourself all the time... rather than just moving along, sweet and easy... it makes sense that all you'd really succeed in doing is adding to the pressure.

Now... bein' a lazy sort to begin' with... strollin' easy... for my health is a perfect fit! :)

*High Rise Bat Condos in the lower Canyon*

In the lower canyon... just outside the mouth of the canyon actually we discovered a few hidden places that I expect most never see...
  

This don't look much like a trail head does it?

There's nowhere to park but back up the road a bit...




Do that and walk back. There's a trail there... and if you follow it... 

... you'll find a mangate at the bottom to slide through...

... Then... work your way back through the mesquites and cottonwoods...

and you'll find a sweet little spot... This would be a pretty fine shady respite on a hot summer afternoon...

... at least if the rains had come and the water was still flowing...

Entering the hidden nook... and once inside...

Above and below the shady falls is an oasis that would be a sweet summer haven for a pic nik with all those cottonwoods leafed out...

This Madera is another of those special places... with its own quiet personality...I wonder if a part of that isn't because people have lived on and loved this land for so long?

The Papago, Yaqui and Apache... The Spaniard and the Mexican... and the Americans who followed have been here, and come back here for hundreds, even thousands of years... and the land is still strong and beautiful... not consumed as some would claim "Humans" do...

Hidden in and sheltered by a thicket of mesquite at Madera Canyon... is a sacred place...

A Mother and Bride (BRD), sleeps here with her child...

~ "Yeah Though I walk through the valley of the shadow..." ~

Fitting end of day was a soft and quiet sunset leading into what just might have been our last night in Madera Canyon for a while...

The Gypsy Cowboy is Prepping to Move on Down the Road Again...
Brian