Humor – New Yorker Cartoon – Xmas Tree

 

Don't get too attached'

 

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Caught by Fire While Hiking

In mid September we traveled to the White Mountains in northeast Arizona near Pinetop/Lakeside for some hiking. After much research, one of of the daily hikes we selected was the Los Burros Trail in the Apache Sitgreaves Forest.

“Killer hike” is how you’d describe Los Burros if you were writing a postcard. Even the historic red barn, which greets hikers at the trailhead, is alluring. Or maybe “mystical” is a better word. It’s the kind of place Django Reinhardt might have hunkered down with a bottle of Château Margaux, despite the “no trespassing” sign.

Source

While the hike was nice, it was somewhat rocky with little else to see except trees and a couple of meadows. There were no distant mountain vistas or breathtaking mountain views. Having said that, it was a typical forest hike with plenty of canopy. It was a good forest hike if that is your goal.

During our hours of hiking we passed one trio of horseback riders and a cyclist; that’s it!

Little did we know what an adventure this would ultimately become. According to our Garmin GPS device, we had hiked a bit over eleven of the 13.8 (+/-) miles and we noticed that the sky was turning dark. Initially we thought a storm was brewing.

We heard helicopters circling the area several times. We saw them and they should have seen us as there were many times they passed overhead and we were in clearings along the path.

We continued along the trail and then we saw this…


XXXXXXXX

There was a tremendous amount of smoke and haze. Part of the forest was on fire. It was nearly four o’clock on what was a sunny day.



Luckily, we were close to a rather wide service road. As we began to walk along the road to get to where the trail continued. At this point, flames were clearly visible.



see detail with flames below



detail from photograph above

We were really in a quandary regarding what would be the “best” strategy; especially when we saw exactly where our trail led…



The trail continued directly behind the sign along that path!

At this point, it was obvious we could not take the trail so we began to walk down the service road in the direction of the trailhead. We knew then and there that this had the potential to be a very long day.

We were prepared with headlamps, extra food, water, etc., but we had no firefighting mechanism and we were breathing smoke from the surrounding fires.

A fire truck came rambling along the road and after being flagged down, the driver was able to shout some vague directions to us, but it still left us guessing. We had a map and to the best of our knowledge of the area, we continued to walk.

After ten minutes or so, we caught a lucky break. A woman on an ATV was approaching along the road. She heard about the fire and wanted to see what was happening. After some conversation, she agreed to drive us back to the trailhead; apparently we were going to be spared an ordeal!

NOTE: We learned that the fire along our trail was set deliberately to prevent a lightning induced fire farther south from ravaging the area.


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The story has a happy ending, but it still leaves me with some interesting thoughts:

    1 – If the firefighters knew they were going to set a backfire, shouldn’t they have considered that there might be hikers along the Los Burros trail?

    2 – Shouldn’t the helicopters have reported that there were hikers on the trail and request help/rescue?

    3 – Wouldn’t it have been nice under the circumstances for the firemen on the truck who offered us “directions” to have given us a ride to the campground? We later saw firetrucks and firefighters at the trailhead just yards from where we parked. I can’t be sure, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the driver of the truck that stopped was among them.

    4 – Couldn’t the men on the truck call to get someone to help us get safely back to our car?

In the end, it all worked out and I thank that wonderful woman for giving us a ride to the trailhead. She wanted no reward, just to be remembered for a good deed. We thank you Susan! You saved us much anguish and consternation!

 

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©Jeffrey B. Ross 2014 – 2019 – JBRish.com



Vide – Ohs: Old Dead Tree Reincarnated as Library

Through our travels we have seen a number of “little libraries.” These are sidewalk structures used to house a “give and take” book collection to help encourage reading and literacy.

Sharalee Armitage Howard turned her century-old dead cottonwood tree into a free lending library.


Sharalee Armitage Howard stands in front of her tree-stump library

See the video below:

 

 

From the YouTube webpage:

This is an awesome project. A Coeur d’Alene artist found a unique way to repurpose an old and decaying tree in her front yard. She has turned the tree stump into a Little Free Library. It’s a free book exchange designed to encourage reading.


The century-old Cottonwood Stump Library

Pictures Via

 

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Photography: My Shot — a Tree with Character

A fool sees not the same tree that a wise man sees.

— William Blake —

A Tree with Character - Rocky Mountain National Park

While hiking along the Glacier Gorge Trail to Loch Lake, we came across an evergreen tree nestled off to the side of the trail. The photograph is not technically excellent, but I like the way it shows the character of this tree. It appears to me that this tree has been in this location for a long time and it has had to fight to survive.

Look at how the roots encircle that large rock in the middle and how the other roots are “hugging” smaller rocks at the base. The roots are running shallow along the earth which denotes how hard the ground is in that area. This tree is holding on and fighting for life.

This is survival of the fittest at work!

 

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Metadata

File Name: 000026_DSC_0717_r.tif
Capture time: 5:23 PM
Capture date: Sep 11, 2018
Exposure: 1/3 sec @ f/18
Focal Length: 18mm
ISO: 1600
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 18.0 – 55.02mm f/3.5-5.6
Edited in Lightroom

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

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STATUS QUOtes — Picture Quote — 20180324

Today’s Picture Quote


“One that would have the fruit must climb the tree.” – Thomas Fuller

Via

 
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Photography – My Shot: Enchanted Forest, Tillamook, OR


Enchanting patch of forest

A beautiful scene along the South Trail of Cape Lookout near Tillamook, OR

The majesty of the forest has always had a special place in my heart. I feel a kinship with the plants and trees which are so vital to our ecosystem and therefore our lives. The picture above was taken during our hike along the South Trail of Cape Lookout which is part of Cape Lookout State Park near Tillamook, OR.

As you can tell, the mist was clearing, but still hanging in the air. This tree had an intricate web of roots which enhanced its character even if it made footing a bit tricky. I was taken in by the wonderful colors of brown and greens. This was an enchanted setting.

 

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Metadata

File Name: DSC_2002.NEF
Capture time: 9:12:35 AM
Capture date: September 9 2017
Exposure: 1/60 sec @ f/13
Focal Length: 25mm
ISO: 720
Camera: Nikon D3300
Lens: 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6mm

Edited in Lightroom

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All original content on this blog is copyrighted by Jeffrey B. Ross with ALL Rights Reserved. While reference links back to JBRish.com are appreciated and encouraged, please acquire approval for any reproduction of original content from this website.

©Jeffrey B. Ross – 2018 – JBRish.com