Fort Montana

Another beautiful day in the Desert Southwest.

It began early for me as is usual.

I took advantage of the early morning quiet to get some work started

since this will be a short workweek.

Eventually my 3 girls woke up and shuffled out of the bedroom and assumed

positions on the couch and settled in to the last 1/2 of

The Wizzard of Oz

The Doods are intently watching & Barking at the Tin Man,

The Lion and especially

The Flying Monkeys.

After Breakfast..

A couple of eggs and some leftover Potato Pancakes from our

German Dinner the other night...  Yum

We took the Doodles for about 6 Laps around the campground to wear

them out.  I'd guess it was several miles or so.

Earlier I had hoisted my IP Flag over Ft Montana.

My Sailboat Buddies will understand this one.

Even in the Desert the land yachts have their flags flying.

By now it was noontime and Kate and I headed out to the trailhead to try

out one of the many trails there are to enjoy in this park.

This particular trail winds for a couple of miles thru the foothills

You can see Kate standing in front of the Saguaro.

It gives you a good idea of their size.

The Saguaro are amazing plants.

With the right growing conditions they can live to 200 years.

They usually do not begin to grow arms until they are 50 years old.

They are very slow growing and a 10 year old plant might only be 1.5 inches tall.

They can grow upwards of 60 feet and a fully hydrated mature plant could

weigh upwards of 4,800 lbs.

They are homes to many desert animals.  Several species of birds will make

nests in the Saguaro as the prickly spines provide protection from ground predators.

Here is a small Saguaro Grove.

Our hike took us thru so many beautiful sights.

Eventually Kate got herself into a real "Sticky" Situation.

Our daily self portrait.

It was a great Sunday hike and

A great start to our 2 weeks here.

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is Christmas Eve and just a 

couple of days ago we were in snow and below freezing temps,

but that is Western Weather.

In Denver they say:

"If you don't like the weather - wait 30 minutes"

Eventually we emerged from the foothills and returned to the comforts of

Fort Montana with Old Glory proudly flying high.

As always the Doodles were quite happy to see us.

Just to the right of the flagpole, at the roof line you can see my 

antenna that I use to improve my cellular internet signal.

It's now 4pm and I think its time for the first Gin & Tonic cocktail

hour of the trip.

Cheers.