The 3rd little one is to the right, out of the frame. Though it looks like the fellow on the right is saying something to him... The big box is the utility box; the cables to it run underground to the house. It's not a very convenient place as it's right in the middle of the driveway, but it's there, and going to stay there. I haven't opened it for about the past 2 months as there was a wasp nest inside, with very "pissy" wasps, but I haven't seen any go inside lately, and the weather is colder so they may be gone. I'll have to get up my courage soon and open it up to see what's inside, but I have to do it when it's cold and the wasps are lethargic. Or wear a Michelin Man suit... The driveway, and the critters to be seen there on occasion -- deer, cottontail rabbits, Cactus Wrens, Roadrunners -- are, of course, right in front of Faranuf. The distant view, however.. This was taken right after sunset, with me standing at the front door looking to the east --
See why I say the views are spectacular both to the east and west? Those are the Peloncillos, in New Mexico, with is about 10 miles from my house. And beyond that is another desert mountain range, and past that still another, and.. People used to the teeming city may call it desolate; I say it's beautiful.
I think it's time to show "before" and "after" photos of the back yard. The first was taken in November 2014, when I had was first considering buying Faranuf --
I still do't know WHAT gave the previous owners the idea to put up those massive hangers which really impeded the view of Cave Creek Canyon. So those, the green topped with white fence posts, and the further, wooden box seed trays, were removed, another water feature was added, a new hanger was installed today (November 19) -- and this is what the back yard now looks like --
Cleaner, simpler -- and the view isn't blocked. It's still a work in progress, so things will change further still...
The fall colors are still here. Though many leaves have dropped to the ground, that just adds to the scenic beauty. The weather was un-fall like, topping out at 70 degrees, but it was cold in the canyon at around 8am, when I started the drive, so I went up to Herb Martyr, 2 miles past the Southwestern Research Station. Herb Martyr is a 5800 feet, but it was perfect for a short hike and exploration of the
area. OK -- Herb Martyr was a worker on the building of the dam there, and died during its construction (1935). So the campground (now closed) and dam were named after him. It's at the end of the unpaved 2-mile road. It's quite (ok, VERY) scenic; from the parking lot there, you can Sanders Peak, and Winn Falls is in the shadows to the right --
It's really quite beautiful here. Cave Creek runs through it, and with the autumn colors, and fallen leaves, it's all quite magical --
There are a couple of trails you can access from here. One goes to "Little Dam" and eventually Snowshed Trail, the other to Ash Spring. I did the trail to Little Dam last year,just after Hurricane Odile, and remember the trail had been trashed, so there were red markers tied around trees so you could see the trail path. The markers were gone now, but I could still figure out where the trail was --
The trail crosses the creek, and around the corner climbs uphill. I wasn't planning on doing anything that required too much exertion, so I headed back. I love the scenes here that combine mountain scenery with desert plants --
And with the addition of the fallen autumnal leaves, well... I headed up the trail to Ash Spring. It wasn't long before I came to a "roadblock" --
A dead tree had fallen right across the path. I still didn't want to exert myself too much, by going off-trail around it, so I headed back to the Herb Martyr area. I came to the intersection of the trails --
Most of the trail signs -- the ones that survived fire and flood -- and fairly old, but extremely helpful for a guy like me whose Internet nickname is "Trailhiker". With many trails here overgrown -- and as you can tell from previous blog posts, I've lost the trail more than once, ending up off-trail -- I really appreciate knowing the trail is around here --- somewhere. But the star of this particular day are the falls over Herb Martyr Dam . From the parking lot, you scramble down to the creek bed below the dam, and are treated to the sight of one of the true gems of the Chiricahuas --
When I've been here before in spring, the water flow is much less, and birds would be bathing in the pools below the falls. There are few birds here this time of year, but it's still an enchanting sight --
I sit on one of the flat(ish) rocks here, and have lunch -- a lunch with a view, if you will. I regretfully left, having to check the post office (it closes at 1pm) to see if my feeder hanger had arrived (it had), and saw 2 Nelson's Spiny Lizards soaking up the sun on a wall of the parking lot bathroom --
The drive back through Cave Creek Canyon was memorable, too. This will probably be the last, best weekend for fall color here as many of the leaves have dropped, but the colors remain --
A view from the road just past Portal of Cave Creek Canyon, with the line of autumnally colored trees lining Cave Creek to the left --
And after picking up my feeder hanger from the post office (I found afterward that Joan had left a message on my machine at home, saying it was here; how many postal workers do you know that would do that?) I was struck by the brilliance of the tree in front of the PO; the color had changed to a darker shade from just a week before --
Another memorable day... Oh, with Thanksgiving coming up, I came across some Wild Turkeys on the way up to Herb Martyr --
And what was I doing last year at this time? Well, I'd just recently totaled "Tundra I" after a deer crossed in front of me on Hwy 80, so spent more time here as I had to get things straightened out -- and ended up buying Faranuf. And took this photo, along Portal Road, with Portal Peak (the real one, not False Portal Peak) in the background --
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