48 hours

The past two days... where do I begin?

We went to Bryce canyon, and saw some really cool stuff. Went hiking on "The Arches" trail. I climbed up some slopes, and stood in the arches, like EVERYONE typically does. I did take one pic that reminds me of all the yoga-fanatic girls Facebook profile pictures. I think it's my favorite pic so far this trip.

Then today, we hiked a trail on private land (with permission) that we were told ended in an underground lake. It did not disappoint.

After the lake, when we hiked back to the truck, I went barefoot, because it was on a cattle road, and I had as much sand in my shoes as was left on the road, so I figured "hell with it".

It reminded me of being 12, walking in the fields my dad owned, barefoot, with not a care in the world.

It was a great two days.

11 years

It's hard to believe me and this beautiful girl have been married 11 years, today!

She went into the town close to where we are camped to see the local animal shelter. The Boy-o and I are piddling around camp. When she gets back, we plan on buttoning everything down, and seeing the small western town and it's rock shops and antique malls. Afterwards, we are going to grab dinner at a local Bavarian Restaurant.

It's shaping up to be a good day!

Deer!

HOLY CRAP! There are some big does in Arizona!

Chili

Maybe it's being in the West. Maybe it's that we spent the day playing in Snow. Maybe it's just that camping makes me want hearty, simple, filling fare.

Whatever it is, I wanted a bowl of The Red this evening, so that's what we cooked. Served with Saltines, it really hit the spot, and warmed up my core.

Chili hits the spot on a chilly night.

Thanks, Pawpaw, for teaching me to cook. It's a skill that I am grateful for every day, and I'm glad I had a Pop to show me how from an early age!

Grand Canyon

It's huge. I mean, I know you hear about how big it is all the time, but words don't do it justice. It's truly an impressive sight to behold. You actually get to the point where you aren't registering the size and scope anymore, after a few hours. It's like your brain can only handle so much vastness before it starts seeing it all as background. Then you realize your brain is skipping over cool stuff, and it's like being hit with a sledgehammer, because the cool view suddenly gains perspective again.

And apparently, it snows here in May.

This is one hell of a trip!

The West

Some random thoughts:

The West is BIG. There are stretches in West Texas and New Mexico where you can drive for hours and see nothing man-made. Just scenery. And I'm not just talking an absence of gas stations (Make sure you fill up!), but not even a bill board or telephone pole. If it wasn't for the road you are on, you'd be halfway convinced you were the first person to lay eyes on the land.

Carlsbad caverns is something to behold. You walk down over 700 feet. That doesn't sound like much, but it's FAR. and that's vertical distance. The trail down is over a mile long.

There are some truly cool towns in New Mexico and Arizona. Roswell, Holbrook, and Winslow are some of the ones we stopped at.

Louisiana has no idea what Authentic Tex-Mex is. Green Chili could be worshipped as a religion. I hear it is, in some parts.

More later. I have a Meteor Crater to go see.

Streamlight

I have been a fan of Streamlight products for some time. It's an issue for me, because I am also frugal. Their lights are spendy, especially for a single-income family. I own 4 of their products: a TLR-1 HL weapon light, and 3 flashlights- a Protac 2L (takes 2 CR123s) a Protac 2AA (takes 2AAs) and a Microstream (takes 1 AAA).

I use lights pretty regular in my line of work, so I like a bright light, but one that throws a decently wide angle. When I go into a dark room, I want the light to illuminate the whole room, not just one spot. Streamlights provide a great beam for the work I do.

My Protac 2AA was being weird, and the beam would dim and brighten at random. It took a back seat to the others, because it wasn't working right. It languished on my dresser at home, and I haven't used it regularly in several months.

Recently, my Microstream also stopped working. It wouldn't turn on at all.

I had enough, and checked Streamlight's website, filled out a service form, and shipped them to Streamlight. I figured that since they didn't work anyway, even if Streamlight told me they were not covered under the product warranty, all I was out was 4 bucks shipping. I packed them up, and off they went.

After about a week, I hadn't heard anything, and wondered what was going on. I expected a call to find out stupid things like where and when I bought them, but no call came. I resolved to wait another week, then call them back.

About 3 days later, a package arrived. Inside were 2 new lights. Not in original packaging, so they either were pulled off the assembly line, or were refurbished lights, but they were not the ones I sent in, as mine both had rounded edges and shiny spots from hard use. Inside the box was a typed note, with something to the effect of "products covered under warranty. Claim accepted."

That's a stand-up warranty. I know I will keep buying Streamlight products now. Not only are they great, but they replace a genuinely defective product, no questions asked, even when it has seen hard use for several years.

Streamlight has the DLG Seal Of Approval.

Numrich

They were relatively speedy in getting my order out. It's been less than a week. Remember when ordering something meant a 6 week wait? The technological advances (and the impact they have made on things such as drop-shipping) verily boggles the mind.

At any rate, one of the cool goodies I ordered was a replacement grip set for my 1903 pocket hammerless. They look much better than the cheap faux-ivory ones that were on it.

Axe

I put a new handle on my Axe. My wife found the axe about 12 years ago while hiking, and it has been our general wood-splitting axe ever since.

I've never been one to baby tools. I take care of them, but I have no problem using them hard. When they break, I fix them, and if they are beyond fixing, I get another. Tools are to make my work easier. They are not talismans that must be treasured.

Still, maintainence goes a long way, and kept the axe working through 12 years of hard use. The old handle had been slightly splintered under the head for years, but my neighbor borrowed it to split wood after having a few beers about a month back. On one particular swing, he must have missed the log with the head, and bounced the handle on the log.

The handle was no longer smooth enough to allow your hand to slide down during the swing, so I found a handle at a hardware store for about 10 bucks.

I cleaned and sharpened the head, then repainted it. I didn't have any red, so it got a coat of tan. I got a few drips. Oh well.

After removing the old handle with a saw, drill, and chisel, I began shaping the new handle. It took about an hour with a wood rasp and draw-knife. I got it to fit right, and drove home the wooden wedge.

Last, I cut the top just a little proud of the top of the axe head, and seated 3 'keys', little metal wedges that go across the grain structure of the handle, and really make the head tight.

And now, I have a working axe again. It cost about 12 bucks, 2 hours of labor with hand tools, and some sweat. Much better than going to buy another $45 dollar axe, huh?

1375

That's how many rounds of .38 special I have. I decided about 2 years ago that I wanted to get to 1000 rounds of range ammo and 200 rounds of defensive ammo for .38 special and 9mm. I have about 525 rounds of defensive ammo at the moment, 125 factory loads, and 400 handloads. The handloads are reproductions of the old FBI load, thanks to Murphy gifting me 400 LSWCHP bullets in the 158gr. variety. Thank you, Murphy.

That means I'm a little light on practice ammo, but not by much. I'm about to start focusing on 9mm range ammo. I have about 700 rounds of 9mm, and about 200 of that is defensive loads, so i need about 500 more practice rounds.

Other ammo needs?
I only have about 100 .357 mag loads, so I need a few hundred there. I don't keep as big a balance of those, though, due to cartridge commonality with .38 special.

I could stand to get another 200 rounds of 12 gauge game loads. And maybe another 50-75 buckshot.

Otherwise, I'm good on shotgun and rifle rounds.

Probably could use another 200 rounds each of .380 and .32. I have one gun each chambered in those, and while I shoot neither very often, I only have about 150 rounds for each. 350 for each, and I would be happy, considering how often I shoot them.

And .22... always .22. Although, honestly, I have more than 500, less than 1000, and only own 1 .22, so I'm not in bad shape.

It would be smart to buy some more HS-6. I am down to about a pound and a half. I'm good on primers, lead, and brass...

So, yeah, that's where I'm at on ammo. Guess I know where I need to start focusing my buying.