telepathic stuntman

Last night the oven exploded with a dramatic show of sparks and crackles.

From a scrapyard in central Phoenix…

On Friday we rented a couple kayaks and headed to Goat Mountain, located in the Tonto National Forest on the north shore of Apache Lake. We were able to fit both of the twelve foot kayaks inside Big Blue!

We arrived at the lake in the late afternoon, strapped our packs to the kayaks and headed into the setting sun. It was cloudy and a bit cool, but we had the whole lake to ourselves. We paddled for about three miles to a cove with a large gravel bar – great for pulling the boats out and camping. We setup tents, gather firewood and quickly scout the area. There’s a very powerful musky scent permeating the air – perhaps a skunk nearby?

I paddle out in the dying light to catch a couple sunset photos. The lake is mirror smooth and eerily quiet. I sit alone out there for quite a while – not paddling, just drifting, and the lack of noise is almost hurting my ears. No bugs, no wind, no animal calls, no fish jumping, no other boats – nothing. It actually takes a while to get accustomed to the “deafening silence”. I capture a couple nice stills and reflect on how fortunate we are to have access to beautiful places like this.

That evening we cook hamburgers, hot dogs and a one pot meal with stuffing, canned chicken, dried cranberries – terrific! We relax by the fire while bats swoop above us, and owls call out in the night. I belt out a loud COOOOOEEEEEE! and it echoes off the canyon walls for a few seconds and then completely repeats for another few seconds – it was one of the best ones ever! That night we retire early under a bright starry sky. I lay on my back and tried to stay awake as long as possible, staring up at the starshow and enjoying my newest gear acquisition, a Thermarest Neo Air sleeping pad, which performed brilliantly.

The next morning I head out on a sunrise hike heading straight up a cliff to a level riparian area where there’s lots of giant boulders to perch on as the sun creeps over the mountain. I capture a couple decent shots and then head back to camp, and then out on the water for some pre-breakfast fishing. It’s a beautiful day and again, not another person on the lake. The fish aren’t biting, but it doesn’t matter – we have this amazing silent splendor to ourselves.

Barrel Cactus

After breakfast we set out for Goat Mountain with the plan: to climb as high as we can.

Goat Mountain is horseshoe shaped with ominous steep cliffs protecting the summit from almost all sides. The area is loaded with character: lush desert vegetation, springs, waterfalls, rugged granite cliffs and buttes, a hidden slot canyon, and a large elaborate cave at the base of the far butte on the southeast end of the main mountain.

Fishhook Cactus

As usual, there’s no trail – how else are you going to discover something no one else has seen? We follow rugged ridges along the edges of the canyon and make our way past the waterfall and cave – the steepness and loose rubble was not easy to navigate and we found ourselves resting every fifteen minutes. The saguaros were fat and healthy from the recent rains. Javelina tracks were everywhere. We stop for lunch about halfway up the mountain – sardines, beef jerky and pear – and then continue on upward. We soon realize that making it to the summit would take the entire day and we still wanted to try our luck at some more fishing, so reluctantly we turn around and head back to camp.

Teddybear Cholla

We spend another quiet night by the fire chatting about music and camping and school and dumb jokes and when we’ve burned the last of the wood, we head to our tents. That night we get blasted by a torrential thunderstorm – heavy rain and fierce winds buffeting our tents for most of the night, but we’re well equipped to handle it, staying dry and cozy enough to drift off to sleep in the midst of it.

The next morning, the clouds are starting to part and we break camp, load up the kayaks and start making our way back to the marina. Once again, the lake is absolutely pure glassy stillness and we glide through the water with ease. We pause often to take it all in – the sun beating down on us, a few large bass jumping nearby, ducks swimming alongside, stunning canyons rising up on both sides. We make land with no problems, pack up the boats and head back to civilization – another great adventure under our belts… Goat Mountain!

My latest painting is fairly large, 4 feet high and 2.5 feet wide, done with acrylics. You can contemplate the symbolism or just let your eyes wander through the color clouds, where you may see all sorts of things…

Sometimes I’ll visualize a piece in my mind and it turns out exactly as I envisioned – this is one of those pieces.

I scored this cow at my neighbor’s yard sale – it was used as a flower planter.  I cut the top off an old plastic toolbox and it fit perfectly in the opening. Fill with ice and beer and ta da! The MOOLER is born! (Note the bottle opener around her neck where the bell usually goes.)

Two new pieces in the works – both are fairly drastic departures from my usual art. Can you guess what will go in the white box? And what’s going on with all the polygons there?

There’s a popular story around here about a man named Jacob Waltz, better known as “the Lost Dutchman”, who in 1891, while lying on his death bed, told a story of a gold mine that held untold riches. He had said that it laid deep within the Superstition Mountains east of Phoenix. Treasure hunters have come in search of this elusive mine, and talked about finding maps carved in stones, written clues and strange noises at night – all leading to The Lost Dutchman Gold mine!

Century Plant

So on this trip, after taking the roughest road I’ve ever been on, and picking through catclaw and brambles to a faint trail of nothing more than crude cairns, I couldn’t help think that perhaps we could be treading through areas that have not been seen before… perhaps we would even discover this elusive mine!

Sycamore

Yucca Plant

Zach had offered to drive his truck on this rough road, one that I would never consider trying! Driving over rocks the size of refrigerators, we carefully navigated our way to the trailhead. It was a brisk but sunny day, perfect for hiking.

Desert vegetation dominates this region – saguaro cactus, cholla, catclaw, palo verde and ocotillo – ALL of it prickly and sharp and tearing at our clothes.

Progress was slow – only moving from one trail cairn when we were able to locate the next one down the slope. In this way we picked through the maze of brambles for hours to finally emerge in the dry wash of Lost Dutch Canyon. Pools of water frozen over told us it was going to get cold in the evening down here. They would also be our only source of fresh water and I was thankful to see them.

We located a sandy spot near the wash and made camp. Almost instantly, Conor discovered a scorpion while setting up his tent. As the sun began to set behind the steep canyon walls, I realized we were trapped down here until sunrise – there would be no possible way to find our way out in the darkness. Anyone getting hurt or stung would have to tough it out during the night – a fairly sobering thought and one that made us all just a bit more cautious than normal.

Our giant roaring fire and five layers of clothing kept us warm under the full moon. As the temperatures dropped, a moon ring was created by the refraction of moonlight through ice crystals suspended in the upper atmosphere.

Moon Ring

I sipped on some bourbon and hot cocoa, then burrowed down into my sleeping bag for the night. I stayed pretty comfortable all night despite finding my water bottle completely frozen in the morning!

The next day was spent exploring the wash, making our way toward Fish Creek, exploring caves along the way and scouring the jagged angry canyon walls that rose up on each side.

Fossilized Fish – about three feet long!

Detail of fossilized fish head

Conor discovered a curious campsite, filled with odd sculptures, tools and chairs of rock. It looked as though it hadn’t been used in many years, and the area seemed to exude a strange and uncomfortable energy. Who created it and what the objects were is a mystery.

In the afternoon we explored the other side of the canyon, bursting with some of the most beautiful and healthy saguaros I’ve ever seen. We came upon a lovely pool of water, reflecting the rough landscape and full moon – stunning!

That night we feasted around the campfire with many original concoctions – dirty rice, potato soup, chicken chili and more. Another full moon, another moon ring and another crisp night, a little warmer.

In the morning we packed and prepared to make our way out – carefully following the numerous cairns with Conor and his eagle eyes leading the way. It was a grey sky with clouds starting to form and rain threatening, but we stayed dry and made it out of there just fine.

We didn’t discover the mine, but certainly found many treasures in this remote and beautiful canyon!

The Botanical Garden opened its Luminaire festival last night – music and beautiful lights galore!

Sycamore Canyon drains a large area of the western Mogollon Rim and often floods during the spring snow melt. Our plan was to descend down to Sycamore Creek and follow it to Parsons Spring, about four  miles from the trailhead. The autumn colors were still stubbornly hanging on to their branches and provided a gorgeous backdrop for this pleasant stroll through a lush riparian habitat.

The weather was perfect and we essentially had the place to ourselves. The stream was crystal clear and cradled in the deep canyon of red sandstone, dark columnar basalt and limestone – around every corner was a delightful scenic gem! Ghostly white sycamore trees, cottonwood, and willow were plentiful, along with thickets of scrub oak and manzanita.

We made our way at a fairly leisurely pace, crossing the creek six times before finding the spring in the early afternoon, then proceeding a bit further into a rocky wash to our campsite, a sandy beach well up off the canyon floor.

We enjoyed a roaring fire the first night, with stories, songs and jokes while roasting sausages and hot dogs followed by bananas, filled with chocolate and marshmallow and baked in the fire. Sleep came easily on the soft sand under a brisk cloudy sky.

We spent a relaxed morning with another fire going while frying up spicy potatoes and corned beef hash, then set off up the ultra rocky wash for a couple hours of exploring. The canyon walls towered above us on both sides, a good five hundred feet up as we hopped from boulder to boulder, stopping from time to time to build rock sculptures, then knocking them down with rock throwing competitions.

In the afternoon, I was attempting to make fire with a bow and dowel and digging away at the handpiece when the lock on my locking knife gave way, sending the sharp blade down on my thumb lengthwise – ouch! Fortunately we were well equipped with medical gear and it appears to be healing fine.
In the evening we stoked up another good blazing fire and cooked one of our faves, smoked salmon and gorgonzola pasta – it was delicious! Darkness set in and we returned to the wash for a game of Stalking – good fun until rain came and forced us into our tents. At that point it was getting late enough for sleep anyway, so we all called it a night and hunkered down, hoping to stay dry and warm – which we all did.

The hike out the next day was just as lovely and peaceful and fun. Sycamore Canyon is a true gem in the harsh Arizona wilderness, one that we’ll certainly be returning to!

Finally getting around to posting some more stills from the latest shoot – featuring the Sony PDWF800 XDHD Camera – one of twelve in the country. The actors were phenomenal, the crew was top notch and the support staff was everything I could hope for – thanks all – the shots look incredible!

Joy is what happens when we allow ourselves to recognize how good things really are.
- Marianne Williamson

Just outside Miami, Arizona.

Seen at a casino in Dubuque, Iowa. They put on a great show – it was the seventies again!

On Saturday night I participated in the Sunnyslope Artwalk, the first time the public has seen my paintings – and wow, what a great success! I sold three large paintings, (possibly four) and fifteen prints in four hours. It was a beautiful evening and a lot of fun. Thank you to everyone who stopped by my booth!

This weekend we explored Aravaipa Canyon, cutting through the Galiuro Mountains near Winkleman, Arizona. This is a classic desert riparian habitat for a wide variety of animals and plants and wow did we see them!

As we entered the area, a family of Coatimundi marched across the road in front of us – members of the raccoon family, with comical little faces. We descended down into the valley and started following the creek – for the next three days we would spend about 90% of the time walking through water. There are no trails, campsites or services of any kind here – a true wilderness experience.

The habitat is known for its wide variety of wildlife including mule and white tailed deer, mountain lion, bobcat, black bear, coati, javelina, gray fox, bighorn sheep, coyote, blue heron, peregrine falcons, rattlesnake and many many birds – we saw pretty much every one of these or tracks/signs of them.

To protect the natural resources and maintain the solitude, only thirty people are allowed into the wilderness on any day. We had three days to explore!

Cocklebur

Perigrine Falcon

Shortly after entering the creek, we spotted a Blue Heron high on a rocky outcrop – and another on our way out.

Blue Heron

At some points the walls of the canyon go straight up on both sides, other times we could hike along the side of the water, but rattlesnakes were everywhere and each step on dry land was carefully made.

We hiked under a stormy sky to a sandy beach, high up off the canyon floor. While gathering firewood, Seth encountered a rattlesnake that warned him not to get any closer – he backed up and the snake eventually left, but it was a bit un-nerving to know he was right there in our camp…

We cooked gorgonzola-stuffed burgers over the coals of our fire and relaxed in the warm evening. Numerous Hoary Bats flittered about as the sun descended behind the canyon wall, the clouds clearing just in time to provide a nice star show. A bit of chai tea with some bourbon and it was time to crash.

Common Sunflower

Sacred Datura

During the night, something had gotten into my food bag, even though it was hanging ten feet off the ground and four feet below the lowest branch – whatever it was chewed through and ate my trail mix.

The next day was spent exploring the canyon, traveling lightly with daypacks. This canyon is incredibly beautiful, lined with lush stands of cottonwood, ash and willow. Colorful shear cliff walls rose up on both sides, several hundred feet up. A peregrine falcon flew high overhead in the impossibly blue sky. Every bend in the canyon held a promise of spectacular views, signs of animals and abundant birds.

Canyon Treefrog

We made our way to Horse Camp canyon, about three miles up stream, ate lunch and then returned to camp. The rest of the afternoon was spent hanging out at a nice swimming hole, the sun was warm and the skies were clear.

Late in the day some storm clouds rolled in with lots of thunder echoing up and down the canyon – lightning flashed overhead but didn’t threaten.

That night I hung my food in the same place and soon after crawling in my tent, I could hear something scratching at it. I shone a light and was surprised to see a little ringtail (the official mammal of the state of Arizona) hanging off the bag – looking at me like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar! The light frightened him enough to drop to the ground and scurry into the brush.
Ringtail

Bigelow’s Aster and Desert Dandelion

The next morning we hiked out of this incredibly scenic area, but not without a bit of excitement… while walking through some brush I noticed some movement by my feet and jumped backwards – it was a Western Diamondback Rattlesnake and he was a big one! A bite from one of these snakes can be fatal, but in general they do not inject poison in a defensive strike – that’s more for when they’re hunting. Still, a bite from him would have been very very bad. I shot a couple cool photos and we nervously walked well around him!

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake

From there it was a relatively short hike out to the trailhead, where Big Blue was waiting for us. Blue Heron, Rattlesnake, Coatimundi, Ringtail – all first time sightings in the wild for me! Aravaipa Wilderness has become one of my top three places to backpack and I will certainly go back.

Just returned from a terrific trip to Aravaipa Canyon (trip report to come). It was an incredibly scenic place, but teeming with rattlesnake! I was less than a foot away from stepping on this one – I noticed some movement on the ground as he was cocking his head back for a strike – that would have been bad…

Just finished this one today while smoking ribs… might be my favorite so far!

Pretty large (30 X 40) acrylic, with a lot going on. I decided to tone down the high contrast saguaros I typically paint and I think it worked well.

Our Exectutive Producer Barbara Rayes giving final directions to our cast in one of the opening scenes from my latest video project – shot at the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Urgent Care Center in Mesa. Arizona.

Special thanks to Dianne Henderson who coordinated the incredibly complex logistics for this shoot!

We were the first ones in Phoenix to shoot with Sony’s new PDW800 XDHD Camera and I hope I never have to go back to tape again! This is the format of the future for sure and it certainly helps to have a talented cameraman like Duane Oldham and equally savvy soundman/production specialist Erin Bryant!

A lot more to come from this amazing shoot!

We have some absolutely gorgeous skies here in Arizona. Certainly lifts the spirits after a rough day!