July 1 - 6, 2024

Kace heads up with Brian and Stef on Monday evening. There is a storm on Mount Union the radar shows the eye right above the cabin, we can see the storm clouds from the 17! We take photos and think it might help us spot Mt Union from sunset point finally?? We make it up before sunset through lots of rain and the biggest rainbows I've ever seen in AZ (despite the lackluster photo). We worked from a struggling mountain wifi on Tues and Wed, hikes to fire tower and Kamp Kippa, nothing too long but the mornings are beautiful. Brian changes water filters and does lots of cleaning. The mouse hotel needs to go back up, we had a friend on the patio. Then in the house! We head into town on Wed later afternoon for some provisions and lunch. We run into Blaine and Alex (he's the savant who recalled the date from hearing Journey) on our way out, they have been crushing rock. We had considered bringing the excavator down to get our flat done over the long 4th weekend, we've opted for a more relaxing time. We'll work on the garage and expanding the flat another time. In town we hit Founding Fathers, then Gurley Street Pub, then one of the whisky row haunts. A walk around the square revealed the new memorial to the Granite Mountain Hot Shots. It's chilling, and beautiful. We still haven't done the hike! It was a fun trip to town. On Thursday Inga arrives on Imogene (!!) and Jay follows a bit later with the girls. Just after Jay's arrival the Bears (minus Blaine, plus Alex) with the dogs and a chicken stop in for a visit. After Mia falls in love with Henelope, the prize chicken, they head back up the hill. Lady bug is cooped up after the long ride. She probably won't like the chicken. The lady bugs are back, not quite as full force as our first encounter, but there are at least a couple thousand at the helicopter pad. We hang the Rose Camp poster with all the original artifacts, glass broke on the way up. Jay is pissed. Stef sands the bench at the point. After an amazing bbq with all the favorites we head to watch fireworks from shipping containers. We can see a few from Prescott Valley but we were a little late. By Friday, Stef, Brian and Kacie are on day four, feeling great! Scrabble, hiking, sunset cruise, Med Bowls, Jeff and Nancy. Jeff hits the bell!! Moon tower Imogene ride, Charlie is happy to have the side by side back. We head home Saturday to avoid holiday traffic and have a day at home. We're heading to Rose Camp NY next week for our biennial trip to the County Fair, and this time for Shay's wedding too!!!! Book 6: TBD