Our trip on December 10, 2008 was a hike to Three Arch Hill, which is located just below Indian Pass off Indian Pass Road in Gavilan Wash. Our trip included stops at the abandoned mines at Tumco where we viewed an old mine that had a Suzuki drive into it. The drive and a companion were there all night until the rescue team finally discovered them. The car was lifted out (go to www.americansandassociation.org to read the story and view pictures). We also stopped to view aboriginal trails, petra glyphs, geo glyphs, other cultural sites, and explore areas around the Colorado River vicinity.

One of the geo glyphs includes the running man. This is located at the crossroads of aboriginal trails leading north south and east west. We also viewed the “spirit wall” which is said to keep the bad spirits from following the good spirits. The hike to three arch hill included about a 30-minute walk up a dry riverbed of small rocks, then a climb unto the arches. One of the arches is named “Hag’s Tooth. We hiked down from the arches and ate lunch and visited. At this point Jennifer saw an Iron Wood branch that she decided she wanted, I could not believe they carried to the jeep. However, her chocolate chip cookies and drinks probably made it worthwhile for those who helped.

From here we four-wheeled to the Colorado River and along the way say two wild donkeys. We stopped and took pictures of the river and then went up Bear Canyon. At the end of the canyon there was several large puddles of water in and around the bottom of the falls. While trying to back out one of the vehicles went off the trail and ended up down a four-foot slop with the rear tire in the water. Oh Crap! We used our ingenuity and common sense to get the jeep out. We let the air out of the tires (down to 13 pounds each), dug the sand away and filled the holes in front of each tire with rocks and pieces of driftwood. We did not have a towrope, but one of the drives had a tie down, which was used to successfully help the jeep up and out. It took two tries as the tie down slipped off the first time, so we gave it another try and were successful. This delay kept us from going to the old mine town, so we will save that for another time. We made our way into Yuma, AZ where the Jeep aired his tires for the return trip to EC.

Bear Canyon

The Jeep Got Stuck and Unstuck!

Colorado River and Vicinity

Wild Donkeys

A pair of wild donkeys staring down at us, staring up at them!

A Nice Way To Spend The Day

Yea, I Made It

The hike up the hill to the arches was on volcanic ash rocks. At times the feet would slip but I managed to avoid any falls going up or going down.

Three Arch Hill

Aboriginal Trail Markings and Trail

Running Man and Spirit Wall

The Amazing Galaxy

This picture was taken on Monday evening, December 1, 2008 at 5:38 p.m. If you look closely you can see a crescent shaped moon with two planets (Jupiter and Venus) underneath. They form an upside down frowny face. This will not occur again for another hundred or so years.

I smell bacon, where's the bacon

I know that dog will get every last bite of bacon. That dog is so spoiled, why does mom like her best?

I know that damn cat will get all of the bacon. That cat is soooo spoiled, why does mom like her best?

Be quiet, both of you! You're both spoiled and will each get your bite of bacon.

Cute!

Patches and Lacey both like to be near me (they are NOT too spoiled) and often cuddle up together in the kitty's bed.

Cute Kitty

This is my cat, Patches, she often curls up in the dogs kennel. I shave her hair to keep it from shedding and she gets cold. Poor baby!

Thanksgiving Feast

I am grateful for family, friends, faith and good health. I am grateful for many other things, but I think they are covered under one of the general headings listed.

The Thanksgiving feast was delicious! We had turkey, brisket, ham, stuffing, cranberries, fresh carrots, corn and peas, potatoes, watermelon and cucumber salad, and several pies. Thanks to my friends for inviting me to share this dinner with them.

Life is good!

Spartan Hot Dogs Taste Good

The best snack bar on a Friday night is at CUHS. The Booster Club and Band Parents join together to have the best food. The burritos are awesome! Shaved ice is refreshing on a hot football night. Kids love the cotton candy and everyone loves the Kettle Corn. It is fun to be a Spartan Football supporter!

Half Time on Cal Jones Field

The best show in the Imperial Valley

on a Friday night is on the Cal Jones Field. The Great Spartan band, drill team and tall flags always have anoutstanding performances. The fans from visiting schools always have a positive comment about the the half time. Many of the visitors have told me that this is the best high school band they have ever seen.

Friday Night Lights on Cal Jones Field

The Spartans break the run through to the sound of the "Great Spartan Band" playing the Bull. This Friday night was a CIF game between CUHS and Steele Canyon of San Diego. The Spartans fell 20-33 to a bigger, faster and stronger team, but they left it all on the field.

Ding Dong Central has the Bell

Central scored first and then held Brawley scoreless until there was only one tick left on the
clock before half time. The Brawley QB threw a 30 yarder to the end zone for a Brawley score. The second half was scoreless until the fourth quarter when Brawley scored, and missed the extra point. The Spartans fumbled in the end zone and the Wildcats took over the ball on the 20. However, we finally came back and scored, and after being "iced" our kicked missed the extra point and the score is 13-13. We regained possession with 54 seconds and with 37 left on the clock our kicker kicked a 40 yard field goal. The defense held and the final score was CUHS 16 and BUHS 13. Thus ended the 63rd Bell Game.

The Star Spangled Banner

The flag waved in the breeze as the BUHS band played.

The coin toss

Brawley won the coin toss and deferred to the second half.

The Crowd

Once again the Bell Game drew a large crowd. It is estimated that 7000 were in attendance.

The next Geezer hike

The next Geezer trip is planned for Wednesday, December 10, 2008. We will be going to visit Indian Pass and Three Arch Hill. This site is located in the desert east of El Centro and just west of Yuma (about a one hour drive from EC). We will be visiting the abandonded mines at Tumco, aboriginal trails, petroglyphs and other cultural sites. One of the arches is named Hag's Tooth Arch. The hike or in this case a walk is about forty-five minuets one way, however, including exploring the area and stopping to eat it will be an all day trip. When we return I will post some pictures.

YEP, I'm a Geezer, and proud to be one!

'Geezers' are easy to spot: At sporting events, during the playing of the Star Spangled BANNER. Old Geezers remove their caps and stand at attention and sing without embarrassment. They know the words and believe in them. Old Geezers remember the Depression, World War II, Pearl Harbor , Guadalcanal, Normandy and Hitler. They remember the Atomic Age, the Korean War 1950-55, The Cold War, the jet age and the moon landing, the 50 plus Peacekeeping Missions from 1945 to 2005 the Jet Age and the Moon Landing, not to mention Vietnam, If you bump into an Old Geezer On the sidewalk he will apologize. If you pass an Old Geezer on the street, he will nod or tip his cap to a lady. Old Geezers trust strangers and are courtly to women. Old Geezers hold the door for the next person and always, when walking, make certain the lady is on the inside for protection. Old Geezers get embarrassed if someone curses in front of women and children and they don't like any filth on TV or in movies or in e-mails. Old Geezers have moral courage. They seldom brag unless it's about their grandchildren. It's the Old Geezers who know our great country is protected, not by politicians, but by the young men and women in the military serving their country. This country needs Old Geezers with their decent values. We need them now more than ever. Thank God for Old Geezers! Pass this on to all the Old Geezers you know.

"Original Barracudas"

Sarah Palin has nothing on the original Barracudas. Chuck named the five of us that back in 1968.

Hollywood, da,da,da,da,da, Hollywood

My dog is much cuter than Paris Hilton's dog.

Hope the good guys win

This is a picture of me and the "BELL". The bell game is the longest continuous high school rivalry football game played in the United States. The bell game started between CUHS and Brawley high school in 1943. The two teams play the final league game of the year for bragging rights for another 365 days. This game is not only played for the bell, but usually ends up also being played for the league championship.

This is Patches my kitty cat. One night before a football game, and when she was only a small kitten, she was hanging around my car. I said, "if you are still there when I go home, I will take you with me." Being one to keep promises and finding her sitting by my car after the game, I took her home. Upon arriving home I found her covered with about one million flees. I left her in the box in my garage, and then drove to the market and bought some flee dip. I dipped her that night! The next morning I gave her a bath and then took her to the "Vet" to be checked out.

As you can see, she is still with me. She is a very loving cat, but also likes to wake up early. She will push everything off of the night stand until she wakes me up. After she is fed, she too will go back to sleep.

This is Lacey, my killer dog. She wakes me up at approximately 4:30 a.m. every morning and wants to eat, then she goes back to sleep and leaves me wide awake.

She is a minature Doxie and weighs about 9 pounds.

She is very stubborn, but also very sweet.

This is a picture of me on a wall mural drawn by students of Beth Benavents art class.

The Geezer's

Here is a picture of the "Geezers" who are
a great group of people. They treated me
very good! They put me in front to set the
pace, since I was dragging my arse up the trail.
They didn't want me to fall behind and be eaten by any Mountain Liones. We didn't see any ML's but there had been a sighting the previous day.

We hiked up a zig zag trail for two miles with an elevation of 875 feet.

I was better going down and some of the hikers actually wanted me to slow down.

Our next hike is scheduled for November 12th.