Last Stand Ridge Before And After The Fire Plus Vetting Locals

July 15, 2025

   We had a bad fire in our neighborhood about five years ago and it took out virtually all the underbrush. Somehow, this stand of saguaros survived, some barely—and they have the scars to prove it. Not sure how long they will last but I admire their tenacity. 

Last Stand of Saguaros 

Here's how it looked before the fire.

Ratcliff Ridge in 2019

Last Stand Ridge Today

Tombstone Anonymous?

   My nephew does jeep tours out of Scottsdale and he told me he had a couple from New Jersey on a recent tour who told him that "Tombstone" is their favorite movie. When he asked them if they had visited the town, they were surprised to learn that Tombstone was in Arizona? Yikes! I swear, if you live long enough, everything is mangled and, or, forgotten.

   Amen. Repeat!

A New Way of Vetting Locals

Daily Whip Out:

"You're Not From Around Here Are You?"

Whatever gave you that idea?

Daily Whip Out:

"Black Mountain Morning"

 "The truth is simple. If it was complicated, everyone would understand it."

—Walt Whitman