August 15, 2026
Took off from Cave Creek at three minutes before five this morning and took the back way to Fountain Hills via Rio Verde. It was a very nice 73 degrees out when I left and the serenity out on the desert was absolutely magical.
No AC, driver's window down, cruising along in the quiet cool for the first time since, maybe 1987? No, that's a joke, but when it's 112 every day and 86 for the low every night, this kind of reprieve seems that long ago and it definitely seems heaven sent.
After Fountain Hills I cruised up and over the Four Peaks Range, past the Gisela turnoff, thru Rye, up the hill, and landed at the Airport Cafe in Payson for a 7 a.m. breakfast with the Payson Film Festival crew. We laughed it up pretty hard and got kicked out at 8:30.
Next week, I have a longer drive.
Meanwhile, back in Payson. . .
At 11:30 I found myself at the same spot in the same restaurant—High Country BBQ—as last year. Only this year I was expounding on "The Searchers."
I also, actually watched "The Searchers" on the big screen with the film festival crowd and I have to say the big Navajo landscapes loomed like behemoths, but I had forgotten how hokey, the subplots are. The silly romantic subplot really fell flat and other characters hauled in for comic relief, including the Swedish neighbor Lars Jorgensen (John Qualen), who uses a faux Norsky accent, and Mose Harper (Hank Worden), a half-wit treated like a mascot, really came off lame. This second strand is without interest, and those of us who value The Searchers filter it out, patiently waiting for a return to the main story line. On the other hand. . .
"Two things make Western pictures—horse manure & dust."
—John Ford
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