biglakejake

good level camping on hardscrabble mesa just south of strawberry off fossil creek road on fs 194. do not recommend taking trailer down the hill but good camping also near stehr lake. lee

just got back from a quick turn up to big lake to take a look. burro mtn and sheeps crossing areas look ok-very little severe burn there or around the lake. did see about 400 elk bedded down and/or feeding right out in the open meadows at noon(only one bull-they must be shy). stopped at big lake visitor center and asked the forest service gal there why greens peak was still closed. she radioed dispach and the responded 'still closed-maybe tomorrow' keep hearing the same story over and over. the couple who started the fire and lost thier dogs went directly to the forest service and reported it but forest service told them it was a good fire and would burn itself out. lee

any 'dego tuna video rocks but this fish kicked this 'lil fellers butt....... lee

2:45pm monday july 11 2011

almost forgot....best hunting song ever written or sung.... caballo diablo by charlie daniels, chris ledoux, others. written by charlie i think. 'move quickly now-downwind. up on his back, start rakin' him down with my spurs...over the precipice we go....'

gotta dig out the old 35mm photos of a trip on the Erik with my group of LA brake and tire guys-also on July 4 week!-in 1992. the three boats that do the midriff trips-Erik, Jose Andres and Capt Villegas-always had a reputation for being top heavy with skiffs, outboards, fuel, gear and sunshades. and add fat white guys and chests full of beer. sounds like a monsoon thunderboomer capsized her, killed one fisherman with 7 or 8 still missing and left them all in the water for like 20 hours. so much for EPIRB technology south of the border. the first the mexican navy heard of it was a phone call from a fisherman brought back to shore after rescue by panga fisherman. i only did it once. too hot to sleep and after 5 days we ran out of beer, soda, ice and patience. lee ps caught like a hundred yellowtail and grouper but the heat at night is what i remember most.

1) marshall tucker 24 hours at a time(luv the live version with charlie sittn' in with his fiddle) tie skynyrd freebird 3) CDB devil went on down to safford 4)steppenwolf anything 5)golden earring radar love allmon bros ramblin man cash highwayman doors l a woman skynyrd swamp music

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2011/07/05/mexico-searches-for-7-missing-in-boating-accident/?test=latestnews

about 3 hours old and growing. halfway betweet san manuel and klondyke

the action is a full size commercial mauser that will handle any cartridge this side of a .50 browning. with no barrel and no stock its worth 350-450 to a builder. unknown barrel but in a popular caliber so add 100 minimum. oddball stock-oversize comb and thumbhole with a magnum recoil pad on a 22-250 is a push at best. for coues maybe a #1 contour 280AI at 24 inches and a new stock with blind box instead of bottom metal. could come in around 5 1/2lbs and make all the short mag shooters real jealous. just me dreamin'................... lee similar on GB: http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.aspx?Item=238396515

a buddy and i were walking the bank at fool hollow lake thowing POP-Rs for bass while the attack was happening 15 miles south. i bumped out a bear at one point and was glad i had a 'lil beretta .32 CCW in my pocket. methinks next night fishing trip i'll be accompanied by mr. .44 Special. i can just see the witnesses trying to herd that boar outa there with thier cars but the bear wern't skeered much. lee

New white dodge in my neighborhood on 7th ave in west Show Low. Red chevy pu turning on show low lake road sunday.

show low based air attack crews are talking about a fire on mt turnbull with 50 knot winds on the way. any truth to it? lee

stolen line says happiness is a bloody deck......dego shortfin today...longfin to follow...burn some gas boys... lee

satellite view-just above center http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/loopsat.php?wfo=twc&area=west&type=vis&size=1

what is open is- lakes around show low/pinetop-lakeside: show low lake, fool hollow, rainbow and becker over in springerville so some boating and fishing should still be in order. as a side note all the fish hatcheries in arizona are dumping into show low and fool hollow lakes so at least the kids can have some fun. catfish and walleye at night. lee ps i always go prarie dog shootin' out st johns way when they close the forest.

google earth showing 6 or 7 sections ablaze on northwest flank of the mountain- i suppose i sadly answered my own question. why all this (%$@$#$%^&^*)()_&(*Y$%@$#$%^ wind?

best defense against bottle rockets in the forest is a good ol' louisville slugger. dustin' the cobwebs off mine as i type what with Independence Day coming up and all-just celebrating an all-american fun game. what was it FDR said about walking softly...? lee

not much info yet.

a better day 2009 similar view today Heaven Scent cabins with incinerated hillside East canyon Spoke a bit with the irrigation bosses at the hydrologic shack on the dam. They said they thought that with the repairs made in 2005 the dam will survive the monsoon-the spillway design was improved. They both had their fingers crossed. lee

forget the legislature-send the bill and all future ones to jan brewer. the first governor to sign fireworks legalization in arid-zona. my mom-may she rest in peace- said she'd kick the butt of any governor that signed it. it came up to the governors desk about ever 6 years and they vetoed it every time. guess gov jan doesn't know any firefighters.... lee

just to clarify...after rodeo black canyon creek flowing through heber looked like the colorado river at parker. and the Little Colorado River at Winslow got up to a mile wide. a mile. wide. i don't think the LCR above river res dam has nearly as much watershed but boy 'n girls that crick is gonna swell some. lee

after rodeo they closed all roads except the all-weather major connector roads like 300, 139 and joe tank road. and some of the wet crossings on those were closed also because the FS bulldozed all the culverts out area-wide. they did not ban access outright just closed the smaller loops and oneway trails. woodcutters, hunters and hikers had to do our thing from the designated 'diamond roads' that were left open. camping was banned altogether south of 260 until at least fall 2007. i noted the comment above about camping in 2004-don't know about that. KouryGuideService took bulls out of 3c just after the fire and would know more details. also of note is that the current ASNF and southwest district mgmt are much more 'educated in the liberal arts' than they were in 2002. anything is possible...... lee

have had excellent success with a 44 Special but am currently looking for a 45 Colt 6" Vaquero. 357 mag, 357 sig and 40/10mm seem to be the loudest of them all. lee

firecamp-sketchy stories, incomplete memories, tall tales mom used to run the radio shack at Williams airport for Larry Ely and the smokejumpers during the '50s and worked at the canteen at night. lots of jokes told around the campfire about how horny slurry bomber crews and jumpers could get during fire season. dad bossed the dozers and sherman tanks with blades that were based at navajo ordinance depot. his favorite tales were about the dozer and tank drivers that would stay on the line with fire all around them after the trucks and crews had to leave. many of them had crewed with patton or in the pacific and could not wait for the next fire. kinda like modern day hotshots. the one thing i heard over and over was that it took men and women on the ground to put out the fire but the only thing that could stop it was rain or a fleet of slurry bombers. like dozens of liberators and catalinas making dozens of drops each every day. anybody remember the catalina tanker base on roosevelt at porter springs? today we have less than a dozen bombers making runs for an entire country and fires go on for weeks. good reads-'young men and fire' by MacLean, 'Fire on the mountain' by MacLean Jr., and a short story from the '20's by zane grey that i don't remember the title-about a crown fire racing through the pines and homesteads east of christopher mountain. dad was gone by a few months when mom called me in LA crying to tell me about 6 dead on dude. she left 60 days later. Clarence Floyd Elbert 1919-1990 LaVonne Marguerite Tiller Elbert 1929-1990 lee