IA Born

My boss is working closely with the new IMT, and was heavily involved with the original Type 3 IMT. That's a local crew and they were doing a solid job. As of this afternoon, the drastically increased humidity kept the fire in check today. It's still barely above 1000 acres. Inciweb listed it as 1800 acres this morning, but that was an error and miscommunication between the two IMTs. There is still 0% containment because of not being able to burn out last night, despite the evacs. It is, in fact, the highest priority fire in the US right now. It's not spreading west, which is surprising, but nobody is arguing it, either!

Right now its looking pretty calm. Overnight recovery (low temps and high humidity) really helped, too. That can/will change as the day heats up. The fire didn't get rain yesterday, but other parts of town did. The overall increased humidity helped some, though. The burnouts north of town should have solidified that portion of the line and, hopefully, quelled the hysteria that Flagstaff is going to burn. The panic and hysteria from people who don't understand fire/fire management has been the worst, at least for me. I do my best to help them understand the reality of what is/isn't happening/going to happen, though. The fire is mostly pushing northeast, but its on the backside of Elden now. The folks living over off Elden Springs Road are in the greatest danger, especially because there was heavy spotting in that direction, which is the direction the wind was driving the fire. There is a 70% chance of rain today and tomorrow, so that should definitely help, especially if it hits the fire area. The biggest threat is going to be when the rains hit in force in the watershed directly above town. There is already a heavy flood advisory for the area of 4th Street where it buts up against Mt. Elden and to the west.

I've never seen any scientific studies relating to the aggressive nature of any snakes. I've only ever encountered one juveline Cerberus and it was pretty laid back. My research was on Mojaves and that's a species that definitely held its ground and was willing to strike (all defensively) as opposed to sit quietly or remove itself from the situation like most others I encountered. I released a research specimen back once after collecting blood and venom and it turned immediately, struck at me three times and had me jumping on the bumper of my wife's (then girlfriend) jeep. The better documented research is how many rattlesnakes of all species use passive defense. Its well documented that they'll sit quietly and let larger, non-prey threats walk right by without every rattling or making a noise.

My bad. I was under the impression you were stating it was a big AZ black.

That looks like a diamond-backed. The coon tail, pattern, and low elevation veg type are consistent with that species.

Usually by around 3 feet long, they are starting to morph from the light color to the dark; however, that's a big "usually". As with all wildlife, they don't follow the literature that is written about them. AZ blacks have also been shown to change colors with temperature changes. The dark will disappear with cold and then darken back up as the snake warms back up. A female that recently had a litter is plausible, especially with the temp/color change. A female Cerberus will stay with her neonates and protect them for up to two weeks. If she has not moving far, then it makes sense that she's not really thermoregulating and, therefore, not as dark as she normally would be.

In addition to being an extremely knowledgable reloader, Lance is a great herpetologist! He's absolutely correct. Its definitely a Tantilla (black-headed snake genus). Three of the four species are so hard to tell apart. The Chihuahuan is the only one that stands out, due to the white ring behind the black. If you're in the valley, its Tantilla hobartsmithi (Smith's).

I'm actually 100% with you on that one! I always carry the paper copies of the units I'm in. Batteries go dead and cloud cover messes up GPS readings. When I was in third grade, my dad, the combat vet, took me out and taught me how to read a map and shoot azimuths with a lensatic compass. I think that's a lost art by many now, thanks to technology. Of course, I say I'm drifting more towards OnX, but the only reason I have it is a friend got me a subscription for Christmas. I still go to my Flatline Maps (hard copy) if I'm in one of those units.

That, too. I use both, but am drifting more and more towards OnX

I have the hard copy map and the e-copy through Avenza. I'd definitely download the Avena app and then buy the online map. Like others have said, you can use it in airplane mode so you don't use data and then it doubles as your GPS.

My son and I have been planning a fly fishing trip back to the San Juan ever since our first trip together back in October. We were supposed to have a family trip, but life happened. My wife and daughter took off to El Paso this past weekend to help her sister move into her new house, so Jacob and I took off to the San Juan. I convinced my wife to let us get a half-day guide to help Jacob with his casting, even though I'd gotten him a casting lesson a couple of weeks ago. What I didn't realize was how much the guide would teach me. I'm not an expert flyfisherman, but I'm no slouch, either. I was able to improve my technical skills 10-fold. The guide service was definitely worth the money. The river has been flowing high ( 1200+ cfs) all winter and spring due to the runoff; however, the flows were dropped back to 500 cfs two weeks ago. The fishing was listed as back to normal and I had high hopes, especially for the evening hatch, but the fishing was slow all weekend. The fish weren't stacked in our usual spot like they normally are and everyone we talked to, including our guide, said the fishing was slow and rough all weekend. Its still better than sitting at home all weekend, though. We only caught two fish each all weekend, one each on Friday and one each Saturday morning. I hooked three nice trout Saturday morning, but lost them, but I landed a smallish brown. I'd rather catch a small brown than a big rainbow just for the fight, and its been a few years since I landed a brown. Friday afternoon, I landed a fat 17" bow in Texas hole, setting a pb on my new(ish) 4wt. This is its second time being used, and I love it more and more every time. My favorite part about Jacob was that he set up his own rods, rigged the line and leaders, tied on his own flies, and rigged his own indicators before we left for the river Friday. The 15" bow he caught Friday afternoon was 100% solo as he netted it himself on the rod he rigged himself. He is growing so much as a young man and an outdoorsman. His confidence is growing so much and I love it. His favorite part was finally breaking in the new 5wt TFO that Santa brought him this past Christmas. Fishing with me was his second favorite part!

Maybe we can work a swap: Lee's Ferry for the San Juan!

I'm full of interesting choices. Yes you can. I forgot until my son checked my portal today as we were driving home that I only put in for the 12BW late hunt. Got drawn! My son got the 35A youth hunt.

That's how many I have. My wife had fewer, which leads me to believe I have the tag. I was recently talking to a couple of friends, who pointed out that 14 was guaranteed for last year, but not the previous 2-3 years. Probably drought related since not as many folks wanted to chase big deer during a bad antler-year. I went from high hopes to planning archery hunts until I was pleasantly surprised Friday.

I called my Cabela's credit card Friday morning as my son and I were driving to the San Juan for another father/son flyfishing weekend. He got a youth deer tag, although we don't know which unit. I'm guessing he got his first choice of 35A. There was a general tag charge, too. I put both my wife and me in separately for the 12BW late hunt and 12B late hunt as our first and second choices, respectively. I'm hoping that's me with the 12BW late hunt!

Me, too! All I know is that we'll drop him off at the studio on Friday Oct. 18, around 2-3pm and I won't see him again until 8 am Saturday morning, when they open the studio to the public. The official promotion for all candidates, including me, starts at 0900 and will run until 2 or 3. The black belt candidates will do a bunch of team-bonding, practice forms, spar, practice their board breaks (up to 5 boards). The three 11-yos will not break a brick because of growth plate, but that's the only slack they get. Their 5-minute breaks consist of cutting boards for the whole promotion the next day. Occasionally, they'll get a chance to use the bathroom, grab a drink, and a quick bite to eat. I guess I'll have more details two years from October when I test for my black belt.

This is very true. The most effective snake fencing usually involves solid brick walls with overhangs to keep them from being able to climb over.

Which reticle? I know someone looking.

I don't have a before/after grouping because of a whole other mess that resulted from having the rifle cerakoted. The company that did the cerakote required the rifle to be pulled apart, which was stupid ("we don't have an FFL"...). That lead to having to redevelop loads since it wasn't put back together to the exact dimensions. By the time I was reworking loads, we had put the new stock on, thus no before/after data. The stock added a significant amount of weight compared to the factory stock, but it fits her better and has lightened the recoil even more.

x1000 for Bull Basin Archery here in Flagstaff. I've been a customer there for all 11 years I've lived here and they are, by far, the best proshop in northern AZ. I even know folks from the Valley who come up here to buy their bows and have other bows worked on.

We put a standard Boyd's thumbhole on my daughter's Savage Axis and it fit to her shorter length of pull. That stock is awesome. Had the AT One been available (or I missed it), I probably would have gone with that one. She loves, loves, loves her standard Boyd's thumbhole, though, so I can't imagine too many cons for the AT One.

Bow is sold!

SOLD. Thanks, Ken!

I think you should revisit your elementary English teacher before you start talking trash to me, buddy. And I'll gladly use my garden hose on you...I mean you're welcome to fill up your fresh tank. I think. Maybe I mean the former...

I got your back, buddy!