Cactus!

Today I had a run in with this little beauty ...

I remember the good old days when I could accidentally brush against a bit of local flora and come away unscathed. Not so in the desert! As best I can tell, this is a prickly pear. The main spines are roughly two inches long. After running into it, I learned that there are also a bunch of tiny spines that it leaves stuck in you.

I caught the thing with the shin of my left leg. One of the large spines stuck into my leg and then exited the other side after traveling about an inch!. I tried pulling it through, but it just broke off! So now I have a cactus needle in my leg!

For a few minutes, I thought about cutting it out. I even had my pocket knife out and ready.But if you know me and my pain tolerance you know how laughable this idea is. My current plan is to wait it out - see if by some miracle it works its way out. What's more likely is that Donna will probably have to cut it out when I see her over Thanksgiving ...

I also had a chance to meet with this guy. No idea what his name is - we didn't exchange names. I was wandering the campground and espied his dune buggy. I had seen it out on the road yesterday, and I came over to have a look.

He built this himself - he welded the frame together, put in a VW engine and transmission; added the seats, steering wheel, and mirrors from his Ford Aerostar (he hit an elk with it so it was useless); and bolted on some headlights from a snow plow!

This guy was quite the character. Sounded like a heavy smoker. He was wearing a shirt that had a picture of some Native Americans riding horses. It read "Homeland Security - fighting terrorism since 1492."

He's a semi-retired heavy machinery mechanic.For fourteen years, he worked for a copper mining operation near Butte, Montana. After awhile, he became the head safety officer, but he said it was too boring - he missed the hands-on work. Most recently, he's been driving the city bus in his hometown, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, during the winter - their high tourism season. He claims to have the best safety record of any of their drivers. But now he thinks he's getting too old to be battling with the cold weather. The new plan is to harvest firewood during the summer and then let a friend sell it (for a 25% commission) during the winter.

Towards the end of our conversation, he told me that he was probably going to spend some time panning for gold in the mountains north of the campground because "you never know when you might find a little color." Then he proceeded to tell me about "the Dutchman."

Here's what I learned: The Dutchman was a prospector in these parts. There are lots of myths, but he's real. He told lots of stories. He told stories for drinks - stories about the gold he found. But there are records in the Denver mint that the gold the Dutchman brought in was the purest raw gold anyone ever found. The Dutchman died in a flood and nobody knows where his gold is. Someday someone will find it - in the most unlikely place. They'll stumble, fall on their hands, and come up with a handful of nuggets.

There'a actually a wikipedia article on the Dutchman!

I've been watching Band of Brothers in the evenings (my second time). Fantastic show! Here's a bit of trivia for you - Jimmy Fallon makes an appearance in episode 5! I just saw him! Crazy ...

Tonight is our last night in Phoenix! Tomorrow we drive to Banning!