JEEPERS CREEPERS TRIP TO COKE OVENS

 

 On Dec. 16 the Jeepers Creepers  took a trip led by the Grouts to the Coke Ovens, east of Florence AZ near an old mining area . Our route was through Florence, east on the Florence Kelvin Highway, left on Cochran road and down a wash to go under a railroad bridge and to a beach on the Gila River. We forded the river and wound through tamarisk and other trees in the river bottom until reaching the 5 Coke Ovens.

There are two other ways to get there, both are longer and more challenging.

Mike Carter introduced us to the petroglyphs shown  below, the route and led on the more challenging parts of the trail.

Some of our group clambering up to the petroglyphs.

Jerry Grout and the larger of the rock drawings.

 

 

Smaller drawings

More drawings

We stopped here just after turning onto the Cochran road for airing down, etc.  The vehicles in order from the left were driven by Mike Carter, Jay Olson. Jeff Clyde,  Keith Stone, and Duane Steen. Not shown are those driven by Jerry Grout and Bill Strong.

 We turned off the Cochran road here to travel down a wash. A better road might be in the next left turn.

This bridge still in in use by the Union Pacific. Our route took us under it.

Keith Stone is guided up the cut in the bank by Mike Carter

 

Here  Jerry approaches the cut.  About here a plastic panel under his XL 7 fell off. It was recovered and the next day Jerry reinstalled it.

Three of the ovens and our lunch spread

 

 

 

This oven is shown from the higher road in back of the row.

PHOENIX SUNS GAME

On Nov 27 Jo and I attended a home game of the Phoenix Suns against the Portland Trail Blazers. Our firm had season tickets for many years. Now I buy tickets from a season ticket holder for three or four games a year. This was our first this year.

I recently got a used Canon 350 D digital single lens reflex camera with a 28 – 155 mm lens which I took to the game to combine interests – basketball pictures and watching a Suns game. While in college I relished taking publicity photos of Beloit College basketball games with then state of the art  equipment.

Below are  a few of the 22 shots I took at the game.  Our seats for Suns games are in row 8 behind the visiting team bench.

    Trailblazers warming up.

  I used the sports setting on the camera for these natural light pictures.The automatic exposure selected a sufficiently high shutter speed to do quite well at stopping action.   Above the cheerleaders are in their first half costume, with second half costume below.

Portland is about to catch a rebound.

 

   This shot went in! A lot of pushing goes on under the basket as players try to get a good position to catch a rebound.

   

More pushing. The Suns won 120 – 106.