It's Feburary

It's February already.  Jim has already started working on the departure checklist.  At present the great unknown is should we turn the air conditioning off, or leave it set on 90 degrees.  The previous owners turned it off.  I am of two minds, one being that leaving things turned off in 110F is not good for the seals and what not.  We continue to vacillate on the subject.

Yes, it is February, which is the big tourist month of the year.  First there is the gem show.  There is an amazing construction effort of huge tents and many small tents of people selling stuff.  The infrastructure involved is just amazing.  It's hard to see, but that building stretches almost the entire width of the frame.

The same building closer.  Look at the traffic.  22nd is off the navigational table for the duration.

We've been in the past, but it's always the same and it's not that interesting.  People that are in the jewelry trade come to buy raw materials.  You can see previous posts here and here.

There will be a rodeo parade.  It's non-mechanized.  There is also a rodeo, which is a fairly big deal.  It goes for several days, as people are eliminated from their specialty.  We went once, and did enjoy the little kids riding sheep and the teenage girls doing barrel racing.  This is a past post of the parade and the rodeo.  

All of these events bring in many people, and their money, and they gum up the traffic.  I felt really badly for the gem show, the rain the day before yesterday was horrendous, as was the wind.  The people in the little open tents probably did not get that much foot traffic.

Yesterday we went to the restaurant supply store for a melamine bowl and a pair of tongs.  We drove by my favorite church, which you all have seen many times.

This is the melamine department.  There is much to choose from.

Today it warmed up and we decided to hike.  We probably could have ridden the bikes, but tomorrow is supposed to be better, so we hiked.  Today's route was a clockwise circumnavigation of Little Cat.  The mountain bikers were out in droves.  It never ceases to amaze me what terrain these people can ride and live.  There was a really strong young woman out on a gravel bike with dropped handle bars who was impressively strong.  We're seeing more young women out riding alone.  It pleases me greatly that they're out there.

Teddy Bear Cholla - bringer of mass pain if you touch it.

The nights are still chilly, and since park models have an R value of about 1, it's cool in the morning inside.  Here is Jim, wearing his Mandalorian pants, which are very warm.

Other than this, I have nothing much to say.