Jack the Dog defends his territory.
I’ve been living at Howard Mesa for almost a full month now. And it’s been almost a full month since I’ve had a good night’s sleep.
The problem is Jack the Dog. You see, he feels as if he has to protect me from animals of the night. I’m talking about coyotes.
Howard Mesa is home to a wide range of wildlife, including rabbits (cottontails and jackrabbits), antelope, elk, coyotes, ravens, hummingbirds, nighthawks, and a variety of other birds. Since our property is fenced-in, we don’t usually see antelope or elk. This year, we haven’t seen any coyotes (yet) either. But that doesn’t mean we haven’t heard them.
Every night, packs of coyotes on various parts of the mesa, howl. They do it around sunset and then at various times throughout the night. The sound is distant and rather pleasant in a wild sort of way. It doesn’t usually wake me. It isn’t usually close enough to be that loud.
But it’s loud enough for Jack the Dog to hear, even in the dead of night when he, Alex the Bird, and I are sound asleep. And every time he hears those darn coyotes, he reacts the same way: by barking.
So, in the middle of the night, I’m likely to be awakened by my own dog barking at least two or three times.
The other night, he barked so suddenly that I heard Alex the Bird fall of the perch in his sleeping cage.
I don’t know why he barks at the coyotes here. He doesn’t do it at home. There’s no threat of coyotes attacking us in our camper. And they really aren’t very close.
Tonight, I’m bringing a cup of water to bed with me. When Jack barks, he’ll not only get yelled at, but doused. We’ll see if that makes things any better.
I’d like to sleep a whole night through.
Elizabeth arrived at 7 AM and I was ready to go. We started off with a little tour of Howard Mesa. Elizabeth used my camera to take a photo of her house (see photo). I pointed out all the little cabins and sheds and trailers that you can’t see from the road. Then we went up to Valle and followed 180 east. She showed me where some friends of hers had just bought some land and I showed her Red Mountain. From there, we headed north. It had rained the day before and I was interested in seeing if there was water in the Little Colorado River. There wasn’t. I took her to the Little Colorado Gorge lookout, just outside the Grand Canyon SUA, and was disappointed to see the canyon bottom just as dry as it had been the last time I flew over.
As we flew along the cliffs near The Gap, she admitted that she’d never been to Page. I told her a little about it. I figured we’d land at the airport, then take the free shuttle to the marina where there was a restaurant. But when I pointed out the Vermillion Cliffs in the distance ahead of us, I got a better idea. Marble Canyon. The runway is right across the street from the lodge and restaurant. Elizabeth was game. Actually, I don’t think she cared where we went. I didn’t really care either, for that matter. Elizabeth took a few photos of the landscape we flew over, including this shot in the Cedar Ridge area. She was fascinated by the geology of the land, especially the tilted layers of multi-colored rock. I explained how some of the more obvious formations were made and told her I had a book about Grand Canyon geology that probably explained a lot more. We were flying over the Navajo Reservation and, when we were away from the main road, we saw lots of ruins of old hogans and animal pens. That’s the kind of stuff that interests me. I especially liked the animal pens that had been built into natural rock formations — like a box canyon with its open side fenced off or animal pens built entirely of stone.
We crossed the Colorado River at Marble Canyon and landed at Marble Canyon’s airstrip. I set down on the dirt ramp area and shut down. It was about 8 AM and the morning sun was still low enough to make the Vermillion Cliffs behind us…well, vermillion. In my opinion this is the most scenic spot anyone can use as a backdrop for a photo of their aircraft. In fact, it’s enough of an excuse to fly in to Marble Canyon. Just be advised: the runway is very narrow.
We had breakfast at the lodge restaurant. It wasn’t anything special. I think our waitress may have been more interested in listening to her MP3 player than serving us. Afterwards, we climbed back on board and took off to the north. A plane had just taken off from Marble Canyon’s runway, so I had to stay a bit low until it passed over us. (I didn’t use the runway.) Our flight path gave us great views of Navajo Bridge and the river at Lees Ferry, as well as Horseshoe Bend further upstream. Elizabeth kept snapping photos, like this one, which kind of gives you an idea of the visibility in a helicopter. Don’t mind the reflections in the bubble; I was wearing my loud white pants again. And yes, that’s my hand on the cyclic.
One of the many things I don’t have on Howard Mesa is an Internet connection. Sure, I have my PowerBook and sure, the solar panel on the trailer roof provides enough power for me to keep it charged. So I can compose e-mail messages, write blog entries, play with my GPS’s connectivity features, and work on my novel. But I can’t surf the Web, send and receive e-mail messages, or publish those blog entries. Enter Java Cycle. This funky little coffee shop, which used to be a bicycle shop, offers a full range of coffee beverages and free wireless Internet connection. Conveniently located on the eastbound side of Route 66, west of Grand Canyon Boulevard, I can usually find a parking space right out front. So I can take my PowerBook down to Williams, order a latte, and sit at a comfortable table while taking care of my Internet needs.