microfauna, acorn squash, snow on the mountain

microfauna

Saw my first tarantula up close. I’ve seen them on the road before but never in camp. This one was about half-size (juvenile?) and had striking coloration. Its body and legs were black and furry, and abdomen covered in rich brown hairs. Some quick googling suggests it might be a male Aphonopelma vorhiesi, the Tucson Bronze Tarantula. Females are move evenly colored light brown.

I also saw a baby walking stick, about 1/4” long. I saw a full-size one in this area during the monsoon season.

baking acorn squash in the crockpot

I do like hard squashes but hadn’t cooked any since I went full-time just over 4 years ago.

I picked up up on a grocery run and decided I’d either find a crockpot recipe for them or be the first to try it. :-) Turns out there were several recipes, and it turned out well. Both texture and flavor were excellent. details here

I stacked them in the 2qt crock since it could get it done on 95w on HI while the big 4qt requires 190w. I use the bigger one when I need more capacity, as for lasagna, meat loaf, baked veggies with meat, etc.

mountain-top snow

It’s started raining again and temps have been dropping into the 40s at night.

The tallest mountain from this site is Humphreys Peak at 12,637ft. A bit surprising to me, it’s also the highest elevation in Arizona.

It’s a little hard to see, but it’s the peak hiding behind the foreground mountains.

The current campsite is ~6,500ft. If we use the standard 3.5F/1,000ft rule temps up there are already below freezing at night. That explains the snow.

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