Mineral Mountain Road

Here are a couple more of photos from yesterday's ride to Box Canyon...

Click on images to enlarge

Imagine the amount of water needed to pile debris on the bank higher than my Jeep

Better view of the "waterfalls" section of the trail

Box Canyon

I drove my Jeep through Box Canyon today. Although it is definitely doable in a high clearance, 4WD vehicle, there are some obstacles that will get your attention.

The Waterfalls

I had read the old stagecoach depot had been washed away. The good news is it's still there, albeit in a state of disrepair.

Another Coyote

Another Bobcat

Taken outback about two miles from the park

Heavy Rain

Forget yesterday's "nice, soaking rain". It has been a near constant downpour since last night... and it is not over yet! I am beginning to think an Ark might come in handy here. Most rain I have seen in a long time.

I now have "lakeside property"

Low Clouds

We are currently having a nice, soaking rain without high winds or lightning. Here is an unique photo of clouds at the base of the Superstition Mountains...

Click on image to enlarge

AI Photo Editing

I have been using AI photo editing software to remove unwanted objects from some of my old photos. In this example, I simply typed "remove white space on right middle of photo". It's that easy!

Tesla FSD 14.1

Tesla's Full Self-Driving technology just keeps getting better...

‘When Harry Met Sally’ Ad

New Look

I believe the current color of my house is too bland. It occurred to me that in addition to making it more colorful, I should do something that would make it easier for me to find on those nights when I close the bars at 2:00 a.m.

I expect my neighbors will be really excited about the new look when they return for the winter

House Painted

I had the house painted yesterday. I did not sleep well last night. I think it was due to watching the paint dry. I am not used to that much excitement.

Local Flooding

Yesterday, we got 2 inches of rain in a relatively short period of time. Fortunately, there was no significant damage in the park. However east of us, there was some major flooding and subsequent damage. Here is a video of Globe, AZ which is not that far from my home...

Coyotes

This is why you should not leave anything to eat outside at night such as small pets or kids...

On second thought, kids would be okay

AI Photo Editing

The downside to using AI photo editing software is you occasionally get an image so disturbing that it can cause eye and brain trauma...

Bitcoin Lottery Miner

Recently, I discovered the Bitcoin Merch® Gold Nugget Lottery Miner. It is called a "lottery miner" because it gives you a chance to earn 3.125 Bitcoins every 10 minutes. Due to its low hash rate as compared to the huge mining farms, it has an extremely low chance of successfully mining a Bitcoin block. However, given it only costs $34.99, uses one watt of electricity and has the potential to generate over $300,000 in passive income, it seems worth the effort.

Update 10/27/2025: The miner has quit working. It was fun for a while, but then became more of a paper weight. I would recommend not buying it.

Improving Photos

In addition to Google's Gemini being able to create interesting images, it can also remove unwanted objects from your photos. Here is one of a supermoon that has power lines that I found distracting...

By simply asking Gemini to remove the power lines, I got this image...

Gemini Image Editing

I have been playing around with Google's Gemini image editing software and it is amazing! I took a photo of my neighbors and asked Gemini to put her face on a bikini model. Here are the before and after images...

Lightning

Looks like Phoenix got a lot of lightning last night. Fortunately, it was past my bedtime.

Pareidolia

Burning Man 2025

This was not a good year for Burning Man. It started with a massive dust storm, then a torrential rain, and ended with a murder. Imagine paying $550-$3,000 to join 70,000 strangers for this experience...

Dying Coyote

While picking up my trail camera, I came across this dying coyote. The way it trembles makes me think it may have been bitten by a rattlesnake.

Arizona Haboob

We had a massive dust storm (haboob) come through the park. It was short lived but definitely interesting...

Looks like it was filmed on the planet Mars

Photo courtesy of Ellen Capps

Sports Drink

Javelinas

My cellular trail cam is working well, but so far the only videos I have been getting are of javelinas...

Cellular Trail Camera

I have been using traditional trail cameras to record videos of desert animals visiting a natural spring about 2 miles from my house. However in order to retrieve the videos, I had to physically visit the site to access the SD card. Fortunately, they now have cellular trail cameras that allow you view your videos remotely from anywhere in the world via the Internet. 

I recently purchased a very affordable cell cam on Amazon for $41.99 that comes with a 7-day free and unlimited trial data plan. After that you need to choose a cell plan starting at 19.99/month or $169.99/year per device. Here is the first video I downloaded from the comfort of my recliner.