Our Year In Pictures - 2011 page 1

OUR YEAR IN PICTURES - 2011 Page 1

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*These are pictures of our family and friends taken or obtained in the year 2011*
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Bruce's ex-wife Nancy and her new husband Michael Robinson visited us for a few hours on 15 January 2011 while they were in Arizona on family business.	29 Jan. 2011 On occasion grandson Mike and I will try to do something interesting together on his day off from work. Today we decided to go hiking in the Superstition Mountains. This is Mike at the Peralta Trail trail head. There are several trail heads in this area that go generally west or north into the mountains.	Just starting up the trail. This photo was taken below the rock spires you see in the photo on the left.
As rugged as it is, Peralta Trail is like Main Street in the Superstitions. This trail has more hikers on it than any other in the mountains.	In the backpack (which I let the young guy carry) we have our cell phones, a GPS unit, plenty of water, Gator Aide and trail snacks. This is about a three hour hike and each person should have at least a gallon of fluids this time of year when the temperatures are mild.	A few days before our hike, three hikers from Minnesota went into the Superstitions with almost no water, no cell phones and no food. The last I heard months later they still had not been found.
This point on the trail is about half an hour from the top at Freemont pass. The trail here is representative of most of the trail; however, there are spots that are much more rugged.	The view at Freemont pass is worth the hike up. It took us about an hour and a half to the pass. Weaver's Needle in the background is supposedly the key to the location of the Lost Dutchman mine. Good luck finding it.	Checking our cell phones. On Freemont Pass we do have good service. Peralta Trail goes up through a canyon with tall cliffs on both side and there is no cell phone service.
This was quite a hike for me, but you see many senior citizens on this trail in the winter time. This shot was taken on Freemont Pass looking back down the trail towards our starting point.	The many stone spires at the top of Superstition Mountain are part of the Hopi Indian flood legend. They say that the people who fled the flood climbed to the top of the mountain. The Great Spirit then turned them to stone. From a distance the spires do resemble people standing on the crest of the mountain.	29 Jan. 2011 I'm heading back down Peralta Trail. The altitude at Freemont Pass is more than 1000 ft. higher than the trail head. But, it is worth it.
03 April 2011 This picture was taken the day Mike and I rescued our mustang/quarter mare Passy from a neighbor I had given her to two or three months ago.	This is how Passy looked when I gave her to the neighbor who wanted a horse. Since he seemed to be good with animals and feeding her was a bit of a burden for us, I agreed. I stipulated that he take care of her properly, train her to ride and do ferrier work on Mocha for me (he claimed to be a ferrier). He lived up to none of these promises.	Compare this photo with the before photo on the left and you can easily see that she is a shadow of her former self. (I look like two shadows of my former self! I've go to get rid of that gut).
03 April 2011 I took these photos just in case I have problems with this guy later. I don't think anyone can disagree that this was animal abuse; or, at least animal neglect. Sue is in the background talking to neighbors Rosie, Mike and Gary (Rosie's friend). Grandson Mike took the picture.	In this photo you can clearly see Passy's hip bones. Even in humans, that is a sign of malnutrition.	I asked Gary (holding the horse) to come and be a witness. He and I sometimes go horseback riding together. This particular picture did not show her condition like I wanted it to do.
This picture shows how thin she is.	If you look closely, you can see that her spinal column is visible above her rib cage. The area on her back above the ribs is completely sunken. This is indicative of her not being fed for a significant period of time.	03 April 2011 Another shot showing her hip bones
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