T.M.W.

= too much water
that is what i discovered at ventana canyon trailhead. the creek was raging! there were three signs that all stated that the trail crosses ventana creek numerous times, do not enter when flooded. i ignored the first sign, and hopped around the raging creek bed egdes right by the trail entrance. no problem, i continue on dry trail for awhile. i do pass two more signs warning me to stay away. i think, signs, schmigns, and start singing in my head the old song 'signs, signs, everywhere a sign'song i normally dislike. i come to the next creek crossing area. i preceed thru with extreme caution, only because i saw a dude who had just crossed himself. even despite the dude, i was extermely pessimistic about what i was doing, until i reached safely on the other side. HA, i think. the currents are very 'persuasive', but it wasn't bad. the worst part was u could not see the creek floor because the water was soo turbulent. i go on until the next creek crossing. i see the dude from the previous crossing. he is standing on a big rock in the very narrow and raging creek bed. we start bs'ing. we agree we have gone far enough. we did NOT want to be the 'idiots' u hear about in the news who had to be helicoptered out of a canyon for foolishly ignoring the perils of mother nature. so we turn around and head back together. all told, i maybe went 1/2 -3/4 mile in.

i wanted more, so i went to pima canyon. there i hiked about two to three miles. there were a few stream crossings required here, but the creeks here are much wider. there was always total visibility, and almost always rocks that could be used as stepping stones, crossing frogger style. i stopped at a huge rock / bed rock outcropping right by the stream. there was a huge tree that was in the creek bed. the roots and rock itself created cool waterfalls all the way around. unfortunately, my digital camera battery had already died by this point. i guess i am 'old school'. i do not recharge a battery until it dies. that is why my battery died today, despite using my camera all week on vacation, and to do a big photo shoot for work, and some other pics taken here and there. if i get off work tomorrow at a descent time, i will go back out there, just to take those pics. i think it would be worth it. besides, u never know, maybe i will meet the love of my life out there. :) so, anyway, i 'camp out' here, eat a little snack, and take a 'nap / break' for about an hour or so.
the picture posted here is looking back at the last stream bed i croosed at ventana. it was the last picture taken before the battery died. there were ten others taken previously. i am having problems posting the pic. hmmm.
this is why i have not told my mom about this site, because if she did read this, i would not have been able to 'tell' about this event.

so, remember how i said it was rare for a rookie picher to hurl back to back shutouts? just how rare is it, u probably have been pulling out your hair wonderring. it is so rare, that it hasn't happenned in the majors since dontrelle willis did it back in 2003. dontrelle is now a perenial all star. the last indians pitcher to accomplish the feat was dick tidrow. he did this a long, long time ago in a galaxy far, far away back in 1972, before i was even born.

ok, got some calls to make. then work tomorrow, ugh.