It was 85 when I hit the Tandy Hills today. And very windy.
The wind was blowing clouds in front of the sun, making taking a picture of the Shadow of the Tandy Hills Thin Man slightly difficult. It was as if the lights kept getting turned off right when I clicked the shutter button.
As you can see, a buzz cut has my head looking like it's shrunk. A buzz cut makes for a much cooler hiking experience.
Today I had 3 Close Encounters of the Human Kind on the Tandy Hills. I can go weeks without seeing another human on the hills.
The first encounter came as I reached the bottom of Mount Tandy, at the point where the trail enters the Tandy Highway. A guy was walking towards me, picking up stuff and putting it in a black plastic bag.
As our paths crossed I said howdy, to which the guy with the black bag said, in a quizzical tone, "Durango?"
"That would be me" said I. "Who are you? I asked.
"Stenotrophomonas" came the reply.
I was face to face with the legendary Stenotrophomonas.
I continued on. A mile or so later I saw movement across a gully. Soon another human came into view. I'd seen this guy before. He had some sort of music playing device in his ear. So his "howdy" was quite loud.
The Third Encounter of the Human Kind occurred in the dark, foliage thick area you reach from the north side of Tandy Falls. I was coming down the trail that leads to the falls. Suddenly this guy hollers at me some sort of warning. I was a little concerned.
The new wildflower, for the day, I found on top of Mount Tandy, near the Tandy Hills Shrine. It is a humongous wildflower.
In other Tandy Hills news, today I learned I will be in a booth at the Prairie Fest on Saturday, April 23. Currently I am scheduled to be at the Prairie Fest starting at 2 in the afternoon, til, I assume, closing.
I have never spent more than an hour or two at the Prairie Fest.
The last time I was in a booth, at a festival type event, it was in Seattle at the Fremont Sunday Market. That time I was in a booth with a crazy, raging sociopath who weighed 5 or 6 hundred pounds and looked like Jabba the Hut. This time I will be in a booth with a relatively sane person who is a skinny little thing who does not look like Jabba the Hut.
