Yesterday, on the way to Caroline’s office, our VW Beetle called it quits. We’ve only had it for about 18 months, but in that time, we’ve put about 107,000 miles (172,000 km) on it. The bad news is that this car was leased for three years, and we were only supposed to put 36,000 miles on it. The really bad news is that the engine “spun,” thus destroying it, and we now need a new one. The horrible news is that this is going to cost about $7000. The good thing is that the dealer has given us a loaner, and I’m determined to get as much use out of it as I can. Because I’m still recovering from this tragedy, I’m not well planned yet on where I should go, and hence, I’m just on the other side of Phoenix at the White Tank Mountains.

This rather large lizard seemed pretty content with my approach and never flinched once as it pulled within a few inches to snap this closeup.

I wonder how the grasshopper’s worldview is altered with only one antenna.

Petroglyphs were my inspiration for heading out here. Sadly, many of them are damaged, and it’s obviously from other humans, not the lizards and grasshoppers. It’s also getting quite hot the further out on the trail I went. I think I’ll have to consider points north for my next solo trip out.