Hiking Lake Pleasant

We have been wanting to visit Lake Pleasant, just northwest of Phoenix, for more than a year now, but until now had not made the trip over there.  We were lucky to have our friends Ed and Lynn staying in the Phoenix area and we all agreed to meet at the lake.  We decided to hike a new trail, Yavapai Point trail.  It was completed and opened only in 2014 and is said to have nice views of the lake from above.

We arrived at the Pipeline Canyon Trailhead and started to get ready for the hike when we heard a commotion in the brush coming towards us...  Gari gets a picture of the intruders!

To our delight it was three wild Burros just as curious about us as we were about them.

Then Lynn and Ed arrived and we got all excited to see them again.  The last we saw of Lynn and Ed was in Newark, MD this summer when we were on the Eastern Shore.  We both stayed at the same campground and had a great visit there.

Steve's turn with our pals.

At the intersection of Pipeline Canyon and Yavapai Point trails.

Steve and Ed heading up toward the Point.

We called this the Hugging Cactus.  You may not want that hug!

A peek of Lake Pleasant behind the Teddy Bear and Elk Horn Cactus.

Ed and Steve stop at a switchback overlook and break out the field glasses for a little extra surveillance.

Lynn and Ed pass by the large Arm Twisted Sagauro.

 Gari stops at the Arm Twister.

Lots of Saguaro and Teddy Bears on this slope.

Looking back to the north, that Half Dome looking rock is another hiking area in the Lake Pleasant park.

Looking back to the south we could see the Scorpion Marina where we got a bite to eat and a cold drink after the hike.

Ed, Lynn & Steve at the Yavapai Point on top!

Gari leads the way back down from the top.

Steve is coming up on the big Arm Twister Saguaro.

On the way back we had two more Asses cross our path!

Dueling Faucets

We agreed that a faucet upgrade was in order at Shilo's (Gari's mom) house.  We had replaced the kitchen faucet a couple years ago with a pull out model, but it didn't hold up well.  Even though that model sold for over $100 at the time the construction materials were mostly plastic, which surprised me.  Not surprisingly the plastic wore quickly and the handle wouldn't sit well in the retracted position.  In pictures we replace the worn faucet below.

Photo below of old worn kitchen faucet and the Reverse Osmosis drinking faucet to the left, which we will ultimately replace also this year.

New in the box Moen faucet, this a pull down model vs the existing pull out style.

It's what's in the box!

Steve has his fancy new faucet wrench he picked up at Walmart one day, too bad it wasn't usable on this job!

I see progress, the new faucet is on the counter, but Steve is still under the sink 30 minutes later.  It looks like he is installing the retraction weight on the supply line now.  That is what's in his hand.  Get in there fella!

Test Inspector #1 seems pleased with the water spray, this is encouraging!

Manager of the Inspection Department, Shilo runs the new install through it's paces and returns a seal of acceptance!

 The new kitchen faucet, the R.O. drinking faucet is next for replacement.

The new R.O. faucet installed.

Finished evolution of the kitchen plumbing fixtures 2016.  Happy New Year!