on rainy days when riding and exploring outdoors are limited by the weather. Here is the Wildman US Army Patriot kit ready for sanding all the fiberglass parts - fins, engine mount, centering rings - that will be bonded with epoxy. The nose cone assembly and coupler have already been finished.
A distant view of Fisher Towers...
from the top of Bull Canyon offers a different perspective.
The tallest spire, The Titan, stands 8.7 miles (14 km) away in the center of this image.
On the hunt...
for breakfast from a secluded perch in a honey locust tree.
Cooper's Hawk (Astur cooperii).
The pulpy interior of honey locust pods...
is a delicacy preferred by a small herd of deer that visit the trees like clockwork in the early evening this time of year.
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus).
Nearby, a queue forms at the bird bath.
Like a little vacuum cleaner...
this busy squirrel fills its cheek pouches every morning at the feeding stations. There are three of these amusing creatures making sure the area is spick-and-span.
A well-fed white-tailed antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus).
The crested hairdo is very distinctive...
and stylish on this large, azure-colored jay that is now a daily visitor to the feeding stations.
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelleri).
Full Hunter's Moon emerges...
from behind Castleton Tower this evening.
Clearing the sediment-choked headgate...
following last week’s sustained rains, this irrigation system provides water to Castle Valley Farms lower in the valley from their legal diversion on Castle Creek.
The inlet to the two mile-long pipe gradually appears as the sandy gravel is excavated from the inlet flume.
This year's peak flow on the lower Dolores River...
occurred last night so I mounted the Bronco and headed to the 4WD ford above its confluence with the Colorado River near Dewey Bridge. Indeed, the waterway was raging with fast moving turbid and turbulent water and driving the river crossing is impossible at flood stage. The images show the river just below the peak discharge of 6,560 cfs as recorded by the USGS gaging station several miles upstream. For comparison, the spring runoff peak was only 414 cfs in April.
Bronco’s front tires are on the high water mark as the river is now slowly receding.
Look closely in the center of this wide image, across the river, and you can spy the continuation of the jeep road.
This jay is fond of sunflower seeds...
and bullies its way at the feeding stations, chasing smaller birds from their meal.
California Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica).
The surest sign that Halloween is approaching...
in Castle Valley is the appearance of this laid back cowboy skeleton along the road in front of the fire chief’s residence. Happy Halloween!
Two long and dreary days of rain...
are turning the Colorado River a light mocha brown color with the slowly rising discharge in response to the ongoing weather event. Here’s the river around noon today. More rain is in the forecast and a flood watch is in effect.
View upstream into Professor Valley with the river running about 3,300 cfs.
UPDATE 23 October 2026, the following day: The Colorado River is now running 11,600 cfs at noon, the highest flow of the calendar year and more than twice the peak discharge during spring runoff. What a difference a day makes.
Launch activities resumed today...
at the state line now that all fire restrictions have been lifted in Colorado. Despite the high overcast, nearly 50 rockets flew under otherwise good conditions and light winds.
View toward the flight line at the remote launch site west of Grand Junction, Colorado.
Launch control officer Rob sends a high power rocket skyward.
My always reliable Moab Man moments after ignition of its “F” engine.
The early squirrel...
gets the best seed and grain at the feeding stations.
White-tailed antelope squirrel (Ammospermophilus leucurus).
Stopped short of Warner Lake...
by downed timber across the forest road, all I came home with is this image shot at 9,000 feet (2,740 m) of several of the higher snow-dusted peaks in the La Sal Mountains. A snapshot of the coming winter.
Summit elevations: Haystack Mountain - 11,630 ft (3,546 m), Mount Mellenthin - 12,645 ft (3,854 m), Mount Tukuhnikivatz - 12,482 ft (3,805 m).
A perpetually bloodshot sparrow...
enjoys a bath during sunny moment in an otherwise stormy afternoon.
Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus).
This season's first snow has arrived...
in the La Sal Mountains following a couple of days of light rain at lower elevation. My weather station located in Castle Valley has recorded nearly one inch (25 mm) of rain and more is forecast the next several days. It’s a good start to the 2026-2027 water year.
Making a brief appearance in the stormy high country: Green Mountain (left) and Pilot Mountain (right) are 12,160 feet (3,707 m) and 12,200 feet (3,719 m) high, respectively.
The view opened up a bit more later in the afternoon, but unsettled weather is expected to continue for a few more days.
A humongous storm cell blossoms...
over the La Sal Mountains last night, but alas, no rain in the valley below.
UPDATE later this afternoon: It appears that an enormous volcanic eruption is now underway in the La Sals! Yikes!
A gang of five painted faces...
is hidden in a sandstone alcove protected from the elements, thereby preserving the vibrance of the pictographs, in upper Davis Canyon inside the boundary to Canyonlands National Park. They seem a jovial bunch.
The wonderful Five Faces pictograph panel in Davis Canyon and another guy.
Log House ruin in Davis Canyon sits high on a ledge, precluding any close investigation. Note the numerous hand prints above the structures. All of the wooden logs had to be lifted up the cliff face!
Conjuring spirits the night before our walk, BH contemplates the meaning of life, the universe and everything at our rock shelter camp.
An interesting alignment of glyphs...
occurs in Shay Canyon where two separate but identical geometric patterns, about 20 feet (6 m) from one another, seem to match from the right perspective as one approaches the petroglyph panel from below. Coincidence or purposeful design by the ancient scribe?
Friend and neighbor BH points along the sight line that links the two separated petroglyphs.
BH’s point of view as observed from his position in the first image.