I'd swear that when the LH and I first drove the Bagdad Road, there was an observatory on top of that distant small mountain near Hillside. And I'd swear that I read, probably in the Courier, that it had something to do with World War II, like scanning the skies for Japanese troop transport planes launching an invasion or some such. Today, of course, the facility is presumably up-to-date and all about microwaves and cell phones, serving the ranchers scattered throughout the western Yavapai boonies.
Furthermore, I'd say that they need their cell phones, inasmuch as there are absolutely no landlines stretched across these poles that follow the road between the Santa Maria and the Hillside turnoff. Of course, it might be electricity that is missing. However, the cross pieces should serve the hawks well.
And -- great luck. As dotter and I stopped to photograph the naked poles, who should be watching us but a lone phainopepla. Amazing: that bird just sat there (at almost bird distance) while we tried to steady our hand-held zoom shots. It appears to have worked. We won't see phainopeplas up in Prescott til summer.More Links: Windy Skies, the Mumbai blogger writes of his city's cabbies and the Islamist attacks. Though he doesn't post often, his writing is thoughtful, sensitive and opens doors to a totally unknown world. In a more light-hearted vein, Ballard Avenue displays chilly flamingos covered with that recent Seattle snow. And one more piece analyzing the problems of Detroit's Big Three by a libertarian, Megan McArdle, who writes a damn good economics blog for The Atlantic. Finally, there's a new internet subject matter aggregator, AllTop by name, with beaucoup interesting links to sites that have been vetted by the founders, their friends or users. If you're like me, you need more interesting links like you need a hole in the head, but then Walking Prescott was listed! I'm very flattered, even though it was under the heading "rural".
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