Where’s Our Monsoon?
The monsoon season of 2019 has been a very disappointing one. We should still be in the middle of a very active storm season, but looking at the extended forecast, there are nothing but hot and dry conditions through the next week or so.
The National Weather Service says that high pressure will remain in place and that temperatures will be 5 to 10 degrees above normal.
Three new lightning caused fires were started on the North Rim but have been contained. The managed Castle Fire is nearing its pre-identified 19,632 acre planned area, but it is still sending out smoke during peak burning period from mid-day to late afternoon.
The fire is now in what the fire managers call a “hold and patrol” phase. Learn more about the fire on Inciweb’s Castle Fire page.
Another North Rim lightning-caused wildfire, the Ikes Fire, was started on July 25th and is also being managed to burn reduce hazardous fuels and promote a healthy forest. The defined area for this fire is 8,000 acres, and it is now at just over 1,500 acres.
However, with the warm, dry weather expected, it appears they are going to be much more proactive in controlling it. Strong winds are expected this week with gusts up to 25 mph. Learn more about the fire on Inciweb’s Ike Fire page.
Apple Watch Activity Challenge in Celebration of Grand Canyon’s Centennial
A lot of people are wearing fitness watches these days. They find that it helps motivate them to be more physically active than they would without them. (Having a dog that needs walking often makes people do the same thing!)
Apple has created a new activity challenge for August 25th in honor of Grand Canyon’s 100th Anniversary. This challenge requires the participant to complete a walk, run, hike or wheelchair workout of at least three miles (4.8 km) in length. Three miles is the distance of the South Kaibab Trail to Cedar Ridge and back.
If you complete the challenge, Apple with reward you with exclusive badges in their Activity app, as well as animated stickers for use in Messages and FaceTime.
Learn how to participate in the challenge on The Apple Post.
Grandson Taking His 89-Year-Old Grandmother to All National Parks
Brad Ryan did pretty amazing thing already. He hiked the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine in 2009. While talking about it to his Grandma Joy, she expressed regret that she had never seen the mountains or explored the outdoors during her lifetime.
Well, apparently, Brad decided to do something about that! He first took her on a weekend escape to the Smokies. That started a quest to visit every single national park in the United States – all 61 one of them!
He’s enjoyed watching his Grandmother Joy roll down a sand dune like a child at Grand Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve when she was 87 years old. They watched a sunrise at Grand Canyon.
Since it is the outdoors and not Disneyland, there have been some “interesting” times as well. They were charged by a moose at Fishergap in Glacier National Park.
I have to grin when I think of the line, “You’ll have stories to tell your grandchildren!” Joy’s grandson is living the stories with her!
Brad and Grandma Joy hope to visit the remainder of the parks sometime in 2020 to celebrate her 90th birthday. I, for one, wish them both the very best celebration a person could hope for!
Read more and watch the fun news story at ABC News.