Look! Up in the sky!

 

If you said: "It's a bird!  It's a plane!  It's SuperMoon!", you get 50 bonus points for getting into the spirit of this month's full moon.

Yes, this one is the first of 3 SuperMoons in a row.  That means the moon is in a closer orbit to the Earth, so it appears larger and brighter than a typical full moon.

The actual time of the full moon here in Phoenix is Monday, October 6th, at 8:47pm Mountain Standard Time.

Here's how it looks...

 This is the Full Harvest Moon, depending on which part of the country, happening at peak harvest time.

The full Moon that appears closest to the first day of fall is referred to as the “Harvest Moon.”  In 2025, October’s full Moon takes place approximately one day closer to the fall equinox (September 22) than September’s full Moon did.  This is why October’s full Moon will be called the Full Harvest Moon and September’s was referred to as the “Full Corn Moon.” 

The Apache of the southern plains call October’s full Moon the “Moon When Corn Is Taken In.”  While the Creek tribe of the Southeast, especially in Alabama and Georgia, use the name “Big Chestnut Moon” to indicate the harvest season for these tasty nuts.  The Celts have the broader name of “Seed Moon” to show that different plants have gone to seed during October. 

All harvested food needs to be properly stored before winter, and October is an ideal time to preserve and protect the ample harvests.  For the Oneida tribe of Wisconsin, this makes October’s full Moon the “Someone Stores Food Moon.” 

A SuperMoon occurs when the Moon is at least 90% of the way to its perigee position at the same time it is in its “full” or “new” phase.  An extreme perigean SuperMoon is when a new or full Moon happens at the same time as perigee. 

Get out there and howl at it! 

That's cool...

 

Not to be confused with the Paris Hilton expression: "That's hot."  This is Arizona - seems like it is always hot.  But, not this morning: at 6:30 this morning, the thermometer in our courtyard read... 58º.  Joan and I both put on a light jacket when we took Murphy outside.  He didn't immediately go for a shady spot.

The local weather weasels are calling for "one or two days of triple digit temps later this week, and then we should be beyond that."  I don't trust them.

I was planning to get the Burgman scoot out this morning, and got to wait until after 8:00, to let the traffic clear on the surface streets.  Plus (and this is a big deal), I could comfortably wear an armored mesh riding jacket today!

Traffic was very light on the twisty roads on the mountain, but more people that I could see on the hiking trails.  I didn't bring along a camera or a drone, but did get a couple shots with my phone...

 I didn't get a photo of it, but saw something unusual during my ride: an ocotillo with orange blooms.  I think I mentioned how green the ocotillo were after that last 2"+ rain - this is the first I've seen one bloom other than during the spring (they typically bloom March through June).  While I didn't capture that with my phone, you can see how green everything is looking in the photos above.

The riding was good.  The B200 is a fun scoot.  It doesn't have that "rip your arms out of your shoulder sockets" torque that some bikes have.  It just goes about its business, doing most anything you ask of it, with no drama.  It's fun without being fussy.

The only "near drama" this morning was while I was following a tree-trimming service truck pulling a sizeable trailer: it slowed down in the middle of stretch without a 4-way intersection, pulled into the right turn lane leading to a housing development (no turn signal)... then slowed to a stop, and without looking, turned left right in front of me to do a U-turn.  Also without a turn signal.  And, pulling into the lot in front of a firehouse on the other side of the street.  Yes, I hollered at the guy, while utilizing the ABS brakes on the bike.  And at the same time, someone came out of the firehouse waving the guy off.  There was a firetruck with lights on as the tall garage door opened... and the idiot in the tree truck was blocking their exit.  That was not cool. 

 

Two days...

 

 

Desert West Fall Market...

 

I took Murphy outside around 6:00 this morning...

 At 70º and a light north breeze, it felt downright cool.  The furry boy was enjoying it!

Later, Joan and I headed north and west for a Saturday Desert West Fall Market on the campus of Estrella Mountain Community College, in Goodyear.  Nothing we particularly needed, beyond an outing.  A lot of booths and people...

 

"I'm ticked!"

 

No, not me.  A new participant on the RoadTrek group.  He bought a 2017 RoadTrek, and he felt he was "cheated" because it is on a 2016 Ram Promaster chassis.  For those who have never bought a motorized RV, it is very typical that the chassis and RV build are not the same.  RV manufacturers typically buy chassis in "bulk"... that is: they will have chassis waiting to have the RV built on top of them... or in the case of RoadTrek: "empty" RAM Promaster vans; they build these within the body of the van.

About 30 people replied to this guy to let him know that nothing nefarious was happening - this is the way all RV manufacturers of motorized vehicles do it.  Apparently, this guy is going to petition to his state DMV to change his title and registration.

For those of us who understand how it works, there is no issue.  If you are buying or selling the rig, it is the model year of the RV build.  If you are taking it to a RAM dealer to get service work done on the engine or chassis, it is the model year of the chassis.  Easy.

Even easier: I took our RoadTrek to the Valvoline Oil Change place near us - they scanned the VIN and knew the year, the type of oil, the correct filter, the correct tire pressure, etc, etc.

--------

 Gas Buddy...

It's an app that we have been using for years; especially when filling the gas tank on larger vehicles.  For those not familiar, it is a crowd-source app, where people report what gas is selling for at any particular gas station.  Joan uses it almost every time we fill up, even here at home.

Generally, Sam's Club or Costco has the best price on gas (somewhat) locally.  You have to decide if it is worth it to go a little out of your way to save on the gas price.  And for the record, gas prices can change with no warning, and not get updated on the app.

Here in the Phoenix area, unleaded gas is going for an average price of $3.79.  Our Equinox uses premium fuel (due to the turbo), which is usually around 60¢ per gallon higher.  We needed to fill the tank on that vehicle today, and Joan found a Chevron gas station that was less for premium gas than what most of the stations along the way were charging for regular unleaded.

I thought that might be an old price listing on the app, but it was right on the money (literally) when we got there.  I like it when it works out that way.

Oh, and lunch out at Famous Dave's was quite tasty.

 

Half a Century...

 

Is that how long since you updated your jokes, Jim?

Funny... not.

Today is son-in-law Dan's birthday.  His 50th birthday to be more specific.  Yes, there was a party at work, with people all wearing black.  Then, this evening, Steph made supper for us, and we celebrated with the 4 of us.

Lots of presents and cards...

 Perhaps a few reminders of the rather harsh card Dan gave Joan years ago.  Nobody remembers what it said, just that it was one of those "you're so old..." kinda things.  So, yeah, a faint memory that gets brought up at every birthday celebration.  ;-)

Dan is a good guy.  I have probably (?) made jokes about him being like "the son I never wanted," but he is very much a cherished part of our family.  And not just because he keeps Stephanie from being "a crazy cat lady."  Yeah, more jokes.  'Cause that's also a part of the family.

Joan put up a bunch of "50" related signs around their house, including one on the front door so they'd see it when they got home from work.  There was a placard of things that happened or were popular "50 years ago"... Stephanie and I may have broken out in song with each of the "most popular songs" mentioned.

It was a nice evening.

 

Another Day, Another Regional Park...

 

I got the RoadTrek out yesterday to get the oil changed.  I was missing driving that thing.  So, today, Joan and I took it out for lunch.  While we were having lunch, she said, "There is a Regional Park we haven't been to, and it's less than a half hour from here - want to check it out when we're done with lunch?"

"Absolutely!"

The park is Usery Mountain Regional Park (near Mesa).  When Joan said "Usery," I heard "usury"... which means the illegal practice of lending money at unreasonable interest rates.  No, not the same.

This is a nice mountain park: plenty of hiking trails, a Nature Center, group campgrounds (primitive), a developed campground with electric and water at each site and a dump station.  This would be a fun overnight sometime when the weather is a bit cooler.

A few photos...

 The cacti and low brush is all looking nicely green after our recent rains.  Here's a shot of Joan hamming it up with a cactus on our way into the Nature Center...

 Fun day-tripping in the van today!