We went on a special visit to one of the Coconino County fire watch towers.
This was up at the top of the Mogollon Rim at an elevation of 8,074.
This was up at the top of the Mogollon Rim at an elevation of 8,074.It is much like a tree house way up high.
The girls were super excited to go up the many steps. I on the other hand got up one flight and about peed my pants. I had a hard time getting to the top of the second flight. The railing was thin yet sturdy and the steps were very narrow. Looking up ahead was a trap door that was shut but the lady opened it via a rope. Totally bizarre and I was super scared of this situation since I am afraid of heights. Kayla and Shae zoomed past me and said for me to move on.
We are at the top now and inside this so called watch tower made up of one room much like a little living room. It had a deck surrounding the entire tower which totally freaked me out. There was a runner rug on a little section which made it feel like there was somewhat of a floor underneath you but the rest was open spaced metal that you could see all the way down to the ground. YIKES!
This is what the inside of this tower is like. The lady works here every day in the summer all day long and she has a little house at the bottom. She communicated via CB radio with other watch towers in the area.
This thing ( I can't remember the name of it) is how she locates an approximate fire location from the smoke that is visible from her tower. She lined up the string right on the smoke and locates the fire location from her map.
She is showing us the watch tower locations and fire watch areas. She is a master wilderness fire locator and has done this job for many years.
She has one humming bird feeder at a open window for entertainment. These hummingbirds are constantly at her feeder. She has used 200 lbs of sugar so far this year. I caught this one and got the perfect shot of it. Her view is amazing!
This day she had 9 active fires that they were keeping watch of. In the distance in this photograph below you can see the smoke of one of the fires she was watching. They were all caused that morning from lightening.
Below is the map she read to locate fires via the smoke.
Another look at her watch tower from the ground.
At the base of the tower at this time of year her area is surrounded by lady bugs which come to mate.
They were all over this tree.
The girls were super excited to go up the many steps. I on the other hand got up one flight and about peed my pants. I had a hard time getting to the top of the second flight. The railing was thin yet sturdy and the steps were very narrow. Looking up ahead was a trap door that was shut but the lady opened it via a rope. Totally bizarre and I was super scared of this situation since I am afraid of heights. Kayla and Shae zoomed past me and said for me to move on.
We are at the top now and inside this so called watch tower made up of one room much like a little living room. It had a deck surrounding the entire tower which totally freaked me out. There was a runner rug on a little section which made it feel like there was somewhat of a floor underneath you but the rest was open spaced metal that you could see all the way down to the ground. YIKES!
This is what the inside of this tower is like. The lady works here every day in the summer all day long and she has a little house at the bottom. She communicated via CB radio with other watch towers in the area.
This thing ( I can't remember the name of it) is how she locates an approximate fire location from the smoke that is visible from her tower. She lined up the string right on the smoke and locates the fire location from her map.
She is showing us the watch tower locations and fire watch areas. She is a master wilderness fire locator and has done this job for many years.
She has one humming bird feeder at a open window for entertainment. These hummingbirds are constantly at her feeder. She has used 200 lbs of sugar so far this year. I caught this one and got the perfect shot of it. Her view is amazing!
This day she had 9 active fires that they were keeping watch of. In the distance in this photograph below you can see the smoke of one of the fires she was watching. They were all caused that morning from lightening.
Below is the map she read to locate fires via the smoke.
Another look at her watch tower from the ground.
At the base of the tower at this time of year her area is surrounded by lady bugs which come to mate.The girls played with them and we scooped several of them up and brought them to Mimi's garden.
They were all over this tree.
We had a fabulous time up north this day. What an experience the girls had. On my way down the hatch from the watch tower the lady commended me for homeschooling the girls and said "good job." That was a great feeling! More and more people are seeing the need for it and its rewards.
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