AND THAT’S ABOUT AS FAR AS I HAD BETTER GO WITH THAT!!

A FEW FILE PHOTOS TONIGHT

Woke up feeling a bit better this morning but knew i wasn’t out of the woods yet when I couldn’t drum up much enthusiasm for a morning Jeep ride.  I kinda ambled and slouched around for about half an hour trying to drum up some non-existent interest.  Thoughts of heading back to my recliner were of no inspiration either so finally deciding on the first of two low interest options I chose the first one and away Pheebs and I went. 

OUR BACK YARD

It was a half hearted chug-a-long drive up to Goderich.  My eyes were not seeing the beautiful morning around me and my cameras remained beside my seat.  Picked up our usual fare at McDonalds and ambled down to the harbor.  Stood by the water listening to the waves for awhile as Pheebs had herself a good sniff around.  Still couldn’t drum up any creative interest for photos so we headed on home. 

My recliner snagged me for about an hour as I snoozily watched a documentary about a ship looking for something in the North Sea.  Turned on the depressing noon news for a couple minutes then all of a sudden I was up out of my chair like a jack-in-the-box heading for the carport.  With a step ladder in hand as well as a roll of paper towels and a bottle of glass cleaner I tackled a job I’ve been putting off for a long time.  Window cleaning!!

Despite another ‘too hot and muggy for me day’ I did manage to get about a third of our windows cleaned before retreating inside to seat myself in front of a fan at the computer.  Luckily we did not have to fire up the A/C unit.  It was during the short walk from my recliner to our carport early this afternoon that I knew the dark cloud hanging over me these past few days was beginning to dissipate.  So, with renewed energy again I am once more off to meet my next dilemma whatever and wherever that may be.  Life's challenges will always be out there and that will never change but I won't always be here and for right now I am the only one in this challenging life equation of mine that can implode on myself from time to time.   Through comments and emails it is comforting to know there are many others who do understand these things I occasionally blog about in my posts.  

I THINK MOST EVERYONE CAN REMEMBER EXACTLY WHERE THEY WERE THAT MAGICAL SUNDAY NIGHT YEARS AGO WHEN THE BEATLES FIRST APPEARED ON THE ED SULLIVAN SHOW…..MYSELF AND 3 FRIENDS WERE IN A COTTAGE LIVING ROOM JUST THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT FIRST WINDOW ON THE LEFT AND THIS PLACE AT THE TIME WAS KNOWN AS ‘BURTON’S COTTAGE’

THIS IS A VIEW THROUGH THAT WINDOW A COUPLE YEARS AGO ABOUT NOW AND BACK ON THAT MAGICAL NIGHT MANY YEARS AGO A BLACK AND WHITE TELEVISION SAT IN THE FAR CORNER LEFT OF THE FIREPLACE…..BROTHERS JIM AND JOHN EIFERT ALONG WITH MYSELF WATCHED THE BEATLES FROM A COUCH TO THE EXTREME RIGHT WHERE A TELEVISION SITS NOW.  GARY BURTON WHO’S MOTHER AND DAD OWNED THIS COTTAGE IN PORT FRANKS ONTARIO WAS SEATED AS I RECALL IN THE FORGROUND WHERE THE TABLE IS….EVEN AFTER ALL THESE YEARS I STILL REMEMBER THE EXCITEMENT WE ALL FELT THAT NIGHT KNOWING SOMETHING SPECIAL HAD JUST HAPPENED….THAT WAS QUITE A NIGHT EH GUYS:))

And in mentioning comments here is one from Cheryl over at Travel4adventure who in part asks, “Isn't anybody blogging these days? What's going on’'?  Cheryl’s question touched on something that has been on my mind for quite awhile as well.  I left the following reply to Cheryl’s comment, “I've noticed many of the older Bloggers either have given up their blogs entirely, only blog sporadically, or have gone over to Facebook.  And some seem to have been swallowed up by all that Google+ stuff.  The once big happy active Blogland family of a few years ago seems to be scattered. I've noticed the comments on my blog have dropped way off from a few years ago as well and that's probably because I myself am not leaving comments on other Blogger's sites like I used to either and I have to admit I am not reading nearly as many blogs as I once did. I do feel guilty about that of course but like many other Bloggers maybe I have been at this too long. I know that's a poor excuse but it's the only one I got right now. It is extremely difficult writing a blog that is of interest to everyone and I struggle with that every single day. Can't really give you any advice on how to build a better readership and in fact I have a feeling we old blogging Dinosaurs may be the last of a dying breed. If so it sure has been fun while it has lasted”.

I have always been a rather opinionated person and in these latter years I have become more opinionated than ever and for that reason I have to be careful here on my blog about what I say.  For good reason I have always made it a point to stay away from religion and politics.  My strong opinions on these two subjects are hard to contain sometimes and especially with what's going on right now politically to our good neighbor south of the border.  I have never had much of an interest in politics over the years but what's going on in America right now has my riveted attention and I stand absolutely aghast at what I am seeing and hearing.  A country tearing itself apart from within.  And that's about as far as I had better go with that.  Religion??  Nope, wouldn’t touch that one with a 10 foot pole!!

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The poor country pastor was livid when he confronted his wife with the receipt for a $250 dress she had bought.
"How could you do this!" he exclaimed. "I don't know," she wailed, "I was standing in the store looking at the dress. Then I found myself trying it on. It was like the Devil was whispering to me, 'Gee, you look great in that dress. You should buy it.'" "Well," the pastor persisted, "You know how to deal with him! Just tell him, "Get thee behind me, Satan!" "I did," replied his wife, "but then he said 'It looks great from back here, too!”

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Knock Knock
Who's there?
Celeste!
Celeste who?
Celeste time I'm going to tell you this!

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Q: How do you catch a squirrel?

A: Climb up a tree and act like a nut!

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Q: What did the dad buffalo say to his son on the first day of school?

A: Bison

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When Albert Einstein was making the rounds of the speaker's circuit, he usually found himself eagerly longing to get back to his laboratory work. One night as they were driving to yet another rubber-chicken dinner, Einstein mentioned to his chauffeur (a man who somewhat resembled Einstein in looks & manner) that he was tired of speechmaking.
"I have an idea, boss," his chauffeur said. "I've heard you give this speech so many times. I'll bet I could give it for you." Einstein laughed loudly and said, "Why not? Let's do it!" When they arrive at the dinner, Einstein donned the chauffeur's cap and jacket and sat in the back of the room. The chauffeur gave a beautiful rendition of Einstein's speech and even answered a few questions expertly.
Then a supremely pompous professor asked an extremely esoteric question about anti-matter formation, digressing here and there to let everyone in the audience know that he was nobody's fool. Without missing a beat, the chauffeur fixed the professor with a steely stare and said, "Sir, the answer to that question is so simple that I will let my chauffeur, who is sitting in the back, answer it for me."

DEALING WITH A BIT OF DEPRESSION AT THE MOMENT AND ‘DON’T GO THERE UNTIL YOU GET THERE’

It was with sadness I read RV Sue's post this morning.  Her beloved little dog Bridget has passed away.  Spike, Sue's other dedicated little team member died back in late August of 2014.  We first met RV Sue, Bridget and Spike on Darby Wells Road in Ajo Arizona on December 9th 2011.  The last time we saw RV Sue and the crew was south of Quartzsite on December 28th 2013 where we along with RV Sue, Spike and Bridget as well as fellow boon-dockers Bill and Ann with their dogs Julie and Sammy hiked a trail north from Palm Canyon in the Kofa mountains.  Bridget, Spike, and RV Sue have been an integral part of each others lives as they have boon-docked their way around the western half of the United States for the past 5 years.  Sue has the largest loyal RV blog following of anyone I know.   Like RV Sue and the canine crew we too have lived, loved, and traveled with our dogs over the years and well know the emptiness in Sue's heart at the moment.  But there is a ray of sunlight in her life still and his furry four legged name is Reggie.  Spike and Bridget are gone now but in Sue's own words she says, "Reggie and I will stay at Luna Lake a few more days and then we’ll be off to see what lies beyond this bend in the road".  Know that you and Reggie are in our thoughts Sue and how well we remember Bridget and Spike……………….…

                                                    BRIDGET AND SPIKE

Been quite awhile since a bout of depression has sneaked up on me and although I should have recognized the warning signs I was caught up in it before I realized it was upon me.  My mini-meltdown over the fresh water sanitizing ordeal a couple days ago finally triggered it.  My problematic short term memory is proving to be more difficult for me to deal with and I am becoming increasingly frustrated and impatient with myself.  The times of normally forgetting about something and having a laugh about it are gone and here's an example of what I am talking about.  I had unscrewed a brass 'quick coupler' fixture from the rig's intake water fixture.  I set the coupler down just a few inches away.  About two minutes later I decided to screw the coupler back on......but it was gone.  I looked everywhere including on the ground.  Kelly looked all over as well.  The coupler had vanished into thin air.  I was convinced Aliens had beamed it up.  About an hour later I found the coupler attached to another part of the 'quick release' assembly on the end of our garden hose beside me.  I had obviously picked it up and screwed the coupler into that part of the hose but in those short two minutes my mind had completely erased me doing that.  Not even when I found it did my mind remember me picking up the coupler and screwing into the end of the hose.  Nothing, not even a scrap of memory.  Now if this was an isolated case I could say 'hah-hah-hah' how silly of me to forget that.  But it's not an isolated case and I'm afraid I have been very hard on myself as of late over this increasing memory problem of mine.  I know there will be a few readers who will understand exactly what I am talking about and many who won't.  That's normal because we do not all have the same sets of problems and challenges at the same time in our lives. 

Kawarthagal left a comment on my Tuesday night post with a saying in it which says. 'Don't go there until you get there.'  It was in regards to my lament about our RVing future.  Despite my concerns being based in reality my mentioning it in a depressive state brought the 'don't go there until you get there' response and that saying has stuck with me today.  Most ‘sayings’ just blow right on by but this one has stuck.  I am maybe needing to get that tattooed on myself where I can see it on a regular basis.  For me when the heavier side of depression occasionally strikes it generally runs it's course in two, three, maybe four days before I am able to get myself back up on an even keel again.  By the way, for me depression isn't usually caused by one single thing, it's a combination of things built up over time which finally reach a tipping point and become too heavy to carry. 

Pheebs and I did get out for an hour this morning but didn't go any further than the Marsh.   A short walk and we were home again.  Despite another beautiful Autumn day I stayed inside and stuck pretty close to my recliner.  I sometimes need a day like that to let my mind re-set itself.  Better days ahead.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Sid and Al were sitting in a Chinese restaurant. "Sid," asked Al, "Are there any Jews in China?" "I don't know," Sid replied. "Why don't we ask the waiter?"When the waiter came by, Al said, "Are there any Chinese Jews?""I don't know sir, let me ask," the waiter replied and he went into the kitchen. He quickly returned and said, "No, sir. No Chinese Jews." "Are you sure?" Al asked. "I will check again, sir." the waiter replied and went back to the kitchen. While he was still gone, Sid said, "I cannot believe there are no Jews in China. Our people are scattered everywhere." When the waiter returned he said, "Sir, no Chinese Jews."
"Are you really sure?" Al asked again. "I cannot believe there are no Chinese Jews."
"Sir, I ask everyone," the waiter replied exasperated. "We have orange jews, prune jews, tomato jews and grape jews, but no one ever hear of Chinese jews!"

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A dark haired woman was riding on a train and reading the newspaper. The headline said "12 Brazilian Soldiers Killed."  She shook her head at the sad news, then turned to the passenger next to her and asked, "How many is a brazilian?"

THE FINEST OF DAYS AND THE WINDS OF CHANGE

I knew it wasn’t the best time of year to sell a motorcycle, but…..not even one inquiry??  Being a Honda Shadow Aero 1100 it’s a quality low mileage bike.  Oh well, try again in the Spring I guess.

 

Not a whole lot to write about tonight.  Needed a few things at Walmart so Pheebs and I slipped up to Goderich.  No big ocean going Lake Freighters in the harbor but we did manage a short walk along Lake Huron’s shoreline listening to morning waves tumble up onto the pebbled beach.

GUESS IT’S THAT TIME OF YEAR AGAIN ALRIGHT

YEP THESE TWO YOUNG FELLERS WILL BE TRAVELING WITH US THIS WINTER

After Monday’s stressful time sanitizing the rig’s fresh water tank I knew i had better not tackle anything more challenging than maybe changing a light bulb today.  I was even leery about doing that.

Kelly’s new Blackberry phone arrived Monday afternoon and she wasn’t long in getting the basics figured out.  Must say even I am impressed with the large crystal sharp screen and quality onboard camera.  Became even more impressed when she tapped into some music.  Way better sound quality than our flat screen TV in the sunroom.  And headphone capable to boot.  That’s a big plus for me.  It’s larger than her old Blackberry but it’s thinner and lighter.  Very impressive and it’s actually my very first up close look at a smart phone.  Luckily for our pocket book I am not a phone person or I would for sure be putting a strain on our line of credit wanting a Blackberry too.

CAN YOU TELL KELLY WAS PRETTY HAPPY WHEN PUROLATOR SHOWED UP WITH HER NEW BLACKBERRY TDEK 50

AND THIS IS HER VERY FIRST PHOTO TODAY WITH THE NEW BLACKBERRY

Pheebs and I took us for a walk around the Pine tree trail this afternoon and I couldn't help but marvel at these finest of days.  There is a different casting of light to each day as our Earth rotates slowly northward allowing old Sol's rays to strike us at an increasingly shallower angle.  A changing presence in the air, a diverse feel to the winds, a comforting nostalgic aura of calm.   Daylight hours are shortening, nights are clear and crisp leaving heavy morning dews.  Sounds in the forest are changing.  Songbirds are gone as the air clears itself of buzzing insects.  Crickets are ever present while the shrill sound of Blue Jays give the woods a natural northern feel.  It is the lull before winter's storm and for me it is the finest time of the year.  I am always content to be right here in  Southwestern Ontario during these always beautiful Autumn days.

WANDERING ALONG OUR PARK’S PINE TREE TRAIL THIS AFTERNOON

Sometimes tipped back in my comfy recliner late at night surrounded by all the calming comforts of home I think to myself, ‘I wonder how many more RVing years we have left.  One, maybe two, is three years a possibility.  The lifestyle can’t go on forever and the thoughts of ‘hanging up the key’s is unthinkable yet that nagging question is always there and it has been on my mind more of late than ever before.  I may have more to say about this in the coming days or maybe I’ll just not try to think about it so much and let the winds of change blow where they may………….

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A man looked at the menu at the airport restaurant, and saw that the sandwiches were named for planes.  "I'll have a 'jumbo jet'," he said.  When the order arrived, he was disappointed to see how small his burger was, but he ate it anyway.  He called his waiter over. "Was that the 'jumbo jet'?" he asked.
"Yeah," the waiter answered. "Went pretty fast, didn't it?"

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- Did you know Phoenix is so dry because it's in an arid zone-a.

- What do you call a bunch of rabbits in a row all hopping backwards?  A receding hare line.

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After a round of golf, four ladies sat around the club house, chatting.  Seeing the ladies, the Pro approached them and asked: "How did your game go?  The first lady, a brunette, said she had a good round ... making the comment that she actually had 25 riders. The Pro was a bit perplexed not knowing what a "Rider" was.
The second was a blonde lady who quickly chimed in and said that she had a very good round as well with 16 riders.  The third lady then said that her round was average and that she only had 10 riders.  The fourth lady admitted that she played the worst round of the day and that she only had 2 riders all day long.  The Pro was completely confused not knowing what the term "rider" meant. But, because he didn't want to look dumb, he made a quick polite remark, wished the ladies well and then left.  He then approached the bartender and asked "Hey, can you tell me what these ladies are talking about when they refer to "Riders"?"  The bartender simply smiled and said..."A 'Rider" is when you hit a shot long enough to ride on the golf cart to your ball.    

NICE WEATHER DAY IN BAYFIELD AND A LOOK BACK TO SOME OF OUR ADVENTURES IN SOUTH-EASTERN ARIZONA A FEW YEARS AGO

ON THE STREETS OF TOMBSTONE ARIZONA
One of the big advantages full time RV’ers have over Snow Birders is the simple fact they live in and use their rig’s systems on a regular basis therefore always being familiar about the working of things. 

THERE ARE 2 OLD IRON BRIDGES IN THE HULLETT MARSH AND THIS IS THE ONE AT THE END OF SANCTUARY LINE….THE OTHER BRIDGE IS AT THE END OF CONSERVATION ROAD

A BIG ‘SHADOW COWBOY’ WAVE FROM THE SANCTUARY LINE BRIDGE THIS MORNING
It started out innocently enough today when I thought I would simply sanitize our fresh water tank.  Key joke word there being ‘simply’'.’ Not being full timers it’s not something we are accustomed to doing on any kind of a regular basis.  I think the last time we did it was a year ago about this time and therein awaited the problem.  My brain wouldn’t even give me the slightest clue where to start and I had to ask Kelly where the instructions were on how to do it.  Seems to me I had to do the very same thing last year as well.  I wasn’t off to a good start and it went down hill from there.  A job that would take a seasoned Full-timer about 15 minutes cost this aging Snow Bird a good hour and a half this afternoon:((

I BETTER GET GOING HERE, TRAINS A COMING
I won’t bog you down with my frustrations today because I am still pretty upset with myself but I can tell you that what transpired was not the fault of the Motorhome.  All me and with my poor memory having more holes in it than a Swiss cheese and my ever increasing impatience with anything even remotely mechanical I caused myself a lot of stress.  I don’t know when it was my problematic impatience began but I don’t remember it being this bad years ago but here’s the bottom line, ’we’ did finally manage to successfully complete the fresh water tank project and everything is fine and honky-dory now.  Everything that is except me and me will not be Okay until me has a good night’s sleep and starts Tuesday morning off on the right foot again.  Well that’s what me hopes anyway……..
I AM STILL CATCHING FRONT YARD POND FROGS AND TRANSPORTING THEM TO THE BIGGER PARK’S POND……17 TRANSPORTATIONS SO FAR INCLUDING THE FROGS IN THESE PHOTOS TODAY

ONE FROG IS REAL AND ONE ISN’T

A TAD OUT OF FOCUS BUT I’VE INCLUDED THIS FELLA ANYWAY


HE’S KEEPING A REAR VIEW EYE ON ME
Desert USA is an on-line South-western magazine we have been receiving now for a number of years and I often like the articles because we have been to a lot of places featured in it.  The latest edition was no exception when I read the title, Ghost Towns In Southern Arizona.  We have been to nine of the 13 ghost towns mentioned.  We’ve been to Superstition Mountain, Fort Bowie, Pearce, Courtland, Gleeson, Tombstone, Fairbank, Millville and the ever so hard for us to find, Charleston.  Through the Apache Pass to Historic Fort Bowie.  I wrote daily posts about all those places along with many photos and have included a few links such as Tombstone and  The Ghost Town of Gleeson Arizona.  We have walked the streets of Tombstone half a dozen times, found Johnny Ringo’s grave at the western foot of the Chiricahua Mountains as well as Wyatt Earp’s brother’s grave in Wilcox.  Johnny Ringo's Grave and Warren Earp's Grave in Wilcox Arizona.  I took some rare photos through a broken door of the crumbling Gleeson Saloon, we have walked among the old graves of Fairfield, hiked the long way in and out of Fort Bowie along trails Cochise once walked.  Cochise's Council Rocks  Had to take our shoes and socks off to wade across the San Pedro River to find Charleston after walking through the remaining ruins of Millville.  Today We Found The Ruins of Charleston Arizona. We have walked in the footsteps of Geronimo and his Apache warriors.   We’ve been to and through Pearce Arizona half a dozen times even twice spending time partaking in their ‘Pearce Heritage Days’ celebrations.  The old general store there is only open 1 day a year and we were lucky enough to be there on one of those days.  As we walked through the store I’m sure we had old ghosts walking along beside us.   Here’s a look inside that store….Old Pearce Heritage Days.  Made our way through what is left of Courtland with it’s few crumbling brick walls and old jail cell still intact.  Courtland Arizona  That South-eastern area of Arizona is such a fascinating place and we were so fortunate to spend many months Ranch Sitting there over a period of 4 years.  My links to Old Fort Rucker and Our Search for Cochise's Council Rocks.  Oh the memories and oh the thousands of photos I took.  Even now I still get excited thinking back to that marvelous era and that whole historically fascinating area.  The links above are only but a few of my many blog posts and photos of our memorable adventures in the great American Southwest and hopefully this winter we will be back once again on the dusty desert trails of many more great memories:))
THE HISTORIC RUINS OF FORT BOWIE

 
KELLY SITS LOOKING DOWN ON THE RUINS OF OLD FORT BOWIE

SOUTH-EASTERN ARIZONA IS ONE OF OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE PLACES

TOMBSTONE ARIZONA



THE OLD CEMETERY IN FAIRBANK ARIZONA

GHOST TOWN RUINS OF COURTLAND ARIZONA

JOHNNY RINGO’S GRAVE

THIS OLD SALOON IN GLEESON ARIZONA IS WHERE JOHNNY RINGO WAS LAST SEEN DRINKING AT THE BAR

GLEESON ARIZONA CEMETERY

THE COCHISE STRONGHOLD IN ARIZONA’S DRAGOON MOUNTAINS



A RUGGED AREA OF THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS

THIS INDIAN FELLOW  WE MET AT COUNCIL ROCKS TOLD ME HE WAS A DESCENDENT OF GERONIMO


IS IT ANY WONDER WHY WE KEEP RETURNING TO THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTH WEST YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A guy walking along the beach finds a bottle and picks it up.  A genie pops out and says, "Thanks for letting me out. For your kindness I will grant you one wish."  The guys says, "I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I can't because I'm afraid to fly and ships make me deathly sick. My wish is for you to build a road from here to Hawaii."  The genie says, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do that. Just think of all the work involved. Think of the huge pilings we'd need to hold up that highway and how deep they would have to be to reach the bottom of the ocean. And think of all the cement that would be needed. Plus, since it's such a long span, there would have to be gas stations and rest stops along the way. No, that's just too much to ask. Impossible."  The guy says, "Well, there is one thing I've always wanted to know. I'd like to be able to understand women...what makes them laugh and cry...you know, what makes them tick."  The genie thinks a second, then asks, "You want two lanes or four with that highway?'
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Kids can sometimes ask the toughest questions.
Son: Father, Can I ask you a question?
Father: Ok ask. Son: When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor. --------------------- - How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire? - Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents? - Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die - The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth. - There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead. - I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.