MOTORMOUSE GOES TO THE VET

I WAS STARTLED THIS AFTERNOON WHEN A SPACE ALIEN SUDDENLY APPEARED IN OUR FRONT YARD.

I was able to see what I wanted to see last night when I walked around outside the darkened house.  Stars…..& lots of them:)) The planets Jupiter & Venus are very close together right now in the western sky with Venus being the brighter one.

THIS IS OUR NEIGHBOR’S YARD BEHIND US…HE IS FROM ALBERTA BUT NOT HEAR FOR THE WINTER THIS YEAR

Don’t know if it was the distant train whistle or the crowing Rooster nearby that I liked best this morning upon awakening.  Have always enjoyed both sounds in the early morn.

A NEW MORNING WALK

We are awaiting word now for when the closing date will be.  Things are done a bit differently here in the States when it comes to buying a house.   Monies have to be transferred from our Canadian bank to our Bank of America account here in Wickenburg.  Money is then transferred to a title company.   We then have to physically travel to that title companies location, which in this case is luckily in Wickenburg.  We have an appointment Friday morning for a signature signing which I understand is still not the final closing.

PHEEBS IS FEELING VERY MUCH AT HOME ON THE FRONT PORCH

First order of business for me this morning was to get some music into that silent house.  Out came the iPod & Bose.  Strung an extension cord from the rig into the house, set the iPod/Bose on the fireplace mantel & on solar power, cranked up ‘The Sons Of The Pioneers.’   Awwww yes indeed….how sweet it is.

 

Don’t much care for those folding accordion doors so I set to work & removed 2 of them in the house this morning.  They are actually good quality wooden doors but now they are in the shed.  Next came some fence & gate mending.  My needle nose pliers came in handy.  In fact my whole travel toolbox came in very handy this morning as I removed various screws & nails.  My tape measure really came in handy when I measured up all the rooms & all the windows.  Just handy information to have when we get back to Canada.  Also did more raking & tree trimming.  It was a good day for me….but, not so much for Kelly.

DON’T MUCH CARE FOR THESE FOLDING DOORS SO TOOK THEM OFF

We basically have no cell phone coverage here & that has been frustrating for Kelly walking around the property trying to pick up a signal.  We have calls to make regarding the house sale & Kelly needs phone service for her work, Deer Park Lodge.  Our Verizon coverage has been slow to non existent to sketchy.  We put the modem on the rig’s roof & that has helped a bit.  More documents had to be printed & some docs had to be faxed.  We do not travel with a printer so Kelly was on the run between our place & North Ranch.  Pat from MIKE & PAT'S TRAVELS has been a huge help to us these past couple days with all the printing Kelly has had to do.  I don’t want to say too many negative things about our real estate agent but his absent mindedness & disorganized ways has sure kept Kelly on the run.  It is very rare that I ever see Kelly frustrated about anything, but today was the day!!

WE LOVE OUR OLD ‘WHIRLPOOL’ VINTAGE METAL SINK IN THE KITCHEN

I was raking a bunch of dead Prickly Pear cactus out front when an ATV pulled into our yard.  Then another, then another, and then another.  What!!  Only took me a few seconds to recognize the big guy on the lead machine.  Yep, it was Mike McFall from Mike & Pat’s Travels. (mentioned earlier)  Mike, along with wife Pat & two other couples, Larry & Geri & ?? &?? were out for an ATV run.   Oh I hate it when I can’t remember names.  They decided to ride on up Ghost Town Road to see the Bayfield Bunch’s new Arizona digs.  Nice of them to drop by.

 

HEY, THERE’S THE ATV GANG LEADER HIMSELF….MIGHTY MIKE McFALL

Wasn’t long & Kelly had a house & property tour underway showing the folks around our tired little acre.  Luckily I had all the backyard garbage gathered up & burnt.  The folks had some good ideas & suggestions for renovations & repairs so we received some good feedback.  The ATV gang stayed about half an hour before mounting up again & with a hardy Hi-Ho Silver roared out the driveway with Mike doing a dusty doughnut on his green machine:))

 

 

 

PAT & MIKE McFALL… HI-HO SILVER…BY THE WAY, THAT SPACE ALIEN AT THE TOP….YEP, NONE OTHER THAN MIKE HIMSELF IN HIS TRAIL GEAR:))

Our little Motormouse has not been feeling well the past few days.  Has thrown up a few times & been off her food.  We suspected a possible infected tooth problem so amidst her busy day Kelly phoned the Vet.  Couple hours later we loaded up the Mouse & headed for Wickenburg.  Kelly had another hand full of papers to fax so we did that on the way.

MOTOR WATCHES FOR MOM TO COME OUT OF THE BANK

The young lady Vet checked the little Motor’s mouth & didn’t find anything amiss.  An X-Ray of Motor’s innards revealed all was well.  Her temperature was normal.   Anti-nausea & anti-biotic pills were prescribed & we headed home with a head’s up to keep an eye on our little Motormouse over the next couple days.  She was not interested in supper.  We’ll see how she is in the morning.  We think Motor is 15.

 KELLY FILLS OUT SOME PAPERS AT THE VETS 

Several readers have sent in additional info on lengths of stay for Canadians in the States…..Here’s one of them, "Canadians can generally visit for up to 6 months and must maintain a foreign (Canadian) residence. If a Canadian stays longer than 6 months, the danger is not in being deemed a tax resident of the US but in being out of status and deportable. A further danger in overstaying in the US is losing one's health insurance eligibility in Canada. This is the factor that brings most snowbirds home each spring.”

 

Thursday morning we have a septic tank guy coming to prep the tank for pumping a couple days later.  Friday morning we have a fellow coming to give us a quote on a stucco job for the whole exterior of the house.  This house was built in 1958 & with a couple ‘Cowboy Construction’ additions added since then the exterior is a little rough, to say the least.  As I type this tonight at 7:15, Kelly is already sound asleep in her chair.  I am typing in quiet stealth mode:))

 

SOARING SUN has become our latest Blog Follower & we bid her welcome.  Thanks for dropping by & taking the time & interest to check in & see how we’re doing:))

 

Upon leaving the Vet’s today the lady at the desk showed us a basket full of 2 day old puppies.  There were 15 of them & the lady told us what kind they were.  So much for my short term memory though:((

GROANER’S CORNER:((

- When does a person decide to become an accountant?  When he realizes he doesn't have the charisma to succeed as an undertaker.

- Teacher: Tim, you missed school yesterday, didn't you?  Tim: Not a bit!

- Why do we sometimes write 'etc' at the end of a sentence?  Because it means...
E-End of
T-thinking
C-capacity.

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

BOON DOCKED AT OUR OWN ARIZONA DIGS:))

WE ARE NOW PARKED IN FRONT OF OUR NEW DIGS

We sat under a crystal clear starry sky beside our desert campfire Monday night until well after dark.  I knew this would be our last night boondocking in our beloved desert for awhile.  What a special spot we have had for this past while here in the quiet Mesquite Savannah.    This last desert boondocking location will go down in our memories as one of our most memorable, simply because of it’s quiet simplicity.  Took a last long look at the stars from horizon to horizon, gave the ashes in the campfire a stir & called it a night.  Tuesday would dawn a new day & a whole new era for the Bayfield Bunch would begin…………

ENJOYING OUR LAST BOONDOCKING CAMPFIRE FOR AWHILE

I started breaking camp before the morning sun even made it over the mountains to our East.  Didn’t take long to have things put away, TV aerial down, slides in, etc.  By 8 a.m. we said good-bye to our favored campsite & Kelly slowly led the way out of the desert in the Jeep.  Had her go first in case I hung the Motorhome up in a bumpity little wash going out.  Picked up some more groovy desert pin striping as I carefully maneuvered slowly along the sandy road brushing by prickly Mesquite trees.  Eased down into the wash being careful not to let the hitch come down too steeply.  No grounding out & I was across & up the other side.  Lots of creaking in the rig as I swayed from side to side.  Kelly opened the gate ahead, checked the Speedway traffic & waved me through.  I was up on the highway & off to North Ranch just a mile up the road.

NOT MANY PHOTOS TONIGHT…..SLOW CONNECTION:((

Dumped our tanks, took on a load of water & topped off our propane tank.  It was a beautiful morning for doing all that too.  Motor, Pheebs & I headed for Ghost Town Road with the rig while Kelly headed over to MIKE & PAT'S.  We had received additional paper work from the Realtor & copies had to be printed.  Pat had a printer & said bring em on over & we’ll get em printed up fer ya:))

In the meantime I was able to get parked in front of our house & leveled up.  While driving in I didn’t even see the low electricity line from the street post to the house.  When Kelly arrived she pointed it out right away.  The great RV Gods must have been watching over me because the sloped front edge of our A/C cover had gently lifted & directed the power line up on top of the cover as I stopped.  Power to the house is not turned on yet but I could have easily torn that power line down.  Yes, yes, I know….ya gotta remember to look up.

Kelly was able to get the lock box code from our Realtor guy so we were able access the house key & let ourselves in.  That was a big help for us because we had only seen it briefly one day with the Realtor awhile back.

As we walked from room to room this morning we sure knew we had our work cut out for us.  Dear oh dear, where do we begin.  Kind of like an Artist standing in front of blank canvas not knowing where to place the first brush stroke.  But, one day at a time we will get it done.  The fun is in the doing:))

Mike had sent a garden rake along with Kelly this morning & that sure came in handy while raking out some old dead Prickly Pear Cactus.  Thanks Mike, that rake saved me a bunch of prickers in my hands.

I was able to locate the water shut off valve by the road & get it turned on.  We now have running water in the house & yard taps.  We didn’t mess with the water heater.  Afterall, the deal isn’t even finalized yet & we don’t officially have the keys

Got myself another load of brush burnt up.  Oh how I wished I had all my garden tools here.  Had us a chat with the neighbor beside us who has only been here himself since last November.  He is making great strides in getting his piece of property cleaned up as well.  Says it’s a very quiet neighborhood & I was relieved to see they have no street lights.  Light pollution is another thing I do not like.  Looking forward to my first glimpse of the night sky from our new digs.

 

Late this afternoon we Jeeped ourselves over to North Ranch.  LAURIE & ODEL had invited us over for supper.  Always enjoy chatting with these well known folks in the blogging world.  They have been full timing for over 9 years now.  Jim & Bev (our Jeeping friends) dropped by to say Hello as well before heading on home.  Laurie served up something called Posol. There was a whole lot of recipe stuff in it & all I can tell you is that it looked kinda green & tasted great.  Actually, Laurie talks about making it in her last post.  Sat outside until sundown when it began to cool off & then moved inside for cake.  I always really like the cake part too.  We didn’t stay too late & soon headed back for our new digs…..if we could find them.  It was dark & we hadn’t left any lights on in the rig.  Drove slow & spotted the rig where we figured it should be.  Like I said earlier, no street lights around our place.  Love it:))

  

It’s a mixed bag neighborhood we have here.  From some nice high end developments & homes to places that are little more than junk yards.  I do have a good feeling about the neighborhood though & I think the Bayfield Bunch will fit right in here quite nicely.

       

In Monday’s post I mentioned about Congress being a great central location & springboard for future area travels to new & old places.  We can drive to Bisbee in a day or Borrego Springs California in half that time.  It’s a full day’s drive to Moab Utah & we could make it to the South rim of the Grand Canyon in about 4 hours.  About 3 & a half hours to Joshua Tree National Park.  A short 3 hours down to Darby Well in Ajo & about 3 hours over to the Sedona area.  A day’s drive could easily land us in Silver City New Mexico & a day’s drive from Congress could put us up into Cortez, Colorado.  Yep, I think we are in a pretty great area for many future travels alright.  And, it will make for a new route between our Bayfield digs & our newer Arizona digs now as well.  I will be working that new route out shortly & for sure I will miss the old route we have used these past bunch of years.

 

To answer a few questions about our new digs…..yes, we are on city water.  No, the cement patio pad behind the house is not big enough for a Motorhome.  We have plenty of room for the rig on the north side of the house.  Probably could easily park 4 large rigs in that area.  Paved road out front is a dead end road so we will have minimal traffic.  Wickenburg is 17 miles to our south & Phoenix is about 75 miles southeast.  Prescott is about 50 miles north of us.  We are on a septic tank system.  I am guessing an average price for an acre of land in our area is $50,000. (no buildings or services)  And yes, we do have a gated fence around the house so it is safe for the dogs.  It was this fenced in part they were trying to sell for $39,900 a couple weeks ago.  We do intend on redoing the fence line at some point to include all the property & not just part of it.

  

And, a word of thanks to all those readers & fellow Bloggers who have wished us well with our Ghost Town Road house & property purchase.  The response in our comment section has been so unexpected & so overwhelming.  Very heart warming to know we have so many friends & supporters out there….despite me being such a grouchy complainer at times.

 

Lastly, we have a very poor Verizon connection here so if by any chance you don’t hear from us at our regular time each night it just means we are experiencing some technical difficulties with the Verizon signal…………..

   

GROANER’S CORNER:))   A string walked into a bar, hopped on the barstool, and said, "Bartender, gimme a beer." The bartender said, "I'm sorry, sir, we don't serve strings here."
Disappointed, the string hopped down from the stool and went to the next bar. He hopped on the barstool and said, again, "Bartender, gimme a beer." The bartender said, "I'm sorry sir, we don't serve strings here."
The string continued down the row of bars in this fashion. At every bar, he hopped on the barstool and said, "Bartender, gimme a beer." The bartender at every bar in turn said, "I'm sorry sir, we don't serve strings here."
Finally he got to the last bar in the area. He was tired, he was sweaty, all he wanted was a beer. He trudged inside, climbed on the barstool, and said, "Bartender, gimme a beer." This bartender, too, said, "I'm sorry, sir, we don't serve strings here."
Tired and angry, the string walked outside to think. He was a hard-working string. He deserved a beer. Finally, he came up with an idea. He had a passerby tie him up into a bow and frazzle his ends. Then he went back into the bar, and climbed up on the barstool. "Bartender, gimme a beer!" he said loudly.
The bartender looked him over critically, and finally yelled, "Hey, aren't you that string that was in here a few minutes ago?"
The string replied coolly, "Nope, I'm a frayed knot."

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

“YA-HOUIE LOUIE”….IT’S A DONE DEAL, WE GOT THE GHOST TOWN ROAD HOUSE & ‘ALL’ THE PROPERTY THAT GOES WITH IT:))

IT WAS 10:10 A.M. MONDAY MORNING MARCH 12TH WHEN WE GOT THE CALL…KELLY’S FACE SHOWS THE STRAIN

 

WE WERE AT PETER & BEA’S RIG FOR BREAKFAST NEAR VULTURE PEAK WICKENBURG, ARIZONA

Noticed a few more eeks & squeaks this morning when I crawled out of bed but that’s OK, it’s for a good cause:))

 

KELLY HELPS PETER BRING BREAKFAST OUT 

We hit the decks a runnin this morning & by 8:45 we had Pheebs in the Jeep & off to Wickenburg.  First stop was Safeway for groceries.  Of course that filled up the back of the Jeep so Pheebs had to sit on Kelly’s lap while we drove out Vulture Mine Road.  A left turn onto a bouncing sandy Vulture Peak Road road took us a short distance looking for a big gray Class A Motorhome on the left.

PETER

We were soon at Peter & Bea’s rig from AMERICAN TRAVELLER.  Bea was away in Germany visiting so unfortunately we missed her.  It was our first time meeting Peter & their wonder dog Molly.  Of course Pheebs & Molly hit it right off.  Peter turned out to be one of those happy go lightly kind of guys with a sense of humor & a positive outlook.  He had an outside table all set for breakfast & 10 minutes later we were chowing down some delicious scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, slices of ham & turkey plus breakfast rolls.  Coffee & a jar of Hodge Podge Jam rounded out our great brekky.

 

PETER COOKED US UP A GREAT BREAKFAST 

It was while we were eating breakfast under a clear blue Arizona sky that the call came in.  It was precisely 10:10 a.m. when Kelly’s phone rang & I heard her say, “Oh hi Randy,”  It was our Real Estate agent calling from Prescott & this was the call we were anxiously waiting for today.  Freddie Mac had accepted our offer on the house…..and it included the severed piece of property giving us nearly an acre of land with a completely livable house on it for $29,100.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay:))  That house by the way includes a refrigerator, stove & dishwasher.  Maybe we can trade that dishwasher on a washer & dryer:))

PHEEBS & MOLLY CHECK OUT THE CAMPSITE PERIMETER

  

Well, of course that positive phone call started another round of paperwork which required a printer on our side.  We do not travel with a printer but Peter was quick to jump in & offer us his.  We all moved inside his Motorhome & he soon had the printer hooked up & rolling.  All told we had to print out 13 sheets, which we later faxed to our Realtor for free from our newly opened Bank of America branch in Wickenburg.

KELLY HEADS INTO THE BANK TO FAX A HANDFUL OF PAPERWORK 

A big thanks to Peter for letting us almost clean him out of printer paper.  Said the paper was old & he needed some new stuff anyway.  Peter & Molly are moving in a couple days down to Ajo’s Darby Well area & will drive to Phoenix from there to pick up Bea flying in from Germany shortly after March 20th.  Thanks again Peter, much appreciated…and, great breakfast:))

 

KELLY ON THE PHONE WITH REAL ESTATE AGENT RANDY DOUBLE CHECKING THE FAX NUMBER

A quick stop at the Bank to fax all that stuff & we were back out to our peaceful desert existence just before 2.  We have our fingers crossed for a closing date of March 20th but it may be longer.  When we have the house keys in our hands, then, & only then will I feel confident the house & property are truly ours.  Again, it was Kelly who had the multitudes of patience to handle all this stuff.

THAT PHEEBS IS SUCH A CLOWN

 

NEW PALS:))

We plan to move in the morning.  We’ll stop at North Ranch to dump our tanks & take on water.  From there it’s over to our Ghost Town Road house & property to get ourselves set up until we pull out for home around the end of the month.  Oh dear, that is going to be a sad day indeed.

PHEEBS MAKES HERSELF RIGHT AT HOME WHEREVER SHE GOES

            

I remember just over a year ago when we were trying to figure out a way to buy an empty little Ranch house we were boondocking at for a week or so near Elfrida, Arizona. (the Lazy W)  Some questions from commenters at the time wondered if that would be the end of our traveling days.  Would we just spend our entire winter in one place.  My answer to that question at the time is the same as my answer to that question now.  ‘No way Jose’!!

INITIALING FRESHLY PRINTED COPIES WE LATER HAD TO FAX TO THE REALTOR

We came to the conclusion several years ago that if we wanted to ensure our continued winters away from the frozen North we would have to have ourselves some kind of home base in a warmer southern climate.  With the skyrocketing price of fuel & the fact our Motorhome will not last forever, we wanted a permanent home we could reach ‘one way or another’ in year’s to come.

The Congress/Wickenburg area is central to all areas of New Mexico, Arizona, & California.  At some point we hope to base our Motorhome here at our new place & do the long trek back & forth to Ontario in a more fuel efficient vehicle.  This should extend the life or our rig by a few years enabling us to do shorter trips around the southwest during the winter months.  From Congress we can be just about anywhere here in the Southwest in a couple days & it would spare us that grueling long distance fuel expensive trek twice a year between Ontario & Arizona.  Also, because we purchased this house & property so cheap we also look at it as an investment.  The property alone is worth more than what we paid for everything.

  

The house needs a lot of work & we will be busy with all that next winter but our plan is to intersperse that work with two week periods of travel here & there to some of our old favorite haunts along with new explorations as well.  We also plan to leave Ontario sooner & stay in Arizona longer.  Well, that’s our reasoning anyway.  Certainly not everyone’s way of thinking but it is definitely ours.

YES, WE DO HAVE NEIGHBORS ON BOTH SIDES, BEHIND & ACROSS THE ROAD OUT FRONT, BUT BASICALLY, THIS IS IT…….

A recent commenter wondered about my ‘Hitch-Itch’ problem which I suffer so badly with during our long summers sitting at home in Canada.  As long as I have a project under my belt to keep my mind occupied, that ‘itch’ to be on the road traveling is satisfied.  With our plans to intersperse our Congress house project with traveling, I will be just fine with that mix.  I totally understand that old saying, ‘variety is the spice of life.’  Anything to get away from long boring daily routines works just fine for me…….10-4:))

BACK YARD      

New Blog Follower SARA has joined us on our travels & we welcome & wish Sara well with her upcoming retirement plans & future RV travels in 2013:))

And, commenter Anne asks…" We are fairly new readers and are wondering how long you are planning to stay in Arizona each year - if you go down in the fall and return in April, aren't you over the 180 day limit?”……. There has been a recent change in that & the newer requirement is as follows… Ontario allows you to be out of the country for 212 days (seven months) and Newfoundland for eight months without risking loss of your medicare benefits…..For most provinces, that requirement is six months plus a day (183 days) spent at home. The exceptions are Ontario—which requires you to be present for only five months (153 days) and Newfoundland and Labrador which requires only four months (122 days). The remainder of the time you can be out of the province or out of the country.

 

 

NOW, DON’T LET THE PHOTOS FOOL YOU…THIS HOUSE NEEDS A LOT OF TLC & IS DEFINITELY A FIXER UPPER, BUT WE’RE KINDA FIXER UPPER’S OURSELVES SO WE ARE ALL A GOOD MATCH….:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((

Q: I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it… don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

- And, did you know, A fool and his money are a girl's best friend.

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com