HAD OURSELVES A GREAT ROCK SCRAMBLE THIS MORNING:))

ON OUR MORNING HIKE, KELLY LOOKS OVER OUR NEIGHBORHOOD FROM THE SAME ROCKY RIDGE THE FULL MOON SET BEHIND A FEW HOURS BEFORE

 

WITH CONGRESS ARIZONA BEHIND HER, KELLY LOOKS OUT OVER ‘HOUSE ROCK’ VALLEY

Monday night’s full Moon would have slipped right past me had Kelly not noticed it’s beautiful slow rise over the Weaver Mountains.  Pheebs & I weren’t long in getting ourselves out for a walk in our little front yard Cactus garden.  A full desert Moon lights up the landscape for miles around & I particularly like how it lightens the garden pathways.  Despite my grumblings about the weather sometimes, I’m sure glad we are right where we are in sunny Arizona:))

 

LEFT PHOTOS SHOWS MONDAY NIGHT’S FULL MOON RISING ABOVE THE WEAVER MOUNTAINS & LEFT PHOTO SHOWS TUESDAY MORNINGS FULL MOON SETTING BEHIND A ROCKY RIDGE OUT BACK OF OUR HOUSE

I was able to accomplish a small goal this morning that I had set for myself just about a year ago now.  From the first day we walked onto this Ghost Town Road property I had noticed a high rocky ridge in the desert a short distance behind our house.  At the highest point I noticed a Palo Verde tree growing.  Being my habit to climb up any high points around any of our boondocking sites over the years, I made a mental note to climb that ridge to the Palo Verde tree.  Would have done that shortly after arriving last November but my winter long leg problem prevented me from doing that. 

DIDN’T KNOW WE WOULD CLIMB THAT ROCKY RIDGE THIS MORNING & I WOULD GET ALL THE WAY TO THAT TALLEST PEAK ON THE LEFT

  

THE ROCKY SUMMIT TAKEN WITH A 300mm LENS FROM OUR BACK YARD & THE SAME LENS TAKES A PHOTO FROM THAT SUMMIT OF OUR HOUSE…IN THE LEFT PHOTO I WAS STANDING IN THAT GAP AT THE TOP & PHOTO AT RIGHT I WAS STANDING JUST TO THE RIGHT OF OUR WHITE BACK SCREEN DOOR

Little did I know when we left the house this morning on our morning walk that half an hour later I would be standing atop that very ridge next to the Palo Verde tree.  We had discovered a path last month leading toward the ridge at the back of a nearby Park.  For a change of pace we walked over to the Park this morning with the idea of walking up the rocky pathway for a short distance just to see where it went.

LEFT OUR COATS BEHIND & STARTED CLIMBING 

   

LOOKING DOWN ON TENDERFOOT PARK WHERE WE HAD JUST WALKED THROUGH

As so often happens with us, we just kept right on going.  It was about 8:40 when we started out with Pheebs way ahead in the lead.  Five minutes into the walk we ditched our coats.  The sun was really warming things up.  Still had no intentions of going to the top but you know how it is once you get out hiking & exploring.  Just a couple more steps, maybe around that bend we’ll pack it in & turn back.  We just kept climbing.  The path through the boulders & cactus was not easily discernable in some spots but we clambered over rocks & gravel anyway.

Reached the top of a ridge where we could see clearly for miles all around us including the valley to our west.  The valley we had spent time Jeeping in with Aunt Jean, Peter, & Leslie.  ‘House Rock’ was barely visible at the foot of the Date Creek Mountains. 

 

TAKING A BREAK IN OUR CLIMB

Kelly began building some Inukshuks. (the traditional meaning of the inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path.")  This area reminded me of a spot on California’s Ghost Mountain trail just before one makes the final climb to the Marshal South homestead. 

Pheebs started ahead of me scouting a way up through the rocks.  She is really good at this & can easily pick out hard to spot pathways.  Climbing seems to be second nature to her & she easily picks her way through or climbs over large boulders.  I followed her lead upwards.

PHEEBS HEADS OFF SCOUTING FOR A PATH TO THE SUMMIT…WE WOULD END UP GOING THROUGH THAT GAP BETWEEN THE LARGE ROUND BOULDER & THE BALANCING ROCK AT PHOTOS TOP LEFT

 

PHEEBS PICKS HER WAY THROUGH THE BOULDERS

This is the type of rock scrambling I like so much.  I would class it as moderately difficult.  No equipment needed except for a good pair of treaded hiking shoes & a good sense of balance.  No thousand foot drop-offs to scare the be-jeebers out of a fella but just enough of a drop amongst the rocks to give one a wee twinge of excitement & make one pay close attention to where one places their hands & feet.  A fall could result in a slightly dented head or some mighty sore buns for sure.

AT ONE POINT I GOT AHEAD OF PHEEBS FOR BIT

Pheebs of course made the top before I did but I wasn’t far behind.  I was soon standing in a gap in the rocks beside the Palo Verde tree at the summit.  I’ve been looking at that gap in the rock from our back yard for months & months now, wondering if my sore leg would ever let me get up there.  It did.  Great views all around as I took a few photos.  My one regret is that I did not have my better quality Nikon D90 DSLR with me.  Just my little Canon point & shoot.  Like I said, when we left the house I had no intentions of climbing up to the top the ridge so left my D90 at home.

 

AT THE SUMMIT STANDING IN THE GAP BESIDE THE PALO VERDE TREE

However, I had my trusty Nikon D40 with me equipped with a 75-300mm lens so was able to crack off a few photos of the surrounding desert & the town of Congress Arizona below.

CONGRESS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN THE FOREGROUND

 

CONGRESS DOLLAR STORE & GAS STATION WITH THE CONGRESS MERCANTILE DEPOT IN PHOTO AT RIGHT

 

LOOKS LIKE A FEW FOLKS ARE BURNING SOME BRUSH THIS MORNING & THERE GOES NEIGHBOR LOU WITH HIS LITTLE DOGGY PAL, PEBBLES

IN FOREGROUND IS THE CATTLE WATERING HOLE WHERE AUNT JEAN, KELLY, PHEEBS, & I WALKED TO LAST WEEK & SEEN THE COW BONES… BELOW IS THE DESERT ROAD WE WALK MOST MORNINGS

 

THIS IS ALSO THE DESERT HAWK’S VANTAGE POINT FROM WHERE HE WATCHES US ON THE ROAD BELOW EACH MORNING

Pheebs & I carefully made our way down through the boulders again to where Kelly was hard at work just finishing off a couple Inukshuks.  Reminded me of Hickiwan Trails RV Park near Why Arizona in our early years hiking along a ridge line east of camp & Kelly building Inukshuks

CAN YOU SEE KELLY DOWN THERE AT WORK ON HER INUKSHUK?  SHE IS IN THE CENTER OF THE PHOTO

 

As I’ve said many times, going up a hill is the easy part.  Coming down is the tough part & it’s always difficult for Kelly.  Today was no exception with the hard to find trail having many loose rocks, stones, & brambles.  But, we did make it back down okay without a scratch.

 

AND, SOMETIMES BACKWARDS IS BETTER

 

PHEEBS LOOKS BACK TO SEE HOW MOM IS DOING

 

All & all it was a great morning hike & rock scramble.  How nice to be doing something different & seeing the landscape from a different perspective.  And amazingly enough, my troubled leg did not bother me one little bit.  I was able to scoot, scramble, & bounce my up & down that rocky ridge just the way I used to not long ago.  Pretty darn nice feeling I can tell you.  Our house was only a block away & we were home by 10.  Just a mighty nice way to start another day……..:))

 

WE SURE HAD A THIRSTY LITTLE DOG WHEN WE GOT BACK TO THE PARK     

Many readers will remember Sandra & Gordon from THE NOT SO NIGHTLY NEWS.  They were Canadian Snowbirds until being stopped on their way south at the American border crossing & refused entry in the United States 3 years ago.  Sandra has been fighting that case ever since & finally just received some good news.  Check it out:))

 

BACK HOME, KELLY CHECKS ON HER INUKSHUKS ON THE RIDGE

Russ, Donna, & Poppy from TRAVELS IN THERAPY are making their way from Oregon down into California this week as RETIRED ROD, Loyce, & Biscuit are buzzing around San Diego checking out the sites.  I don’t know who’s doing more of the buzzing, Rod or Biscuit.  And, former blogger, Wandering Willy should be safely back home in British Columbia today.  Other southern Snow Birds are beginning to stir.  Routes & dates are being planned as feathers will soon be fluffed for flight.  For us, probably sometime in early April.

A RAY OF SUNLIGHT REFLECTING IN THE CAMERA LENS GIVES PHEEBS A PURPLE HUE

GROANER’S CORNER:((  George had invited the pastor and his wife for dinner, and it was little Joey's job to set the table. But when it came time to eat, Joey's mother said with surprise, "Why didn't you give Mrs. Brown a knife and fork dear?".
"I didn't think I needed to," Joey explained, "I heard Daddy say she always eats like a horse."

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

I LOVE MY MORNING & EVENING TUSSLES:))

THE ‘LITTLE RASCALS’ GANG DOWN THE ROAD & NO, THAT IS NOT THE PHEEBS ON THE RIGHT

Sometime in the night our day long Sunday wind packed it’s bags & blew itself out of town. Bev, a friend in Wickenburg said: “ Yikes! I don't remember in our ten years of coming to AZ that we have had wind for an entire day”.

Luckily it didn’t drop below freezing in the night because our living room propane tank ran out of fuel making that room rather cool this morning.  Typing this in my dark blue checkered flannelette PJ’s & heavy pine green housecoat, I have an electric heater blowing hot air under my chair & a blanket on my lap keeping most of me warm………….but my ears get cold:((

PHEEBS ENJOYS LYING IN THE SUN WATCHING THE BIRDS AT THE FEEDERS THIS AFTERNOON

Under sunny skies, how nice it was to once again get around the block & out onto our morning desert trail.  A slightly cool westerly breeze put a spring in our step.  Pheebs chased a few bunnies, we saw a few hawks, & all was well in Arizona again. 

COULD THIS BE A PHOTO OF SINGER ‘BOY GEORGE’ BACK IN THE 80’S?  NOPE, IT’S MY SON SEAN, & IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, I TOOK THIS PHOTO IN MAYBE 1989…SPOTTED IT ON FACEBOOK THIS MORNING:))

I like Monday mornings because it is like starting off the week with a clean slate.  No matter what happened the previous week or on the week-end, Monday morning always feels like a fresh start to me.  So, with that thought in mind I got busy re-organizing & cleaning our shed.  Began the early thinking stages of what will be returning to Canada with us.  More puttering in the Motorhome & had a pile of brush to burn as well.  Having cut & trimmed trees last November, this pile of branches were dry enough to finally burn.  And, burn them up I did.  Reminded me of my upcoming Spring clean-up when we return to Bayfield.  Luckily, I enjoy that sort of thing & look forward to the big clean up every year.  Whether it be here or at home.  Had we decided to full time years ago, it is one of the many things I would have missed about owning a house & property.  We do like having a home base not only in Canada, but here in the southwest United States as well.  Bonus:))

BURNING UP THE LAST OF MY BRUSH PILE TODAY REMINDED ME OF SPRING

With all the stuff that came out of our Damon we are having quite a time deciding what to put back into the Sunseeker.  Seems like we had accumulated a lot of unnecessary stuff over the years in our travels.  Amazing how we humans are so much like magnets the way we attract so much stuff to ourselves all the time.

BUT, WE DO LIKE OUR ‘STUFF’

I’m not an ‘awards show’ person anymore & found it surprising I sat through those (yawn) Oscar presentations last night.  Maybe had more to do with our living room being the warmest room in the house.  I wonder how many people sit through all that pomp & pageantry anyway.  Only movie I saw in the line up that would remotely interest me would be, Life Of Pi, Hobbit, & maybe Lincoln.  I do not like movies that present themselves as historically accurate when in fact they are not.  Argo comes to mind & I would never waste my time or money to see another inaccurate Hollywood version of history.  Have seen & been fooled way too many times over the years to back for more of the same.  It seems fact is generally always sacrificed in order to add more fiery explosions, violence, guns, guns, guns, car chases, fight scenes, & lots of graphic blood, guts, & gore.  Appeals to the masses & sells tickets I guess, & for Hollywood…..that’s the bottom line$ 

Tussle times are my favorite.  Each morning when I wake up & each night when I go to bed, it’s Tussle time.  Pheebs is already on my bed waiting for me to try & pull the covers back each night.  That begins a tussle to see who is going to get under the covers first.  Happens every night now.  There ‘s a lot of blanket tugging, tummy rubs, paws in my face, doggy tickles, some grunts & snorts by both of us followed up with a lot of scruffles & smuggles.  I usually win.  Well, I have to win or I’m the one sleeping on the floor.  We go through it all again in the morning as soon as I wake up, only this time Pheeber wins & I end up turfed out of bed & she has my spot.  I love my morning & evening tussles:))

A SNOOZY LITTLE PHEEBER FACE TODAY

The sun gains strength each day now & we were able to sit outside this afternoon despite the cool air.  Kelly with her book, I with my camera, & Pheebs with her eye on the birds.  Those birds are going to put us in the poor house with their voracious appetites for birdseed.  But, not to worry, it is well worth the money to have a backyard filled with the fluttering of wings, the dashing of colors, & the many happy twitterings of melodious songbirds.  

DANCE OF THE BALLERINA

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Everyone talks about leaving a better Planet for our children.  How about thinking about leaving better children for our Planet

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.