KELLY ‘ACED’ THE WRITTEN PART OF HER ARIZONA DRIVER’S LICENSE TEST THIS MORNING, BUT………

SPRING IS IN FULL SWING WITH A LOT OF NEST BUILDING IN OUR YARD
How nice to be outside last night doing a bit of stargazing under a clear night’s sky in a short sleeve shirt.  To me, that is always special.  Sunrises are earlier these mornings & with the temperatures rising each day we are out for our a.m. walks sooner.  Think we got over 80 degrees today & it was very typical of a hot July day in southern Ontario.  On our walk we came across neighbor Matthew out grazing his young family of Sheep in the cooler morning air.
 
PHEEBS COMES RACING DOWN THE ROAD TO TELL ME SHE HAD JUST SMOOCHED A SHEEP
Good news is that Kelly scored 92% in her written Arizona driver’s license test this morning.  She had thought it was only the written test she had to do.  Then they dropped the bad news part on her.  A vision test plus a driving test was required as well.  She was not mentally prepared for that.  Bit of a struggle with the vision test which really stressed her out for the driving test.  A quick trip next door to McDonald’s for a pail full of coffee to steady the nerves & it was back to the License Bureau for her driving test.  Orange cones were placed in various parking lot places for Kelly to back around & park, etc.  Did OK there but then it was out onto the highway with the lady Examiner heading for one of two round-a-bouts in Wickenburg.  Round-a-bouts are built for no other reason than to confuse & be-frazzle unsuspecting motorists who are not used to them.   We are not used to them!!  Bit of a ker-fuffle as Kelly & the driver Examiner lady got themselves into a wrong lane confusement but Kelly managed to wheel it over into the right lane with tires screeching & headed for downtown Wickenburg….as instructed.  Kelly said the Examiner made a big face careening out of the round-a-bout scuffle & she thought her license was doomed for sure.
Next, a stop sign on a hill.  No problem.  A few more twirls around the streets of Wickenburg & it was back to the driver’s license place they headed.  Kelly figured the frightened Examiner cut the test short once she regained her frazzled nerves from the round-about incident.  Now here’s where I kinda get blamed for something again.  I had meant to take the tow bar off the front of the Jeep upon returning from Borrego Springs last week.  Of course I forgot.  Kelly pulls up to a big tall curb & forgetting the tow bar was on….crashes into it propelling her & the examiner over top the windshield into a couple heaps on the sidewalk ahead of the Jeep.  Ok, so that never really happened but Kelly said the driving Examiner lady did make another big face after the curb crash.  Total doom now for sure, but hey, no damage to the Jeep or tow bar.  The Examiner never says a word & they proceed into the building…..without the Jeep of course.

OUR FRONT YARD BEAD TREE IS DOING WELL >>>
Lady hands Kelly a copy of ‘How To Stay Alive In A Round-a-Bout’ & tells her to study it.  Kelly figures that’s it, no driver’s license today.  But suddenly a turn of unsuspected events.  The driving Examiner lady proceeds to issue Kelly her very first ever official Arizona Driver’s License.  Yay team:)))))))  My question is, when the lady Examiner handed Kelly her driver’s license……did she make another big face…………

   
OUR BIG FRONT YARD SAGUAROS SEEM TO BE A FAVORITE NESTING SPOT
With Kelly’s Arizona driver’s license in place it is now up to us to decide on where to register our Class C Motorhome.  Will it be Arizona or will it be Ontario.  We are still weighing the pros & cons & all the ‘what if’s'.’  It has to be a right decision not only for now, but the future as well.

What is discouraging about importing a vehicle into Ontario are the additional side costs.  The vehicle has be inspected by a Canadian Government approved facility to insure it meets all Canadian standards.  It is Canadian Tire who has that contract.  The mandatory inspection at Canadian Tire is where the RIV is done.  A charge of $260 has to be paid to the ‘Registrar of Imported Vehicles.  Another $100 charge if your vehicle has A/C (air conditioning) And you have to have a recall clearance letter.  In Arizona we can get that letter free from a GM dealer.  In Canada the cost for that letter is $270.  We know this because Kelly called GM in Michigan.  That call was re-directed to GM in Oshawa Ontario & the person on the line gave Kelly a number to call about that recall letter.  That is where she was told the letter would cost $270!!  Boy, this one sure sounds ‘fishy’ to us, but that’s what the person on the line told Kelly.  Oh, & then there is the ‘Gas Guzzler’ charge.  Depending on what 8 cylinder engine you have in your particular vehicle being imported there is also a charge ranging from $800 to $4000.  I know this all sounds very bizarre & I am shaking my head writing this but Kelly did do her homework & these are the answers she received to her phone call questions this past week.  If I have any of this wrong, maybe somebody out there could correct me & I will do an updated corrections if that’s the case.  Also keep in mind, each Province has it’s own set of rules, regulations, do’s & don’ts.  What may be easy to do in one Province is not necessarily so in another Province.  Also keep in mind, we are dealing with questionable Government agencies & inadequacies here.  A lot of bureaucratic red tape & pure BS!!!!!!!!!   

Emily from EMILY'S ADVENTURES IN RETIREMENT had the following questions in Tuesday night’s comments.  “  Will you be doing any "boarding" up of your Congress home - shutters on the windows and doors, in case window glass is broken, etc.? Will there be someone to "keep an eye on" your place while you are gone”?  Answering Emily’s questions I can say we will be doing the same as last year which means closing all the curtains mainly to keep out the hot summer sun.  No boarding up though.  Both electric & water shut off.  And yes, we do have a neighbor who will be coming in regularly to check our house.  He will be grazing his sheep here to help keep the weeds down as well.  Our Mexican neighbors on our north side will also be keeping watch on things as well as a neighborhood watch program in operation.  Yep, we’ll have lots of eyeballs on the house alright.  One of the few pluses about living in a neighborhood is local security.

A WHEELBARROW LOAD OF CACTUS TO PLANT THIS AFTERNOON
Busied myself planting 23 Cactus plants this morning that were brought over by a neighbor in his wheelbarrow.  Placed the cacti along our new fence line by the road.  In a few years these cacti will form a tall thick impenetrable green wall.  My goal is to eventually surround our property with greenery making it totally private.  It is nature I want to see when I look out the door, not neighbor’s house’s, yards, RV’s, sheds, or any motorized vehicles.  The idea is to turn our 1 acre piece of property into a perfect boondocking site with electricity & running water:))

THESE CACTUS PLANTS WILL ALL GROW IN TOGETHER MAKING FOR A TALL 8 OR 9 FOOT IMPENETRABLE HEDGE…GREAT SOUND BARRIER:))
 
I never think of ourselves as having or driving a convertible.  But we do.  With our convertible we can also take the doors off, flop the windshield forward onto the hood & turn that convertible into kind of a dune buggy as well.  Of course we have a Jeep Wrangler & have never done any of those things except take the roof off once just long enough to take the dogs for a ride.

If it wasn’t such a PITA to put the soft top on & take off we might do that.  The hardtop roof we now have on the Jeep can be taken off easy enough by two strong armed people but it’s just too much for Kelly to help lift.  And with our cool winter days & cold winter nights here I just don’t see it as a practical thing to do anyway.  Maybe in the warmer Spring, Summer, & Fall months but we’re not here for most of that.  If our Jeep had an automatic fold down top we would use it for sure. Especially here in the southwest for daytime desert cruises. Press a button & the roof folds down, press a button & the roof goes up. Come on Jeep makers, let’s work on this concept & give us older adventurous folks an ‘automatic’ easy top down break for our Jeeps eh:))
 <<< LOOKS LIKE MOMMA BIRD IS GIVING PAPA BIRD A GOOD BEAK LASHING
And speaking of the Jeep, it looks like we are pretty much due for a new set of tires.  When towing a vehicle one cannot take any chances on worn tires blowing out.  We had to replace one of the original 4 tires just over a year ago & the replacement, although the same make & model as the the others, had a different tread design & I’ve never liked that.  Always seems to be some kind of hidden expense lurking around every corner:((  And speaking of corners……..

GROANER’S CORNER:(( In an arithmetic class one day, the teacher says to one little fellow, "If you had a quarter, and you asked your father for another dollar and 50 cents, how much money would you have?"
"One quarter," the little boys says.
"You don't know your arithmetic," says the teacher, shaking her head.
The little boy shakes his head, too. "You don't know my father."
-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

HEADING SOUTH IN THE FALL & NORTH IN THE SPRING…TWO DIFFERENT FEELINGS………………….

Sooooo nice to have our doors wide open by 7 a.m in the morning.  Sunshine streaming in, warmth in the air, mountains on the horizon, & happy little birdies singing in the trees.  A mighty fine start to to another great Arizona day:))

IT WAS A YEAR AGO YESTERDAY THAT LAURIE & ODEL STOPPED IN TO SEE US
We spent a pleasant half hour climbing around the Sunseeker this morning discussing ideas & plans for tweaking it out.  Had the tape measure & measured it’s overall length from bumper to bumper at 25 feet.  Also noticed the roof is fiberglass & not rubber.  Bonus.  And plenty of room up on the roof for 1 or two solar panels.  We have also been amazed at how much headroom we have inside.  Especially in the kitchen area.  More than we had in the Damon.  It was also nice discussing future travel plans.  I always like discussing travel plans:))

AND IT’S BEEN JUST OVER A YEAR NOW SINCE WE LAST SAW RV SUE & HER CANINE CREW
RETIRED ROD had left a comment about maybe having to wait for license tags if we register the rig here in Arizona.  Kelly was quick to get on the phone this morning with that question.  We were told by the Motor Vehicle place we would receive our tags right over the counter as soon as we registered our Class C.  No mailing, no waiting. 

In Canada we would have to pay the 13% sales tax right up front at the border.  We’re looking at a big chunk of change here.  Arizona has a tax as well but it’s done differently.  Looks like a lot less money up front with a decreasing sales tax annually.  Arizona is definitely the better way to go.  But here’s the big deciding factor for me……I like the colorful Arizona license plates/tags with the mountain sunset & silhouetted Saguaro Cactus.  Much nicer than the standard bland white & blue Ontario plates.  Do you think I have my priorities in a logical order……..:))

AND CAN ANYONE GUESS WHO THIS MAN FROM MARS WAS LAST YEAR?

HINT:  HE’S MARRIED TO THIS LOVELY LADY

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BY GOLLY, THAT MYSTERY MARTIAN IS NONE OTHER THAN FELLOW RV BLOGGER MIKE McFALL HIS VERY SELF:))
I reminded myself of a Rancher/Cowboy this morning as I mended some old wire fencing on the property.  Of course the only authentic cowboy thing about me is my interest in the lifestyle & my hat.  I wouldn’t know which end of a horse to climb on or which end of a gun to shoot out of but I’d probably do better with the gun than the horse:((  Neither one of those things have been a part of my life.  Well, not yet anyway………..

IT WAS ALSO A YEAR AGO THIS WEEK WE HAD THIS BIG ORANGE METAL MONSTER SITTING IN OUR BACK YARD
Darn, we just missed that California earthquake by one week.  Have never experienced an earthquake & would liked to have been camped out near Borrego Springs for that.  Quake’s center was just north of where we usually boondock at the Clark Dry Lake Bed.  Friends JOHN & NAN who we visited last week are still there & experienced it first hand.
 
AND IT WAS ONE YEAR AGO WEDNESDAY THAT WE OFFICIALLY WENT FROM BOONDOCKING NEAR CONGRESS ARIZONA TO HOUSEDOCKING IN CONGRESS ARIZONA
Reading KAREN'S post this morning I was reminded of something that I think many of we Snow Birds experience every winter about this time.  As much as we are itching to hit the road every fall for our southern destinations there comes a time in late winter when that itch reverses itself & it is once again time to head north & home again.

A NEIGHBOR’S SPRING CACTUS GARDEN THIS MORNING
Every trip south we have made I have always noticed that ‘turning point’ in the journey.  And in some cases it is an actual physical turning point.  I recall several times leaving our campsite in Borrego Springs knowing that was the starting point for our long journey home.  Pulling out of the desert making the left turn onto highway S22 I would often think…..this now begins our journey home.  And I have found with that turn for home, wherever it occurs, there comes a change.  It is a noticeably different feeling heading home in early Spring than it is heading away from home in early Fall.

SUNRISE ON GHOST TOWN ROAD
For me, the excitement level & that ‘feeling good’ mind set is much higher on our southward bound trip.  Always the adventurous unknown factor of roads & destinations not yet traveled.  Touching base with old familiar places.  Freedom to wander wherever, whenever.  But there comes a time in our southwest winter lifestyle when it is time to head for home once again.  And, strangely enough, I rather look forward to that as well.  I just don’t look forward to it with the same enthusiasm or sense of excitement that I do when heading south.
 
But, once that decision to head north is made then that is what I want to do.  The winter is over & is once again time to change hats & slip back into our Ontario lifestyle.  I think much of that has to do with the simple fact I am anxious once again for a change.  I look forward to that semi-annual change of scenery & I do enjoy being busy with the big Spring clean-up.  Even now, a month before we head out I can feel the stirrings inside.  I can sense the hitch-itch growing as another long journey looms on the horizon.  Another complete change of scenery, another change of lifestyle & activities.  And it is those changes that I so much look forward to each year.  It is those changes that keep the hounds of boredom from the door & it is those very changes that give me inspiration & motivation to tough out all the coming slow days in anticipation of the those once again faster exciting travel days ahead.

Our afternoon was so lazy I nodded off in a chair on our front porch listening to the birds in our Saguaros.  That groin pain in my right leg that plagued me most of the winter is completely healed up.  It’s totally gone.  But, the second source of pain in my right hip that cleared up a couple months ago after stopping my Crestor pills suddenly reared it’s ugly head yesterday while I was planting some Sunflower seeds.  Took a sideways step to the right & felt a slight but familiar twinge in my outside hip.  Bothered me for the rest of the day & has hindered my walking.  That short sharp jabbing pain in the outer hip about where a cowboy would carry his shooting iron, has stuck with me again today.  I must have just twisted something again………dang nab it!!

KELLY WORKING ON HER DEER PARK LODGE RESERVATION BOOK THIS MORNING
And it was one year ago today while having breakfast with PETER in the shadow of Vulture Peak that we received a cell phone call from our Real Estate guy in Prescott saying our offer on the house was accepted & it was a done deal:))

KELLY TAKES THE CALL FROM OUR REAL ESTATE GUY
 
PETER & I DISCUSSING THE PRICE OF POPCORN IN NORTHERN SIBERIA
GROANER’S CORNER:((  During a sermon a mother with a fidgety seven-year-old boy told me how she finally got her son to sit still and be quiet. "About halfway through the sermon, she leaned over and whispered, 'If you don't be quiet, the Pastor is going to lose his place and will have to start his sermon all over again!'
"It worked."
-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

OH DEAR, ANOTHER DECISION TO MAKE

IF IT’S GREEN & GROWS IN THE DESERT IT IS PROBABLY GOING TO BE PRICKLY…THIS FELLOW IS IN OUR FRONT YARD

Despite another great weather day I had trouble motivating myself to keep busy with anything except some more packing of the rig & even that was a rather half hearted effort.  Did manage to do myself a load of laundry.  And, fired up the weed whacker for a little dusty twirl through some of last years dried weeds out along the road.  That seemed to drain today’s limited energy supply.  Some days it all comes together nicely & other days things just kind of end up in a pile of tatters.

 

SHED IS CLEANED UP IN PREPARATION FOR LEAVING NEXT MONTH

Frustrated myself this morning by trying to figure out how to lengthen a new camera strap cord.  I should know better than to tackle things like that in the first place because my mind is no help to me whatsoever when it comes to figuring that kind of stuff out.  Wasted nearly half an hour on that.  It is not easy being me:((

 

KELLY WORKS ON MY CAMERA STRAP PROBLEM

Happy to say, when Kelly returned from Wickenburg this afternoon she was able to figure out that strap configuration & all is well in la la land again.  Took her awhile though & I did hear her mutter, “why do they have to make things so complicated”.  This BLACKRAPID RS-4 strap is a beauty though & as soon as I hung my Nikon D-40 & heavy 300mm zoom lens on it I was pleased as punch.  Best & most comfortable camera strap I’ve ever had.  Thanks to Chris over at TRAVELS WITH CC & DIXIE for the tip & link to Blackrapid.

   

NEW STRAP IS THE ONE ON MY LEFT SHOULDER CROSSING MY CHEST

KINDA LIKE PACKING A 6 GUN ON MY RIGHT HIP

For you folks who have a hankering for some fine writing skills & photos I once again remind you to keep an eye on & watch for Mark’s posts over at the BOX CANYON BLOG.  He’s always got some darn good words going on over there.  And it won’t be long & Mike over at PHANNIE & MAE  will be doing the Limbo, the Watusi, & the Boogaloo.  He finally set the cane aside & has already taken the big 40' diesel banger for a drive.  The word Hippy may have new meaning for Mike now:))

WE HAVE OUR OFFICIAL ‘WIND SPEED INDICATOR’ WINDSOCK ON THE RIG NOW:))

Reading Karen’s post from RVING: THE USA IS OUR BIG BACKYARD I was reminded once again how important photos are & how fortunate we all are to be living in the age of computers & digital cameras.  Karen & Steve have been touring around BIG BEND NATIONAL PARK in Texas & yesterday took a drive to Presidio.  Kelly & I stayed at Big Bend for a few days back in late December of 04.  My fading memory now struggles to tell me of all the wondrous sites we saw.  I have less than half a dozen small 4x6 35mm prints from the whole trip & that’s it.  And no photos of the great scenic drive between Big Bend’s western border & the small town of Presidio.  Karen’s post reminded me this morning of how important it is to record as much as we can, while we can if we want something to remember in later years.  At the end of each post I always include a few sayings one of which is one of mine that says, ‘ The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now’.  When all is said & done, for many of us, it will be the photos & written accounts of our travels that will remind & stir old memories otherwise irretrievably lost in the cobwebs of our aging minds.

KELLY RELAXES WITH A BOOK IN THE BACK YARD

Unbeknownst to us we almost had ourselves a visitor in the night.  It seems a lost traveler in the Arizona hills spotted our house nestled in this Sonoran valley here in Congress Arizona.  Sensing a safe haven, the traveler ventured forward & low & behold Pheebs ran to meet her.  And all this while Kelly & I were asleep.  We didn’t even know Pheebs was out.  Had it not been for MERIKAY'S comment on our blog this morning we would never have known all that was going on last night.  In that comment Merikay said, “Had a dream last night that I was lost in the hills in Arizona. Then I looked down into a valley and saw your Congress house. I knew I was safe. Pheebs came to meet me”………….:)) 

PLUGGING AWAY AT FILLING UP OUR DINETTE STORAGE SPACE

Easy to tell it is March break.  The kids are out in the desert tearing it up with their dirt bikes again.  So disappointing on our walks to come across the ruts & gouges in the struggling to be green Sonoran terrain.  And yes it’s kids.  You don’t find older responsible & mature adults doing that sort of thing on dirt bikes.  If it were older folks on those bikes there would be an endless parade of ambulances out here picking up all the aging & injured gray beards ker-splunked into the desert rocks, sand, & barbed cactus.

 

OK, about that decision.  Over the past month readers have been sending in emails & comments suggesting we register our Sunseeker here in Arizona & put Arizona plates on it.  Pros & cons of course but as of today we are giving the Arizona registration idea some serious thought.  A call this morning from our good friend Ron up there in Grand Bend Ontario kind of pushed the wheels over the edge & got them rolling.  Ron is the fellow we bought our Damon Motorhome from back in April of 07.  Ron owns FOUR SEASONS PERFORMANCE in Grand Bend.

FIRST TIME I’VE SEEN A GAMBLE’S QUAIL IN A MESQUITE TREE

Kelly has been doing a lot of research on the internet plus headed into Wickenburg today with a list of questions for the Motor Vehicle people.  Keep in mind Kelly is a U.S. citizen with dual citizenship.  We both have our Arizona ID cards & Kelly will be picking up her Arizona driver’s license shortly.  All those things figure in plus we do own property in the U.S. but don’t know if that would have anything to do with anything.  Cost wise it is cheaper to register the Sunseeker here in Arizona as opposed to Ontario.  Cheaper for insurance as well & no border Import paper work.  That one is a big plus because I don’t want to end up shackled to a Dungeon wall at the border!!  Oh, & no over the top Ontario safety inspection costs either.

OUR 90 DAY TEMPORARY ARIZONA LICENSE PERMIT IN OUR BACK WINDOW…THIS IS GOOD TO GET THE RIG BACK TO CANADA UNLESS WE REGISTER IT HERE IN ARIZONA >>>

Anyway, that’s the decision we are facing this week.  We will just have to take some time & think this whole thing through.  What if after returning home we decided to sell the American registered Sunseeker in 3 months?  What about crossing the border back into the States next Fall?  Silly questions…..maybe, but there is a lot of silly rules & regulations when it comes to this kind of stuff & one has to tread very lightly through this minefield of changing unknowns.  And finally, finally, finally, from the dealership where we bought our rig, we received our clear title of ownership for the Sunseeker today.

    

Ever had someone tell you the right way to do something when you already had your heart & mind set on the wrong way to do something.  Naw, I didn’t think so.  Must just be me again.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Robert told his doctor he wasn't able to do all the things around the house that he used to do. When the examination was complete, he said, "Now, Doc, I can take it. Tell me in plain English what's wrong with me."
"Well, in plain English," the doctor replied, "You're just plain lazy."
"Thank You." said the man. "Now give me the medical term, so I can tell my wife!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.