TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Monday, January 06, 2014

AND SO ENDS ANOTHER DAY………

NOTICED SOME MORE KELLY-ART IN OUR CACTUS GARDEN THIS MORNING

Another ‘not so much going on day’. Kelly went to Wickenburg for groceries & I continued with my clean-up project.

Sometimes out of curiosity & maybe tinged with a touch of melancholy I’ll look back in our Archives to see where we were & what we were doing a year ago or maybe two or three. This morning I picked January 6th 2012. We were at the Ranch in McNeal Az. & my Aunt Jean was visiting from Sarasota Florida. Earlier that year I had fallen in love with a little 40 acre Ranch nestled between Elfrida & Swiss Helm Mountains. Kelly & I boondocked on the vacant property for a week or so & I spent my time cleaning up the grounds around the house. Spoke to a Real Estate guy but the price was way too high for us. Jean was curious to see the Lazy W Ranch so that’s where we were 2 years ago today & it was the last time we were ever there.

PHEEBS & BEANS & SUPPER IN THE CLASS A DAMON WE HAD AT THE TIME

A COUPLE OTHER FAMILIAR RV BLOG TRAVELERS STOPPED BY THE LAZY W AFTER WE LEFT AS WELL:))

January 6th 2009 found us in Borrego Springs. We attended our one & only Happy Hour campfire ring that day. Don’t mind so much visiting with one couple at a time but a whole bunch of people sitting around in a circle…..um, not so much. That Happy Hour stuff just never caught on with us.

JANUARY 6TH 2008 ALSO FOUND US IN BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA AS WELL…MISS YOU BEANS……….

And so ends another day………….

KOFA MOUNTAIN SUNRISE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, live in a house together. One night the 96-year-old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other sisters, 'Was I getting in or out of the
bath?'
The 94-year-old yells back, 'I don't know.
I'll come up and see.' She starts up the stairs and pauses 'Was I going up the stairs or down?

The 92-year-old is sitting at the kitchen
table having tea listening to her sisters; she shakes her head and says, 'I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood.' She then yells,'I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door.'

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

Sunday, January 05, 2014

NOT MUCH HAPPENING TODAY BUT HEY AT LEAST WE ARE NOT SHOVELING SNOW

ALWAYS ENJOY OUR NEIGHBOR’S CACTUS GARDEN ON OUR MORNING WALKS

Not often we seem to get gusty winds rolling through our area as compared to other parts of the southwest we have been but we did have some wind come through Saturday night that set up a bit of sporadic howling in our roof. It also brought in some cooler air.

WE HAVE LOTS OF GREAT ROCKS TO SCRAMBLE ON CLOSE TO OUR HOUSE SO NOW WE JUST NEED THE ENERGY TO GET OUT THERE & SCRAMBLE ON THEM

Had a bit of soreness in my right hip reminiscent of last winter so figured I had better back off my neighborly clean-up project for a bit. I’ve never been one good at pacing myself when it comes to doing things. Seem to have it in my head that a week long project has to be all finished up in 20 minutes:(( Did manage to scratch around in the dirt a bit & get 6 more Yucca’s planted though:))

DALLY & PHEEBS RACE ALONG A FENCE LINE THIS MORNING

Oatman Arizona was one of the destinations we were heading for nearly 2 years ago when we became discouraged one Saturday morning due to traffic congestion in Lake Havasu. We never did make it to Oatman & re-routed ourselves further East ending up in some little place called Congress. To make a long story short…..we are still here. But RAY & CINDY did make it to Oatman just a few days ago on their southbound journey. Oatman is an old mining town on Route 66 known for it’s wandering Burrows in the street. Oh, & Clark Gable & Carol Lombard as well.

COULDN’T FIND THIS LITTLE FELLOW IN MY SOUTHWEST AUDUBON BOOK >>>

GYPSY is finally out of the hospital & staying with family until she is strong enough to head home & resume her normal life. She will probably soon have some camping plans simmering on a back burner. And it looks like all that nasty winter weather back east has succeeded in blowing RETIRED ROD & his spiffy new Jeep Wrangler all the way back to his Arizona digs. Better get all that road salt washed off right quick.

A GAMBLE’S QUAIL STROLLS THROUGH ONE OF OUR CACTUS GARDENS

We’ve been through Death Valley California a couple times but have never made it to Scotty’s Castle. From things I have read it is quite a place & well worth seeing. Janna & Mike were just there a few days ago. Janna relates the history behind the castle & her photos depict quite a grand mansion in the desert. SCOTTY'S CASTLE 1 --- SCOTTY'S CASTLE 2.

THIS LITTLE EYE TAKEN THROUGH A FENCE BELONGS TO A 2 DAY OLD BABY LAMB

GROANER’S CORNER:(( What did the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor? I’ll have one with everything on it.
The hot dog vendor then gives him the dog and the Buddhist gives him a $20 bill. The vendor does not offer any change.
Buddhist – Hey, where’s my change?
Vendor – Change must come from within.

Saturday, January 04, 2014

ONE OF THESE DAYS WHILE MY LONG TERM MEMORY IS STILL INTACT……….

There was no hurry to get myself dressed & out the door this morning. When I looked out my window I did not see my good friend waiting for me. Had us a cloud cover & old Sol was nowhere to be seen. And 48F under cloud cover with a slight breeze from the North just didn’t do it for me. I don’t exactly get roaringly inspired on cool cloudy days. I was just being a bit of a Grumpypants first thing this morning anyway.

Fortunately by 10 the cloud cover thinned & old Sol once again sent his warming rays to earth charging my batteries for another day. Wasn’t long in getting out & carrying on with my clean-up job at the neighbor’s. Put in about 4 hours & tonight I’m still digging Prickly Pear Cactus barbs out of my hide. Not much else I can tell you about my day except to say I once again enjoyed working away by myself clearing brush & trimming trees & bushes. I have always preferred working alone over the many years & many different types of jobs I have had.

Tried the assembly line in a furniture factory once. Nope that wasn’t for me. Had a stint in the retail business dealing with customers & employees. Eee-gads that didn’t work. Tried construction, yuck!! Tried my luck as a Security Guard a few times. Nope. Did a stint in the Canadian Navy & didn’t care for that either. A few more factory jobs. One lasted for 4 hours & another one about 6 years. One I never even showed up for the first day of work. Worked in the camera department for K-Mart one time. That was pretty boring. Washed cars for a dealership in Kitchener one summer & the best part of that job was going to Toronto & racing used cars back from the auction. Stocked shelves in a grocery store once. Had my own small photo business for a few years. Enjoyed that because I spent a lot of my time alone in my dark room working on old prints for folks.

Probably another dozen or so jobs I’m forgetting but overall it was the driving jobs I always liked because I worked alone. Drove for Purolator one time & that was good. Those were the days when jobs were plentiful & easy to find & I was always one of those restless people who tired of routine jobs quickly & moved on to try something else. One of these days while my long term memory is still intact I must take the time to sit down & weave those 20+ jobs together in some kind of story form. A lot of crazy stuff happened in those often turbulent years……….

Well I sure got off track there again. Anyway I put about 5 hours into my clean-up job today. Kelly & Pheebs went to the Library & hit a garage sale on the way back. Picked up some Navajo things made up around CANYON DE CHELLY. The fellow with the Navajo stuff also threw in something else kind of curious. Says they are original stage coach tickets. I’m always skeptical about ‘original’ claims.

FOUR HORSE CORALS ON THIS PROPERTY CHERYL:))

And there’s a new puppy over at KAREN & STEVES. Eight week old Finnegan has joined the clan & I especially like the photo of little Finnegan & big Duke sleeping side by side. Reminded me of the first day we met Pheebs. We had brought little Cora aka Motormouse along & she remained in the car while we went in the house where Pheebs lived. After about 15 minutes we brought Motor in & introduced her to Pheebs. They seemed to get along just fine but the clincher came when Cora walked over to a mat & laid down. Pheebs walked over & laid right down beside her & it was at that moment we knew we had ourselves another new member for the Bayfield Bunch:))

THIS LITTLE FELLOW HAD TO SLAM ON HIS AIR BRAKES WHEN A SEED SLIPPED OUT OF HIS BEAK

Cheryl over at DEEP CANYON has had a computer crash & is in the painstaking process of getting herself up & running again. I’m sure we have all been there. The question she had in her post was, “Can anybody recommend a web based site to store photos? Or, a cloud based one? I've always just stored them on the desktop...THANK YOU for your help! I sure need it!”……I don’t have an answer for Cheryl but maybe someone else out here does. I store all my digital photos in an old shoe box under my bed.

You Tiffin owners may be interested in NAN'S post about their day at the Tiffen Surgery Service Center. She has a detailed write up with photos about some repairs going on with their rig requiring welding, gluing, & painting, amongst other things. It seems they had an unfortunate encounter with a rather stubborn boulder.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Did you know…..A politician is one who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after….The very first doctor of dermatology had to start from scratch….What do you call a funeral where you smell your own flowers? A wedding…."Waiter! This coffee tastes like mud." "Yes sir," came the reply, "it's fresh ground."….Two men are approaching each other on a sidewalk. Both are dragging their right foot as the walk. As they meet, one man looks at the other, knowingly points at his foot and says,"Vietnam, 1969." The other hooks his thumb behind him says,
"Dog poop, 20 feet back.”

Friday, January 03, 2014

GOT ME A NEW PROJECT…CLEANING UP OUR ABSENTEE NEIGHBOR’S PROPERTY:))

OUR ABSENTEE ALBERTAN NEIGHBOR’S PLACE BEHIND US…HE’S NEVER BEEN HERE SINCE WE HAVE BEEN HERE

THE PORCH FACES SOUTH

It seems I went to Mexico last night for some crazily zany times. Don’t remember a lot about it but for sure it was quite a trip from the little bit I do remember. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had total recall from our dreams each night…..or would it?

LOOKING FORWARD TO CLEANING UP THIS ONCE NICELY LANDSCAPED AREA

Actually in reality I/we have been to Mexico a few times. Twice to Puerto Vallarta, about half a dozen times to Palomas (Pink Store) & once to Sonoyta/Lukeville. Enjoyed all our times in Mexico except for our last trip across the border at Lukeville. We have not been back to Mexico since & are not likely to go again. We found out first hand just ‘how fast’ things can go wrong. You can read my post for that day here….OUR MEXICAN BORDER TOWN INCIDENT....2008

I THINK THIS FELLOW CANADIAN PLANNED ON HAVING HORSES HERE AT ONE TIME

Mark from BOX CANYON BLOG had this paragraph in one of his recent posts that caught my attention. Liked what he had to say & liked what he/they have to offer………"If your inner explorer longs for new ground and a little more space between slide-outs…if you are ready for less people, concrete and pavement…if you've had it with in-the-City-freeways, noise, and sketchy neighborhoods…if "Walled Resorts" with too many Rules, Happy Hours, and Pot Lucks, and the same 'ole same 'ole loop-de-loop morning walks are beginning to feel mundane and not what you imagined Freedom Road to be...if "outings" have morphed to drive-byes or trips to Walmart or yakking it up while sitting in a circle of camp chairs...if Bingo is no longer fun...if you and your dog are getting that pudgy feeling…if you are bored to smithereens and sluggish as a snail (deep breath)….then maybe it's time for an ORGEE. (Outdoor RV Gang for Exercise and Exploration.) ORGEE IN UTAH

Stumbled my way into a piece of luck this morning. The large piece of property that butts onto our back & south side is owned by an Albertan whom we have never met. He has not been here at all for the past few years. Fairly new small house on about 3 acres. Really nice piece of property but it needs some TLC. This fellow’s cousin, a Real Estate Broker in Wickenburg keeps an eye on the place & we met him last winter. He was in to check the property this morning & spotted me in the back yard. Had us a chin wag & I mentioned I had been thinking of cleaning up some of the dead underbrush & cactus along our driveway fence line on our neighbor’s property. Dave, the Real Estate fellow was happy about that & gave me clearance to go ahead & clean up whatever I wanted on his cousins property. That was a big piece of luck for me & with that official permission a half later I was over on the neighbor’s property hard at at with my gardening tools.

I HAVE ALREADY GATHERED UP SOME LARGE PILES OF BRUSH

MY TOOLS LEANING AGAINST OUR FENCE & LOOKING OUT THE NEIGHBOR’S DRIVEWAY WITH OUR PLACE ON THE LEFT

This clean-up on my neighbor’s property is not a paying job but that is of no matter to me. I’m just happy to have something to do again that I really enjoy doing. First phase will be cleaning up all along the driveway leading in past our place. Second phase will be getting into a once beautiful large treed area & cleaning that all up.

BY CLEANING UP ALL THIS OLD DEAD BRUSH IT MAKES OUR NEIGHBORHOOD SAFER FROM FIRE

As I have said many times, sitting around relaxing doing nothing just doesn’t work for me. Now I have a new project & am really looking forward to not grumbling so much that I have nothing to do. I think Kelly might be looking forward to that too:))

NICE PIECE OF PROPERTY FOR SOMEONE IF THIS ALBERTA RANCHER FELLA EVER DECIDES TO SELL

Our winter weather here in Arizona this year has been far better than last year. More consistently sunny days with higher temperatures. I remember last year the locals saying it was the coldest winter for a long time. Think we got up around 70 today which was great for working outside. Put about 3 hours into my new clean up job before I had to call it quits around 1:30. Sun was getting pretty hot. Sure feels good getting some working exercise again. At my age with ever stiffening muscles any kind of exercise is a bonus.

THREE PHOTOS OF THURSDAY NIGHTS CRESCENT MOON USING A SLOW SHUTTER SPEED & MOVING THE CAMERA AROUND

GROANER’S CORNER:(( To get away from their high-stress jobs, a couple decided to spend weekends relaxing in their motor home. But after finding their peace and quiet disturbed by well-meaning, but unwelcome visits from other campers, they devised a plan to assure themselves some privacy. Now, when they set up camp, they place this sign on the door of their RV: "Insurance agent. Ask about our term-life package."