By 8 o’clock this morning we were winding our way along dusty winding desert roads through thickets of Mesquite & Palo Verde trees close quartered by desert broom, yucca, bitterbrush, prickly pear cactus & a host of other green growing plants I didn’t know. We’re familiar with these roads & trails in this area so we led the way with Jean, Skip, Sophie & Louie following in their Tracker.
DOGGIES GETTING A DRINK WITH WITH INDIAN ROCK IN THE BACKGROUND
JEAN TAKES A PICTURE OF A PETROGLYPH & HARD TO IMAGINE PEOPLE LIVING HERE CENTURIES AGO…NOTE THE SMOKE RESIDUE ON THE ROCK FROM LONG AGO FIRES
MORTEROS OR INDIAN GRINDING HOLES CAN BE SEEN IN FOREGROUND
Our first stop was Indian/House rock where we were able to show Jean & Skip some petroglyphs as well as Mortero seed grinding holes in the surrounding rocks made by native Indians a few hundred years ago if not longer.
ONE OF MY FAVORITE WALKING AREAS
LOUIE IS QUITE THE LITTLE ADVENTURESS EXPLORER
SKIP TENDS TO A SUSPECTED SMALL THORN IN SOPHIE’S PAW
This is a nice walking/hiking area where we have walked before with Aunt Jean as well as Kelly’s brother Peter & wife Leslie. Big boulders, Saguaro Cactus, panoramic views & a mountain of rocks. Nice morning with a fresh breeze made it just about perfect. Pheebs, Sophie & Louie had a blast clambering around all the rocks exploring. Knowing the walking would be too much for big Jake Jean & Skip decided it best he waited until we returned.
JEAN, LOUIE, SOPHIE, & SKIP
From Indian Rock we headed off on a gnarly road climbing over a nearby series of rocky ridges into a picturesque valley beyond. We knew the whereabouts of a working windmill pumping ground water into a tank for roaming desert cattle & that was our destination. And we saw cattle along the way as well.
WE HEAD OFF UP OVER A RIDGE TO THE VALLEY BEYOND
KELLY OPENS A ‘COWBOY GATE’ ALONG THE WAY & WE DO SEE SOME CATTLE
THIS WINDMILL IS IN GOOD SHAPE & DOES ACTUALLY PUMP WATER
OUR THIRD TIME TO THIS WORKING WINDMILL
Decided to return using the same road from whence we had come. Had noticed a white pick-up truck earlier & thought we had heard voices somewhere out in the desert underbrush. Shortly after leaving the windmill tank we spotted something moving through the brush off to our left. We only caught fleeting glimpses but it appeared to be a cowboy on horse back moving through the brush. I only saw his head & shoulders. We hopped out of our vehicles to try & grab some photos of the cowboys but all the green underbrush made it difficult. Jean & Skip spotted a second cowboy with a black hat & saw that they were herding cattle. I didn’t see the cows or black hatted cowboy but did manage to get off a few distant shots of the white hatted cowboy.
THESE WERE THE ONLY TWO PHOTOS I MANAGED TO TAKE OF ONE OF TWO COWBOYS ON HORSEBACK HERDING CATTLE THROUGH THE BRUSH
AND I DID MANAGE TO SNAG ANOTHER PHOTO OF THE ELUSIVE SHADOW COWBOY TODAY
Made our way across the desert floor easing down into this gully, jostling over that rut, bumping over jutting rocks & slip sliding our way through sand filled dry river washes. Sure is a huge advantage to have a high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle out here in the southwest & makes it possible to travel through so many areas that would remain otherwise unseen & un-experienced. Being able to venture out onto the desert floor & travel where many other vehicles cannot go is a huge advantage & just adds so much to our whole enjoyment of being here. And then there’s the overall peacefulness. Everywhere we stop we are greeted by total silence. Oh how I love that.
IT’S A WINDING ROCKY ROAD LEADING BACK TO CONGRESS ARIZONA
I HAVE A TRACKER IN MY MIRROR
THIS IS VERY TYPICAL OF THE TERRAIN WE DROVE THROUGH THIS MORNING
We were back home shortly before 11 which made for a nice adventuress 3 hour jostling jaunt through the desert. Kelly finds anything longer than that too tiring so it worked out well. An R&R afternoon was in order before ordering ourselves a big supreme deluxe Pizza from the Congress Depot. And of course it was as yummy as ever & between the 4 of us we pretty well demolished the whole thing.
SOPHIE’S THE ONE WITH THE PINK COLLAR
BIG JAKE & THE PHEEBS
LOUIE’S ABOUT TO PLANT A KISS ON KELLY’S CHEEK
Sat on the front porch chatting after supper until dark. Nice to have all the dogs around us playing & carrying on. Always reminds me of our original Bayfield Bunch gang with Max, Checkers, & Cora the little Motormouse. We can tell Pheebs really likes having Sophie, Louie, & big Jake here. It’s a bit of a 3 ring circus at times but that’s the part I always enjoy the best. I remember back in our ranch sitting days near McNeil Arizona when I would get out on the grass wrestling with all the dogs & some days there were 6 of them flying around upside down. Gleason, Pearce, Corky, Max, Checkers, & the Motormouse. All big strappin dogs except for little Cora who never knew she was small so was always right in there mixing it up with the big guys including me. I was part of the pack loving every minute of all the kibitzing. I think there are a lot of dog parts in my make up………:))
JEAN & SKIP’S GHOST TOWN ROAD DIGS
In the morning we’ll check out a couple old cemeteries near the once top producing Congress gold mine down the end of Ghost Town Road less than a mile from our place…………..
GROANER’S CORNER:(( We recently had a guest speaker at our church. He is from India, part of an organization that our church supports. Before he started his sermon, he asked if anyone had called any customer support numbers recently.
When several people in the congregation raised their hands, he said, "That's good. That means you won't have too much trouble understanding my accent."
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A woman is walking on the road and a voice shouts out, "Don't take a step further." She obeys and suddenly a ton of bricks fall on the place where she would have otherwise been. She thinks she imagined it and keeps walking until suddenly the voice calls out again. "Don't take a step further." She stops and a car skids past.
Then suddenly she hears the voice saying "I am your guardian angel, and I will warn you before something bad happens to you. Now do you have any questions to ask me?" "Yes!" shouts the woman. "Just where were you on my wedding day!"
