TOUCHING BASE WITH A FEW OLD DESERT MEMORIES

Rolling out the driveway early this morning Pheebs and I were once again harmonizing along with the ‘Sons Of The Pioneers’ as we headed for the Yarnell Hill sharing a Blueberry Muffin.  Had it in mind to stop by and have us a look at the new Granite Mountain Hotshots Memorial State Park trailhead.  Figured if there were no bunches of people around we’d maybe take us for a short walk along the newly constructed trail.  Crossed over to the downhill lane of highway 89 and hung a left to the trailhead area a short distance down.  Noticed right away they have done a nice job here with a complete paved parking area and information signboards.  A State Park Ranger was in the process of talking to a couple of people so I just snapped a few photos and we kept going.  Kelly, Pheebs and I may try the trail sometime next week.  We’ll see.

Heading back down the side of the Weaver Mountains we rolled into Congress and decided to take ourselves for a drive out into the desert behind our house.  Hadn’t been out to House/Indian Rock yet so with morning temperatures on the rise Pheebs and I drove a couple miles out into the desert to where we knew the big rock to be.  On the way we stopped once again at Aunt Jeans cluster of boulders to touch base with a few old pleasant memories.  I was aware sitting atop a large familiar boulder looking off to the South-West that this likely was my last time here.  I carried that thought with me for the rest of the morning.

EARLY MORN AND CONGRESS IS JUST THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT SMALL DARK MOUNTAIN ON THE RIGHT…WEAVER MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND

EVEN NOTICED THE SHADOW COWBOY WAS OUT AND ABOUT THIS MORNING

THAT’S THE ROCK WE ALL SCRAMBLED UP AND SAT ON JEAN

THE MAJESTIC VIEWS JUST GO ON FOREVER OUT HERE IN THE WEST

I TRIED TO DO A SELFIE OF PHEEBS AND I ATOP THE ROCK BUT IT DIDN’T WORK OUT SO SWELL….PHEEBS IS THAT BLACK FURRY SMUDGE AT THE BOTTOM

OOOOOPS THERE SHE IS:))

THOSE ARE THE DATE CREEK MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND

Indian House Rock is only another quarter mile away from Aunt Jean’s cluster of boulders so we jostled and bumped our way over there along the dusty desert floor following an ATV Jeep trail to the biggest of all boulders in the area.  This has been one of my favorite walking places so we parked the Jeep, touched base with Indian Rock and headed off on foot making our way through the large jumble and tumble of rocks and boulders.  With wide sweeping views stretching for miles across the valley floor to the East I have always found walking here very peaceful.  There was a sadness in my walk this morning though.

INDIAN HOUSE ROCK IS THAT BIG BOULDER

CAN YOU SEE PHEEBS AT THE BASE OF THE ROCK GIVING IT SOME PERSPECTIVE

WHEN I NOTICED THE BIG BOULDER SLIPPING A BIT I RUSHED DOWN TO HOLD IT BACK WHILE PHEEBS GOT OUT OF THE WAY

THIS IS THE AREA WHERE I HAVE ENJOYED QUIET WALKS

INDIAN HOUSE ROCK ON THE LEFT AND IF YOU LOOK CAREFULLY YOU CAN SEE THE JEEP PARKED WAY OVER TO THE RIGHT

CAN YOU MAKE OUT THE HUGE LONG SNOUTED GREAT ROCK RAT

STOPPING FOR A REST

 From Indian Rock we took another rough and tumble road heading over a ridge to another large valley to the West.  Been over to that Valley a few times so we only went to a crest on the ridge, took a few photos, then turned around and headed slowly back towards home.  With sunny skies overhead it was a beautiful morning to let my mind wander back through these past 4 winters remembering all the great moments we’ve had here in this little patch of the South-Wests Sonoran Desert.

A FELLER HAS TO BE A LITTLE EXTRA CAREFUL IN SOME SPOTS…WE EEKED UP THAT NARROW FLAT STRETCH BUT CAME BACK AND STRADDLED THAT LONG RUT ON THE WAY DOWN

LOOKING EAST TOWARDS CONGRESS ON THE HORIZON JUST LEFT OF THAT TALL SAGUARO ON THE RIGHT

IS IT ANY WONDER WHY WE LOVE THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTHWEST SO MUCH

THAT TALL PEAK NORTHWEST OF CONGRESS TOP LEFT CAN BE SEEN FROM WICKENBURG…..DON’T MISS THE PHEEBS

SURE GLAD WE MADE THE DECISION TO GO WITH 4 WHEEL DRIVE JEEPS THESE PAST 7 YEARS

Thank you to readers for your response in regards to the clarity of my blog photos.  Either I am having some kind of a problem with my eyes or I am simply being to critical.  But as Mark pointed out there does seem to be a problem with Google regarding all this.  In a comment on my post Mark in part explains it this way…. “I did some Forum Digging and it turns out about a little over a year ago BLOGGER reduced the default upload resolution from 1600 to 320. If I keep my uploaded photos small, the blurriness is not noticeable, but when resized to large (as I like to do) it definitely is noticeable when the edges are examined closely.  Going from 1600 to 320 has really impacted the resolution quality on my blog. It saved Google some upload time and storage space.”

WE SWITCHED DRIVERS HERE

Looks like we just might have ourselves a very busy week coming up.  We still have people to drop around and see yet and with our house sale still moving in the right direction there are many things for us to attend to and take care of.  Still too early to count our chickens before they are hatched but maybe by the end of next week we might be seeing some cracking of eggs…..:))

IT’S ALWAYS BEST TO HAVE TWO DRIVERS IN THE DESERT SO HERE I AM GUIDING PHEEBS THROUGH A BUMPY SPOT

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Earlier this year the US Postal Service issued a set of stamps featuring American racehorses.  This must be one of the great ironies of the horse racing industry. If a horse wins its races it gets put on the front of a postage stamp. If it loses it gets put on the back!

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Jill: I just don't understand the attraction golf holds for men.  Mary: Tell me about it! I went golfing with my husband one time, and he told me I asked too many questions!  Jill: Well, I'm sure you were just trying to understand the game. What questions did you ask?  Mary: I thought I asked legitimate questions like, "Why did you hit the ball into that lake?"

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A married couple were asleep when the phone rang at 2 in the morning, the wife (undoubtedly blonde), picked up the phone, listened a moment and said, "How should I know, that's 200 miles from here?" and hung up.  The husband said, "Who was that?" The wife said, "I don't know, some young woman wanting to know 'if the coast is clear."

MORE PAPERWORK IN WICKENBURG THIS MORNING

A FEW PHOTOS TONIGHT LEFT OVER FROM TUESDAY MORNINGS JEEP RIDE TO AGUILA

Clear overnight skies did not mean clear morning skies and I was disappointed again with another cloudy day.  At least Kelly and I had something to do and a place to go earlier on and for a morning person like myself that is always an acceptable way for me to start my day.   And for a slight change of routine it was Kelly and I climbing into the Jeep this morning instead of Pheebs and I.  We had some more paper work to go through at the Pioneer Title Agency in Wickenburg regarding the sale of our house.  That done we popped into a restaurant just up the street called Spurs Cafe.  Had us a good breakfast with no complaints.  Kelly wanted to check out something on the menu of another eatery in Wickenburg called The Local Press Sandwich Bar so we stopped there while she ran in and back out again.  Next stop was groceries at Safeway and we were back home shortly after 12.

AT THE PIONEER TITLE COMPANY AROUND 10 THIS MORNING

A QUICK STOP AT THE ‘LOCAL PRESS SANDWICH BAR’ IN DOWNTOWN WICKENBURG ARIZONA

One of Americas well known war correspondents in the Second World War was a fellow by the name of Ernie Pyle.  I came across one of his books entitled ‘Ernie Pyle In England’ a month ago and enjoyed it so much I am just about through another one of his books called ‘Brave Men’ which took him through the Sicily campaign and on into Italy during the Second World War.  His writing style is easy for me to understand as he immerses himself in the lives of military personnel and civilians around him.  He writes very simply and I especially like his human interest accounts of people he encounters whether it be under fire on the battle fields or in underground shelters during the London blitz.  His writings are refreshingly honest as he slips in tidbits about his own fears, his shortcomings and misgivings.  He was one of those writers who wrote real stories about real people in real places encountering real events.  Ernie Pyle was killed by enemy fire on April 18th 1945 on Ie Island, just west of Okinawa in the South Pacific.  Ernie Pyle's Books

A FEW ‘DRIVE-BY’ PHOTOS OF AGUILA ARIZONA

BEFORE INTERSTATE 10 WAS PUT THROUGH SOUTH OF AGUILA THIS WAS THE HIGHWAY WHICH CARRIED TRAFFIC FROM PHOENIX ARIZONA TO BLYTH CALIFORNIA AND BEYOND

DUSTY LITTLE TOWNS WITH EVEN DUSTIER OLD MOTELS AND ROADSIDE CAFE’S ARE ALL THAT’S LEFT OF A ONCE BYGONE ERA WHEN HURRIED TRAVELERS BUSTLED EAST AND WEST ALONG BUSY HIGHWAY 71

THE EVER VIGILANTE EAGLES EYE KEEPS WATCH OVER THE TINY AGRICULTURAL COMMUNITY OF AGUILA

LOOKS MORE LIKE THE PRAIRIES THAN ARIZONA BUT AGUILA IS SURROUNDED ON THREE SIDES BY VAST AGRICULTURAL FIELDS GROWING AMONGST OTHER THINGS, COTTON

FLEETS OF JOHN DEERE TRACTORS TO WORK THE LAND

GROWING FIELDS ON BOTH SIDES OF EAGLE EYE ROAD NORTH OF AGUILA

A GROWER OUT CHECKING HIS FIELD

A DOZER PLOWS UP THE SIDES OF A LARGE IRRIGATION DITCH IN AGUILA

I especially liked former RVing full-timer Nick Russell’s latest post entitled If I Had To Do It Over where he writes about some of the mistakes he and wife Terry made over the years and especially their first three big ones as Newbie RV’ers.  He has advice for fellow RV’ers and new folks just beginning the RV lifestyle.  I prefer blogs where a writer deals realistically with the realities of life honestly and does not gloss things over making every day sound unrealistically wonderful.  Good for you Nick in always expressing your thoughts and feelings in a sensible truthful manner regardless of what mood you are in. 

THIS INDIAN ON HORSEBACK STANDS AT THE ENTRANCE TO ROBSON'S ARIZONA RANCH & MINING CAMP

LOCATED ABOUT 5 MILES NORTHEAST OF AGUILA ON HIGHWAY 71 THIS IS AS CLOSE AS MY 300mm TELEPHOTO LENS WOULD GET ME TO THE RANCH

ENTRANCE TO THE RANCH

I have a question for readers tonight regarding my blog photos.  When I edit my photos they appear for the most part clear and sharp to me but when my blog publishes they sometimes look fuzzy and grainy.  Are my photos sometimes appearing fuzzy to anyone else but me.  Is it my eyes or is there something amiss somewhere.  Thanks to Mark over at Box Canyon Blog for bringing this to my intention.  Seems he as well as other blogging folks are having the same problem with their photos.  Could this be something the ever meddling Google is involved in again!!  Mark, I’ll get back to you shortly.

HEADING EAST ON 71 WITH CONGRESS AZ DEAD AHEAD ABOUT 3 MILES

GROANER’S CORNER:(( The Priest was preparing a man for his long day's journey into night. Whispering firmly, the Priest said, "Denounce the devil! Let him know how little you think of him!"  The dying man said nothing.  The priest repeated his order.  Still the man said nothing.  The priest asked, "Why do you refuse to denounce the devil and his evil?" The dying man said, "Until I know for sure where I'm heading, I don't think I ought to aggravate anybody."

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Computers can never replace humans. They may become capable of artificial intelligence, but they will never master real stupidity.

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At the Olympics a man went up to a competitor who was carrying a very long pole."Are you a pole vaulter?" "No, I'm German, but how did you know my name is Walter?"

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A small boy is sent to bed by his father. Five minutes later:"Da..aaad" "What" "I'm thirsty. Can you bring me a drink of water?" "No. You had your chance. Lights out." Five minutes later: "Daa....aaad..." "WHAT!?" "I'm THIRSTY. Can I have a drink of water?" I told you NO! If you ask again I'll have to spank you!" Five minutes later.."Daaaa....aaaad!" "When you come up to spank me can you bring a drink of water?"