GROCERIES AT OLSENS AND……WAIT A MINUTE, WHERE THE HECK IS OLSENS????

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH IS ON THE MOVE AGAIN AND KELLY HAS ON HER ALGODONES DRESS WHICH IS SHOWING IT’S TRUE BERGUNDY COLOR UNLIKE MY TUESDAY POST WHERE THE COLOR WAS SHOWING UP AS RED (KELLY WANTED ME TO STRAIGHTEN THAT OUT:))

When stepping out of the coach with Pheebs in the early morning darkness every day the first thing I do when opening the door is quickly scan the immediate area with my flashlight for Monsters then give the ‘all clear’ to Pheebs and she scampers out.  It’s very rare for me to turn on the outside light but I do carry a powerful flashlight just in case.  I much prefer the darkness with it’s host of stars overhead.  Although I have trouble seeing the small print on my computer screen I still do have excellent night vision for keeping an eye on the Pheebs.  Second thing I do when stepping out of the rig is to look up.  Stars = good:)) No Stars = Not so good:((  This morning was…..Good:))

LOOKING EAST ALONG I-8 WITH PILOT KNOB ON THE DISTANT HORIZON AS WE ARE ABOUT TO TURN LEFT DOWN THE RAMP AND JOIN THE INTERSTATE

My new dentures are fitting fine so the decision was made to head out this morning in search of  new and old familiar scenery.  i was happy about that because I really wasn’t keen on going back to Algodones.  An OK one time experience but enough was enough with all those pushy vendors.  By 9 a.m. we had all our storf stowed away.  Storf??  Ya, stuff you store away.  You know…….Storf:))  Minutes later we had the wheels headed south down Ogilbie Road to Interstate 8 and made a left turn down the ramp into the east bound lanes of I-8 towards Yuma.

HEADING THROUGH YUMA’S EAST END MOUNTAINS

ABOUT HALF WAY BETWEEN YUMA AND GILA BEND

Always easy getting through Yuma as I-8 heads across the city’s north end.  Fuel stop at Loves netted us some propane, 2 Subs, 2 coffees, and a small box of Chester Chicken for later.  Without further adieu we exited Yuma’s east end between the Muggins and Lechuguilla  mountains out onto the flatter desert and charted a course for Gila Bend.  Nice day with blue skies, warm sunshine and no wind.  This is one of those long straight stretches of road that allows a feller if he can get his steering wheel set just right to snap on the cruise control and get up and go back to the galley and make himself a coffee and a peanut butter sandwich.  Maybe even a good old big one in the washroom if he feels the need:))

THE 3:10 OUT OF YUMA MOVING EAST IS HEADED IN THE DIRECTION OF PHOENIX

It is often uncanny how things sometimes occur in the RV traveling lifestyle and we had one of them this afternoon which occurred at a rest area about 30 miles west of Gila Bend.  We had just pulled in and rolled to a stop when a soft knock came to our side door.  Kelly was closest to the door and opened it a smidgen and right away recognized the person at the other end of the knock.  It was Diana from Life On The Open Road and she had recognized our rig pulling in.  She too was traveling from point A to point B and had stopped for a break as well.  I don’t recall having formally met Diana before but I do recall seeing her from a distance at Bloggerfest 2015.  Small world indeed and nice to briefly talk to you today Diana.

ACRES OF BLACK LAVA ROCK AT A REST STOP AREA ABOUT 30 MILES WEST OF GILA BEND ON I-8

HEADING SOUTH FROM GILA BEND ON #85 THROUGH THE BARRY M GOLDWATER MILITARY RANGE….IT IS NOT UNUSUAL TO BE  BUZZED BY LOW FLYING MILITARY AIRCRAFT ALONG THIS HIGHWAY

Gila Bend is one of those ‘Oasis In The Desert’ places for RVers.  A growing crossroads kind of place in the middle of nowhere to take on water, fuel or propane, stock up the food larder and dump tanks.  Today we took on water and dumped a couple tanks before rolling out again this time heading straight south on highway 85 towards Mexico.  But Mexico was not our destination this time.  Olsens Market Place was our destination and is one of our favorite grocery stores in one of our favorite small Arizona towns in one of our favorite Arizona areas.  A few fellow RV boon-dockers will already know where we are and yes indeed we are in Ajo Arizona and of course camped out under the stars all by ourselves somewhere out Darby Well Road.  North end to be precise because that is where the visible Verizon tower beams out it’s best signal in our direction. 

ONE OF OUR FAVORITE GROCERY STORES

A FEW QUICK ‘DRIVE-BY’ PHOTOS OF DOWNTOWN AJO AS WE DROVE THROUGH

It was late afternoon when we happily returned to another one of those areas where we have many pleasant memories from our earlier traveling years.  It was here we met RV Sue And Her Canine Crew when we convinced her to come on over from Truth Or Consequences New Mexico to try her hand at some boon-docking.  The rest is history of course and RV Sue could now probably right her own book on her experiences and the RV boon-docking lifestyle.  And it all started right here on Darby Well Road west of Ajo Arizona.  And it was in Ajo that we first met the Grandpappy of all RV Bloggers……Tioga George his very self:))

WE DO TRULY HAVE OURSELVES A NICE SITE HERE THIS TIME

I HAVE ALWAYS CALLED THOSE LARGE ROCKS IN THE BACKGROUND ‘THE COW PLOPS’ AND WE DID HIKE TO THE TOP OF THE CENTER ONE

HOW NICE TO HAVE AN ORGAN PIPE CACTUS BESIDE US

If I remember correctly the final remains of Edward Abbey are somewhere just west of us in the Cabeza Prieta Desert.  Here’s a clue to his final resting place and be sure to read about his Death and Burial at the end of the Wikipedia article.

OUR SIDE YARD VIEW TO THE NORTH ABOVE AND SOUTH BELOW

LOOKING SOUTH

Again, can’t tell you how happy we are to be where we are and what makes it especially nice this time out here is that basically there is nobody here except for one small van camper we can see on a hillside about a quarter mile away.  We are parked right beside an Organ Pipe Cactus and surrounded by thousands of stately Saguaros.  It is this type of boon-docking we had loved so much years ago and have been so sorely missing since 2012.  So nice to be back doing what we so much like doing…………..:))

I know there are a lot of ‘do it yourself’ RV’ers out here so you might want to keep the following site on file because Steve from RVing: The USA Is Our Big Back Yard is one of those fellas who can and does do most of his own repairs and modifications whether it be to their 1996 Safari Serengeti Motorhome or sticks & bricks house.  Recently retired Steve is a very talented laid back fellow with an abundance of patience for fixing and modifying things.  Karen, talented in her own right writes the blog and takes the photos and has started the New Year off with 3 past Motorhome modifications which you can read about Here.

OUR CLOSEST AND ONLY NEIGHBOR TO THE EAST

NOTE THE CROSS ATOP THIS ROCKY PEAK

SUNSET AT OUR HOUSE TONIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Nursery school teacher says to her class, "Who can use the word 'Definitely' in a sentence?"  First a little girl says "The sky is definitely blue"  Teacher says, "Sorry, Amy, but the sky can be gray, or orange..."  Second little boy..."Trees are definitely green"  "Sorry, but in the autumn, the trees are brown."  Little Johnny from the back of the class stands up and asks:  "Does a fart have lumps?"  The teacher looks horrified and says "Johnny! Of course not!!!"  "OK...then I DEFINITELY crapped my pants..."

A FESTIVE ALGODONES MORNING AND A THANKFULLY QUIET DESERT AFTERNOON

SUNRISE WITH YUMA IN YONDER VALLEY WITH EITHER THE LAGUNA OR MUGGINS MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND

Must admit it was kinda nice parking on pavement for a rare change.  No sand and gravel being tracked into the coach.  Quiet night alongside the Mexican border but Kelly said she kept hearing something continuously ‘going up in the air’.   Said it was very strange and that was the only way she could describe it.  With the large military base in Yuma to the east of us it’s probably not unusual for those folks to have mysterious things going on in the midnight air.  I never heard a thing.

HERE’S OUR SECURITY DETAIL STAYING BACK TO GUARD OUR RIG WHILE WE WALKED OVER TO MEXICO AGAIN THIS MORNING

A mixture of sun and cloud today brightened things up a bit as Kelly and I walked back into Mexico about 10 this morning.  “Hey lady Hey Lady we give you good price today” and on and on it went as we made our way along the now familiar streets leading to the dental clinic.  My Rubio dental appointment was at 11 and of course as per my habit we arrived early and luckily I was taken in half an hour early.  Five minutes later we were out the door and gone on down the road with my new teeth snugly in place.

THIS WAS MY PERSONAL FAVORITE PHOTO TODAY

THE RUBIO DENTAL CLINIC CAR THAT PICKED US UP AT THE PURPLE PHARMACY MONDAY

 

Kelly looked it up and a complete set of dentures in Canada can range from $1500 to $3000.  My fine fitting set of dentures in Algodones at the Rubio Dental Group cost $550 total.  We read that many Dentists in Yuma send their denture work to Algodones due to state of the art technology here.

AMERICA IS STRAIGHT UP THAT STREET ABOUT 2 BLOCKS

A MEXICAN NATIVE WOMAN ON THE SIDEWALK

“HATS, HATS, HATS, I HAVE BEST PRICE FOR HATS”

Kelly had a hankering for a fish and shrimp Taco so we headed off through a small maze of tightly packed streets searching for Lupitas Fish & Shrimp Taco place.  We waded through a sea of vendors and with the Sun shining brighter it seemed to have energized the Mexican folks as well as the quickly growing flock of tourists pouring in.  If I thought Monday was a zoo I hadn’t met Tuesday yet.  While Kelly looked at stuff I hung back and just watched the people.  Definitely a carnival like atmosphere and despite being even more annoyed today than yesterday I understood what was going on and a part of me enjoyed seeing it.  Seeing it that is, not being an active part of it.  Had I had my telephoto lens with me I would have enjoyed standing back out of the way taking candid photos of people.  So many great opportunities for capturing the expressions, the colors, and the actions of all the interesting characters I saw.

 

KELLY TOOK A FANCY TO THIS DRESS AND BARTERED THE WOMAN DOWN FROM $25 TO $10

$25??  REALLY……….

We finally struggled our way through to Lupitas and it seemed the closer we got to the Eatery the more intense the vendors.  Kelly finally imbedded herself in the end of a chattering people line-up awaiting their tacos.  I don’t care much for Mexican food so I passed on eating anything and went in and snagged us a small table.  It was a good 15 minutes before Kelly made it to the table with her goodies. 

WAITING IN LINE AT LUPITAS

TAKE THIS PHOTO, MULTIPLY IT BY A HUNDRED TIMES AND THAT WILL GIVE YOU A GOOD IDEA OF WHAT YOU WILL SEE A LOT OF IN LOS ALGODONES MEXICO

HERE COME THE FISH AND SHRIMP TACOS

We knew the sooner we got back to the border crossing the smaller the line up would so we quickly pulled the pin on Algodones and quickly made our way through the streets back to the border.  We found dodging cars on the streets way better than dodging vendors on the sidewalk and before long we were in the line-up which only took about 15 minutes to get through.  So glad to be out of those throngs of people and I thought to myself, I hope I don’t have to come back here again.  Despite the pestering and badgering I did kind of like Algodones and it’s one of those places everyone should go there at least once.  Look at it as an experience like we did and you might feel enlightened and a bit wiser after you there.

ONE OF ALGODONES’S MAIN INTERSECTIONS

I THINK THESE ARE THE SAME 2 MILITARY FELLAS WE SAW MONDAY

THAT’S THE LINE COMING INTO ALGODONES FROM THE STATES ABOUT 11 THIS MORNING

OUR SPOT AT THE END OF THE LINE RETURNING TO THE STATES

Had my dental appointment been at 8 this morning instead of 11 and had we been able to exit the parking lot before 9 we could have saved the $12 day…..but guess what??  After Kelly talked to the attendant he waived the day fee.  I don’t know how she does it sometimes.  On top of that we were so pleasantly surprised to have been almost the only one’s in this huge ‘overnight’ parking area with the exception of maybe half a dozen other vehicles.  Had expected swarms of people and cars.  Maybe that’s all coming next week when all the northern RV Snow Birds flock into the area for the winter.  We may have dodged a congested chaos bullet by getting in and out of here when we did.

A TIRED AND YAWNING YOUNG MOTHER WITH HER BABY SITS ON THE SIDEWALK BESIDE THE RETURN LINE-UP HOPING PASSERSBY WILL BE KIND

Great to get back to the rig just before noon and get the big wheels rolling on out of there back to the peace and quiet of the nearby desert again.  Whewww what a zoo that place was.  Plan now is to wait a bit and see how I make out with my new teeth.  Any sore spots and are they comfortable for eating.  Fingers are crossed hoping I do not have to go back for any adjustments.  Having had dentures for many decades I do know there is a period of adjustment to break in new ones and as of this writing tonight I seem to be doing fine with them although I noticed a do pronounce a few words a little differently now.

ON OUR WAY OUT WE NOTICED THIS PARKING LOT TO THE SOUTH OF US BEGINNING TO FILL UP

A solid grey cloud cover moved into the area blocking out the morning sun making for a drab Tuesday afternoon.  Neither Kelly or I were invigorated or inspired to go anywhere or do anything so it was a quiet period of time for us.  We’ll see what Wednesday brings our way………..

PERSONALLY I WOULD HAVE PREFERRED TO GET SOMETHING TO EAT HERE SIMPLY BECAUSE I LIKED HOW IT LOOKED WITH ALL THE BRIGHT COLORS….THEY MIGHT HAVE HAD BURGS:))

I liked JB’s tribute and photos to our late friend and fellow RV Blogger Rod Ivers.  You can see that tribute here at John & Brenda's Incredible Journey.

IN THIS OLD WEATHERED DESERT STUMP I SEE A SLEEPING WOODPECKER WITH BROWN TOPKNOT, A FLAIL OF LIGHTER COLORED FEATHERS, SLEEPING EYES AND A LARGE BEAK POINTING SKYWARD  (THE STUMP ITSELF IS THE WOODPECKER)

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Two lawyers were in a coffee shop talking. One of the lawyers names was Thomas Strange. After a while their conversation became rather morbid, and they started to started to talk about what they were going to have on their tomb stones. Thomas said the he wasn't going to have his name put on his tomb stone, instead he was going have "Here lies the body of an honest lawyer!!!" "Why are you going to have that?"  asked his friend. "Well", said Thomas, "When people are walking through the cemetery, and they see...Here lies the body of an honest lawyer. They will say "Oh...That's Strange".

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“What did the man say when the bridge fell on him. The suspension is killing me.”

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Before Linda became engaged, she was quite the beauty, and didn't mind letting her boyfriend know it, too: "A lot of men are gonna be totally miserable when I marry."she told him. "Really?" asked the boyfriend, "And just how many men are you planning to marry?"