A TIRED KIND OF DAY

It was not a good night. The big wind hit us again just after midnight & kept up it's relentless howl all night. We had to put both slides in because of the noise & threat of having the slide awnings ripped off. The little Motormouse was scared of all the noisy rocking back & forth so snuggled under the covers as close as she could get. Don't know how many times I was awakened but it seemed like a looooong night. We have been told that March is a very bad month for high winds here in southeastern Arizona:(( It was nice to see clear skies this morning as the sun slipped up & over the Swisshelm mountains. The warming rays felt comforting coming through the motorhome windows & what a relief if was not to feel that relentless battering wind. Slipped over & took the rocks off the chickens, gave the rooster a pep talk, & we were off like a herd of turtles in a cloud of heifer dust on a brand new day. We had discussed heading over east of Douglas to the Texas John Slaughter ranch to-day but as the morning progressed we felt it was probably better to just hang around the ranch & try to get the energy levels back up to speed after last night's wind fiasco. I spent most of the morning & early afternoon reading & snoozing. Read 4 paragraphs & wake up a half hour later. Read some more, wake up some more just seemed to be the order of the day. Kelly was in better shape buzzing around doing this & that & taking care of Deerpark Lodge business on the phone. Around 2 we walked over to the ranch house & popped a DVD into the big TV. La Vie En Rose starring Marion Cotillard is a powerful movie about the extraordinary life of French singer, Edith Piaf. The DVD jacket describes the movie as, "She came from the streets of Paris & survived using the only gift she had...her voice." Seems like we have been having our share of real tear jerker movies lately. Realized as the sun was going down that I hadn't taken any photos for the blog so slipped out beside the rig where I had seen some blossoms earlier on a few fruit trees. Apple blossoms I think. Thought it make a nice touch of early spring for our weather weary friends & family back home. Sure hope the winds don't return in the night......................!!!! No photos for the web album to-night. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

A DAY OF BIG WINDS

BIG WINDY SKIES

First email in this morning was from Rosanna at Paws & Hooves Ranch with a warning about the impending wind forecast for to-day. Said she had a red flag weather warning on her computer. Checked the Tucson weather channel & yep, we had some mighty big winds coming our way alright. Figured I'd better get outside & get a lot of loose stuff picked up before it becomes somebody else's loose stuff. SOMEBODY IS SLEEPING IN MY BED AGAIN!!

Kelly headed off to Elfrida for her Friday morning Yoga class while I battened down the hatches around the rig & waited for the blow. And, just as the weatherman predicted, the first big wind gusts hit us at 11 a.m. exactly. Luckily I had gathered up 9 large rocks & set them on top of the chickens so they wouldn't blow away. The rooster assured me he could take care of himself as he proudly strutted around his compound. I later saw him airborne, going by the window about 60 MPH.....backwards!! I'm sure he will be proudly back. The wind gusts battered us all afternoon without let up. The rig rocked back & forth as each gust did it's business on us. Reminded me of my old navy days aboard the H.M.C.S. Saguenay when we were out a few times in the North Atlantic & had the wind & waves battering the destroyer. THE SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE RANCH

Earlier before the wind got too bad Kelly took the car & headed off to Bisbee. Wanted to browse around a bit, pick up a few things & stop into the Bisbee Library for some DVDs. She'll have a tail wind coming home so hope she can get the car stopped before reaching the New Mexico State Line. Ingrid & Tom dropped Corky off for a few hours late this morning while they went over to Sierra Vista so I enjoyed getting down on the ground & playing with all the dogs. Occasionally I would have to hang onto a doggy tail as the wind gusts would swoop in suddenly trying to make birds out of us all. Had to keep the little motormouse inside though or she would have been blown clear across the lower 48 States. AND THIS IS CORKY.....THE BIG ENERGY GUY

Kelly made it back from Bisbee around 3 & said it wasn't windy there at all. Bisbee is sheltered in the Mule mountains. We did the chores a little bit on the early side to-day because Jackie & Sergeant John in Elfrida wanted to take us up to the Apache Lair for all you can eat fish n chips. We scooted around & got things squared away before heading to Elfrida about four thirty. THE GLEESON MOUNTAINS NORTHEAST OF THE RANCH

John was home but Jackie had left Wednesday on a family medical emergency up in Phoenix so Kelly, John, I headed north up near Sunizona to the restaurant. Can't even remember the last time we had fish & chips but it would probably have been at Madelyn's Diner in Stratford Ontario a couple of years ago. Fish n Chips were good & of course we did eat all we could eat too. Thanks for the great supper Sarge. Headed back to Elfrida & John had us come in to see an old 50's classic RV movie staring Lucille Ball & Dezi Arnaz called, The Long, Long, Trailer. About a honeymoon couple buying & towing a 40' house trailer on a trip from California to Colorado in the mountains. Although the movie is probably around 50 years old, to-day's modern RV folks can still identify with all the problems & situations that arise from their life on the road. Same problems still apply to-day. A good movie in it's time & still holds up for RV folks needing to touch base with their humorous side of the RV lifestyle. APACHE LAIR STEAK HOUSE WHERE SERGEANT JOHN TOOK US FOR SUPPER

Said good-bye to John about 7:30 & headed for the ranch. Noticed that the wind had finally subsided. Probably won't get over that way again before we leave but it was nice to have met John & his wife Jackie. Sergeant John is the fellow with 2 Hudson Hornet cars that I blogged about last Sunday. Nice folks for sure & maybe see you again in November. Safe RV travels to California next month. THE MOTORMOUSE

Driving home was like being on another planet for us because the sun had gone down & we were surrounded by darkness. It is rare for us to be out after dark anymore. Guess it's just one of those older folks routines we have unfortunately slipped into, but I do miss it. Have always enjoyed night time driving because you get to see the world in a whole new perspective. Stars, moon, farm lights, little towns & neon signs, etc. Years ago when I drove for an Airport shuttle service between Stratford & Toronto Ontario I was on the road a lot in the early to late evening hours. Always looked forward to the later night drives up to the Goderich & Bayfield areas. I miss that part of the job now but I don't miss the heavy stress filled mad traffic chaos in the Toronto area. I still avoid large cities to this day. Been there, done that & don't need to do that no more.................................................

No photos for the web album to-night.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

GHOST TOWN OF PEARCE & THE AMERIND FOUNDATION

SUNRISE OVER THE SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS

Cloud cover first thing this morning assured us the sun was going to leave us alone for the day. We actually got off to an earlier start as we headed north up the Sulphur Springs Valley. HERDS OF BIRDS HEADING TO THEIR EARLY MORNING FEEDING AREA

First stop was for gas in Elfrida followed by a second stop for coffee to go before our third stop at the Library. We had to make a U-turn before we got to the Library though. While I was filling up with gas Kelly had taken two small bags of garbage out of the back seat & dropped them into a trash bin at the service station.....except one of those bags wasn't trash!! Yep, she mistakenly threw the bag of Library books & DVD's in the trash. Oh, how sweet it is that something was FINALLY not my fault:)) Retrieved the bag with no problem & off we went to the Library. PEARCE'S GOLD MINING HILL

Our first main destination this morning was the ghost town of Pearce just south of Sunsites which in turn is southeast of Benson Arizona. The large mining scarred hill just east of Pearce is the first thing we saw & it was obvious the hill had been used for mining with traces of roadways crisscrossing the slopes. Cement or adobe buildings terraced up the hill in one area accounting for a third of the hillside. The town of Pearce & what's left of it lay a short distance away to the northwest. It is still an active town & boasts more original buildings than Tombstone. Key word there is...original. The General Store is still intact & serves more as a museum. It is only open 2 days a year for tours. Across the road is the original Post Office & beside that a small gift & pottery shop. The lady owner inside was very friendly with a wealth of information on Pearce. Said Pearce was the largest gold strike in Arizona history back in the 1890's. Said it literally happened overnight & resulted in emptying Tombstone for a time. People flooded over the Dragoon mountains from Tombstone with some even transporting houses with them. At some point a disastrous flood occurred in the mine killing many miners. This is what I found on the internet about Pearce...."John Pearce, a rancher, struck gold in this vicinity in 1894 and the Commonwealth Mine was begun. The railroad station opened in 1903. For several years Pearce and his wife lived in Tombstone where he was a miner and she managed a boardinghouse. They saved their money and began a ranch in the Sulphur Springs Valley. It was while riding the range that Pearce stopped to rest at the top of a small hill and here he discovered rich ore. Pearce sold out for $250,000. The peak of production at the mine was reached in 1896. However, the mine was worked until 1904 when shaft cave-ins caused a shutdown. With the erection of a cyanide plant in 1905, the mine went back into operation. It is now inactive." Post Office est. March 6, 1896. THE GENERAL STORE IS NOW A MUSEUM ONLY OPEN 2 DAYS A YEAR

No ghost town visit is complete without a trip to the local cemetery so we headed a short distance west until we found it. The cemetery is still being used so the old pioneers & miners are mixed in with newer folks. Sign inside the gate says Abraham Lincoln's bodyguard is buried here as well as some Confederate soldiers. I did find one of the soldiers. PEARCE'S CEMETERY WITH THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS & COCHISE'S STRONGHOLD IN THE BACKGROUND

From Pearce we made our way north stopping briefly for some pictures of an old Helicopter bone yard along the way. A lot of them appeared to be out of service Coast Guard choppers. There is also an active helicopter service there as well I think.AN OLD HELICOPTER BONE YARD

Driving north on highway 191 we were flanked by the mighty & mysterious Chiricahua Mountains off to our right & the jagged Dragoon mountain range on our left with the hauntingly ominous Cochise Stronghold ever present & ever vigilant. The cloud shrouded sky lent itself well to the legends of the mountains & it was one of those days you might have heard the Indians as they passed on their war ponies. It was one of those kinds of days when the winds could have coaxed the secrets out of the canyons. SAND HILL CRANES IN FLIGHT

We turned off 191 & headed west into Texas Canyon to the small settlement of Dragoon & beyond to a place recommended to us by several people. The Amerind Foundation (Amerind meaning American Indian) houses one of the finest private collections of Native American art & artifacts in the country. http://www.amerind.org/ This is a very impressive building but I was only allowed to take pictures on the outside & could not take my cameras into the museum. I understand the reason but it always miffs me just the same when that occasionally happens.THE AMERIND

The museum houses a large collection of artifacts dating back many hundreds of years & more. Various southwest Indian cultures are well represented as the history of the land & it's people are displayed well in the galleries. Of particular interest to me was the Chiricahua Apaches who lived & died in this very area. Cochise, Geronimo, & others played out their lives here on these plains, deserts, plateaus, & mountains. I spent most of my time inside watching a DVD on the last days of Geronimo's futile struggle with the white man's ways, deceptions, & treacheries. The broken promises, the heartbreak, the end of an era. It was a sad time in American history for the North American Indian peoples. NICE SPAINISH ARCHITECTURE

t was early afternoon when we left the Amerind & headed back down the valley. Earlier we had heard some noises coming from the back of the car & later determined something was amiss with the driver's side rear wheel. By the time we got near home we could here some screeching & grinding when slowing down & turning corners. When brakes were applied it kinda stopped. I was at first sure it was a wheel bearing but then figured it was probably something to do with the brakes. And as always, I figured it was the end of the world & we would have to get the car over to Sierra Vista for an expensive brake job or something. Or throw the whole car in the garbage can & try to find another one:(( I'm real good at figuring worst case scenarios you know. With vanishing dollar signs in my head I got out to look at the wheel after we got home. Noticed right away something was different than the other wheel. Looked like a wear mark all around the outer hub & on closer inspection saw a stone lodged between the drum & something else. The stone had lodged itself there & was scraping on the turning drum. A screwdriver quickly & easily popped the stone out & short test drive around the yard confirmed the squeaking was gone & all was well in Al's world again. Oh dear, will wonders ever cease......................................... IT'S KELLY SCHMOOZING WITH THE LOCALS....(THAT'S KELLY ON THE LEFT:))

To-morrow........ "Time to clean the car!!!!"

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/