THE WINDS OF TRAVEL PLAN CHANGES ARE BLOWING AGAIN………

Advantage of where we are is that each morning we can set off in any direction we like on our morning desert walk and always see something pleasingly different with nary a person in sight.  There are no boundaries here so we can walk as far as we can see.

GETTING A CHOLLA BARB OUT OF PHEEBS PAW
Decided to take us for a drive 11 miles south to Why this morning.  This is old familiar territory for us and I always like to touch base with old memories.  Drove through the BLM land at the 2 mile marker south of Why and found the spot where we had stayed back in February of 08.  I like old memories but they are kinda sad because we had Max and Checkers in those days and I could see them happily running and playing in the sandy wash beside the old campsite again this morning.

THIS WAS OUR CAMPSITE AT MILE MARKER 2 BLM LANDS SOUTH OF WHY ARIZONA BACK IN FEBRUARY OF 08
Although not as scenic as Darby Wells this is still a good boondocking place because of the level hard packed sandy clay surface.  Lots of room here for probably a hundred rigs to scatter about among the Mesquite and still have respectful privacy between them.  This BLM land has a camp host as well at it’s entrance and you are allowed a stay of 14 days.  Some folks then move up to Darby Wells for 14 days and then back down to Why.

WE KNEW WE WERE BACK IN THE HICKIWAN TRAILS AREA WHEN THIS A-10 WART HOG FLEW LOW AND SLOW OVERHEAD ROLLING HIS WINGS FROM SIDE TO SIDE
From the BLM (Bureau of Land Management) lands we headed back through Why to the Coyote Howls East RV Park.  This is where we used to park on the road out front with our laptop to pick up their internet signal back in January of 07.  This is also where we will dump our tanks later this week because our plans have changed and we will be backtracking southeast shortly.

From Coyote Howls it was a mile down the road for another trip down memory lane for us.  This is where Hickiwan Trails RV Park is located and the one which you have often heard me refer to in my posts.  Some of our earliest and best RV memories took place at Hickiwan Trails and it will always be a special place for us.  Type Hickiwan Trails into our ‘Search’ box for our times there.

AFTERNOON WALK WITH PHEEBS THE WILD CHILD:))
Took a drive around the Park first and spotted a fifth wheel from British Columbia in a spot we had once stayed at there.  Sure enough, it was Bill from Enderby BC so we stopped in for a visit.  Bill’s wife was out for a walk but he did remember us well from 3 years ago and we were able to get caught up on some of the local gossip we had missed from the past few years.  From Bill’s place it was up to the office to see Hickiwan Ray….but Ray was in Casa Grande today so we had a visit with Ray’s wife Marsha.  Again, we caught up on what’s been happening since our last time there.  And yes, Marsha did remember the Cave People.  (Dennis & Donna:)) It was kind of our version of old home week even it was just two people from the past we saw today.  Too bad we missed Hickiwan Ray…he’s a character:))

PHEEBS HAS BEEN DOING REALLY WELL AT AVOIDING THESE PRICKLY TEDDY BEAR CHOLLAS, PRONOUNCED…..CHOY-A’S
When’s the last time you changed a headlight on your vehicle?  A screwdriver to remove a few screws holding a round chrome rim, right.  Wrong!!  Check out what IVAN had to go through just to change a headlight on his GMC truck.

MORNING SUN IN THE DESERT
After a series of medical challenges RETIRED ROD finally has the wheels rolling west as he and Loyce are quickly making tracks from colder Kansas to warmer Arizona. 
 
DENNIS AND DONNA are so far back in a Louisiana swamp they have seen Alligators playing banjos!!

THE ROAD TO OUR HOUSE
Someone recently inquired about our solar set-up.  I had all that technical info filed away somewhere but couldn’t find it.  Not being a technical person myself I can only tell you that we had the system installed in December of 2008 and it has worked perfectly ever since and we have never run out of power.  Of course, we are not power hogs either and have no washer and dryer on board, or dish washers or hair dryers, etc.  We haven’t traveled in hot weather so have never had to use our A/C.

We are in the habit of kicking on the generator in the morning while the coffee is brewed and that’s about it.  Solar power for us is no different than the electricity at home.  Flip a switch and the lights go on etc.

HEADING BACK TO THE RIG AFTER A MORNING WALK
Here’s a paragraph I just found from a previous post of mine regarding solar…..Our solar system was installed by SOLAR MIKE'S SUN WORKS in Slab City, California. I know we got two solar panels on the roof with numbers like 120 or 130. I think that has to do with watts or something. They are Kyocera panels I think & there should be some pics in our Slab City Installation album which I will put a link in for below. We also had 4 new batteries installed, 1 monitor, 1 control panel, & 1 2500watt power inverter plus lots of wiring. The inverter is bigger than we needed but it was used & had just come out of a fifth wheel while we were there. Those people were going to an even bigger set-up. Our total cost was somewhere around $3,000+ I think. Installation took a day & a half & you can read about it here....
-INSTALLATION DAY -OUR LAST DAY AT THE SLABS

OUR TWO SOLAR PANELS ARE VISIBLE ON THE ROOF IN THIS PHOTO
We are planning to drop into Solar Mike’s at Slab City this trip to have him check on a clicking sound in the monitor and just generally go over our system to make sure things are still operating well.  By the way, we would definitely recommend Solar Mike to anyone needing a professional solar installation:))

YEP, THAT’S US OUT THERE AT TOP RIGHT….TUCSON IS ABOUT 80 MILES BEYOND THOSE DISTANT MOUNTAINS IN THE CENTER OF THE PHOTO
And, why did we decide on Solar Power?  In our first year of Snow Birding it only took us a few stays at RV Parks to convince both of us we needed to make some immediate changes if we were going to continue the RV lifestyle we preferred.  We knew if we were going to continue traveling it was imperative that we become self sufficient and that in a nutshell is why we went with solar power.  It is a decision we have never regretted for one millisecond.  Our system has paid for itself many times over when you figure the cost of nightly stays at RV Parks and the fees we would have had to pay these last 5 years.  Where we are boon docked right now is simply a fine example of our way of thinking.  We have the freedom to go wherever we are comfortable.  This week our door opens to a natural Saguaro cactus garden that stretches for as far as the eye can see in any direction  Mountains ring the horizon and the only sounds we hear are maybe a distant Coyote and the whistles of nearby Cactus Wrens.  Not everybody’s cup of tea but it sure work’s out fine for us:))

SAGUARO CACTUS

Well, now to our change of travel plans again.  I love it when plans change because that means new things will be happening.  Received an email from the Ranch Folks near McNeal Arizona this morning wondering if we could look after the ranch for 3 weeks beginning the middle of December.  It was coincidental because just this morning I was saying to Kelly I thought we should check out the Patagonia area south of Tucson on our way back through here in a couple months.  Now we’ll do that Patagonia area on our way to the ranch over the next couple weeks.  We may be at the Ranch longer than 3 weeks but not sure yet.  Anyway, when we leave the Ranch again we will slide right on through to southwestern Arizona and southeastern California.  Like I said, I love it when plans get all jumbled up and I like it when new travels are afoot.  Routine day to day boredom is my number one enemy so anything to keep things constantly on the move for me works just fine.  We will start our slow backtracking to southern Tucson and then Patagonia and Cochise County by the end of the week probably:)) 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Man: "Just look at that young person with the short hair and blue jeans. Is it a boy or a girl?"
Bystander: "It's a girl. She's my daughter."
Man: "Oh, please forgive me, sir. I had no idea you were her father."
Bystander: "I'm not. I'm her mother."
-----------------------------------------------------------
-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

SLIPPED INTO AJO TO HAVE A LOOK AT SOME MURALS

HERE IS SOMETHING FOR YOU MUSIC BUFFS…IN TONIGHT’S PHOTOS YOU WILL SEE MUSICAL NOTES PAINTED INTO A MURAL ACROSS A BUILDING IN AJO, ARIZONA…PAINTER MIKE (WANDERWOLF) TOLD US THESE ARE THE ACTUAL OPENING NOTES TO A VERY WELL KNOWN WESTERN SONG WRITTEN MANY YEARS AGO.  I WILL TELL YOU THE NAME OF THAT SONG AT THE END OF THE BLOG:))

A sunny 74F under another big bright sunny Arizona sky today.  Had the weather not gone downhill in New Mexico last week we might still be there but we decided before we left home this year that we just wanted to be where it’s warm.  I think we’re headed for 80F+ tomorrow:))

IT TOOK WANDERWOLF MIKE AND FELLOW ARTIST HOP DAVID MANY MONTHS TO COMPLETE THIS LARGE MURAL ON THE FRONT OF THE AJO COPPER NEWS BUILDING…

We slipped back into Ajo again this morning to pick up a few things at Olsens IGA that we had forgot the day before.  Nice well stocked grocery store.  You will remember us visiting Mike (WANDERWOLF) Saturday so we thought we would check out some of his murals in Ajo.  He had told us about one in particular that he worked on with fellow artist HOP DAVID.  Located on the south facing wall of the Ajo Copper News building we wanted to have a look at that.  He told us they put a lot of ‘little things’ in that mural and the more you look at it the more you will find.  These ‘artsy’ type people are a very clever bunch you know and in the photos below you will see why.

 

NOTICE THE 2 BLUE FEET PAINTED ON THE SIDEWALK IN LEFT PHOTO….KELLY STANDS ON THOSE BLUE FEET AND CAN SEE HOW THE NATURAL WAY THE BUILDING ON LEFT’S ROOF LINES BLEND INTO THE PAINTING

THE TWO BLUE FEET PAINTED ON THE SIDEWALK IS THE OPTICALLY CORRECT POSITION TO STAND WHEN VIEWING THE MURAL

I have always thought of Ajo as kind of a tumble down town that has fallen on hard times since the closing of the big copper mine years ago.  Yes, it has fallen on hard times but we drove through a couple neighborhoods today that were certainly not tumble down.  Noticed they had a nice park, community center and children’s playground.  Talked to a Snow Bird from Alaska at the Laundromat a couple of days ago who has been wintering in Ajo for the past 15 years.

 

LOOK CLOSELY AND YOU WILL SEE GHOST RIDERS HERDING STEERS IN THOSE ORANGE ARIZONA CLOUDS INTHE SKY

MANY HIDDEN FACES AND CREATURES IN THIS ROCKY MESA

 

Some readers have mentioned about the BLM land just south of Why.  It’s at mile marker 2 and we were actually boon docked there in early 08 before moving to Darby Wells at that time.  It seems the Verizon signal is smokin hot down around Lukeville at the Mexican border but tapers off further north where we are.  The BLM campground at mile marker 2 is about half way between Lukeville and Ajo. 

 

MORE OF MIKE’S MURALS IN AJO ARIZONA

We considered moving down to Why but the scenery at that spot is not nearly as nice as where we are.  Also, our Verizon is working slightly better now that we have changed a couple of things.  Moved our router up on top of the Motor Home roof plus we’ve discovered if only one of us is on line at a time things seem to work better.  Still no cell phone but Kelly is able to access her Deer Park Lodge messages now by using Skype so we plan to stay where we are until our black tank is ready to be dumped and at that point we’ll head for Gila Bend, dump our gray and black tanks, take on water and decide where we will head from there.  Could be by the end of this week.

AJO HAS A VERY PRETTY DOWNTOWN DONE IN A SPANISH STYLE

Someone asked what our co-ordinates are at Darby Wells road.  I’m hesitant to give that out until after we have left.  One never knows just who is reading these blogs of ours.  I can tell you that our nearest neighbor in a Class C is about a quarter mile away barely visible.  There are maybe a half dozen rigs in the area but they are a mile or more south of us scattered all happy and contented among the tall cactus growths. 

THE NOON COFFEE KLATCH IN AJO’S OUTDOOR CAFE

Had hoped to get some nice Moon and Venus photos tonight but I see they have moved too far apart now for me to capture them in a single telephoto frame. 

COULD THIS BE JUAN VALDEZ BRINGING MORE COFFEE BEANS TO AJO’S OUTDOOR CAFÉ……

It was nice enough tonight for me to write part of today’s post outside while waiting for the Moon and Planet Venus to appear in the evening sky.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Friend: "I suppose you carry a memento of some sort in that locket of yours?"
Woman: "Yes, it's a lock of my husband's hair."
Friend: "But your husband is still alive."
Woman: "I know, but his hair is gone."

---------------------------------------------------------------Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
-Until one has loved an Animal, their  soul remains un-awakened.
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.

And the name of that song in the mural……Ghost Riders In The Sky

TODAY WE DROPPED IN TO SEE……'WANDERWOLF’

(This is Saturday’s post)
I do not have to tell you it was another beautiful desert sunrise.  Some things are just a given:))

SUNRISE BEHIND THE MIGHTY AJO MOUNTAIN RANGE
Had us a whole boat load of laundry to do so loaded up the Jeep and headed the 6 minutes into Ajo.  Kelly remembered where the Laundromat was from a few years ago so it wasn’t long and we had things all sudsy and tumbly.  Slipped down the road to the big Shell station on the curve where they have a nice car wash.  The Jeep was covered in road grime from our Ontario trip down here so figured it was best to get that stuff off.  Besides, I wanted to have the Jeep nice and shiny for our return trip to the Motor Home on a very dusty road:))
 
WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SAGUARO CACTUS
From the gas station it was over to the Circle K store where we knew there was an outside tap on the building.  Filled up our water jugs with about 20 gallons of water.  This way it extends our stays in the desert.  A quick stop at the laundromat to switch the clothes from washers to dryers.  Across the street to Radio Shack we did go to get a power cord for our Cradlepoint Router.  Next came the grocery store and a quick stop for AL at a local Sub shop for eats.  And, then we went to visit somebody:))

Some fellow RV bloggers know Mike from his WANDERWOLF blog.  Good friend of FROGGI DONNA.  TIOGA GEORGE has dropped in to see Mike a couple times.  We were familiar with Mike’s blog, MEANDERINGS OF WONDERWOLF and the last time we were here we looked him up just as he was just getting his studio off the ground back in 07.  Mike is a very talented artist/painter/sculptor fellow who lives at his ‘Lizard Flats’ on 920 Rocalla.   Mike’s artwork hangs on many people’s walls and anyone in Ajo seeing some of the large building murals will be seeing much of Mike’s work.  He’s a friendly kind of a guy and another one of those southwest ‘characters’ you hear me talk about some times.  If your in Ajo you can find Mike, his art, and his playful tiny dog, ‘Little Bit’ alive and well at his quaint and artsy ‘Lonewolf’ studio.  Look for the big Lizard on the front of his building and the artworks in his yard.  Tell him the Bayfield Bunch sent ya:))

MIKE’S GROOVY RV HASN’T MOVED FOR A FEW YEARS BUT HE’S THINKING ABOUT IT…….
 
MIKE AND HIS LONEWOLF STUDIO AT LIZARD FLATS
Mike also gave us a smokin hot tip on another boondocking area close by with a giant Saguaro forest, rock arches and towering Chollas.  Might be a stronger Verizon connection there.  We’ll check it out later.

SOME MIGHTY FIERCE LOOKING SECURITY HERE AT OUR RIG

AND, SHE’S GOT BACK-UP TOO!!
We are having great difficulty where we are with a slow and sometimes non existent Verizon connection.  It fades in and out plus Kelly doesn’t have a phone connection.  It took my blog hours to publish last night and I actually fell asleep while it was doing so.  It timed out twice and the last time I hit ‘Publish’ at 4 a.m this morning it finally finished uploading.
   
A mutual friend of ours and LAURIE AND ODEL has just put her southeastern Arizona ranch up for sale.  Rosanna and her Mother, Carol from PAWS AND HOOVES ( can’t access link due to bad connection) have bought a little house near Placerville California.  I am quoting the following from Laurie’s post this morning in regards to the ranch sale just in case there is anyone out here interested in a fine little ranch just west of the Chiricahua Mountains near Sunizona.  “To Quote Laurie: Anyone looking for a horse property in SE Arizona (Cochise County)? Rosanna’s home is new-ish (15 years, maybe?), 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, nice big kitchen. Lots of windows. BIG barn, corrals of various sizes. A good well. A big, outdoor, clay oven! A level site for a large RV with a 30 amp hookup and water. The acreage is completely fenced and gated. A covered carport - two, I think. Good horse riding in the area – John and Brenda took their horses over to Council Rocks in the Dragoons a couple of weeks ago”. Unquote:  Depending on our travel plans we may end up at Paws and Hooves in the new year sometime to possibly help the folks out a bit. 

RECENT RAINS HAVE REALLY GREENED UP THE OCOTILLO PLANTS 
Later in the afternoon after realizing the Verizon power cord we bought today wasn’t going to solve our problems we decided to check out the area Mike had told us about.  Hopped into the Jeep and found the dirt road off the nearby highway OK.  Headed out into the desert but after going about a mile on a bumpy, uneven road and fording a few small muddy water bogs we decided it was not suitable to bring the Motor Home out there.  Turned back and headed for the rig.  Ok, option B.

Another outside BBQ under a setting desert sun.  Kelly noticed how pretty the moon and planet Venus looked in the west and I was able to crack off a photo before the light was gone.  Tried taking a few hand held photos later but the shutter speeds were too low.  Took advantage of that and created a few moon and planet abstracts.  Tomorrow night I will set up my tripod and try for some nice clear crisp photos of the Moon and Venus.

LOOK CAREFULLY TO TOP CENTER FOR THE NEW MOON THEN LOOK LEFT FOR THE HARD TO SEE PLANET VENUS
Blog is going to be late again tonight because I cannot get a connection….:((

IN THESE MOON ABSTRACTS THE SMALL BRIGHTER LINES ARE VENUS TO THE LEFT WHILE THE LARGER YELLOW ON RIGHT IS THE MOON:))
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A tourist is sport-fishing off the Florida coast when his boat capsizes. He can swim, but he is so afraid of alligators that he clings to the overturned craft.  Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouts, Are there any gators around here? Naw, the man hollers back, they ain’t been around for years.  The tourist breathes a sigh of relief and starts swimming leisurely toward the shore. As he nears the beach, he yells to the man, How did you get rid of the gators?
We didn’t do nothin, the beachcomber says…………….the sharks got em.