ALWAYS NICE TO MEET BLOG READERS:))

DESERT SUNRISE THIS MORNING

After Saturday afternoons blustering winds we had nary a breeze first thing this morning.  Skies mainly cleared in the night leaving just enough clouds to make for a beautiful sunrise.  Another mighty fine warm & sunny Arizona day.

 

MORNING WALK ON DARBY WELLS ROAD

Aside from a little work around the campsite with my shovel, rake, and trusty little sledge hammer it was a quiet day.  I carry a small sledge to break small sharp tire puncturing or ankle twisting rocks around the sites we stop at.  I generally rake up any debris around the site as well or shovel loose rocks into piles.  The idea is to leave a campsite neater & cleaner than when we found it.

 

BOTH KELLY & OUR RIG ARE VISIBLE IN THIS PHOTO

  

MY ROCK BUSTER & CLEANED UP CAMPSITE

Using our generator more frequently we have been able to thwart off any further power failures and our engine battery has been fine as well.  Working on a decision now as to when we will roll the big wheels westward again.  We have been in touch with Solar Mike at Slab City so he knows we are headed his way.

SPIKE & PHEEBS

  

I LOVE IT WHEN OUR FUR KIDS HAVE THEIR PALS OVER

Had a comment question wondering if I had mellowed over time after writing a post a few years ago about close neighbors.  Comment referred to me as being ‘bent over’ about it.  That may have been my post about a day in Quartzsite where we ended up moving several times in one day.  NOT A GOOD DAY....WE HAD TO MOVE TWICE!!  Yes, I was ‘bent over’ that day alright but there is a huge difference from that kind of neighbor and the quiet neighbor friends we are currently parked near.  A huge difference!!  We are very happy to have RV SUE AND HER CANINE CREW just a desert’s cactus down the lane and boondocker Rick up on the hill.  We are all mature like minded people who understand each other’s love of the outdoors and desire for peace & quiet.

OUR DESERT LANEWAY

Been thinking about something I mentioned in Saturday’s post about the two schools of boondocking thought on whether to reveal a nice spot or not. The conclusion I have arrived at is this…. I know how excited I feel inside when I come across something that greatly impresses me. I also know it is my nature to share that excitement with others. I do that with my writings and my cameras. And, when on occasion someone makes a special trip to an area I have blogged about, it just gives me an extra good feeling inside knowing I have done something positive to give someone else the same opportunity for enjoyment that I had.

 

DESERT FLOWERS

Kelly, Pheebs & I dropped over to visit with RV Sue for a bit this afternoon.  Caught her doing dishes:)) 

  

SCHMOOZING AT RV SUE’S:))

Along about 5 p.m. this afternoon I heard Kelly say “Hello” to someone outside. Blog readers & full timing RV’ers JD & Becki Kite who were in our Shout Box Saturday, had spotted our rig with it’s American & Canadian flags flying.  They had just rolled in with their 5th Wheel & were parked down the road just west of us.  JD & Becki had first come across our blog after meeting JANNA & MIKE up in Bouse last winter.  Nice folks & it’s always great to meet people who actually take time out of their busy days to read my blog.

BECKI, AL, & JD

RV Sue & the crew, just back from a long walk, came over & met JD & Becki as well.  Didn’t take us long to make a number of familiar connections in the RV blogging world. 

Sun was nearly over the mountains when JD & Becki struck off on the long walk back to their rig.  But, not without first stopping by Rick’s campfire up on the hill to say hello.  Right neighborly folks indeed:))

THE ODD ESSAY folks have become our latest Blog Followers so welcome aboard guys and nice to have you along:))

TONIGHT’S SUNSET

GROANER’S CORNER:((

- Ever wonder if you try to fail, and succeed, which have you done?
- Ever wonder why the pessimist may be right in the long run, but the optimist has a better time during the trip.…
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
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.

stargeezerguy@gmail.com

MET SOME MORE RV BLOGGERS TODAY:))

MORNING CHAT WITH RV SUE…… THAT’S MOTORMOUSE PEEKING OUT OF SUE’S CASITA DOOR

Overcast morning so we started the day out a tad on the chilly side.  Didn’t bother RV SUE though as she sat under her awning enjoying a morning coffee.  Stopped for a wee chat on our way by.  Just long enough for poor Sue’s coffee to get cold:((  Don’t ya just hate when that happens!!

SPIKE & PHEEBS EYEING EACH OTHER UP FIRST THING THIS MORNING

Sue mentioned friends of hers & fellow RV Bloggers Chuck & Geri from the HAPPY CAMPERS were just about a mile down the road in their 5th wheel.  Soon as Kelly & I were back from our walk we hopped into our Jeep and motored over to say ‘Hello.’  We are quite the social animals you know:))  Chuck & Geri were already outside with their 3 dogs, Scotty-Boy, DoogieBowser & Radar.  Always nice to meet new RV Bloggers.  Especially liked their desert tanned Ever-Lite 5th wheel made by EVERGREEN.  I like those subtle earth tone solid colors.  Soooo much nicer than white, white, white!!

CHUCK, KELLY, & GERI WITH THE POOCHES

 

  

CHUCK & SCOTTY BOY – DOOGIE BOWSER – RADAR 

Chuck & Geri are experiencing a few electrical problems at the moment which may make them head home to Truth or Consequences New Mexico sooner than later.  A little accident with the power cord between the truck & 5th wheel I understand.  Chuck was interested in seeing our new satellite tri-pod we recently purchased from TV4RV.COM so we may see them again tomorrow.  Nice folks for sure:))

CHUCK TELLING KELLY HOW HE ONCE CAUGHT A FISH THIS BIG:))

  

 <<< I LOVE YOU TOO DAD

BOONIE dropped by on his bicycle this afternoon with Coffee Girl in tow.  Wasn’t long before Pheebs & Coffee Girl had the landscape torn up for miles around with great swirling dust clouds rising high into the atmosphere.

 

<<< KEEPING AN EYE ON OUR NEIGHBORS:))

Can’t remember the last time I had my telescope set up. Back home in Bayfield we have so many Pine trees around our house we can only see small patches of night sky. Here in Arizona during the winter I often find night’s too cold to be outside as a rule but recently the night’s here in Ajo have been warming up nicely. Friday night I set up my telescope with the Orion Nebulae being my prime target.

Every time I put my eye to one of the eyepiece’s of my Stellarvue 80mm Refractor Nighthawk telescope I am immediately transported into space & made aware of the vast Universe we live in. There are so many billions of stars up there the background of space actually has a light gray tinge to it from all the glowing light produced by countless billions of stars. By the way, this is the same scope I have adapted for use with my camera.

The Orion Nebulae is easy to find so that is where I headed right off & sure enough there it was. Right where I left it when I last looked at Orion through my telescope. Can’t explain how I feel out under the night sky but it is not a religious feeling. I believe it is something far beyond man’s understanding of any & all religious beliefs.

THE 4 DARK SAGUAROS OF THE APOCALYPSE:))

Below are a few pics of my Stellarvue 80mm Nighthawk telescope set up for night viewing.  Also 3 different strength optical eye pieces I use with it.  Also a pic with the lens when I use it with my camera. 

 

Two schools of thought on boondocking locations.  Some boondockers, when finding a great location prefer to keep that location secret not wanting others to know about it.  I do understand the logic of that thinking.  Others, like myself prefer to share not only where we are, but my thoughts & feelings of what we are seeing & experiencing.  But, sometimes I do question my reasoning.

ALWAYS ENJOY FINDING SPLASHES OF COLOR IN THE SONORAN DESERT

Winds suddenly picked up this afternoon forcing us to put our awning in. It was RV Sue’s first day for having her awning out so I was able to quickly help with getting her awning stowed away as well.

YEP, FORGOT TO SPIKE DOWN OUR GROUND MAT ALRIGHT

The Last Paragraph:  I remember several periods of time this past summer where I reached a few crossroads in my blogging interests. Tired and bored with my blog's 'lighter fare' I reached out to readers for some ideas of change. Received some helpful constructive criticism which I appreciated & some snide remarks which I did not. Considered starting a second blog to vent my realistic thinking on what I perceive this society's ill's to be. But, after letting off a little steam in my ‘OSTRICH’ blog I decided I did not have the type of personality required to play the games in that arena. I believe in what I think is right but what's the point of embroiling myself in the very types of stress I generally try so hard to avoid. For the most part, I will leave that stuff to the people who are far more capable & far less sensitive than I.

PHEEBS WITH SPIKE & BRIDGET OF THE CANINE CREW 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The city miser was on his death bed & as his last request he asked to be alone with his lawyer, doctor, and priest. “I know I am going to die” he said ” and I would like to take my money with me, so I am going to give each of you $150,000 and I want you to each make sure the money gets in the coffin.” It was a few days after the funeral when the priest over flowing with guilt finally confided to the other two that he only put $100,000 back. “I’m glad you brought it up” said the doctor, “because I have also been feeling guilty, I only put $80,000 back.” “You people should be ashamed of yourselves” stormed the lawyer “stealing money like that, am I the only honest person here?  Look at this” he said pulling out his check book, “look, I wrote out a check for the full $150,000!!”
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
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.

OH OH….LOST ALL OUR POWER THIS MORNING!!

THREE NEW PALS HEAD OFF DOWN THE TRAIL…. (L TO R) PHEEBS, COFFEE GIRL & PATCHES

About 6 a.m. this morning while typing an email we suddenly lost all power in the coach.  Third time this has happened lately but this time our rig’s new engine battery was drained as well & we couldn’t start the rig to in turn start the generator.  We were dead in the water:((

Hauled the jumper cables out, crawled under the rig & hooked the cables on to the engine battery located ahead of the passenger side’s front tire. Fired up the Jeep & maneuvered it into position.  Luckily we had enough room to do that & luckily the rig fired right up.  In turn we were able to start the generator which restored power to the coach.  No idea why or what drained the engine battery but the writing is on the wall…..we have to get this problem resolved, Pronto!!  Our trip to Solar Mike’s in Slab City may very well be sooner than later.  

9 a.m. this morning found us across from Olsen’s IGA in Ajo where we met up with fellow RV Bloggers ED & BOONIE with their dogs Patches & Coffee Girl.  Minutes later we drove out into the desert just west of Olsen’s & introduced Patches & Coffee Girl to the Pheebs.  Well, with 3 high energy dogs there was a lot of scrambling around with a lot of wagging tails & sniffs interspersed with a few low warning growls here & there.  Within minutes all problems & personalities (or would that be dognalities) had been worked out & the 3 Amigo Pals were soon romping together tearing up the desert floor.  Had ourselves about a 40 minute loop walk & it was nice getting to know fellow RV Bloggers BOONIE & ED a bit better.  Boonie is Coffee Girl’s Dad & Ed is Patches Dad.  We just met Coffee Girl & Patches for the first time just a few blogs ago…. JANUARY 17TH

BOONIE, ED, & KELLY….PHEEBS & PATCHES

 

COFFEE GIRL & PHEEBS NOT ONLY LOOK A LOT ALIKE BUT THEY HAVE MATCHING FRIENDLY PERSONALITIES

From our walk it was back into town with a stop at the Roadrunner Bakery for coffee, cookies, cinnamon buns, & muffins.  Had ourselves a good chat for nearly an hour & then it was ‘see ya down the road’ time.  Not likely we will see these fellas again any time soon because we have to head to Slab City soon.  However, we may very well pass this way again on our way east later next month.  

We did stop at Olsen’s IGA on the way home & this time we were able to successfully fax my medical records to my Nurse Practitioner/Doctor back home.

ED & KELLY WATERING THE DOGS

 

WE SURE HAD SOME THIRSTY CRITTERS WHEN WE GOT BACK FROM OUR DESERT WALK

Bit of an odd thing at Olsen’s IGA today.  While Kelly was inside sending the fax, Pheebs & are were hanging out in the Jeep outside.  Pheebs was kinda sitting on my lap looking out the window when a fellow with a green T-shirt & red suspenders approached returning a shopping cart to the rack.  Pheebs was kinda blocking my view but I am certain I heard the man say, “Hi Pheebs” as he turned & walked back to his white pick-up truck.  Only thing I can figure is that he must have been a Bayfield Bunch blog reader.  That Pheebs sure has become popular:))

We were back to the rig around noon & shortly after that we saw a familiar looking Casita parked on the road below us.  Yep, it was RV SUE AND HER CANINE CREW back from their sojourn to Quartzsite.  Wasn’t long & Sue rumbled up the bumpity old dusty desert roadway to her old spot between Rick & the Bayfield Bunch.  I never like to bother someone while they are trying to concentrate their efforts on getting parked & set up.  Some folks prefer oodles of help but I have found that boondockers & especially lone boondockers are very adept at doing things alone and prefer it that way.  I do understand that well.

Noticed after a bit, Sue & the crew had walked on up the hill to have a chat with Rick so Pheebs & I headed on over with a warm & welcoming Hello.  Nice to have the Casita gang back in the neighborhood & Pheebs is happy to have a couple old friends back to play with:))

SUE & THE CREW ARE BACK:))

Rest of our day was spent relaxing in our loungers under the awning & just tranquilly basking in the quiet beauty of the Sonoran Desert.   I think we just might try to extend our stay here using the generator more to keep the aging batteries functioning.  We’ll see how it goes over the next day or two.  Not anxious to leave here because we know it just doesn’t get much better for boondocking & weather anywhere else.

Three new Blog Followers today.  A big welcome to Jackie from FLY AWAY VINTAGE, Joe & Betty from JOE & BETTY'S ADVENTURES, and GUNNAR.  Thank you all for your interest in the Bayfield Bunch folks:)) 

Thanks to Rick & Kathy from IT'S ABOUT TIME for pointing out a couple broken links in my Thursday night post.  Luckily, I was able to get them fixed right away.

The Last Paragraph:  We're just not Happy Hour people. A high percentage of RV Folks love their daily afternoon get together campfire hours with neighbor's, friends, & acquaintances. The ESCAPEE RV CLUB is known for their emphasis on socializing, activities & specialty groups. For anyone wanting to be socially active with a desire to get into the mainstream of RVing, I would suggest the Escapee Club as a friendly group of folks to join.  Kelly & I were Escapee members for a year one time but we never did get into the active social side of the club.  Last happy hour we attended a couple of years ago was just that.....our last happy hour!!  Just not our cup of tea.   We are happy going our own independent way just quietly being us:))

SUN COMING IN THE WINDOW WAS HOT SO PHEEBS PUT KELLY’S SUN HAT ON

GROANER’S CORNER:((  So this old man goes to the doctor and the doctor says, “You’re test
results came back and I’m afraid I have some bad news. You have Cancer
and you have Alzheimer’s”. The old man says, “That ain’t so bad, at
least I don’t have Cancer!”
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
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.