A ROUGH ROAD LEADS US HALF WAY TO BAGDAD AZ.

NOT MUCH HAPPENING IN BEAUTIFUL DOWNTOWN HILLSIDE TODAY
With a growing half moon overhead, it is a real treat to walk with Pheebs around our fenced in property now.  Am enjoying seeing moon shadows cast upon the ground through our Mesquite & Palo Verde trees.   The nice advantage of a moonlit landscape is that I do not need a flashlight to keep an eye on the Pheebs.  She is easy to see in the moonbeams. 

HAD WE KNOWN THIS WOULD BE NEARLY 20 MILES OF WASHBOARD ROAD, WE WOULD NEVER HAVE TRAVELED IT
 
NICE TO SEE THE AREAS FALL COLORS 
Had the Jeep on the road by 7:30 this morning & the 3 of us were off to a town we knew nothing about.  It’s a paved road all the way for most folks but we decided on a secondary dirt road from Congress up through another little known place by the name of Hillside.  It was apparent right from the start this was not a good road.  Not because of the usual washes, holes, dips & doodles.  That stuff is acceptable.  Washboard is not, & by the time we reached Hillside 21 miles away we had spent two thirds of that drive on one of the worst & consistently long washboard roads we have ever been on.  Washboard roads just simply destroy vehicles by shaking them apart.  Not likely we will ever travel this particular stretch of road again, but we did enjoy the great scenery along the way.
  
A FEW INTERESTING SITES TRAVELING THE ROAD TO HILLSIDE
For me, Arizona never disappoints in it’s great ability to wow me with it’s ever changing majestic mountain & desert scenery around every bend in the road.  And so it was this morning as we dustily bumped & banged our way north over this rocky ridge, through that gravely wash, around another bend, & always between the Date Creek Mountains on our left & the Weaver Mountains on our right.  Can’t tell you how relieved we were to get our tires back onto smooth pavement again in a little burg called Hillside.  Turns out, Hillside was exactly half way between Congress & our destination….Bagdad Arizona.
 
 
A DESERT HITCHHIKER & WHILE TAKING A PHOTO ABOUT 50 YARDS BEHIND THE JEEP I FOUND THIS PART ON THE ROUGH ROAD…HOPE THAT’S NOT A JEEP PARTS NUMBER:((
Nothing much to tell you about Hillside.  It is like so many other forgotten little southwest towns that have passed their prime many years ago & fallen on to hard times.  In many of these kinds of places we rarely see any people, just old rusting pieces of long ago machinery, abandoned buildings & scattered pieces of civilization here & there.  And yet, all these weathered little places have an attraction & likeability all their own.  It’s like one has taken a ride in a time machine back, yet forward, to a planet of no people.  Just the remnants of a long lost civilization.  It is generally the sound of a barking dog, maybe a rooster or chicken somewhere, maybe a cow, that brings things back into perspective & tells us yes, this is reality & it’s time to move on.  We did see an interesting house & property for sale in Hillside though.  Guess we’ll never get that Real Estate excitement out of us will we:))
 
AN INTERESTING HOUSE & PROPERTY FOR SALE IN HILLSIDE…COMPLETE WITH A SWIMMING POOL

THIS FELLOW BUILT HIS HOUSE RIGHT ON HIS OWN DESERT ROCK GARDEN
A winding stretch of scenic highway brought us down a long curvy grade through miles of Prickly Pear & Saguaro Cactus before starting us on a short climb to our next destination.  For a little western town, BAGDAD Arizona was a big surprise.  Green grass, palm trees, a golf course, playgrounds, sports complexes & 4 lane roads running through the town.  The big copper mine here is obviously doing very, very, well.

AND, THIS IS BAGDAD ARIZONA
 
LUNCH IN THE PARK & A GOLF COURSE
Had us a little drive through Bagdad & stopped at a Bashas’ grocery store for a sandwich to go.  Headed right back to a playground/sports complex area where we had spotted a nice swatch of green grass shadowing under a group of Pine trees.  So nice to walk on soft grass again & Pheebs just loved it, racing around all over the place without the fear of prickly stickers.  It was 10:30 in the morning.

 
I JUST LOVE ALL THIS SOFT GREEN GRASS MOM & DAD:))
From Bagdad, it was west through more of Arizona’s great mountain scenery to the junction of highway 93 which connects Wickenburg with Kingman Arizona.  A left turn headed us south for Congress.

SOUTHBOUND ON HIGHWAY 93 HEADING FOR CONGRESS
We have been to JOSHUA TREE NATIONAL PARK Park in California but we did not see the number of Joshua Trees there that we saw today just a few miles north of Congress on highway 93.  Wow.  Just about as far as the eye could see…..Joshua Trees on both sides of the road.  Now how nice is that.

JOSHUA TREES ALONG HIGHWAY 93 NORTH OF CONGRESS
Stopped to have a look at another house for sale really cheap.  No, we are not thinking of buying or moving but we do like looking at houses & properties now that the market is soooooo much in the buyer’s hands.  Nicely landscaped property but the house is in grim shape.  Not an old house but whoever lived there treated it very poorly.  Too bad because it has a garage big enough to roll a big diesel banging 40’ Motorhome right inside with room left over for a couple Smart Cars.  I just don’t understand how & why some people have such little respect for where they live.  I’m guessing the original owner must have rented it out to a bunch of Javalinas.  And, speaking of Javalinas, Kelly saw about half a dozen of them crossing the road just south of our house this morning.

THIS FIXER UPPER HOUSE & PROPERTY CAN PROBABLY BE HAD FOR LESS THAN $20,000
To wrap up, let me just say how much we are enjoying ourselves getting to know this whole area.  With each little Jeep jaunt we learn & see something new.  Just as we did in Cochise County these past few years, we are building new memories here in Yavapai County discovering our great Arizona environment.  Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh what a life it is……………:))

KELLY FIELDS A DEER PARK LODGE TODAY WITH THE WEAVER MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND
GROANER’S CORNER:(( 
'Twas the night of Thanksgiving but I just couldn't sleep.
I tried counting backwards, I tried counting sheep
The leftovers beckoned, the dark meat and white,
But I fought the temptation with all of my might.
Tossing and turning with anticipation
The thought of a snack became infatuation
So I raced to the kitchen, flung open the door,
And gazed at the fridge full of goodies galore.
I gobbled up turkey and buttered potatoes,
Pickles and carrots, beans and tomatoes.
I felt myself swelling so plump and so round,
Till all of a sudden, I rose off the ground.
I crashed through the ceiling floating into the sky
With a mouthful of pudding and a handful of pie.
But I managed to yell as I soared past the trees,
Happy Eating to All….. Pass the Cranberries Please.
----------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

A STROLL THROUGH THE OLD CONGRESS CEMETERY

I remember the first cemetery I ever saw in the South-West.  It was somewhere in Castle Valley north-east of Moab Utah.  It was May of 92 & I remember heading south on Mountain Loop Drive watching a storm brewing in the mountains to the east.  I will never forget the lightning flashes, the dark foreboding clouds, the sheer mountain beauty, & the experience of this particular day’s drive.  From a  photography standpoint, the lighting was phenomenal.  One of my all time favorite memories.  Not sure where exactly it was but I remember spotting something on the east side of the road.  We (different traveling partner back then) stopped, turned around & went back.  Sure enough, it was a cemetery.  But a cemetery unlike any I had ever seen.  That was back in the days of 35mm film so I do not have any digital photos.  But, this morning at the Congress cemetery I was reminded of that very first one I saw in Castle Valley over 20 years ago.

 

 

There were no manicured acres of green grass, no tall stately trees, & no great granite headstones towering silently over unwavering rows of perfectly engraved marble inscriptions.  Things are different here in the south-west, including the cemeteries.  This mornings walk through the Congress cemetery was no exception.  Rather than explaining the difference, I’ll just let the photos do that for me.

 

Tombstone Arizona probably has one of the most well known cemeteries anywhere.  We have been to Tombstone’s ‘Boot Hill’ but I was not impressed.  Not impressed because we have wandered through some of the real cemeteries of the southwest.  Not to say Boot Hill is not real, but it’s pretty commercialized.  To see an untouched cemetery of the old days one only has to travel a few miles from Tombstone to what’s left of the old western town of Fairbank on highway 82.  A quarter mile walk will take you to a ‘Boot Hill’ that has not been touched by man’s commercialism.  You can read about & see photos of the old Fairbanks cemetery at our site entitled… THE GHOST TOWN OF FAIRBANK.

  

While at the cemetery this morning we scouted out a boondocking area close by.  A few rigs scattered about but we did find a nice spot for some RV Boondocker Blogging friends of ours who may arrive at the end of the week.

NICE ROOMY SPOT FOR AN RV

 

VIEW TO THE SOUTH & THE OLD CONGRESS GOLD MINE TO THE NORTH BEHIND THE JEEP

WE THINK THIS MAY HAVE BEEN RV SUE’S SPOT WHEN SHE WAS HERE EARLIER IN THE YEAR

After the cemetery, we took ourselves for a little drive around the wee town of Congress. There is more here than what meets the eye for anyone passing through on highways 89 or 71.  Not a lot of touristy things here & I like that.  The town may not be of interest to some folks, but my camera generally finds something of interest for me.  I will be out & about soon with an eye looking for a few things off the beaten path.  And, a few things on as well.

 

SEE THE 2 BIG WATER TANKS UPPER RIGHT…OUR HOUSE IS JUST BELOW & BEYOND THEM A BIT

In the shade of a Palo Verde tree, tipped back in my lawn chair for a few minutes this afternoon, I watched with interest as 2 fighter jets dueled it out high overhead in the clear blue Arizona sky.  Saw 2 orange flares out of one jet & then watched as the second jet rapidly gained on the first jet in a tight turn.  Another flare out of the first jet as they banked away out of sight.  I listened for another half minute as the engine sounds slowly droned away to the northwest.  I have seen this mock combat in the southwest sky many times before & I have a theory about the flares.  When one plane electronically locks it’s guns or rockets on a target & fires……the flare or flares ejected by the target plane probably signify a ‘hit’ to the pursuing plane.  Just a theory of course.  We often hear the roar of ‘dog fighting’ jets overhead.  Being a kid always fascinated with airplanes…..I like that:))

 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A lady was filling her tank at a gas station, smoking a cigarette, even though all the signs say not to. The fumes that came out of the gas tank ignited, severely burning her hands.
But it also lit up her arm, too!
Instead of rolling on the ground to put it out, she panicked. She took off running down the street.
A police car was at the intersection where it happened and he tried to stop her to put out her arm, but she just kept running and screaming. All the officer could think of doing was to shoot her. This took everyone by surprise. The officer ran over to her and put the fire out, then called for an ambulance.
When questioned about his course of action to stop her, the officer said, "My only thought was to stop her. After all, she was waving a fire-arm."

-----------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

FENCE DONE, CACTUS PLANTED, DOOR RETURNED…& A CACTUS GARDEN GUARDIAN

WITH SOME SCRAP PIECES OF WOOD & A BIG ROCK, I CONSTRUCTED A CACTUS GARDEN GUARDIAN TODAY… ‘CACTUS MAN’

Sitting on my bed Sunday night about 10 p.m. looking out the window at the night sky to the East, I noticed the constellation Orion (the mighty hunter) with his Sword hilt hanging directly down between our two front yard Saguaros.  For me, a fella who enjoys the night sky, I thought that was kinda neat.

MAIN DRIVE THROUGH GATES AT CENTER & A SINGLE WALK-THROUGH GATE JUST TO THE LEFT…ENOUGH ROOM HERE TO GET OUR MOTORHOME IN OFF THE ROAD

Happy to say our fence project is now complete.  Marteen & his wife finished up the fence across the backyard this morning so we are now totally enclosed.  No more wandering Ephalents, Rhinosaucerouses or Hippopotamooses in our back yard.  Much safer for the Pheebs:))

 

MARTEEN & HIS WIFE FINISH UP THE LAST OF OUR FENCING

I did get all my little Cactus guys planted this morning.  Kelly had picked them up last March from a lady over at the Escapee’s North Ranch.  Same Cactus that summered over in our back yard until I was able to move them this morning to their new & permanent home at the front of our property.

I WILL PLANT OTHER DESERT THINGS AMONGST THE CACTUS & WEAVE A PATHWAY THROUGH THE GARDEN

NOW, TO GET SOMETHING PLANTED ALONG THAT FENCE LINE ON THE RIGHT & CREATE A PRIVACY HEDGE

We had picked up a metal security door last March for our back door.  Wrong size!!  Loaded that door into the Jeep this morning & Kelly headed off to Stewart’s Hardware in Wickenburg to exchange it for a simpler & correctly sized heavy duty Ponderosa Pine wooden screen door.  We will pick that door up Saturday.

KELLY HEADS FOR WICKENBURG WITH THE WRONG SIZED SCREEN DOOR…PHEEBS FOLLOWS & CLOSES THE GATE BEHIND HER:))

Our back yard today reminded me of something I had seen in Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park back in May of 92.  I think they called them ‘bubbling paint pots’.  Noticed a large wet spot back near the fence line late this morning.  Hmmmmm.  No smell & I   thought I detected soap suds.  Kelly had done a couple loads of wash, & this afternoon I did the same.  Suspecting laundry water, I looked out the window & sure enough… saw water bubbling up out of the ground in 2 separate locations.  Dug down a couple inches & located a white plastic pipe.  Not a serious problem & I’ll think about what to do about that later.  Maybe a natural outside hot tube cactus mud bath thingy eh:))

WHEN I TOOK THIS PHOTO TODAY I FAILED TO NOTICE THE TWO DAMP SPOTS (DARKER SOIL) ON THE GROUND…WATER LATER BUBBLED UP OUT OF THE GROUND REMINDING ME OF YELLOWSTONE NAT. PARK

Jim (Bev & Jim) got me straightened out the other day about our 8 tons of crushed stone.  Gravel is sold by the yard & when someone orders a load it comes by the yard. (confusing) Jim explained the 8 tons includes the truck or something.  So, in reality it turns out I didn’t really move 8 tons of crushed stone (unless I moved the truck too) & maybe it was more like 49 pounds or something.  Anyway, with my sore leg, it sure felt like 8 tons by the time I finished wheel barrowing & spreading it:((

HEARD CHILDREN’S VOICES SATURDAY & SPOTTED A KID SITTING HIGH ATOP THIS ROCKY RIDGE ABOUT A QUARTER MILE BEHIND OUR HOUSE…THIS IS THE SPOT I HOPE TO HIKE UP TO & TAKE SOME PHOTOS JUST AS SOON AS MY LEG IS FEELING BETTER

In the morning we’ll head the short distance down Ghost Town Road to the original Congress town site.  An old Pioneer cemetery is located there as is the towns dump from years ago where we heard, artifacts from an all but forgotten time can still be found.

BURNING A PILE OF DEAD PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS MADE FOR A NICE CAMPFIRE TONIGHT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  When young Jose, newly arrived in the United States, made his first trip to Yankee Stadium, there were no tickets left for sale. Touched by his disappointment, a friendly ticket salesman found him a perch near the American flag.  Later, Jose wrote home enthusiastically about his experience. "And the Americans, they are so friendly!" he concluded. "Before the game started, they all stood up and looked at me and asked, 'Jose, can you see?'"

-----------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

WHEN ALL THIS HOUSE DUST SETTLES

 

YELLOW JACKET ON ONE OF OUR SAGUAROS

A longer early morning walk around the neighborhood this morning.  Sure is a mixture of lifestyles here.  Cute well manicured homes & grounds mixed with absolute junkyard properties.  But, that’s the south-west & we have always noticed that in our travels here.  Of course it is just one of the many reasons we like this side of the country so much.  Never been comfortable much around fancy folks so the remoter desert regions of the south-west fit us just fine.

PHEEBS COMES OUT TO CALL ME IN FOR SUPPER

TERI had a question about the Mesquite tree bean pods that fall to the ground.  Looking like yellow beans, I do rake them up.  And, Pheebs likes eating them sometimes.  Apparently they are harmless & something Coyotes eat as well.  I didn’t spread any crushed stone under the Mesquite trees because of the difficulty raking up the pods in the stones.  SUE B wondered about the low power line in our front yard.  It is still there & Marteen the fence builder is going to put a pole in to raise that wire higher.  I nearly pulled the whole line down with our Motorhome last March.

MONDAY MORNING I WILL PLANT CACTUS IN THESE PRE-DUG & WATER FILLED HOLES

IVAN & HAILEY are on the loose again heading for another winter season in the sunny southwest.  Coming down from Alberta, they have just crossed the border into Washington State.

<<< WHEN THE GARDEN TOOLS ARE RESTING, SO IS THE GARDENER

Think I saw the tail end of my first Pack Rat today.  Noticed a large Prickly Pear Cactus patch near our gate seemed to be piled high in the center with dead Cacti.  Began pulling the Cactus apart & a Rat like creature scurried for cover.  Rat size with a long tail.  Have seen 3 small lizards so for but they were too fast for a picture.  I did get up on a ladder & pull another old board off our eave & clean out all the debris inside where the Yellow Jackets were hanging out.  No sign of them except for the one I saw on the Saguaro this afternoon.

HAVING MYSELF A SHOT AT THE MOON TONIGHT >>>

Our readership goes up every year just prior to our south-west departure & drops off again when we return to Bayfield. This year, with our house in Congress Arizona, we have not traveled as far afield & have been stationery for the past few weeks. Just want to remind readers that although we are not on the road at the moment, many RV Bloggers on our sidebar are. So, for you folks needing a winter travel fix, I suggest you check out a few of our fellow travelers. I will continue to blog every day but it won’t be quite the same as our previous boondocking years. Hang in there anyway, we do plan on doing some traveling once all this house dust settles.   And Kelly, Pheebs, & I will be heading out into the desert this week through the Date Creek Mountains in search of…….Bagdad.  Just a day trip but am looking forward to some new roads, some new scenery & some new photos:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A young man hired by a supermarket reported for his first day of work. The manager greeted him with a warm handshake and a smile, gave him a broom and said, "Your first job will be to sweep out the store."
"But I'm a college graduate," the young man replied indignantly.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't know that," said the manager.
"Here, give me the broom - I'll show you how."

--------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com