WELL WE CERTAINLY LEARNED SOMETHING NEW ABOUT OUR MOTORHOME TODAY

OUR MOTORHOME DASH AS WE KNOW IT….. BUT IT HARBORS A SURPRISE

WHAT THE HECK!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Despite cool overnight temperatures I could feel a touch of warmth in the air at 6 a.m. this morning & that meant we were going to have us a warm day.  And we did.  While Kelly took Pheebs for a walk I raked up more Mesquite beans & by 8 I was already in short sleeves. 

Soon as Pheebs & Kelly were back doggy & I hopped into the Jeep & headed for the nearby desert.  Parked outside of the gate near Tenderfoot Road & walked in from there.  Figured if I headed in one direction for half an hour then back that would give me an hour of walking which I felt was about right for my legs at this point.  Don't want to overdo it then quit walking.   By 10 the Sun was already burning holes through my shirt but how nice to feel that warmness after the cold rainy & wind driven days we had earlier in the week. 

THIS IS ONE OF 2 GATES THAT GIVE US ACCESS TO THE DESERT NEAR OUR HOUSE

 

AERIAL VIEW OF BOGATA CANYON IN SOUTHERN UTAH ON THE LEFT……??

 

NOPE THAT WASN’T BOGATA CANYON IN UTAH, JUST A NORMAL WATER CARVED RUT IN THE ROADWAY….BIRD’S NEST IN A PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS ON RIGHT

THIS IS VERY TYPICAL OF THE DESERT FLOOR IN THESE HERE PARTS

Didn't encounter anything on our walk except for a couple small birds flitting about.  No deer, no cows, no rabbits, & most best of all no people.  Ground is a hard sandy gravel with varying sizes of small stones, rocks, & boulders.  Mainly cactus & Mesquite shrubs along with Palo Verde & Mesquite trees.  A few Yuccas here & there.

THE DESERT FLOOR IS CRISS-CROSSED WITH SANDY & ROCK STREWN DRY WASHES WHICH ARE SAFE TO WALK IN UNLESS IT’S MONSOON SEASON WHEN THEY BECOME RAGING TORRENTS OF WATER

  

COULD THIS BE AN AERIAL VIEW OF A LARGE VOLCANIC CRATER IN NORTHERN ARIZONA?  NAWWWW, YOU KNOW ME BETTER THAN THAT BY NOW…….JUST AN ANT HILL BELOW

 

THOSE YUCCA BLADES ARE DAGGER SHARP 

After our desert walk Pheebs & I drove a short mile into Congress.  I remember a reader had mentioned last week or so about maybe taking some photos of buildings around Congress so that’s what we did.  An easy task mind you seeing how there are very few buildings in Congress.  I’ll post the 3 newest buildings first then a few more older buildings over the next couple nights.

I’M GUESSING CONGRESS’S POST OFFICE MAY JUST BE THE NEWEST BUILDING IN TOWN

THE FAMILY DOLLAR & GAS STATION STAND AT THE JUNCTION OF HIGHWAYS 71 & 89

YEP, THIS HERE’S WHERE WE GET OUR GAS ALRIGHT

CONGRESS ONLY HAS ONE MAIN INTERSECTION & THIS IS IT….I’M ON HIGHWAY 71 FACING EAST & ABOUT TO CROSS 89 ….TURN LEFT & HEAD FOR PRESCOTT OR TURN RIGHT TO WICKENBURG

Pheebs & I were home about 11 & an hour later we figured it was warm enough to give Pheebs a nice doggy oatmeal shampoo bath.  Kelly did most of the shampooing while I did most of the rinsing & Pheebs did most of the complaining.  Between the 3 of us we soon had the job done & now Pheebs smells like nice freshly baked oatmeal cookie & that just makes her a whole lot extra snugly:))

After Pheebs bath we decided to take a drive down to the Congress Garage to see if our Motorhome was finished & ready to be picked up.  It was & boy were we in for a pleasant surprise or two.

Little did we know that with the removal of one small Robertson screw directly above the speedometer & out of sight our whole drivers side dash top lifted right up & folded back on hinges.  And there as easy as can be was our flasher unit as well as easy access to all instruments in our dash panel including radio, back up camera, & well, just everything.  Makes me wonder now if all Motorhomes have that easy access feature to the back of their dash panels.  But here’s my question, how did that guy know there was a tiny hidden screw in the dash.  It’s not like they would get a lot of Canadian made Triple E Commander Motorhomes in that little garage in Congress Arizona.

OUR FLASHER UNIT IS AT EXTREME LEFT & YOU CAN SEE THE 2 DASH LID HINGES IN THIS PHOTO AS WELL

THE CONGRESS GARAGE GUY TAPED THE FLASHER UNIT DOWN

WEIRD OR WHAT!! 

THE SINGLE SCREW HOLDING DOWN THE DASH IS LOCATED DIRECTLY BEHIND THAT YELLOW LEVELER BUBBLE ABOVE THE INSTRUMENT CLUSTER

The fella also read the codes which caused the engine light to come on & again it was the same 2 sensors that have caused the engine light to come on before.  Sensor Bank numbers PO131 & PO151.  Both those sensors are on either side of the exhaust somewhere.  I’m thinking they are reading the exhaust emissions then telling the rig’s computer to change it’s fuel mixture or something causing the mixture to run too lean or whatever which results in a sudden loss of power.  Anyway the engine light is out for now & if we choose to take a less mountainous way home in March we just might be alright.

WHO KNEW EH…………….

And speaking of the Congress Garage here is a good news/bad news scenario.  First the good news……when Kelly asked the fella how much our bill was today he said, ‘oh give me 20 bucks.  What!!  And that included the flasher unit.  Any other garage & our bill today would have been somewhere around a hundred + dollars probably.  Just goes to show how business is still done out here in a few of these little wayward tumble down towns along Arizona’s long & dusty trails.  But here’s the bad news…………….the Congress Garage is closing at the end of April.  The 2 fellas running it are both retiring & that will be the end of a garage in Congress Arizona unless they can find someone to take it over………….:(( 

IT’S ALRIGHT PHEEBS WE DON’T HAVE TO DO THIS BATH THING AGAIN FOR AWHILE

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Nature abhors a vacuum, but not as much as a cat does.

- Q: What do you call an Amish guy with his hand in a horse’s mouth…………..A mechanic.

- Q: Why did the chicken go to the séance?…………To get to the other side.

- A zookeeper is ordering new animals. As he fills out the forms, he types “two mongeese.” That doesn’t look right, so he tries “two mongoose,” then “two mongooses.” Giving up, he types, “One mongoose, and while you’re at it, send another one.”

- Cats are smarter than dogs. You can’t get eight cats to pull a sled through deep snow.

- People in sleeping bags are the soft tacos of the bear world.

DECIDED TO TAKE MY LEGS FOR A WALK IN THE DESERT THIS MORNING

TONIGHT’S PHOTOS ARE FROM A DESERT WALK PHEEBS & I TOOK THIS MORNING

Started my day off by doing a load of laundry & hanging it out to dry.  Pretty exciting so far eh.  Fired up the Big EEE & headed off a short distance to the Congress garage.  Kelly followed in the Jeep.  Said it might take them a couple days to get that flasher unit changed but no problem, we’re in no hurry.  Said they would read the codes as well to see what brought on our engine light north of Flagstaff a few weeks back as well.  A couple readers have sent in some excellent info on what the problem probably is but I think we’ll see if we can wait until we have the rig back to Bayfield & have the Bayfield Garage check it out there.  They’re a good bunch at that garage & we’ll hand them a couple printed copies of reader assessments regarding our occasional steep grade power loss problem.

LIBBY’S FIRST TIME OUT ON SOME DESERT JEEP ROADS & SHE DID JUST FINE

CHIEF SCOUT PHEEBS LEADS THE WAY ON OUR MORNING DESERT WALK

EASY TO SEE WHY I LOVE THE SOUTH-WEST SO MUCH

THE HARD PACKED DESERT FLOOR ALWAYS MAKES FOR EASY WALKING

Pheebs & I were into the Jeep about 10 again but this time rather than a long scenic drive I put the emphasis on getting some exercise for my legs & we headed the short distance into the desert behind our house.  I stopped doing our morning walks last winter when I just got tired of walking around the neighborhood with cars going by, barking dogs, & having to stop & chit chat with neighbors.  We have nice neighbors by the way but I prefer my morning walks to be people free.  I see morning as the finest time of day & like to spend it walking quietly in nature rather than noisy neighborhoods.  Kelly prefers the neighborhood walks & still takes Pheebs every morning while I just spend that time doing things around the yard.  But, there’s a problem with that & the problem is my legs…….I’m just not using my legs enough!!

ALWAYS LOVE HOW ONE CAN SEE FOR MILES & MILES IN ANY DIRECTION

FOR ME THIS DESERT SOLITUDE SURE BEATS WALKING AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD

AND OF COURSE ONE NEVER KNOWS WHEN ONE MAY STUMBLE ACROSS GOLD IN THESE HERE HILLS

I NEVER TIRE OF THE EVER CHANGING LANDSCAPE…..THE SHAPES & THE SHADOWS

I’ve been curious to see how Libby would handle the rougher Jeep roads in the desert with their dry washes, rocks & deep water carved ruts.  Didn’t take us long to ease ourselves into some gulley washes & again I was pleased how Libby took them in stride without the rear end bottoming out.  I’m thinking the Liberator may have a tad more ground clearance than the Wrangler because of it’s bigger tires.  Libby also seems a bit narrower than the Wrangler as well & I was able to avoid some nasty desert pin stripping……but not all of course.

CAN YOU SEE THE BIG BOULDER DOG’S HEAD

ROCK SCRAMBLES ARE JUST THE BEST THING FOR MY LEGS

THE LONG GREEN SPINDLY OCOTILLOS ARE REALLY GREEN THIS YEAR

WANDERING OUR WAY THROUGH THE ROCKS & CACTUS

We drove ourselves a couple miles out to an old familiar & favorite scenic spot called House Rock.  Nice walking there so parked Libby & hit the trail with paws & feet just a goin.  Walked back along the dusty road we had just come then headed west for awhile on another rutted road before cutting back north through the cactus & boulders for a wee bit of rock scrambling.  I figure this is just what my legs need & I’m hoping I can discipline myself enough to make these kinds of walks my new morning routine.  Besides, walking in the Sonoran Desert surrounded by giant Saguaro Cactus, boulders the size of houses, vistas stretching for endless miles to blue & purple mountain ranges & being a part of natures absolute stillness wrapped in a cloak of silence just works for me better than walking where the humanoids live………………..

THAT BIG BOULDER IS KNOWN AS HOUSE OR INDIAN ROCK & HAS PETROGLYPHS ON IT….JEAN & SKIP, PETER & LESLIE, ALONG WITH AUNT JEAN ALL KNOW THIS PLACE:))

LEAVING LIBBY BEHIND PHEEBS & I HEADED OFF FOR A WALK…HARD TO SEE LIBBY IS TO THE RIGHT

ONE HAS TO ALWAYS BE WARY OF FALLING INTO OLD MINING DIGS IN THE DESERT & THEY ARE EVERYWHERE IN THE WILDS OF THE SOUTH-WEST

 

ANOTHER MINING DIG ON THE LEFT & A YOUNG ARMLESS SAGUARO ON THE RIGHT

Well if I didn’t know any better I’d say we are beginning to lean towards not selling our Arizona house just yet.  I have a feeling we may just hang onto to it a bit longer.  I’m not saying we are not going to sell it I’m just saying we are leaning in that direction for now.  This has turned out to be a very difficult decision for us with equal pros & cons lined up on both sides of the page.  We have agreed to give ourselves to the end of the month to reach a decision so we’ll just see how these next 2 weeks shake out & how we are feeling about things.   Right now of course we are feeling pretty darn good about being just right where we are………………

WICKENBURG MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND EARLIER THIS MORNING

GROANER’S CORNER:(( This fellow is looking to buy a saw to cut down some trees in his back yard. He goes to a chainsaw shop and asks about various chainsaws. The dealer tells him, "Look, I have a lot of models, but why don't you save yourself a lot of time and aggravation and get the top-of-the-line model. This chainsaw will cut a hundred cords of wood for you in one day."
So, the man takes the chainsaw home and begins working on the trees. After cutting for several hours and only cutting two cords, he decides to quit. He thinks there is something wrong with the chainsaw. "How can I cut for hours and only cut two cords?" the man asks himself. "I will begin first thing in the morning and cut all day," the man tells himself. So, the next morning the man gets up at 4 am in the morning and cuts and cuts, and cuts till nightfall, and still he only manages to cut five cords.
The man is convinced this is a bad saw. "The dealer told me it would cut one hundred cords of wood in a day, no problem. I will take this saw back to the dealer," the man says to himself.
The very next day the man brings the saw back to the dealer and explains the problem. The dealer, baffled by the man's claim, removes the chainsaw from the case. The dealer says, "Hmm, it looks fine."
Then the dealer starts the chainsaw, to which the man responds, "What's that noise?

PHEEBS & I HIT THE ROAD FOR A COUPLE HOURS THIS MORNING:))

PHEEBS & I ENJOYED A TOUCH OF AUTUMN COLOR IN THE WEAVER MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING

At first light I could see our wind sock hanging straight down & thought, ‘great’ no wind.  An hour later that sock was straight out & stayed that way all day as an icy northwest wind blew it’s way right through our sunny day.

HEADING OUR WAY NORTH UP OLD STAGE COACH ROAD & YES THIS WAS THE ORIGINAL STAGE COACH ROAD BETWEEN STANTON & YARNELL MANY YEARS AGO

Pheebs & I were out the door & into the Jeep before 10 heading our way across the valley’s desert floor in the direction of the old ghost & mining town of STANTON Arizona.  I knew the road would be wash-boardy & was curious to see what Libby thought of that.  Happy to say our Jeep Liberator handled those wash boards much better than our previous Jeep Wrangler & I again suspect the longer wheelbase & softer suspension. 

WE JUST CAME UP THAT ROAD BELOW

WE WERE PASSING THAT YELLOW TREE WHEN I TOOK THE POST’S FIRST PHOTO WITH PHEEBS

Puttering along slowly we had the heater going full blast & the windows down.  Finally reaching Stanton we hung a left onto old Stage Coach Road & began our slow climb up into the Weaver Mountains.  Always a nice drive on this sometimes washed out road as we poked along stopping here & there.  From the time we turned onto that road until the time we turned off that road half an hour later in Yarnell we never saw another single car or person.  I love when that happens:))

ALWAYS HAVE TO KEEP A SHARP EYE OUT ON THESE NARROW BLIND CORNERS

Although it was a nice looking sunny day the strong bitter cold wind just made stepping out of a vehicle rather nasty.  Had to remember to take off my cowboy hat every time before exiting the vehicle or my hat would surely have ended up over in New Mexico somewhere.  The north end of Old Stagecoach Road ends in the south end of Yarnell so we turned right & took us for a drive through Yarnell.  This is a cozy feeling sleepy little place & I’ve always liked how Yarnell is tucked comfortably away amongst large boulders.  It is the last stop on the Colorado Plateau before descending 2000’ feet down the ‘Yarnell Hill’ onto the Sonoran Desert floor below.  Congress & our digs are just a short couple miles from the base of the Weaver Mountains. 

HEADING INTO YARNELL FROM THE SOUTH

From our house we can see car’s headlights at night coming down the Yarnell Hill & this morning Pheebs & I stopped at a look-out point near the top of the hill & with my 300mm lens took a photo of where I thought our house would be.  Later at home after enlarging the photo I could see part of our roof.

OUR HOUSE IS AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT YELLOW LINE

Pheebs & rolled out of the Weaver Mountains & down the Yarnell Hill just short of high noon.  Minutes later we were home tucked warmly away inside our house.  It had sure felt good to get out for a few hours after being cooped up inside for the past couple days.  Just gotta make it a point to get out more that’s all………………..

FROM THE TOP END OF THE YARNELL HILL LOOKING OUT OVER THE SONORAN DESERT BELOW WITH CONGRESS JUST RIGHT OF CENTER UNDER THE HORIZON LINE & NORTH RANCH BARELY VISIBLE TOP LEFT JUST UNDER THE HORIZON AS WELL (click to enlarge photo)

We did touch on where to head off too once the blinker/flasher problem was resolved in the Big EEE Wednesday but as of yet have been unable to decide on a destination.  If it doesn’t warm up around here soon we may have to head on down Yuma way.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Two robins were sitting in a tree. "I'm famished," said the first one.  "Me, too," said the second. "Let's fly down and find some lunch."
They flew down to the ground and found a nice piece of plowed land with lots of fresh worms. They ate, and ate, and ate 'till they could eat no more. "I'm so full, I don't think I can fly up to the tree," said the first.  "Me, either. Let's just lie here in the warm sun," said the first one.  No sooner had they had fallen asleep when a big fat tomcat attacked and gobbled them up. As the cat sat washing his face after his meal, he thought, "I love Baskin' Robins."

CHALLENGING DAYS FOR A DAILY BLOGGER

LOOKING OUT MY BEDROOM WINDOW LATE TODAY I AM ENCOURAGED BY CLEARING SKIES

A brief bout of rain laced gusty winds ushered in even colder air this morning & had me awake around 5:30.  Later a few patches of blue teased us into thinking skies were clearing.  Not so & we had ourselves another cold overcast day which again kept us inside straying not too far from our heaters.  Puttered about with a bit of cleaning in the Motorhome & that was about it for the day.  Exciting stuff eh.  These are indeed challenging days for a daily Blogger.

EVEN THE PHEEBS IS TOTALLY BORED JUST SITTING IN THE HOUSE & YEP THOSE ARE KELLY’S FEET STRETCHED OUT IN HER RECLINER

Finished the first of 4 free Kindle books I had down/uploaded a couple days ago.  Called ‘The Sitting Duck Squadron’ it told the story of a converted Wellington bomber crew during the Second World War.  Their aircraft did not carry bombs but cameras & they were part of a squadron who at night flew in over enemy territory very low & slow photographing troop & armored movements on the ground.  It was easy to see why they were called ‘The Sitting Duck Squadron’.  It is truly unimaginable the courage of all those young fellows in the Armed Forces back then.  I do enjoy reading factual history.

AND PHEEBS WASN’T THE ONLY ONE BORED, HERE I AM WATCHING THE BUBBLES BOUNCE AROUND ON MY WINDOWS 10 SCREEN

Judging from tonight’s clearing skies I am cautiously optimistic a fine sunny warm Arizona day may well be upon us in the morning.  Two days of sitting in the house have not been easy but must say we are glad to have a house to sit in.

Nina over at Wheeling It received an email from a reader regarding Borrego Springs which said, “I just wanted to give you a heads up for your normal parking area at Anza-Borrego. Camping is only permitted if you are a car's length from the one main road that goes past the dry lake bed. Most of us have switched to the other side of the highway, or changed to a different location."……………. Still confusion going on there but I’m thinking it’s almost safe to say that the Clark Dry Lake Bed area near Borrego Springs has seen it’s heyday as a favorite boon-docking spot for many of us.  I’m so glad we were able to experience that great area & create so many fond memories there these past 9 years.  If any readers know of other spots in that area I’m sure we boon-dockers would all appreciate hearing from you.  Could this mean I may miss my annual Marshal South hike up Ghost Mountain this winter:((  Say it isn’t so, say it isn’t so………………………….

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man is walking home alone late one foggy night... when behind him he hears: Bump... BUMP... BUMP.….Walking faster, he looks back and through the fog he makes out the image of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him. BUMP... BUMP...  BUMP... Terrified, the man begins to run toward his home, the casket bouncing quickly behind him  FASTER... FASTER...  BUMP... BUMP... BUMP...  He runs up to his door, fumbles with his keys, opens the door, rushes in, slams and locks the door behind him. However, the casket crashes through his door, with the lid of the casket clapping, clappity-BUMP...clappity-BUMP...clappity-BUMP...on his heels. The terrified man runs upstairs to the bathroom and locks himself in. His heart is pounding; his head is reeling; his breath is coming in sobbing gasps.  With a loud CRASH the casket breaks down the door... Bumping and clapping toward him.  The man screams and reaches for something, anything, but all he can find is a bottle of cough syrup! Desperate, he throws the cough syrup at the casket and.……………………the coffin stops!