ROCK SCRAMBLING WITH MY BEST PAL AND OUR HOUSE DECISION HAS FINALLY BEEN MADE…..

ROCK SCRAMBLING WITH MY BEST PAL THIS MORNING

With our 2 day cloud cover finally beginning to break up & giving way to warming sun splashes skipping their way across our cooler landscape I decided it was time to get myself outside the house again.  Planted 2 more cactus then fired up the Jeep.

Pheebs & I didn’t go far this morning with just a short drive of maybe a mile down to the end of Ghost Town Road.  This is an area where a few folks boondock temporarily & a few others call home for the winter.  Only saw 3 rigs scattered widely about amidst the Mesquite trees, Creosote bushes & Palo Verde trees.

This area is also the former town site of 1885’s Congress Arizona.  Only thing left is a couple old Pioneer Cemeteries & pieces of broken pottery & glass which are scattered around on the desert floor.  Where we drove & walked this morning was once a bustling town with stores, cabins, shops, streets, mining offices, a hospital, eateries, saloons, a school & 2 churches.  Had Pheebs I been walking here 130 years ago we would have been meeting people & horses on the streets.  Folks would have been busy bustling about their business.  Pheebs & I could have probably popped into one of the eateries for a big mess of bacon & eggs.  It was a mining town of course with the large Congress Gold Mine less than half a mile away.  All of Congress’s inhabitants would have had something to do with that mine one way or another.  I’m sure all the towns men covered many miles walking to & from that mine each & every working day which was likely 7 days a week in those days.  Only one road led into the mine & that is the road our house & property are located on.  An elderly neighbor said the old miner who built our house in the 1950’s built it with lumber he hauled home from the partially abandoned Gold Mine.  Of course rumor has it that he hid all his gold in this house too……………..We’re still lookin:))

THE ORIGINAL MINING TOWN OF CONGRESS ONCE STOOD OUT THERE WHERE ALL THOSE CREOSOTE BUSHES NOW GROW

One of the old cemeteries is still in use so a graded road is kept open to that location.  Off that graded road are Jeep roads leading off out into the desert.  It is off these hard packed sand & gravely roads boondockers have carved themselves out their own sites on flat pieces of the desert floor.  We parked just off one of these Jeep roads & walked up a narrower ATV trail to a jumble of rocks at the base of what would be called a mountain back in Ontario but what we call here just a big darn bunch of rocky hills dotted with Saguaro Cactus.

 

It was very cool this morning so I wasn’t too concerned about Rattlesnakes but one is always cautious about them anyway just in case even though they should all be into hibernation by now.  We did manage ourselves a nice rock scramble & I’m always amazed at how well Pheebs does in scrambling up & over the large rocks a boulders as well.  I’m thinking she must have some Mountain Goat in her.

We were back home before 11 & I could smell Turkey in the oven.  Well not a whole Turkey but what is called a Turkey breast which is always lots for us.  We both like Turkey & generally have it 3 times a year.  Canadian Thanksgiving, the American Thanksgiving & of course Christmas.  Sure is a nice change from peanut butter & honey sandwiches:))

MORE OF A BIG ROCKY HILL THAN A MOUNTAIN

Of course there is just Kelly, myself, & Pheebs here & that is how we like to spend our Thanksgiving days.  We’ve both done the large family & public gatherings over the years & not having to do that anymore suits us just fine.  We also feel the same way about Christmas. 

Called Aunt Jean in Sarasota Wednesday night & she’s been keeping herself busy.  Jean & her golfing pals tried out a different golf course earlier this week & with the grounds being not as hilly as their usual course she was able to play a full 18 holes.  She is finding it frustrating though not being able to get outside to do her own grounds work anymore.  With some heart, lung, & spine problems increasingly restricting her physical movements now it sure hasn’t dampened her Spirits & independence.  Aunt Jean’s 88 year old mind is still sharp but it just can’t coax her body into doing all the things she used to do & would still like to do.  And do them all on her own…………….

It’s not quite the end of the month yet but our hard thought out house decision has finally been made.  Kelly contacted a local Realtor earlier in the week & the lady is coming in early December to give us an appraisal on our house & property……….but we’re not selling it:))  We have decided to wait another year & re-assess our house decision again at that time.  We did feel it important to make contact with a Real Estate company though just in case there came a time if something happened to one or both of us & we couldn’t get back to Congress for whatever reason.  When one reaches our age these are things that have to be carefully thought about & planned for just in case.  Gone are those crazy free wheeling & wildly sometimes reckless thought processes of yesteryear.  Darn, I do miss those days though.   We will probably take back to Canada a lot of our personal items this coming Spring & anything else we treasure & want to keep………………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A man arrives at the gates of heaven. St. Peter asks, "Religion?"
The man says, "Methodist."
St. Peter looks down his list, and says, "Go to room 24, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."
Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. "Religion?"
"Baptist."
"Go to room 18, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."
A third man arrives at the gates. "Religion?"
"Jewish."
"Go to room 11, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."
The man says, "I can understand there being different rooms for different religions, but why must I be quiet when I pass room 8?"
St. Peter tells him, "Well the Jehovah's Witnesses are in room 8, and they think they're the only ones here.

BLOGGER’S BLOCK

I’m hoping my ‘Blogger’s Block’ will lift shortly.  In the meantime all’s I have are a few bird photos……

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 

Psychiatrist: What's your problem?
Patient: I think I'm a chicken.
Psychiatrist: How long has this been going on?
Patient: Ever since I was an egg!

A SAD LITTLE PILE OF STONES IN THE DESERT

PHEEBS RACES HER SHADOW ALONG A DUSTY DESERT ROAD THIS MORNING

Pheebs & I did make it out for our desert walk this morning but other than that I really don’t have anything much to write about tonight.…………

UNDER A PALO VERDE TREE ALONGSIDE A DRY WASH I FOUND THIS SAD LITTLE PILE OF STONES IN EARLY MORNS DESERT STILLNESS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  As a Delta Air Lines jet was flying over Arizona on a clear day, the co-pilot was providing his passengers with a running commentary about landmarks over the PA system.  "Coming up on the right, you can see the Meteor Crater, which is a major tourist attraction in northern Arizona. It was formed when a lump of nickel and iron, roughly 150 feet in diameter and weighing 300,000 tons, struck the earth at about 40,000 miles an hour, scattering white-hot debris for miles in every direction. The hole measures nearly a mile across and is 570 feet deep."
From the cabin, a passenger was heard to exclaim, "Wow! It just missed the highway!"

PHEEBS & I JEEP OUR WAY THROUGH THE DESERT SOUTH-EAST OF WICKENBURG AZ.

VULTURE PEAK LOOMS OVER WICKENBURG’S EASTERN LIMITS

After a long dull Sunday sitting around the house Pheebs & I were definitely needing to get out & dust up the Jeep’s tires.  Having no idea where to go we just ambled out the gate & turned right.  Needed gas so that led us over to the gas station & from there we continued on to Wickenburg.  I was needing some Cran-Raspberry juice, cinnamon, & a 9 volt battery anyway so we headed for Safeway.

WIDE ANGLE VIEW OF WICKENBURG ARIZONA LOOKING WEST

After waiting forever in the ‘Express Line’ with my 5 items behind somebody with about 105 items I was feeling the need for a good old McDonald’s coffee so upon leaving Safeway we headed on down to Wickenburg’s south end & while at McDonald’s picked up a couple Burritos to go.  Just south of McDonalds on Constellation Road is Wickenburg’s Rodeo Grounds with an RV dry camping area right across the road.  We drove into the camping area & ate us up our Burritos while taking in a nice view of Wickenburg below.  Only half a dozen RV’s in the Park.  Kelly & I had driven through here a couple winters ago & had noticed some sites are large enough for big rigs.  I think there might be a water spigot somewhere as well as garbage bin but no electric or water at the sites.  It was way too early to head home so we rolled out & headed southeast on Constellation Road again.  We were needing to get us in some relaxing desert time.

ACROSS THE ROAD FROM WICKENBURG’S CONSTELLATION RODEO GROUNDS IS THIS ENTRANCE WAY TO THE DRY CAMPING RV GROUNDS

THINK THERE IS ABOUT 40 SITES HERE WITH SOME OF THEM LIKE THIS ONE LARGE ENOUGH FOR BIG RIGS

THE SITE WE STOPPED AT HAD NICE VIEW OVERLOOKING THE TOWN OF WICKENBURG

A FEW RV’S CAN BE SEEN SCATTERED ABOUT THE ‘HILLY’ CAMPGROUND

VULTURE PEAK IN THE BACKGROUND

A RANCHER’S SIGN NEAR THE PARK

Constellation Road was familiar to me as we had followed fellow RV’ers Jim & Bev a couple times in their beefy big black Jeep a couple years ago out this way on a couple great desert Jeep tours with one of them leading to Castle Hot Springs on January 21rst 2014.  (Peter & Leslie will remember that trip)  Our Jeep Trip To Castle Hot Springs  This morning Pheebs & I angled left onto Blue Tank Road heading off out into the desert to who knows where…….if anywhere at all.  These old original desert mining roads just seem to amble aimlessly for miles & miles.  I did notice the road we were on was unusually wide & well maintained & fresh grader tracks suggested it had recently been graded.  How wonderfully nice to poke along again about 10 or 15 mph without encountering a single vehicle.  Highway 89 between Congress & Wickenburg is just a drag strip for the locals & highway 93 which 89 joins into is nothing more than a high speed race track between Phoenix & Las Vegas with Wickenburg being an annoying slow down for the high rollers.  And we had just come that way this morning so I really appreciated the change of pace when we finally reached Constellation Road .  You might be interested in what I really had to say about that hustle bustle traffic on January 2nd of 2014 after a stint on highway 93.  The last 3 paragraphs in my post that day sum up my conclusions on Brainless Drivers!!!!  Anyway, back to some much needed quiet serenity in the desert………………..

SO NICE TO SEE ‘BLUE TANK ROAD’ IN SUCH GREAT SHAPE

A COWBOY FENCE

Puttering our way along Blue Tank Road we gained enough altitude to see Teddy Bear Cholla plants along the road.  Not a good area for a stop with a doggy along.  Those Cholla cacti are just about the worst kind of cactus for any human or animal to ever encounter.  Their barbs inflict intense pain & as pretty as they are they are to be avoided at all costs.

TEDDY BEAR CHOLLA DOESN’T GROW ON THE VALLEY FLOOR BUT JUST AN ALTITUDE GAIN OF A COUPLE HUNDRED FEET & THERE IT IS

THIS CHOLLA (PRONOUNCED CHOI-A) IS ONE BAD HOMBRE

LOOKS SO SOFT & CUDDLY YET CAN INFLICT SOOOOOO MUCH PAIN….I KNOW BECAUSE I’VE TANGLED WITH IT:((

HEADING DOWN INTO THE LARGE HASSAYAMPA RIVER DRY WASH

Having no idea where this road led I figured we’d drive for a few miles then turn round & head back the way we came.  That is until I noticed we seemed to be slowly angling our way back in the direction of Wickenburg & sure enough I eventually began to see distant buildings on the horizon so we decided to stick with Blue Tank Road to see where it would bring us out.   The road finally led us down into a river wash & we followed that north until I spotted a stop sign ahead.  Not often you see a stop sign in a dry river bed.  Knowing Wickenburg was to our left somewhere we turned onto a road heading west & before long we reached highway ??  The road we had been on was Rincon Road & I again thought of Jim & Bev a couple winters ago doing some ranch sitting very close to where we drove today.  Here’s a link to the day we took Aunt Jean out to meet Jim & Bev at the ranch actor Val Kilmer’s Mother once owned……

ALWAYS NICE FOR WE NORTHERNERS TO SEE SOFT GREEN GRASS

AND THERE’S EVEN A DOGGY IN THIS PHOTO & I’M GUESSING IT JUST WANTS TO STOP & GO OVER THERE FOR A PEE ON THE GRASS:))

I JUST SO MUCH LOVE THE SPANISH FLAVORED ARCHITECTURE IN THE SOUTHWEST

Reaching the highway 93 racetrack we turned right with pedal to the metal to try & keep up with all the crazy nutbars on the road.  Twenty minutes later we were back in Congress.  It was 11:30 a.m. Arizona time.  Think we might as well get a couple racing stripes painted on Libby just to fit her in with all the speedsters on the road these days.  It was highway 93 that last winter spurred me write this post…………

THIS ‘FOR SALE’ PLACE ON RINCON ROAD HAD A NICE ENTRANCEWAY MAKING ME WONDER WHAT THE HIDDEN HOUSE LOOKED LIKE IF THE GATE LOOKED THIS NICE

I’M THINKING THIS ENTRANCEWAY PROBABLY COST MORE THAN OUR HOUSE DID

A few reader questions to answer tonight……GYPSY asked, “Do any of them (cactus) send up additional shoots and multiply?……..Yes, all of the cacti I am planting will send up shoots & multiply.   How do you keep from getting pricked by all those thorns”……….. In one word I can answer that question, ‘experience.’  I have learned the hard way not to randomly pick up things off the ground without gloves.  I don’t get nearly as many stickers now as I did the first year here.  I use my 5 pronged pitch fort to move most things like tree cuttings & branches & I never trim anything without a good set of heavy duty gloves on.  I’ve learned to handle cacti by their roots & not their pods.  Have also learned that even if one cannot visibly see the stickers on a cactus it does not meat the cactus is devoid of stickers.  Some cacti’s stickers are like fine hairs & if you pick that pod up with no gloves you may not feel anything right away but just wait a few minutes & ‘yeouch.’  Those can be the worst because one cannot see the fine hair like barbs to pull them out.  Also after being around cactus for awhile both the mind & body just simply becomes aware of the danger & consciously or subconsciously keeps one out of harm’s way.  Like ‘look before you step & look before you reach.  And never back up unless you look first to what you might be backing up into….

I LIKE THESE ‘DESERT BROOM’ PLANTS BUT THEY CAN BE AWFULLY MESSY WHEN ALL THAT WHITE FLUFFY STUFF STARTS BLOWING AROUND

Sylvia asked, “Al, how long do sit waiting for the birds to pose for your great pictures”?…………….Well that kind of depends on the bird’s themselves.  I’ve learned there are times of the day when they seem to swarm the feeder.  Early morning & evening are two of them.  Also depends whether there is birdseed in the feeder.  We have a large number of birds in our back yard at times & they have a tendency to swarm the feeder.  It’s nothing to have 30 or 40 birds at a time coming & going & it only takes a few minutes to crack off dozens of photos.  Our feeder hangs from a Mesquite tree branch on the right side of the tree & I have determined the bird’s habits coming & going to the feeder from the tree branches mainly to the left.  I pre-focus an area from the feeder itself to about 3 feet left of it.  I try to photo the birds entering or leaving this zone.  Some times I do not even see the birds I photograph until I bring the photo up in my photo editor & what an unexpected surprise that often is for me.  It’s another reason I enjoy the whole photo editing process so much.

And I just remembered another question from Kate near Langton Ontario last week wondering how to get in touch with us.  Our Gmail address is in the right hand column just above ‘Popular Posts’.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( As we waited for a bus in the frosty weather, the woman next to me mentioned that she makes a lot of mistakes when texting in the cold.  I nodded knowingly. “It’s the early signs of typothermia.”

- Electricity is really just organized lightning.

- It’s been raining so much in Los Angeles that the Chia Pet I threw in the garbage is now blocking my entire driveway.

- Concerned about what will happen to cities if the polar ice caps melt? Don’t be. New names have already been chosen.

Atlantis City, New Jersey

Pariscope, France

Sail ‘Em, Massachusetts

Floodelphia, Pennsylvania

Helsunki, Finland