WHAT IF WE RUN OUT OF DREAMS

It has been slow in coming but coming it is & I didn’t have to wear a jacket on our desert walk this morning.  Temperatures are slowly rising & the ice wasn’t as thick on the water bucket this morning.

PHEEBS & I STARTLED A RED TAIL HAWK & BY THE LOOKS OF THE SECOND PHOTO IT WAS SURE GIVING US SOME BEAK AS IT FLEW AWAY

 

After parking the Jeep Pheebs & I stretched out our desert walk a little farther this morning sticking to the hard packed sandy road.  At one point I noticed 5 surrounding mountain ranges were all visible.  Ahead of me & closest were the Date Creek Mountains with the higher Weaver Mountains behind them & off to my right.  To the East were the Wickenburg Mountains & due south was the Vulture Range.  Looking to the west I saw the highest mountain range in southwestern Arizona.  Harquahala Mountain peaks at 5,681 feet.  Here’s a link to the day we Jeeped ourselves all the way to the top of Harquahala Mountain a few years ago.  It was quite a ride & a nail biter to boot…….Our Toughest Jeep Challenge Yet.

VULTURE MOUNTAINS ON THE HORIZON

LOOKING TOWARDS THE SOUTHEAST END OF THE WEAVER MOUNTAINS

DATE CREEK MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE PALO VERDE TREES

SPOTTED THIS COWGIRL IN CONGRESS TODAY

We have company arriving Wednesday & staying with us for 3 days.  Fellow RV Bloggers even.  Can you guess who is traveling in our area at the moment & who they might be.  Tune in tomorrow:))

No Cowboys in the desert this morning but we did have F-16 fighter jets overhead twisting & turning in mock combat under a clear blue sky.  Finally managed to get a few photos of one F-16 firing off flares as the second F-16 closed on him.  These photos are for you Joe.

  

I have been finding myself in reflective moods as of late & while walking this morning it occurred to me I seem to be out of dreams.  Remember how as a kid we always seemed to have many dreams of doing & seeing things.  A typical dream for many was a trip to Disneyworld.  Many dreams as a teenager as well with one of the biggies being a driver’s license & a first car.  There were dreams of marriage, kids, & owning a home.  Dream jobs were sought after as were dream vacations.  Always in our lives we had our dreams.  It was that one constant that we realistically or unrealistically looked forward to.  Some of those dreams came true & some didn’t.  But always in the face of sometimes impossible odds we always had our dreams.  Retirement was & is a big dream for most & what to do after retirement could easily lead to another set of dreams.  RVing became a dream for me as far back as the mid 80’s & despite the unrealistic goal at the time I always had it in my mind that someday, yes someday I could maybe travel & explore the wild & wooly ways of the American Southwest.

WATER HAS A WAY OF CARVING IT’S WAY ACROSS THE DESERT FLOOR

That dream quickly picked up momentum after meeting Kelly in the summer of 1993 & with her like minded dream combined with mine we were able to finally make our RV dream come true.  We are in our 10th Snow Bird year now with no regrets & as I reflect back on those 10 years I am so glad we were able to spend those 10 years the way we have.  Being realists we know our best RVing days are behind us.  Nothing to do with positive or negative thinking & everything to do with accepting the realities of life.  We are both aware of mental & physical changes as we move forward with our Senior lives.  Was it Bob Dylan who once wrote in a song, ‘the times they are a changin.’  And so they are and so they are………

Walking this morning with Pheebs a sobering thought occurred to me in the form of a question.  What is our next big dream??  I couldn’t think of one & maybe for the first time in my life I have been caught without a dream.  We can see the sun beginning to set on our RV lifestyle.  No idea when, maybe a year, maybe three, don’t know.  Do know though that everyone’s RV days will end & it’s just a question of time for each & every one of us as to when that day will come.  Again the questions come back, what is our next dream and really, do we have any dreams left??  It’s a serious question & as I walked quietly across the desert floor I couldn’t come up with an answer……or a next dream.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An evil Atheist explorer in the deepest Amazon suddenly finds himself surrounded by a bloodthirsty group of natives. Upon surveying the situation, he says quietly to himself "Oh God, I'm screwed!!!!!."
There is a ray of light from heaven and a voice booms out: "No, you are NOT screwed. Pick up that stone at your feet and bash in the head of the chief standing in front of you."
So the explorer picks up the stone and proceeds to bash the living heck out of the chief.  As he stands above the lifeless body, breathing heavily and surrounded by 100 natives with a look of shock on their faces, Gods voice booms out again: "Okay ..... NOW you're screwed."

SPOTTED SOME COWBOYS IN THE DESERT TODAY

My first clue into how cold it was overnight was a thin skim of ice on our birdbath.  Second indication was a thicker layer of ice on an outside water bucket.  I’m afraid our electricity bill for the past few days may be a bit staggering with the amount of time we have had to run our big baseboard heaters plus a couple smaller heaters.  Rumor has it we are in for a warm up Wednesday so sure hope that is so.

A COATING OF ICE IN OUR WATER BUCKET

Pheebs & I drove ourselves out into the desert behind our house this morning to a large Saguaro & rock strewn hill.  Rather than climb the hill like we did last year I figured it would make a good walk to hike all the way around it’s base.  Although a cool morning it was a great temperature for desert hiking. 

DECIDED TO WALK AROUND THE BASE OF THIS SAGUARO LADEN HILL

A FAINT SETTING MOON OVER THE RIDGE & AMONGST THE SAGUAROS

ALWAYS NICE WALKING AMONG TALL STATELY SAGUAROS

Hadn’t gone far when while taking some Saguaro Cactus photos I became aware of a distant talking voice somewhere.  I quickly traced the voice to the top of the hill & saw a far off cowboy atop a white horse cresting the hill’s ridge from the other side.  I quickly zeroed in on him with my 300mm lens & noticed his hand up to the side of his head.  No wonder I had heard a loud voice, he was talking on his cell phone. Seconds later another cowboy appeared walking up behind the fella on the white horse.  Had I not had my telephoto lens I probably would not have noticed the 2nd guy.  Then another cowboy appeared from the right. 

FIRST HEARD A VOICE COMING FROM THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HILL

A REAL LIVE COWBOY APPEARS & NO RUSS THAT’S NOT HOPPY UP THERE ON THAT WHITE HORSE

THIS MODERN COWBOY IS ON HIS CELL PHONE

A SECOND COWBOY APPEARS FROM THE LEFT

AND THEN A 3RD COWBOY

While this was going on I could hear cattle close by to my left somewhere so wondered if maybe these fellas were Ranchers out checking on their free range cattle.  Thought also occurred to me they could be hunters but for some reason I didn’t think so.  Quickly checking behind me I knew they couldn’t see me from their higher angle as I was standing in the dark shade of a Palo Verde tree.  Then I saw a third & forth cowboy & by this time I could hear voices & laughter drifting across the mornings still desert air.

MAYBE THE BOYS WERE TAKING A BREAK

I FIGURE THE FELLA ON THE PHONE HAS CALLED SOMEONE ASKING FOR DIRECTIONS WHILE THE FELLA SITTING WITH HIS HEAD DOWN IS THINKING, “AWW GEEZZ LEFTY YA REALLY GOT US LOST THIS TIME”

ALTOGETHER I COUNTED 4 COWBOYS

We have seen hunters up on this hill before & because there could be a chance that’s what these Cowboys could be I decided to just ease off back into the Mesquite & make our way back around the other side of the hill out of sight.  Didn’t want to take a chance moving through the brush any further in the direction we were going because I know hunter’s with binoculars sit up on this hill with high powered rifles & pick off deer on the valley floor below.

ALWAYS SEEMS TO BE SOMETHING BLOOMING IN THE SONORAN DESERT

YOU DON’T SUPPOSE THIS SAGUARO IS GIVING ME THE FINGER DO YOU…PALO VERDE TREE ON RIGHT

Decided to climb a bit higher on the hill for a better view as we made our way around in a westerly direction.   Wasn’t long & I heard voices again.  Easing ahead I caught sight of the same fellas but this time I could see a couple brown horses as well.  The Cowboys still a long way off were standing with their backs to us & I realized then that we had inadvertently outflanked them.  Again Pheebs & I turned around & this time headed back down the hill to the Jeep.  And that was the last we saw of the Cowboys & their horses atop Saguaro Hill.  Ten minutes later we were back home & it wasn’t quite 11 a.m. yet.

WE OUTFLANKED THE COWBOYS

I FIGURE THIS FELLA IS EITHER DIALING A NUMBER ON HIS CELL PHONE, LOADING HIS 6 SHOOTER OR ROLLING A SMOKE >>>>>>>

I’m still sleeping in my recliner every night.  Did try my totally comfortable bed for 2 nights after we arrived in Congress nearly a month ago but although I did not have any Vertigo problems I just tossed & turned from side to side & that does not make for a good night’s sleep.  In my recliner I can’t toss & turn so I’m actually sleeping much better.  I always figured if I could get a better night’s sleep I wouldn’t end up being so cranky during the day.  Well I’m here to tell ya that theory went right out the window.  Although I’m sleeping much better I’m still as grouchy as ever:((  If they ever make a movie entitled, ‘Grouchy Old Men’ I’m gonna audition for the part!!

THAT’S LIBBY TUCKED AWAY IN THE DESERT GREENERY BOTTOM RIGHT & AGAIN OUR HOUSE IS SOMEWHERE NEAR THAT COPSE OF TREES ABOVE CENTER

And just a wee word of thanks to everyone again for hanging in there over the years & giving me the motivation most every day to enjoy my hobbies of travel, photography, & writing.  And also for just being darn good listeners:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( There was once a snail who was sick and tired of his reputation for being so slow. He decided to get some fast wheels to make up the difference. After shopping around a while, he decided that the Datson 240-Z was the car to get. So the snail goes to the nearest Datsun dealer and says he wants to buy the 240-Z, but he wants it repainted "240-S".   The dealer asks, "Why 'S'?"  The snail replies, "'S' stands for snail. I want everybody who sees me roaring past to know who's driving."  Well, the dealer doesn't want to lose the unique opportunity to sell a car to a snail, so he agrees to have the car repainted for a small fee.  The snail gets his new car and spent the rest of his days roaring happily down the highway at top speed. And whenever anyone would see him zooming by, they'd say "Wow! Look at that S-car go!"

I WONDER IF IT’S A BIT OF AGING GOING ON

ONLY MANAGED TO GRAB A FEW OUTSIDE HOUSE PHOTOS THIS MORNING BEFORE THE CLOUD COVER THICKENED

Kelly had a grocery list started this morning so combined with my shorter list we decided a cloudy cool morning would be fine for a run to Wickenburg’s Safeway.  As mentioned before it’s nice having the extra room in the Liberty to take Pheebs with us when we go shopping.  And no Pheebs did not turn on the 4 way flashers this time.  She’s a good girl:))

Upon leaving Safeway we noticed the Bank Of America building across from Safeway is now for sale & they have moved the ATM machine kitty-corner across the intersection to beside the Laundromat.  Thought I’d mention that just in case any traveling RV folks who deal with the Bank Of America show up in Wickenburg looking for the ATM machine.

Think our temps hovered around in the upper 40’s today & with very little sun & a slight breeze I could not get myself enthused about hanging around outside.  Weather’s looking better for the coming week with lots of sunny days & warmer temps.  Cold air just doesn’t work for me so good anymore.  Our cloud cover did finally blow away early afternoon but the windy air still remained cold.

WE DO LIKE THESE ALOE VERA TYPE PLANTS THAT ARE DOING WELL ON THE PROPERTY >>>>>>>.

Probably nobody out here has ever heard of Beryl Markham & I didn’t either until browsing through Amazon’s free Kindle books.  I was stopped by a book cover showing an old pair of aviator goggles.  Well aviator goggles are generally associated with aircraft & the fact the goggles had a 1920’s look about them my attention was immediately snagged.  The books title was West With The Night.  I read a few excellent reviews with one of them saying a biography about the life & times of Beryl Markham by Mary S Lovell & entitled Straight On Till Morning  was also a ‘must read.’  Although not free I did download both books & have started first with Beryl Markhams biography.  Love these types of true & inspiring adventure stories with the added bonus of always picking up a bit of additional historic knowledge as well.  And besides I did like the 2 book titles.  Biographies & documentaries of this type are my kind of TV watching too.

Not sure why but so far since arriving in Congress nearly a month ago neither one of us has had the strong urge to jump into the Motorhome & take off for some of our usual favorite boon-docking spots.  Even places we haven’t been to are not beckoning.  It’s almost as if we are too comfortable in the house this year.  I noticed even this past summer I wasn’t chomping at the bit to head south as much as previous summers.  That sure is a huge change from the last bunch of years we have been RVing.  I can’t help but wonder if it’s a bit of age beginning to make itself felt.  I have been aware for awhile of some subtle changes occurring within.  I did touch on a few of those thought process changes a couple months ago as I recall…………………….

GROANER’S CORNER:((  For two solid hours, the lady sitting next to a man on an airplane had told him about her grandchildren. She had even produced a plastic-foldout photo album of all nine of the children.  She finally realized that she had dominated the entire conversation on her grandchildren.
"Oh, I've done all the talking, and I'm so sorry. I know you certainly have something to say. Please, tell me... what do you think of my grandchildren?"

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- 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.