BYE BYE TO ‘OUR AWESOME TRAVELS’ PEOPLE & KELLY HITS A GARAGE SALE

A couple pieces of cold left over Pizza got my day started off on the right foot.  Had I not picked off all the black olives my day might have started off on my left foot.

SUZIE SAYS GOOD-BYE TO PHEEBS

George & Suzie from Our Awesome Travels had things packed up by 9 under clear sunny skies.  Luckily our cloud cover had moved out overnight.  Kelly had skipped off to a garage sale in the Weaver Estates & upon her return said I had to go back with her to pick up a large oak cask barrel so while we did that George & Suzie hooked up their rig.  We were soon back & it was time to say good-bye.  The ‘Awesome Travel’ folks rolled out our south gate around 9:45 a.m.

THEY’VE GOT THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING

BIG WAVE

It was nice having George & Suzie here for a few days & we enjoyed showing them around the area.  Always nice when common interests come together for the enjoyment of all involved & I do like it when people express an interest in seeing & doing things.  Always gives me a good feeling when I’m able to show people around whether it be here in Congress or back home in Bayfield.  Sure beats just sitting around talking all the time.  Well at least for me it does.  And how nice it was to get to know Suzie better these past few days.  Quite often with Bloggers it is the blog writer who people come to know but not the spouse of the writer & it was nice getting to know Suzie better.  Besides, she’s the one who gave me the cookies.  Oh & a slight correction about those best ever short bread cookies.  They didn’t have icing on them like I said.  I thought they did but Kelly brought one of the cookies out of hiding & showed me……nope, no icing.  She then returned the cookie to it’s hiding place.

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ADIOS AMIGOS & SAFE TRAVELS:))

Kelly had scored some bargoons at the garage sale this morning so after George & Suzie left it was time to unload the Jeep.  We had gone back to the Weaver Estates earlier to load up the big free wooden barrel which the folks had had for the past 40 years living in Montana.  When leaving the garage sale we spied a trailer at another house with a load of brush for the dump.  In the corner of that trailer sat a large pot with an Agave in it so we stopped & asked if we could have it.  Yep we could.  Well Wow was that potted Agave ever super heavy.  I’m guessing easily 80 pounds plus.  Quite a job carrying that to the Jeep.

Back home I managed to roll the Agave out into our wheelbarrow.  The rickety wooden barrel came out next.  Using a 2 wheel cart I managed to place the barrel in one of our cactus beds in front of the house.  The Agave took a lot more work as I had to dig a hole then cut it out of it’s big plastic pot.  Quite a job but I somehow managed to get it planted without skewering myself with one of the needle pointed tips.  I think it was the heaviest small plant I have ever wrestled with.  Sure had me sweating before I was done.

  

MANEUVERING THE BIG WOODEN BARREL INTO PLACE

AWWW NUTS LOOKS LIKE I GOTTA DIG THE HOLE A BIT DEEPER

Below are photos of Kelly’s haul at the garage sale this morning.  Keep in mind she got all this stuff for $10:))

THE OLD WOODEN BARREL & THE METAL CHICKEN ORNAMENT IN FRONT OF THE BARREL

THIS ROADRUNNER/ SAGUARO ORNAMENT WHICH KELLY MIGHT PAINT ‘BAYFIELD BUNCH’ ON THE WOOD PART

TWO METAL BUCKETS WHICH WE’LL FILL WITH DIRT & PUT SOME SMALL CACTUS PLANTS IN

PILLOW CASES, SHAMS, & QUILT ALL FROM MONTANA (YEP, GUESS WE’RE KEEPING THE HOUSE ALRIGHT)

Not often I fall asleep in the afternoon but I’ll be darned if I didn’t do that today.  Sat down & switched on the TV to briefly check the latest level of madness in this deteriorating world & fell asleep.  I sometimes doze a bit in the P.M. but falling totally asleep usually doesn’t happen.  Had the worst dream & figure that’s because CNN was on feeding my subconscious with all the daily doom & gloom.

An email from our absentee Canadian neighbor who owns the house & property behind us asking if I would have a look at his place to see if it needs some cleaning up.  It does so I will start that little project probably Monday.  It was a good thing I did a big clean-up for him last year & the year before or his property would be overgrown by now.  It’s a nice quiet peaceful property so I don’t mind working away by myself helping him out.  The key to that quiet & peaceful is working by myself & that is why I don’t mind working away at my own relaxed pace…………..Oh, & we did touch on the subject of an upcoming side trip in the Big EEE soon.  No details yet but we’ll see what shakes out this coming week:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( I was coming back from visiting my son in my Miami and I stopped at a rest stop to use the bathroom. I just sat down on the throne when I heard a voice coming from the stall next to mine, “Hey! How’s it going?” Although I was quite surprised, and I wasn’t in the habit of conversing to the people next to me in the stall, I nevertheless answered him, “I’m fine” I said “thanks for asking.”  “What are you doing?” Asked the same voice. To be honest I was a bit taken aback by the brazenness of this person, but I would never ignore anyone so I calmly answered, “I’m relieving myself.”  Then I heard the same voice again, “I’m going to have to call you back, some smart-aleck in the next stall is answering all of my questions.”

HOUSE ROCK, CEMETERIES, CONGRESS DEPOT & PIZZA:))

Despite a high thin cloud cover & slightly cooler temps we were all back into the Jeep this morning & off out into the desert.  A favorite walking area around House/Indian rock was our destination.  Winding around on a narrow hard packed sandy Jeep road we made our way through clumps of Mesquite, Palo Verde, & Creosote bushes.  Twenty minutes later we were standing in the shadow of House rock.

CHECKING OUT SOME MORTEROS & PETROGLYPHS 

A few photos around the big boulder then headed off walking south through a bunch of various cactus plants including Prickly Pear, Hedgehog, & tall Saguaros.  Made our way through a scattering of large boulders & Ocotillo plants.  The scenery here just goes on for miles out over the desert floor with mountains ringing all horizons.  Backed by a mountainous hillside of ancient boulders we were careful of the many cactus barbs ready to stick an unsuspecting hiker.  Long pants & good foot gear are a must in these types of terrain.  But oh the beautiful desert landscape…………

LOOKS LIKE GEORGE HAS GOT SUZIE LOOKING FOR THOSE GOLD NUGGETS NOW AS WELL

THIS IS FREE RANGE CATTLE LAND SO ONE MUST BE EVER VIGILANTE FOR COWS ON THE ROAD

THIS MOM HAS GOT SOME LITTLE CUTSIE PATOOTSIE’S WITH HER

From House Rock we made our way back through the green Sonoran desert to Congress a short distance away & headed out to the end of Ghost Town Road for a look at the 2 old cemeteries located on the old town site of Congress.  A wee walk around in the older Pioneer cemetery then a drive down around the old Congress Gold Mine site.  From there it was a short drive through a small cluster of dusty desert houses near the mine & back home again.  It was 11:30 & all agreed to meet up again at the Jeep for a short drive to the Congress Depot/Mercantile at 1 o’clock.

NICE DAY FOR A STROLL THROUGH AN OLD CEMETERY

AND THESE 2 ARE JUST A STROLLIN ALRIGHT

Cloud cover had thickened & a cool wind had picked up by the time we all set out again.  The Congress Depot Mercantile is less than 5 minutes from our house so we weren’t long getting there.  Lots of neat-o stuff in this place.  The big wooden building was once the original Congress train station & has now been transformed into an artsy kind of place with lots of great stuff for sale.  We bought a few pieces of furniture for our house here & Kelly has outfitted herself with some groovy western ware.  They now have a quaint little snack bar restaurant & are building a small western village on the property.  This is the place we get our yummy Pizzas from.  (More about that later:))  The owners Judy & Jerry are very, very, busy people.  They also have some snugly critters out back which will be part of a petting zoo when they get things up & running.  With the cool wind still blowing we were back home again by two & three hours later Kelly was back at the Congress Depot/Mercantile.  Hmmm, had she forgot something??

THE CONGRESS DEPOT

LOTS OF GREAT WESTERN STUFF HERE

 

ATTEMPTING A SELFIE IN A LARGE OVAL MIRROR

COZY LITTLE RESTAURANT

IT WAS A COOL WINDY DAY FOR A MEETING OF THE MINDS

Nope she didn’t forget anything at the Congress Depot……….she was back there picking up a big Pizza for supper & minutes after she got back we are all gathered around our kitchen table squabbling like a bunch of Sea Gulls fighting over a French Fry to see who was going to get the biggest piece.  Now you really don’t think we did that do you:))  Again, another yummy Pizza from the Congress Depot.

Had ourselves another ‘around the table’ chin wag sometimes touching on RVing & sometimes other things.  Always something new to know & something old to remember.  George & Suzie will be rolling out for Quartzsite Arizona in the morning & depending on our side trip travel plans over the next 4 months our paths may or may not cross again this season but that is the way of the RVing lifestyle with everyone on the move.  I am thinking though that we will meet up again probably in late January for Bloggerfest 2016.  George & Jan are busy organizing this year’s event & an announcement will be made about all that before too long.  

PHEEBS HAD HER LITTLE SAD FACE ON WHEN WE LEFT FOR THE CONGRESS DEPOT THIS AFTERNOON

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Tom’s wife was hosting a dinner party for some of her close friends, at their summer home. Moment’s before the guests were scheduled to arrive, she asked Tom if he would be ever so gracious to walk a block down to the beach to pick up some fresh snails for the party. On his way to the beach he passed the local bar, and figured he’d stop in for a quick drink before heading down to the beach to search for the snails.  One drink lead to the next, and before he knew it, it was 5:00 in the morning and he hadn’t gotten his wife those snails.  Quickly he hurried down to the beach, picked up a few snails, rushed home, and stumbled up the front steps, dropping the snails.  At that moment, his wife angrily opened the door asking him where he had been and how he had ruined her party.  Tom, looked towards the snails and said “C’mon you slow pokes! Just a few more steps and we’re there!”