THE WICKENBURG MASSACRE SITE & A BIT OF A NAIL BITER AS WE DRIVE FOR MILES IN A DESERT SAND TRAP

WEDNESDAY NIGHT WE ATE SUPPER BY CANDLELIGHT

Kelly & I have remarked several times how fortunate it was Leslie & Peter decided to come this week with Arizona’s sunny skies & warming temperatures instead of last week’s cold dark rainy days.

Under another big bright sunny Arizona sky we were all piled into the Jeep once again including Pheebs riding shotgun in the back.  As the crow flies I’d say the Wickenburg Massacre site is maybe less than 10 miles from our house but to get there we had to head south down into Wickenburg on highway 93 then cut over on Vulture Mine Road to higway 60 & hook back north again before turning east into the desert.  Probably about 20 miles to get to the site by Jeep wheels.  I figured we would come back the same was but as it turns out we didn’t.

I FORGOT TO TAKE A FEW PHOTOS OF THE MUD HOLE WE HAD TO PLOW THROUGH BUT HERE’S OUR TIRES

The difficult to find Jeep road from highway 60 between mile markers 101 & 102 weaves it’s way for miles through countless Creosote & Mesquite scrub.  Just before we reached an old tumble down ranch we did come across a rather short stretch of dubious road.  Last week’s rain had pooled in one spot turning the road into a quagmire for maybe 50 feet or so.  Deep ruts of mud & water.  I figured no point in even stopping to talk about it so we just barrelled right into the slippery oozing mud & grunted our way through it & right out the other side.  Had we not had 4-wheel drive we would have still been there tonight trying to dig ourselves out.

Minutes later we stopped for a leg stretch & a look around at the old derelict ranch Kelly & I had stopped at once before.  Always a few mysteries in the desert & this area had a few of it’s own.  We walked around looking at all the old timbers, a bullet ridden water tank & another tank surrounded by fencing with razor wire around the top.  Also checked out some large cattle pens.  Twenty minutes later we were back in the Jeep & headed further out into the desert scrub.  I knew the massacre site was not far as we made our way through another steep narrow mud pit which led uphill along a narrow rocky ridge.  Fortunately we knew exactly where to go as we followed a turn off down through & along a dry river bed to where the trail led up out of the wash to the massacre site about a hundred yards away.  Now rather than talk about what happened here or show you the grave sites etc I’ll just direct you to the post I wrote last time Kelly & were here on Thursday February 27th 2014………This Morning We Searched For & Found The Wickenburg Massacre Site.  In this post I have links to sites regarding what did or didn’t happen here back on November 5th 1871.

LOOKING AT THE RUINS OF AN OLD FALLEN DOWN RANCH HOUSE

OUR CHIEF SCOUT CHECKS THE TRAIL AHEAD

CHECKING OUT AN OLD CORRAL BELOW

  

A JUMBLE OF CORRAL BOARDS

We probably spent about 25 minutes or so at the site looking around before deciding to move on but now we had a choice to make.  We could turn around & go back the long way we had just come or we could take a chance on another route that we thought might lead us back to highway 60 a lot quicker.  Well, we never did make it back to highway 60 the way I thought we might.  Instead shortly after we left the site heading south the road dropped down into a very sandy wash & little did we know how long we were about to spend traveling in that dry river bed.

AT THE WICKENBURG MASSACRE SITE READING THE 1871 RULES FOR RIDING IN A STAGE COACH

ON THE ROAD BEHIND PETER IS WHERE THE STAGECOACH WAS AMBUSHED

VIEWPOINT FROM THE AREA WHERE THE SHOOTERS WOULD HAVE BEEN

KELLY READING ONE OF THE MARKERS WITH WICKENBURG BEING OFF TO THE UPPER RIGHT & THAT IS THE DIRECTION WE HEADED WHEN WE LEFT

PETER & LESLIE AT ONE OF THE GRAVE SITES

LESLIE POINTS IN THE DIRECTION THE SHOOTERS WERE

Again had we not had 4-wheel drive we certainly would have not driven far before we would have been stuck up to the axles in soft sand.  As it was I could feel the sand slowing us down as Libby kind of sashayed herself with all 4 wheels pulling & pushing to the best of her ability.  It was a true test for her as I had never had the Liberty into any length of soft sand before.  Little did we know we had about 6 or 7 miles of sand driving ahead of us.  Didn’t know where we were or where we would end up except I knew we were heading south in the general direction of Wickenburg.  Thought occured to me a couple times about turning back but that presented it’s own problems.   We had momentum going for us & I did not want to stop & try turning around.  That’s how people get bogged down in sand.

THIS SANDY WASH TOOK US ALL THE WAY TO WICKENBURG

I don’t know how long we made our way along that wash but I did notice we were steadily descending a slight sloping grade for much of the way.  About the time we thought we may very well end up deep into Mexico somewhere we came up behind 3 lady riders on horseback.  I slowed down just enough to keep our wheels moving & gliding by slowly asked the ladies where we were & was it possible for us to get out of this wash alive.  Asking how much farther to civilization they said about a mile or so.  Don’t stop just keep going they said.  Thanks ladies & about a half mile further along we stopped.

CAME ACROSS THESE 3 GALS ON HORSEBACK HEADING SOUTH

The wash was very wide at this point & we had sorta lost the trail of tire tracks we had been following plus there was a low slung railroad bridge ahead of us.  I saw what looked like a small stretch of hard gravel so I pulled over onto that & shut er down.  It was time to get out & have us a look around to see if we could figure out where the river bed trail was.  Peter headed off over to the right embankment where we saw a narrow road steeply climbing out of the wash.  I walked ahead to have a look under the railway bridge & yup there were tire tracks leading through there.  Not what I would call a great overhead clearance but figured we would be OK with the Jeep.  By this time the horse riders had caught up with us & with a few passing words of needed encouragement they said again for us to keep right on going. 

WITH A RAILROAD BRIDGE AHEAD OF US AT THIS POINT WE HAD SORT OF LOST THE TRAIL

And keep on going is what we did because while stopped near the railroad bridge we had noticed something a bit disconcerting.  We were being watched!!

I FIGURED THE SPOT WE WERE IN WAS WHERE PEOPLE OFTEN GOT THEMSELVES STUCK & THIS BUZZARD GANG KNEW THAT & WERE JUST WAITING FOR US TO WEAR OURSELVES OUT:((

THERE SURE WAS ONE BIG BATCH OF BUZZARDS HERE

AFTER WATCHING OUR CONFUSEMENT FOR AWHILE I HAD A FEELING THIS FELLOW FLEW OFF TO INVITE SOME OF HIS FRIENDS OVER FOR LUNCH

<<< AND THIS GUY EVEN HAD THE GALL TO FLASH ME WHEN I WALKED BY!!

Peter instinctively ducked his head as we rolled under the railroad bridge & it wasn’t long before we began seeing houses atop the steep river bank on our left.  I think we all breathed a sigh of relief but we were still not out of the dry washes sandy grip yet & we still did not see any exit out of the wash.  That is until all of a sudden we saw a car cross our path about a quarter mile ahead then another & another.  We soon reached a paved road running right across the wash.  I stopped & almost instantly recognized where we were.  This was Vulture Mine Road between highway 93 & highway 60.  We had come out right beside the railway tracks & this was a piece of road we were very familiar with.  From Congress this was the way we go to Safeway for groceries & I knew Safeway (where we were headed for anyway) was just a mile to our right.  I think we all had relieved smiles on our faces including Pheebs.  I think even my grumpy looking face actually cracked a wee smile as well.

AS LONG AS WE KEPT MOVING TODAY & HAD TIRE TRACKS TO FOLLOW WE DIDN’T FEEL QUITE AS LOST AS WE COULD HAVE THOUGHT WE WERE

Before heading into Safeway we decided to grab a bite to eat at another place Kelly had heard good things about.  On highway 60 from the Safeway intersection we headed south towards downtown Wickenburg.  It was only about a mile before we made a right hand turn into The Pie Cabinet & Coffee Bar.  Well I liked the looks & yummy baking smells of this place right off the bat.  We weren’t long in ordering us up some grub & a big thanks to Leslie & Peter for buying us lunch for the second day in a row.  Liked the inside ambience of this place & we were soon seated at a big round table.  Kelly & I split a really tasty Roast Beef & Panini sandwich with Leslie & Peter splitting an equally tasty Hawiian Panini sandwich.  Don’t let the word Panini scare ya Mike it just means the toasted type of bread used.  They have BLT’s here as well as breakfasts etc.  Kelly & I split a coffee & everybody had a delicious slice of pie.  Lemon Merangue for me. 

HERE WE ARE AT THE PIE CABINET

ORDERING UP OUR SAMMICHES

THIS WOULD BE OUR TABLE

I TOOK A FANCY TO THIS COWBOY LAMP

SOME NEAT OLD STUFF IN HERE

 

LESLIE & KELLY ARE SURE EYEING UP THAT ROAST BEEF PANINI SANDWICH……AND IT WAS AS GOOD AS IT LOOKS TOO

A quick stop at Safeway for a few items forgot the previous day & we were soon on the road headed for Congress.  It was shortly before 2 that we rolled through our gates.  It had been another great & rather adventuress day trip & it’s those kinds of days that I like best.  Something new to see, somewhere new to go & some new concerns along the way to put a bit of an edge on one’s fear factor that they may get stuck out in the middle of nowhere at any moment.  Must say a few times today in that wash I had visions of us having to gather wood to put under our tires to try & dig ourselves out of what seemed a never ending sand trap.  Thanks Libby you showed your true merit today:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A Cowboy’s Guide To Life::

- Never squat with yer spurs on.
- There's two theories to arguin' with a woman; neither one works.
- Don't worry about bitin' off more than you can chew, your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.
- If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
- Never smack a man who's chewin' tobacco.
- It don't take a genius to spot a goat in a flock of sheep.
- Never ask a barber if he thinks you need a haircut.
- Good judgment comes from experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
- Always drink upstream from the herd.
- If you're ridin' ahead of the herd, take a look back every now and then to make sure it's still there.
- Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier 'n puttin' it back in.
- Finally, never miss a good chance to shut up.

TWO BACK TO BACK SCARY PHONE CALLS & WHAT COULD 1 ‘LOCAL’ PLUS 2 ‘GOBBLERS’ HAVE TO DO WITH ‘PORKY’S NIGHTMARE’

With nothing or nobody to wake me up in the morning out here in the rig I sure have been sleeping in these past couple days.  It was 10 after 6 before I woke up thinking oh-no the day’s already half over.  Took me another 3 hours to get myself mobile enough to head outside & fill up the bird feeder.  Some days just seem to get off to a slower start than others.

PETER HOPS OUT & TAKES A PHOTO OF US BEFORE WE DESCEND DOWN INTO THE HASSAYAMPA RIVER VALLEY…WICKENBURG IS WAY IN THE BACKGROUND

A day trip plan came together to head off for Wickenburg via the scenic back road route that Pheebs & I often travel so we were all piled into the Liberty & on our way sometime before 10.  Just past the big Spurs round-a-bout we made a left turn into the desert on Scenic Loop road.  Always so nice to get out of that highway traffic & head off on some dusty Jeep roads where one doesn’t have to meet another single vehicle coming or going for miles at a time.  And so it was as we slowly made our way along enjoying the great Sonoran Desert scenery.  Lots of big Saguaros & prickly Teddy Bear Chollas.

STOPPED FOR A LEG STRETCH & A LOOK AROUND

THIS IS A POPULAR HORSE RIDING AREA WHERE THESE FOLKS ARE BOON-DOCKED…IN THIS TRAILER THE HORSES LIVE IN THE BACK & THE COWBOY FOLKS LIVE IN THE FRONT

On our way into Wickenburg we took a drive through a popular boondocking spot across from the rodeo grounds.  Wandering Willy has been known to hole up here from time to time.  Lot of folks there with their bus conversions today. 

Peter’s cell phone rang while we were poking along looking at the buses & it was Kelly & Peter’s sister Kathy calling from Spencerport NY.   Kelly’s Mother had not been well these past few days & I think everybody’s heart stopped for a few seconds.  Fortunately it was regarding a different matter & everyone breathed a big sigh of relief.  We didn’t know half an hour later we would have a second such phone call scare but this time it would come from an entirely different source.

KATHY, THIS IS WHERE WE PARKED WHEN YOU CALLED TODAY…PETER’S IN THE FRONT SEAT TALKING TO YOU

Heading further into Wickenburg Kelly knew of a recently opened sandwich shop called The Local Press Sandwich Bar so we headed there straight away.  Kelly had heard good things about this place so we weren’t long in ordering us up some lunch.  Leslie & I each had a sandwich called a ‘Gobbler’ which consisted of Roast Turkey, Bacon, Apples, Brie Cheese, & Honey Mustard Dressing on Sourdough.  Really good & very tasty.  Kelly had a ‘Porky’s Nightmare’ which had Capicola, Pit Ham, Swiss Cheese, & Pickels on a Hoagy Roll while Peter had ‘The Local’ with Chicken Breast, Munster Cheese, Pickled Jalapenos, Bacon Honey/Chipotle, on Cibatta.  Only way I remembered all this was due to the fact Kelly brought a menu home with her & hey you can even get a ‘Blazing Saddles’ sandwich here.  Might want to eat that one outside though.  Kelly, Peter & Leslie also had a Curry salad to go along with their sandwichs.  Nope, I was going to touch that stuff!!   ‘The Local Press’ is a small building so a lot of their business is take-out & that’s what we did.  Took our sandwiches outside to a nice warm table in the sun beside some nice green patches of real grass.  Wow how nice was that.  We Northerners always love our green green grass of home.  While waiting for our sandwiches to be brought out Kelly’s cell phone rang & like the previous telephone call half an hour earlier……… it gave us an immediate scare.

 

LIKE THE WAY THEY DID THEIR MENU HERE

LOTS OF BIG DECISION MAKING GOING ON WHILE READING THE MENU

MY POST’S LAST PHOTO TODAY WAS TAKEN FROM THIS WALL IN ‘THE LOCAL PRESS’

Kelly quickly rummaged through her purse & finally found the ringing phone.  When she answered it I heard her say a name….David Steinman.  “Oh-No” I thought, something has happened to Aunt Jean in Sarasota Florida.  Hadn’t seen or talked to my cousin David since we lived at the Weenie Roast Ranch near Fullarton Ontario back in the late nineties.  David lives in Bradenton Florida & also being related to Jean I thought for sure something had happened.  Turns out David just needed Jeans new phone number which had disappeared from his cell phone.  Whewwwww.  Nice to have a short chat with David though.  A short chat??  Well as I was talking to David our heated sandwiches arrived at the table & I was a-feared the 3 Desperados I was with might make off with my hot Gobbler if I wasn’t back to the table right quick.  Out here in these parts folks do weird things when it comes to either gold or food!!

KELLY TALKING TO DAVID & BELOW I AM TALKING TO DAVID….A RARE PHOTO INDEED OF AL ON A CELL PHONE

Leslie & Kelly browsed one Wickenburg shop before we headed for Safeway to pick up a few groceries.  We were back to Congress sometime before 2 with everyone quickly heading for their favorite resting spots.

NEVER MIND THE PEOPLE, JUST LOOK AT ALL THAT LOVELY GREEN GRASS:))

WE ALL LIKED OUR SANDWICHES……ESPECIALLY LESLIE:))

YEP THAT’S OLD GRUMPY FACE HIMSELF

WHEN YOU REACH THE CORNER OF APACHE & TEGNER STREETS IN WICKENBURG JUST HEAD ON DOWN PAST THIS LADY TO ‘THE LOCAL PRESS’

SPOTTED THIS OLD DUSTER IN THE SAFEWAY PARKING LOT & THE OLDER FELLER DRIVING IT TOLD KELLY HE HAS OVER 600,000 MILES ON IT

Heard a diesel engine running out by our front gate shortly after we arrived home & by the time I looked out from the rig Kelly was walking back from the UPS truck with a big box under her arm.  Ever since sending her new Lenova laptop back a bunch of weeks ago she has been on-line researching other laptops reading a lot of reviews etc.  Late last week she made a decision & today her new Asus Zen Notebook arrived.  She ordered it direct from Microsoft so it came with no bloatware like McAfee etc.  I remember it taking her a couple of frustrating days to set up that Lenova & today she had the Asus up & running in a matter of minutes.  So far she is very pleased with it.  Windows 10.

THERE GOES OUR HAPPY LITTLE COMPUTER PERSON NOW HEADING INTO THE HOUSE WITH HER NEW ASUS ZEN NOTEBOOK STILL IN IT’S BOX

I think in the morning we may be headed off to find the Wickenburg Massacre site.  Pheebs will be able to come with us this time & I’m sure she will be glad to not stay home like she did this morning.  Poor little Weeniekins……………..

AND THIS IS HOW ONE CROSSED THE HASSAYAMPA RIVER IN WICKENBURG A LONG TIME AGO

GROANER’S CORNER:(( How Do You Tell A Canadian From An American::

It used to be enough to ask him to say the alphabet. When the Canadian got to the end, he'd say "zed" instead of "zee". But 18 years of Sesame Street have taught a lot of Canadian kids to say "zee," and it's starting to sound as natural as it does south of the 49th parallel.

Another test used to be the word "lieutenant". Canadians pronounced it in the British was, "leftenant", while Americans say "lootenant". But American cop shows and army shows and movies have eroded that difference, too.

Canadians have been adopting American spelling as well. They used to put a "u" in words like labour & colour. The main organization in the country, the equivalent of the AFL-CIO, is still officially called the Canadian Labour Congress. But news organizations have been wiping out that distinction by adopting American spelling, mostly to make it easier to use news copy from such agencies as Associated Press without a lot of changes. So it's "Canadian Labor Congress" when the Canadian Press, the national news agency, writes about it.

Some pronunciations, considered true tests of Canadians, are not as reliable as they're thought. Take the word "house" for example. When some Canadians say it, it sounds very Scottish in American ears. Visiting Americans trying to reproduce what they hear usually give the Canadian pronunciation as "hoose".

The same for "out" and "about". The way some Canadians say them sounds like "oot" and "aboot" to many Americans. And when an American says "house" to a Canadian, the Canadian often hears a bit of an "ay" in it, something like "hayouse".

But pronunctiaiton isn't a good test because people from different parts of Canada speak differently. A resident of the Western province of Alberta, where there has been a considerable inflow of settlers from the United States, may sound like a Montanan or a Dakotan.

Then there's the ubiquitous Canadian expression "eh?" - pronounced "ay?" This is a better test because many Canadians tack it on to the end of every assertion to turn it into a question……..Now you know:))

EVEN I GET TIRED OF MY SAME OLD WORDS & PHOTOS SOMETIMES

Despite it being clear & cold Pheebs & I spent a fine first night in the rig.  Our friend Sarge had lent us one of those plug in radiator type oil heaters last winter & with that quiet heat source in the rig we were quite toasty.  Needless to say we are plugged into electricity.  Nice not having to run the rig’s propane fired furnace.  We do have a Legacy Blue Flame heater which is my fav but we don’t have it hooked up.

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Big bright sunny day with temps slowly coming up so I don’t have a lot of weather complaining to do for a change.  Turned out to be a quiet day around our little ranch.  Leslie & Peter were needing a relaxing day after a long day’s travel on Monday so they caught up on some reading etc.

Of course Pheebs & I weren’t too keen on sitting around so off we went later in the morning.  Again not knowing which direction we wanted to go I simply asked my stomach for any suggestions.  Stomach came back requesting some sweet onion sauce & of course the only place I knew where to get that was Subway in Wickenburg.  Less than half an hour later Pheebs & were sitting in Subway’s parking lot munching down a 6” Tuna Sub with sweet onion sauce on it:))

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From there it was our usual scenic slow drive out Constellation Road to Blue Tank, Rincon, & Scenic Loop Road.   Just a nice day for a drive & I hardly took any photos.  Three to be exact.  It’s just that traveling the same roads around here my photos have become repetitious as well as my descriptions of where we are, what we are seeing, & what we are doing.  Even I get tired of the same old words & photos every day so that’s about all I can say about that except for supper tonight we all decided on a Pizza from the Congress Depot.  Yummy as usual…………… Lights out…zzzzzzzzz

A TOUCH OF SNOW LEFT IN THE DISTANT WICKENBURG MOUNTAINS

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Eye Halve a Spelling Chequer::

Eye halve a spelling chequer
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.

Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.

 
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
Its rarely ever wrong.

Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect in it's weigh
My chequer tolled me sew.

-- Sorce unknown