SNOW IN PEEPLES VALLEY & AN ENJOYABLY MEANINGFUL CHAT WITH A CHARMING LIKE MINDED BLOG READER:))

SEEN IN YARNELL ARIZONA THIS MORNING

Despite a brisk icy cold north wind a-blowin I was happy to see a sharply clear sky full of twinkling stars early this morning.  Not a cloud in sight.  Had ourselves a big bright sunny day headed our way & the long range forecast is predicting temperatures to be in the mid 70’s a week from now.  Yes indeed a welcome sun filled warming trend headed our way:))

With our birdbath water froze I figured there might be some higher altitude snow up in the Weaver Mountains so without further ado I loaded up the little Spoogers & off we went up the big hill into the Weavers looking for some photos.  And some snowy photos we did find.

Cruised through Yarnell & around a few back streets looking for any photo opportunities.  I’d say there was maybe an inch or two on the ground which spread out across the valley floor & up the surrounding mountain sides.

A BUSY YARNELL SIDEWALK

Heading north on highway 89 from Yarnell up through the Peeples Valley we found us a couple nice Jeep roads heading off to the west.  Ruger Ranch Road led us in about 3 miles before ending at a locked electronic gate.  Could see maybe 3 ranches spread out in the hills ahead.  Noticed a lot of Manzanitta shrubs & trees dotting the landscape & could see the far off Sierra Prieta Mountains way over around Prescott with a light dusting of snow on them as well.

PRESCOTT ARIZONA LIES OVER THERE IN THOSE MOUNTAINS

SPOTTED THIS HAWK SITTING IN A NEARBY SNOW COVERED FIELD

Sorrells Road another well maintained dirt road in the Peeples Valley led about 5 miles in off the highway before it also dead ended at a ranch.  But no matter it was scenic drive all the way in & all the way back out again with the snow along the way adding a nice Christmasy touch to the sweeping landscape.  Although icy cold winds ripped at us everytime we stopped for a leg stretch or a couple photos it was always toasty warm in the Jeep with the sun beaming in the windows.  Poking along slow with the heater on as well we were also able to have both front windows down.  Pheebs likes to get her snout out & for me taking photos as we drive along it saves me putting the windows down & up all the time.

NICE MORNING FOR A SLEIGH RIDE THROUGH THE SNOWY COLD SCENIC COUNTRYSIDE….. SLEIGH RIDE ….. (Remember to Skip the Ad)

PHEEBER TRACKS IN THE SNOW AROUND AN OLD CAMPFIRE RING

PRESCOTT ARIZONA IS OVER THERE IN WHAT I THINK ARE THE SIERRA PRIETA MOUNTAINS

Think it was somewhere around 11 this morning when we finally pointed Libby’s nose South & set a course for home.  Back through Yarnell we went & down the big hill again onto the desert floor about 2,000 feet below.  I’d like to snap a GoPro cam onto the hood of the Jeep sometime coming down that Yarnell Hill with all it’s twists & curves.  I’m thinking it might make an exciting 5 minute video:))

A BIG TRACTOR-TRAILER LOST PART OF IT’S HEAVY LOAD LAST WEEK WHEN IT’S TRAILER DIDN’T MAKE IT AROUND THIS HAIR PIN TURN

DRIVER WAS UNINJURED AS THE CAB & FRONT END OF THE TRAILER REMAINED ON THE ROAD

Below are a few more photos of our Peeples Valley drive this morning

POINTED LIBBY’S NOSE FOR HOME

LOOKS LIKE ONLY 1 OTHER VEHICLE HAS PASSED THIS WAY SINCE IT SNOWED

THE LIGHT DUSTING OF SNOW ADDED A NICE TOUCH TO OUR DRIVE

LUCKILY THE MORNING’S SUN WAS ALREADY IN THE PROCESS OF TURNING THIS OVERNIGHT ICY STRETCH INTO MUD

Of course by the time we got home the Jeep was in a bit of a muddy mess from the icy back roads which were in the process of thawing as we drove them this morning.  Too cold to wash the Jeep of course but maybe in a couple days when temperatures come up I’ll get myself at that.  I’ll maybe have a go with some rubbing compound to buff out some of that desert pinstriping Libby has picked up over the past few months as well.

GOT ANOTHER WINDMILL FOR YA MIKE & THIS ONE LOOKS TO BE IN PRETTY GOOD SHAPE:))

After a few emails back & forth a Bayfield Bunch blog reader dropped in this afternoon to say Hello & I must say it was a pleasure to meet Rhonda.  Here’s a retired teacher in our age bracket driving a 35’ diesel Class A Motorhome towing a Honda CRV.  Rhonda & her husband of 25 years RV’ed for awhile until his unfortunate passing.  After a couple years she has now decided to continue the RV lifestyle & has just spent a couple weeks boon-docking with the Escapee Club BOOMERS in Quartzsite.  Here’s a Gal with determination & resolve who is also planning to blog about her new & upcoming travels as well.  Rhonda has some of the same Nikon camera equipment I have & how nice to talk a bit of photography with a fellow photog.  But it was our discussion about blogging that really struck a chord with me.  Not so much the physical side of blogging as much as the psycological side of blogging.  The nitty-gritty if you will, the thoughts & feelings side of it.  That honest stuff that comes from the heart.  Not often I meet a like minded person such as Rhonda who shares many of the the same feelings I do.  Today I felt comfortable enough to open up a bit & enjoy a meaningful conversation about the emotional & theraputic side of writing & what leads a person to write & feel the way they do.  Both Kelly & I thank you for dropping by today Rhonda & by golly I just may have learned a few things for a change.  Take care & when you get your blog up & running be sure to let us know:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A woman walked up to a little wizened old man rocking in a chair on his porch. "I couldn't help noticing how content you look,"she said. "What's your secret for a long happy life?"  "I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day," he said. "I also drink a case of whiskey a week, eat fatty foods, and never exercise." "That's amazing,"the woman said. "How old are you?'  "Twenty-six," he said.

A COLD WINDY DAY WITH A TOUCH OF SNOW

The pace for our day was set early on when Kelly stepped out the front door with Pheebs & shouted back, ‘It’s snowing’!!   Well that was it for me & aside from slipping out to fill up the bird feeder I resigned myself to an inside day & that was it.

SURE WAS LOOKING NICER IN GRAND BEND ONTARIO (NEAR BAYFIELD) THAN IT WAS IN CONGRESS ARIZONA THIS MORNING

TWO GAMBLES QUAIL SCRATCH AROUND IN OUR BACKYARDS SNOWY GROUND FOR SOME SEEDS EARLIER TODAY

Both wind & rain were hard at times Sunday night & we did lose most of our TV stations.  Even with headphones on plugged into my music I could still hear the occasional rumble of thunder.  It only took a slight adjustment of our satellite dish this morning to bring back our lost channels & we were fine for the rest of the day.  Good thing too as there wasn’t much else going on.

THIS LITTLE FLUFFED UP GAMBLES QUAIL SKITTERS ACROSS A THIN LAYER OF SNOW

Needless to say it turned out to be a cold gray overcast day so rather than let any of that seep into my post tonight I’ll just wind it up here & hope you all had yourselves a nice day”.

KELLY BRIGHTENED UP THE GLOOMY DAY WITH SOME YUMMY QUESADILLAS THIS MORNING

As I post this tonight I am encouraged by clearing skies:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  An eighty-year-old man's golf game was hampered by poor eyesight. He could hit the ball well but he couldn't see where it went. So his doctor teamed him up with a ninety-year-old man who had perfect eyesight and was willing to go along to serve as a spotter.  The eighty-year-old man hit the first ball and asked his companion if he saw where it landed.  "Yep," said the ninety-year-old.  "Well where did it go?" the eighty-year-old demanded.  The ninety-year old replied, "I don't remember."

TOOK MYSELF FOR A WALK TO A QUIET PLACE & SAT MYSELF DOWN UPON A ROCK

I was late with my Saturday night post due to happily spending four hours watching CNN’s documentary ‘History Of The Eagles’.  We both so enjoyed this well documented history of a soft rock band that has always been a favorite of others.  With the recent passing of Glen Frey one of the groups co-founders the documentary took on a sadder feel which in turn gave it an ethereal depth. 

A FAR OFF VIEW OF THE OLD PIONEER CEMETERY AT THE BOTTOM WITH THE DATE CREEK MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND

THIS IS A NICE AREA FOR BOON-DOCKERS OVER THE WINTER MONTHS

Our day started off sunny & bright but with rain predicted later in the day I began moving a few things indoors.  Lawn chairs, outdoor rugs & table coverings, porch furniture, gardening tools etc.  Better to have that stuff taken care of ahead of time instead of racing around upside down as the first of many raindrops begin hurtling their way earthward.

OUR GHOST TOWN ROAD NEIGHBORHOOD LOOKING WEST AS SEEN FROM NEAR THE OLD CONGRESS GOLD MINE SITE

Each year about this time the Escapee RV Club over at North Ranch puts on a week-end ‘Boot Camp’ geared towards introducing new RV folks to the RV lifestyle.  Focus for the new RV’ers is safety.  Sandy & Randy from the San Francisco area in California attended those classes & seminars which finished up today then dropped in to see us before heading on back to California this afternoon.  Nice folks & they hope to have themselves a Class A Motorhome & be on the road in early 2017.  Thanks for the goodies folks:))

SANDY & RANDY FROM CALIFORNIA

Despite a cool wind blowing up from the South I took Pheebs for a drive down to the end of Ghost Town Road near the old Pioneer Cemetery this morning.  From there we took ourselves for a walk. 

WALKED DOWN THIS JEEP ROAD TO THE BASE OF THOSE TALL HILLS

We walked through the original old townsite of Congress & I always find it interesting trying to imagine what the old mining town was like over a hundred years ago.  Nature has reclaimed the land & there’s not much to see except for a couple old cemeteries & a few shards of broken pottery scattered about on the dry desert floor

A BUSTLING TOWN ONCE STOOD HERE WHERE CACTUS NOW GROW

Clambered around some big boulders finally finding me a nice sit down rock with a view to the southwest stretching for miles across the Sonoran desert to near & far distant hills & mountains.

MY SITTING ROCK BOTTOM RIGHT

PHEEBS RESTS BESIDE ME

SITTING ON A ROCK BOTTOM LEFT i COULD HEAR THIS MORNINGS DESERT WIND WHISPERING IN THAT SAGUARO & THOSE PALO VERDE TREES BESIDE IT

Only sounds around me were the southerly winds playing through the bare Palo Verde branches & a tall Saguaro standing nearby.  No man made noise anywhere.  Just a gentle desert wind & I thought to myself how nice it was with only Mother Nature orchestrating her own symphony.  Pheebs stretched out in the warming sunshine beside me & I let my thoughts wander out over the scenic landscape laid out before my eyes.  Again came the feelings of gratitude to all those who have made these past 10 years so memorable for us.  To the people who first made it possible for us to catch our dream & to all the people since who have enabled us to continue our dream…….A big Thank-you from The Bayfield Bunch:))

STORMY SKIES CLOSED IN ON US THIS AFTERNOON & AT THE TIME OF POSTING TONIGHT IT IS A WIND DRIVEN RAIN WE ARE EXPERIENCING

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Eighty year old John went for his annual checkup. The doctor asked him if he was still getting up in the middle of the night and going to the bathroom.  He replied, "Yes but the lord has made it much better for me now, he turns on the light when I go & he turns off the light when I am done".  The doctor replied, "Really"!!!  About and hour after that the doctor called Johns wife and said: He looks fine. But he said that God is making it better for him & that when he gets up and goes to the bathroom during the night God turns on and off the light.
She replied, "that damn old fool’s been peeing in the refrigerator again"!!!!.