AN EMBARRASSING MOMENT AT THE TITLE COMPANY THIS MORNING & A WASHING MACHINE WHISPERER

PLANTING SOME CACTUS A YEAR AGO

I have a feeling these next few weeks are going to be very, very, busy for us.  Gotta find some time to get Pheebs out for morning Jeep ride.  Kelly read over the forms sent to us by the Pioneer Title Company Monday afternoon & realized we had to head for Wickenburg first thing this morning to sign more papers & have some additional questions answered.  With me being a Canadian & my name along with Kelly’s on our joint ownership it meant the sale of our house had to be done a bit differently.  We were at the Title Company before 8:30 sitting at a desk with a nice lady helping us through the short stack of papers.  Everything was totally fine & I even got to sign a few papers all by myself.  Had we tried to fill out the forms emailed to us we never would have got them right & as it was we did have an embarrassing moment with one of the questions on the forms.  Try as we did neither Kelly or I could remember when we got married. Couldn’t remember the date or the year but we both remembered the day & location.  I wonder what the lady behind the desk thought of our fumbling back & forth trying to come up with the right date.   We guessed at 2004 but on the way home we realized that date was way off.  Had to have been well before that but even as I write this tonight neither of us has a clue.  We’ll look that up when we get home…………….  

NORTHERN FLICKER

Lady at the Title Company said if everything proceeds without any glitches things could very well be wrapped up around the 20th of March.  It’s kind of sinking in that we are now in the final few weeks of living in our little Congress Arizona house.  Best not to think of that I guess & keep our eye on the future.

KELLY FILLS OUT SOME PAPERWORK AT THE TITLE COMPANY THIS MORNING

Our warming temperatures are such that we left our inside door open all night.  According to  the outside thermometer at 7 p.m. Monday night we were still at 70 degrees. And how nice it is to have ‘bug free’ air here in the South-west:))

TAKING ADVANTAGE OF COUPONS AT McDONALDS IN WICKENBURG

Quite a job we are having trying to decide what to take back to Bayfield with us.  And quite a job organizing things to load into the Big EEE always being aware of the weight factor & distribution.  Quite a job indeed.  Our aim is to have everything loaded up & ready to go as soon as the closing date is determined.  Haven’t decided on a route home yet & that will depend on how soon we leave & what the weather between Congress & Bayfield is doing.  Especially the weather back home.  We’re hoping for an early Spring there.

 

LOCAL RESIDENTS WEAR THEIR BOOTS BIG DOWN HERE IN WICKENBURG’S COWBOY COUNTRY

Our good friends Ron & Jan from Grand Bend Ontario dropped in to see us this morning.  Ron is the fellow we bought our Damon Challenger from in 2006 & he’s the fellow who sold our Class C Winnebago for us 2 summers ago.  Ron & Jan own Four Seasons Performance & for anyone looking for a quality well maintained RV I totally recommend you drop in & talk to Ron if your in the Grand Bend Ontario area.  Ron & Jan are in Scottsdale for the winter & were on their way to Bullhead City by car today to have a look at a trade-in truck & fifth wheel over there.  Ron said if we had anything we wanted to take back to Bayfield with us & didn’t have room in the rig we were to just let him know & they would make room in their vehicle when they head back to Grand Bend in April.  That’s the kind of guy Ron is:))

A COUPLE FILE PICS

For any of you traveling RV folks out here & especially new people starting out be sure to check out Technomadias post on The Mobile Internet Handbook - 2016 US RVers Edition.  These folks are always on the cutting edge of modern technology & it’s a great site for keeping RVers up to speed in what’s happening in the ever fast changing world of modern communication.  Also for you RVing boondockers with an interest in solar/battery systems do not miss Wheelingit’s latest blog post which is Part 1 of a major battery upgrade.  Wheelingit & Technomadia are 2 important blogs for any RVer to follow.  Always lots to learn from these folks.  We have met both these fine couples & consider them our friends:))

ATERNOON SNOOZE ON DAD’S BED

Britbabe in a comment on my Sunday post asked this question, “Al, has Kelly ever driven the Triple E? Would she find that daunting? How many of you couples have not had your partner at least try driving the rig you drive? Just curious”…….. Kelly did drive the Big EEE part of the way back from Goderich a couple summers ago but normally I do all the driving.  Both Kelly & I drove great big long yellow school buses years ago so Kelly does have experience driving, backing up, & parking big vehicles.  It’s not her favorite thing though & I guess with my love of driving I have kinda hogged the steering wheel all these years.  In my opinion that’s not the best way of doing things because for sure two drivers are a far better way of doing things.  Having driven 1 truck & travel trailer combination, 1 truck & fifth wheel combination, 2 Volkswagen Vans, 2 Class B vans, 3 Class C’s plus 2 Class A Motorhomes I have to say I’ve enjoyed driving Class A Motorhomes best.  With their higher stance & greater field of view Motorhome drivers just like truck drivers can see far ahead down the road overtop surrounding vehicles & in heavy traffic that is a big safety factor.  Once a new Class A driver gets past that ‘BIG’ factor they will find the Motorhome an easy learner & a pleasure to drive:))

WON’T BE LONG NOW & WE’LL HAVE THE BIG WHEELS ROLLING AGAIN:))

Kelly called our good neighbor Lew this morning to see if he could have a look at our washer.  Lew is one of those handy ‘fix-it-all’ guys who knows lots about fixin stuff.  He came in & stood looking at the wash machine as we explained what it had been & not been doing.  Lew said Okay give it a whirl again.  Kelly turned it on & holy smokes it worked perfectly.  Thought to myself this guy is a ‘washing machine whisperer’ for sure.  Kelly gathered some things together & did herself a load & the machine went through all it’s cycles without a hitch.  After Lew left I thought to myself, ‘ Darn, I should have got him to show me how to change a light bulb while he was here’.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( The President of the United States, the Prime Minister of England, and the Communist leader met and started discussing the dreams they had. The President of the U.S. said: "I dreamed that I was made President of the World."  The Prime Minister of England announced: "I dreamed I was made Prime Minister of the World."  The Communist leader replied: "That's funny. I have no recollection of appointing either one of you!"

NOW THAT THE HOUSE IS SOLD WE ARE ANXIOUS TO GET EVERYTHING WRAPPED UP & MOVE ON

CURVE BILL THRASHER IN  OUR FRONT YARD SAGUARO
I like Mondays.  I don’t know why I like Mondays except to say I’m always happy to survive another long Sunday.  As I’ve said a few times before I don’t really know what it is about Sunday’s I don’t like but it is definitely my least favorite day of the week.  I suppose if I was still in the work force with the daily grind going from 9 to 5 Monday to Friday I might totally treasure Sundays as a welcome break from the weekly drudgery.  But such is not the case & yesterday (Sunday) was no exception.   So what really does make Monday better than Sunday?  Well not much I guess except for the fact Mondays happily put a quick end to Sundays:))

PHEEBS & HER TOYS
Before 9 this morning Kelly was out the door & on her way to Wickenburg’s Pioneer Title Company carrying 14 pages of house sale papers.  We are anxious now to get things wrapped up & move on to whatever lies ahead of us.

Ivan had cruised into our area Sunday night & camped down at the end of Ghost Town Road so I sent him an email & he dropped in this morning about 9 for a chin wag.  We first met Ivan when we were ranch sitting near McNeal Arizona about 7 years ago & I always enjoy sitting down & catching up with him.  Thought it was nice of him to go out of his way to drop around & see us.  Little did I know while we were sitting on our back patio chatting something not so swell was going on in the house.

I had put a load of laundry into the wash machine & assumed all was well.  After Ivan left I came in & found water on the kitchen floor.  The washing machine had malfunctioned failing to shut the water off between cycles.  For the hour or so I was outside talking to Ivan water continued to overflow the washing machine running across the kitchen floor & out the back door.  I quickly turned the water tap off & using the spin cycle on the washer I was able to empty the washer’s water.  After cleaning up the floor I tried the washer again but it just would not work properly.  Do you suppose it is the washers way of showing it’s displeasure we sold our house.  

The tone of our conversation around this morning’s coffee was much different from previous conversations this past week or two.  Gone were all the worries & conditions of selling our house.  No more doubt, no more speculation, no more Plan B’s or C’s.  Gone were the ‘what ifs’ & ‘what abouts’.  Questioning ourselves was over.  By the time we went to bed Sunday night it was if a huge log jam had been blown up & our river of life was flowing free again. 

It was like we trotted off to the ‘Worry & Problems Store’ with our big old heavy bag of worries & problems & dumped it on the counter.  However one never gets away from the W&P store without the mandatory new bag of worries & problems but no matter we were just glad enough for the trade.  Our new bag of worries & problems is much smaller than the one we traded in of course but we do have to be careful not to add anything & overload the new bag if we can help it.   So it’s on to the next problem to be solved & worry to be contained we go & such is the cycle of life………….   

KELLY CHECKS OVER THE SIGNED HOUSE PAPERS, DAVE WRITES A DEPOSIT CHEQUE & BARB HAPPILY LOOKS ON….AND OF COURSE THAT’S PEEBS UNDER THE TABLE:))
Kelly, with a few groceries was home shortly after noon saying everything had gone well at the Title Company & all papers were correctly signed.  We’ll now wait for a notification via email that we can proceed to the next step which will be monies being transferred to our bank account & the new owners being issued with their title deed.  The closing date is flexible but as soon as we determine that & close we will have the big wheels rolling.  Don’t know when we’ll get back through this area once we leave, maybe next winter maybe in a couple winters.  Meanwhile we have people to drop around & see before leaving & we will begin doing that later this week.  Just a couple people at a time works best for us:))

SUNRISE AT OUR HOUSE THIS MORNING
GROANER’S CORNER:(( A newlywed farmer and his wife were visited by her mother, who immediately demanded an inspection of the place. The farmer had genuinely tried to be friendly to his new mother-in-law, hoping that it could be a friendly, non- antagonistic relationship. All to no avail though, as she kept nagging them at every opportunity, demanding changes, offering unwanted advice, and generally making life unbearable for the farmer and his new bride.
While they were walking through the barn, during the forced inspection, the farmer's mule suddenly reared up and kicked the mother-in-law in the head, killing her instantly. It was a shock to all no matter their feelings toward her demanding ways...  At the funeral service a few days later, the farmer stood near the casket and greeted folks as they walked by. The pastor noticed that whenever a woman would whisper something to the farmer, he would nod his head yes and say something. Whenever a man walked by and whispered to the farmer, however, he would shake his head no, and mumble a reply.  Very curious as to this bizarre behavior, the pastor later asked the farmer what that was all about. The farmer replied, "The women would say, 'What a terrible tragedy and I would nod my head and say 'Yes, it was.' The men would ask, 'Can I borrow that mule?' and I would shake my head and say, 'Can't, the mules all booked up for a year.'"

‘YAHOOIE LOUIE’ WE SOLD OUR HOUSE TONIGHT:)))))

OUR NEIGHBOR’S YARD IS SHAPING UP NICE AGAIN THIS SPRING

We had no idea when we got up this morning that our house would be sold by the end of the day.  We had several offers on the table we were thinking about & one of those offers was for our full asking price but the fella had to sell his own house first.  We spent part of our morning sitting on the front porch talking things over trying to decide what to do.  We also had a possible third offer pending.   And then the phone rang.

Two hours Northwest of us in an RV Park in the town of Kingman Arizona a lady in frustration sat down at her computer this morning & went to her ZILLOW Real Estate for sale site.  Fulltime RV’ers Barb & Dave had been looking for a house & property since last September.  Just like Kelly & I back in 2012 & not wanting to give up their RV they were looking for a home base in the South-west.  Frustrated with almost buying a place in Kingman they decided to scrap the deal & expand their search.  Within minutes of finding a cute little ranch style house on an acre of land in Congress Arizona Dave was on the phone talking to someone by the name of Kelly:))

Only took Barb & Dave a couple of hours to drive to Congress from Kingman & we met them around 3 this afternoon.  Of course like everyone else they liked our place right away.  Within an hour they had a good feeling about us & we had a good feeling about them.  And of course they liked Pheebe.  On a side note while standing in our yard talking to these folks we saw Ivan drive by but more about that later.  After looking our house over Barb & Dave said they wanted to have a wee look around the area so we pointed them in the direction of the Yarnell Hill & away they went.  Said they would be back & back they did come about an hour & a half later after grabbing a bite to eat at Nichols West & doing the scenic Yarnell Hill.  Sat ourselves down in our living room & 15 minutes later the deal was done & they had the house & property they saw on Zillow this morning & we had our full asking price.  (thanks to the reader who recommended Zillow a couple weeks ago)  Kelly had already filled out all the paper work from the Pioneer Title Company in case we found a buyer so we gathered around our kitchen table & the signature signings began.  A deposit was made, happy handshakes & hugs followed & off the folks went into the night headed back to their RV in Kingman.  And it was only 8 days since Kelly had put the ad in Zillow, Facebook, & Craigslist.  Barb said it was the photos she saw that really sold her on our place before they had even got here.  Kelly will head to the Pioneer Title Company first thing in the morning to get things rolling which will take about two & a half weeks to complete.  With the house being sold we now enter another new phase in the life & times of The Bayfield Bunch:))

What makes this an even better deal for Kelly & I is that we know this is the right couple for our house & property.  Barb loved the outside & is the gardener in the family while Dave is the house renovator.  They already have plans for the house starting with new flooring.  When Kelly & I first walked onto this property in late February of 2012 the place was a mess as I’m sure readers will remember from all the photos I posted.  We cleaned up the property & feel we arrived here just in time to save the house with some roof repairs & stuccoing etc.  In 4 years we took the house & property as far as we could & now the new couple will take the house & property even further & we are very happy about that knowing we are leaving our little slice of South-west Shangri-la to people who care.  Of course I’ll have more to say about all this in my next few posts so until then……….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz:))))))))))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( It was late in the day when a farm boy accidentally overturned his wagon load of corn. The farmer who lived nearby heard the noise. "Hey Willis!!" the farmer yelled. "Forget your troubles & come in for supper with us then I'll help you get the wagon up."  "That's mighty nice of you, " Willis answered, "but I don't think Pa would like me to."
"Awe, come on," the farmer insisted.  "Well okay," the boy finally agreed, and added, "But Pa won't like it."  After a hearty dinner, Willis thanked his host. "I feel a lot better now, but I know Pa is going to be real upset."  "Don't be foolish!" the neighbour said with a smile. "By the way, where is your Pa?"………….."Under the wagon."

KELLY PUTS A LID ON MR. BLABBERFINGERS

Woke up with one of those ‘don’t feel like sitting around the house’ & don’t feel like going anywhere’ feelings.  For me that’s one of the worst case scenarios for starting any kind of a day.  Kinda walked around the property for awhile swinging my right leg back & forth seeing if I could get it flexible enough to give myself a good swift kick in the pants to get me motivated.  Finally hauled off & landed me a good wallop………..then loaded up the little Spoogers & away we went.

VULTURE PEAK LOOMS ON IN THE HAZY DISTANCE

Twenty minutes later we were in the drive-thru lane of Wickenburg’s McDonalds.  “Two Burritos & a coffee to go please” & with that we were on our way out Constellation Road again.  Followed our old route along Blue Tank & Rincon Road to Scenic Loop Road.  Instead of turning left & heading back to highway 93 we turned right & headed further out into the Wickenburg hills.  Had it in my head to look for the elusive back country Jeep road running between Wickenburg & Stanton.  I had looked on Google Earth awhile back & had an idea where the turn off for the Stanton Road was so off we went.

 

The turn off was right where Google Earth said it was so pulling Libby into 4-wheel drive I turned left into sandy wash heading north.  In a few hundred yards we climbed up out of the wash onto a hard rocky surface & began gradually climbing.  The further I went the rougher the road became with a lot of loose jumbled rocks & ruts.  About a quarter mile in I decided to turn around.  Knew Libby could handle the road fine but I didn’t want to chance it with the street tires I had on.  As I’ve said before we’ve got to get a good set of off-road tires for the Jeep before heading south again later in the year.

JUST NOT THE BEST ROAD SURFACE FOR STREET TIRES WITH THEIR THINNER SIDE WALLS & MUCH SHALLOWER TREAD DEPTH

IN ONLY A QUARTER MILE TRAVELED THE STANTON ROAD WAS PARTIALLY WASHED OUT IN A FEW PLACES

Following Scenic Loop Road further south we soon found ourselves on the upper north side of Little Box Canyon & the Narrows.  Pulled into a large flat & partly cleared area & parked the Jeep.  We were only a few hundred yards from the Narrows & although I couldn’t see them I could hear vehicles below making their way through the gorge.  Stood for a few minutes listening & was surprised by the amount of traffic until I remembered it was Saturday morning & there would be a lot of week-enders out.  Heard a string of ATV’s splashing through the Narrows & thought I heard about half a dozen 18 wheelers, 3 or 4 Greyhound buses, a couple Class A diesel Motorhomes, a Cadillac or two, a Moonbuggy, a Dunebuggy, & a Volkswagon Beetle going backwards:))

LOOKING NORTH THIS IS WHAT ‘THE NARROWS’ LOOKS LIKE FROM ABOVE………PHOTO BELOW IS LOOKING SOUTH

I COULD HEAR TRAFFIC NOTICES COMING UP OUT OF THAT GORGE

I was tempted to walk another 50 yards or so & peer over the edge but the sun was hot & with the type of rocky terrain leading to the rim I was concerned about Pheebe tangling with a Rattlesnake.  A few photos & we were back in the Jeep heading further south along the well maintained but very dry & dusty road.  Could see what appeared to be many, many, RV type looking vehicles all parked together in the distance.  Then I came across a sign propped up alongside the road explaining all the white trailers off to the right.  We had finally reached the ‘Boyd Ranch’.

THAT’S A LOT OF VEHICLES IN THE DISTANCE & ESPECIALLY OUT HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE

THIS PHOTO TODAY SURE REMINDED ME OF OUR RANCH SITTING DAYS NEAR McNEAL ARIZONA YEARS AGO

THEY CERTAINLY DO HAVE THE TRAIL WELL MARKED

A COW GAL WAITS TO CHECK OFF SOME OF THE RIDERS GOING BY

People on horseback & ATV’s milling about so figured they had some kind of an event going on for the week-end.  Maybe half a dozen events by the looks of all the horse trailers & RV’s. 

It was here at the gates to the Boyd Ranch we decided to turn around & head ourselves for home.  Made another stop somewhere above Little Box Canyon but didn’t walk through the thicker vegetation to have a look down because of my concern for Rattlers again.  I’m not as concerned about myself getting bit as I am about Pheebe getting bit.

JUST AHEAD IN THOSE MESQUITE TREES I’M GUESSING IS THE SHEER DROP OFF INTO LITTLE BOX CANYON

JUST A FEW HUNDRED YARDS TO THE RIGHT OF WHERE THOSE BOON-DOCKERS ARE PARKED IS THE DROP OFF INTO ‘THE NARROWS’

Took our time working our way back along Scenic Loop road to highway 93 stopping to take a few photos along the way.  Ten minutes after reaching the highway we were back home in Congress.  Another great outing for Pheebs & I we both loved every minute & every mile of it.  We always do:))

WONDER WHAT THOSE TIED UP PAIR OF PANTS ON THE BACK OF THAT JEEP ARE ALL ABOUT

Of course you all know Mr. Blabberfingers here would be filling you in on how or how not our house deal is going but the only thing I can tell you at this point is this……………‘Kelly has wisely put a lid on me’.

HAD FORGOT TO INCLUDE MY FULL MOON PHOTO FROM LAST WEEK

GROANER’S CORNER:(( The Pope has just finished a tour of the Napa Valley and is taking a limousine to San Francisco. Having never driven a limo, he asks the chauffeur if he can drive for a while. Since the chauffeur really doesn't have much of a choice, he climbs in the back of the limo and the Pope takes the wheel. The Pope proceeds down Silverado, and starts accelerating to see what the limo can do. He gets to about 90 MPH and suddenly he sees the red and blue lights of the highway patrol in his mirror. He pulls over and the trooper comes to his window.  The trooper, seeing who it is, says, 'Just a moment please, I need to call in.' The trooper calls in and asks for the chief. He tells the chief that he's got a REALLY important person pulled over, and asks how he should handle it.  'It's not Bill Gates again is it?' asks the chief.  'No Sir!' replies the trooper, 'This guy's more important.'
      'Is it the Governor?' asks the chief.
      'No! Even more important!' replies the trooper.
      'Is it the PRESIDENT??? asks the chief.
      'No! Even more important!' replies the trooper.
      'Well WHO THE HELL is it then?' screams the chief.  'I don't know Sir.' replies the trooper, 'but whoever it is he's got the Pope as his chauffeur.'