NICE WEATHER DAY IN BAYFIELD AND A LOOK BACK TO SOME OF OUR ADVENTURES IN SOUTH-EASTERN ARIZONA A FEW YEARS AGO

ON THE STREETS OF TOMBSTONE ARIZONA
One of the big advantages full time RV’ers have over Snow Birders is the simple fact they live in and use their rig’s systems on a regular basis therefore always being familiar about the working of things. 

THERE ARE 2 OLD IRON BRIDGES IN THE HULLETT MARSH AND THIS IS THE ONE AT THE END OF SANCTUARY LINE….THE OTHER BRIDGE IS AT THE END OF CONSERVATION ROAD

A BIG ‘SHADOW COWBOY’ WAVE FROM THE SANCTUARY LINE BRIDGE THIS MORNING
It started out innocently enough today when I thought I would simply sanitize our fresh water tank.  Key joke word there being ‘simply’'.’ Not being full timers it’s not something we are accustomed to doing on any kind of a regular basis.  I think the last time we did it was a year ago about this time and therein awaited the problem.  My brain wouldn’t even give me the slightest clue where to start and I had to ask Kelly where the instructions were on how to do it.  Seems to me I had to do the very same thing last year as well.  I wasn’t off to a good start and it went down hill from there.  A job that would take a seasoned Full-timer about 15 minutes cost this aging Snow Bird a good hour and a half this afternoon:((

I BETTER GET GOING HERE, TRAINS A COMING
I won’t bog you down with my frustrations today because I am still pretty upset with myself but I can tell you that what transpired was not the fault of the Motorhome.  All me and with my poor memory having more holes in it than a Swiss cheese and my ever increasing impatience with anything even remotely mechanical I caused myself a lot of stress.  I don’t know when it was my problematic impatience began but I don’t remember it being this bad years ago but here’s the bottom line, ’we’ did finally manage to successfully complete the fresh water tank project and everything is fine and honky-dory now.  Everything that is except me and me will not be Okay until me has a good night’s sleep and starts Tuesday morning off on the right foot again.  Well that’s what me hopes anyway……..
I AM STILL CATCHING FRONT YARD POND FROGS AND TRANSPORTING THEM TO THE BIGGER PARK’S POND……17 TRANSPORTATIONS SO FAR INCLUDING THE FROGS IN THESE PHOTOS TODAY

ONE FROG IS REAL AND ONE ISN’T

A TAD OUT OF FOCUS BUT I’VE INCLUDED THIS FELLA ANYWAY


HE’S KEEPING A REAR VIEW EYE ON ME
Desert USA is an on-line South-western magazine we have been receiving now for a number of years and I often like the articles because we have been to a lot of places featured in it.  The latest edition was no exception when I read the title, Ghost Towns In Southern Arizona.  We have been to nine of the 13 ghost towns mentioned.  We’ve been to Superstition Mountain, Fort Bowie, Pearce, Courtland, Gleeson, Tombstone, Fairbank, Millville and the ever so hard for us to find, Charleston.  Through the Apache Pass to Historic Fort Bowie.  I wrote daily posts about all those places along with many photos and have included a few links such as Tombstone and  The Ghost Town of Gleeson Arizona.  We have walked the streets of Tombstone half a dozen times, found Johnny Ringo’s grave at the western foot of the Chiricahua Mountains as well as Wyatt Earp’s brother’s grave in Wilcox.  Johnny Ringo's Grave and Warren Earp's Grave in Wilcox Arizona.  I took some rare photos through a broken door of the crumbling Gleeson Saloon, we have walked among the old graves of Fairfield, hiked the long way in and out of Fort Bowie along trails Cochise once walked.  Cochise's Council Rocks  Had to take our shoes and socks off to wade across the San Pedro River to find Charleston after walking through the remaining ruins of Millville.  Today We Found The Ruins of Charleston Arizona. We have walked in the footsteps of Geronimo and his Apache warriors.   We’ve been to and through Pearce Arizona half a dozen times even twice spending time partaking in their ‘Pearce Heritage Days’ celebrations.  The old general store there is only open 1 day a year and we were lucky enough to be there on one of those days.  As we walked through the store I’m sure we had old ghosts walking along beside us.   Here’s a look inside that store….Old Pearce Heritage Days.  Made our way through what is left of Courtland with it’s few crumbling brick walls and old jail cell still intact.  Courtland Arizona  That South-eastern area of Arizona is such a fascinating place and we were so fortunate to spend many months Ranch Sitting there over a period of 4 years.  My links to Old Fort Rucker and Our Search for Cochise's Council Rocks.  Oh the memories and oh the thousands of photos I took.  Even now I still get excited thinking back to that marvelous era and that whole historically fascinating area.  The links above are only but a few of my many blog posts and photos of our memorable adventures in the great American Southwest and hopefully this winter we will be back once again on the dusty desert trails of many more great memories:))
THE HISTORIC RUINS OF FORT BOWIE

 
KELLY SITS LOOKING DOWN ON THE RUINS OF OLD FORT BOWIE

SOUTH-EASTERN ARIZONA IS ONE OF OUR ALL TIME FAVORITE PLACES

TOMBSTONE ARIZONA



THE OLD CEMETERY IN FAIRBANK ARIZONA

GHOST TOWN RUINS OF COURTLAND ARIZONA

JOHNNY RINGO’S GRAVE

THIS OLD SALOON IN GLEESON ARIZONA IS WHERE JOHNNY RINGO WAS LAST SEEN DRINKING AT THE BAR

GLEESON ARIZONA CEMETERY

THE COCHISE STRONGHOLD IN ARIZONA’S DRAGOON MOUNTAINS



A RUGGED AREA OF THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS

THIS INDIAN FELLOW  WE MET AT COUNCIL ROCKS TOLD ME HE WAS A DESCENDENT OF GERONIMO


IS IT ANY WONDER WHY WE KEEP RETURNING TO THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTH WEST YEAR AFTER YEAR AFTER YEAR
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A guy walking along the beach finds a bottle and picks it up.  A genie pops out and says, "Thanks for letting me out. For your kindness I will grant you one wish."  The guys says, "I've always wanted to go to Hawaii, but I can't because I'm afraid to fly and ships make me deathly sick. My wish is for you to build a road from here to Hawaii."  The genie says, "I'm sorry, but I don't think I can do that. Just think of all the work involved. Think of the huge pilings we'd need to hold up that highway and how deep they would have to be to reach the bottom of the ocean. And think of all the cement that would be needed. Plus, since it's such a long span, there would have to be gas stations and rest stops along the way. No, that's just too much to ask. Impossible."  The guy says, "Well, there is one thing I've always wanted to know. I'd like to be able to understand women...what makes them laugh and cry...you know, what makes them tick."  The genie thinks a second, then asks, "You want two lanes or four with that highway?'
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Kids can sometimes ask the toughest questions.
Son: Father, Can I ask you a question?
Father: Ok ask. Son: When a doctor doctors a doctor, does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as the doctor being doctored wants to be doctored or does the doctor doing the doctoring doctor as he wants to doctor. --------------------- - How is it one careless match can start a forest fire, but it takes a whole box to start a campfire? - Why does a slight tax increase cost you two hundred dollars and a substantial tax cut saves you thirty cents? - Health is merely the slowest possible rate at which one can die - The only difference between a rut and a grave is the depth. - There are two kinds of pedestrians: the quick and the dead. - I used to eat a lot of natural foods until I learned that most people die of natural causes.

OUR ARIZONA DAYS ARE COUNTING DOWN………:((

WILL THE BLOOMS BE OUT BEFORE WE LEAVE IN 3 DAYS??

I like it when a warm wind blows the stars around.  Stayed out extra longer Sunday night with Pheebs because I know we will soon be leaving this big expanse of Arizona night sky far behind.  The stars will still be up there when we get home but it’s just not quite the same as a lonesome desert night.

This week will go fast for us with each day counting down quickly to the following day.  As any RVing Snow Bird traveler knows, it’s those last few days before departure when things really get crunched.  It’s all part of that anxious excitement that comes with getting the big wheels rolling.  Guess I’ll have to come up with a different phrase for that now since we don’t have the big Motorhome wheels anymore.  Ok, ‘get the little wheels rolling.’  Nawww, just not the same…………….

PHEEBS MOST NEWEST, NEAREST, & BESTEST PAL SHE JUST MET THIS MORNING

Our friend Paula from Bisbee stopped in this morning on her way from Bisbee Arizona to the Portland Oregon area.  Paula, an eastern Gal likes to spend her winters in Bisbee.  We met Paula a few winters ago when we were Ranch sitting near McNeal & Elfrida Arizona.  I was able to lead Paula & the Bisbee Mule Team Hiking club up into Rucker Canyon one day to Fort Rucker & the Mary Kidder Rak homestead.  You can read my post for that day here……ANOTHER FINE DAY IN THE CHIRICAHUA'S RUCKER CANYON.

  

SAFE TRAVELS PAULA & ALL THE BEST TO YOU & TIGGER

And a question from SallyB the other day wondering how Aunt Jean is doing.  Jean is doing good basking in all that hot & humid Florida sunshine.  She was out golfing last week & routinely does her early morning daily neighborhood walk.  And she just scrubbed all her floors too:))

 

THIS LITTLE GAMBLE QUAIL HAS TO VERY WARY WHEN RED TAIL HAWKS ARE ON THE PROWL OVERHEAD

Kelly’s feeling better so we’ll stick to our original departure date this Friday morning.  Another reason for heading home is the temporary Arizona license sticker we have in the back window of the Sunseeker.  That expires later this month.  In less than a month from now we should be cruising around with regular Ontario license plates & up to date stickers.  That will mark the end of this long ordeal of purchasing a vehicle in the States & importing it to Canada.  Not too likely we’ll do that again any time soon.

RETIRED ROD & Loyce fired up the rig & flew their Mesa Arizona coup.  They are presently making their way back to Kansas.  JOHN & BRENDA southwest of Phoenix will be leaving their Dog Pound South digs for their Dog Pound North digs in a couple days heading for Alberta up their in that big Canada place.  PETER & BEA are already home on the east coasts Campobello Island but not all was well when they got there:((  GEORGE & SUZIE slogged themselves through some Tennessee rain to stop at country singer Loretta Lynn’s place on their trek north to Canada as well.  And oh Dear,  RV SUE has got herself into a spot of trouble, or should that read…….troubles:((

Yep, the southwest is clearing out fast & it looks like we’ll be a couple of the last one’s to leave.  Next year we would like to try & stay for the whole month of April & see the desert come into bloom.  Delays our Fall departure time though.  No problem for Ontarians being in the States for 7 months but the States does not want us here for any longer than 6 months.  Too bad about all this fuss between our two great countries…………………  

   

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Late one night in Washington,D.C., a mugger jumped into the path of a well-dressed man and stuck a gun in his ribs.
"Give me your money," he demanded.
Indignant, the affluent man replied, "You can't do this - I'm a U.S. Congressman!"
"In that case," replied the robber, "give me MY money!"

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- 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.