HASKELL TEXAS TO HOPE ARKANSAS

A WINDMILL HOBBY FARM IN TEXAS

"We plan another peaceful night"........Well, those were my famous last words last night just before the drunken red neck party got underway in a 5th wheel trailer 3 spots away from us. We think the 5th wheel was there long term & the owner is probably working somewhere in the area. Three pick-up trucks rolled in about supper time with guys getting out carrying beer. By 7 o'clock the trash music was blaring, voices were loud, obnoxious, & animated. Don't know what time the party broke up but it was the gunshots that woke us up & scared the dogs. Heard a pick-up truck leave & another gunshot. Could hear people laughing so knew it was some drunk firing his gun into the air as he left. Keep in mind, it is acceptable for people to carry guns down here!!!! We were up early in the dark & on the road by 6:45 a.m. Texas time. As the sky slowly lightened up we realized we had a heavy cloud cover overhead & it was to remain that way for the rest of the day. Cloudy days are actually better for driving so I didn't mind. Once again it was so nice to see the many signs of spring along the way. A lot of trees & shrubs with light purple blooms. Traffic picked up significantly when we reached St Jo & turned east onto highway 82 west of Gainesville. Stayed on 82 all the way to New Boston where we picked up I-30 east to Texarkana. This is the exact same route we used when going the other way back in November. KELLY'S ON THE JOB AS WE'RE ROLLING ALONG (no I didn't turn around to take the picture)

We have traveled many areas of Texas before & no matter where your going it's always a long haul to get there & it's not the most exciting scenery along the way. Very flat country but at least it's easier on the motorhome than steep mountain grades. But, give me mountains & canyons any day over flat prairie like topography. The best part of Texas we've liked so far is the Big Bend area because of it's great mountain scenery. Needless to say we were pretty glad to get Texas behind us as we crossed the State Line into Arkansas in Texarkana about 3:15 this afternoon.

OUR OVERNIGHT SPOT IN HOPE, ARKANSAS JUST BEFORE THE STORM HIT

Kelly checked her RV Parks book & found a city RV Park in Hope Arkansas with easy access off I-30 so that's where we headed. And if Hope Arkansas sounds familiar....it's past President Bill Clinton's birthplace. The RV Park was full so the lady in the office told us to go to a baseball diamond with a paved parking lot a block away. No charge & it was a lucky break for us because right now as I'm typing this it's raining heavily & we've got bad thunder & lighting overhead. Glad we're not parked on bare ground, muddy gravel or grass. One of the first things I noticed when I exited the motorhome was the humidity in the air. Hadn't felt that since last summer in Ontario. LOTS OF RAIN, THUNDER, & LIGHTNING

Total miles covered to-day was 413 so looks like we went 2 miles further to-day than yesterday. Roads & visibility were good. Kelly kept the egg salad sandwiches coming so we just kept on rolling. Problem is, by the time we get home I'm going to look like the east end of an egg salad sandwich going west................................ CHECKERS IS HIDING UNDER THE STEERING WHEEL FROM THE BIG THUNDER MONSTER

THE LITTLE MOTORMOUSE IS HIDING IN THE TUB

AND AL IS HIDING UNDER HIS SECURITY BLANKET

6:25 P.M............. Oh Oh, we just got a tornado watch advisory. Better get this blog sent........:((

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FROM ALAMOGORDO NEW MEXICO TO HASKELL TEXAS

LOOKING LIKE SPRING IN THIS WEST TEXAS REST AREA ALONG HIGHWAY 380

A quiet night in the Alamogordo fairgrounds gave us a chance to catch up on some sleep from the previous night's wind at the ranch.

Moved our clocks ahead an hour & hit the road at 7:15 a.m. Nice clear morning with no clouds as we headed north to Tularosa & swung east into the Sierra Blanca mountains. It was a long climb to the Apache summit but not as short & steep as the climb over the Organ mountains east of Los Cruces on Monday. This is a scenic pass with many evergreen trees at the higher elevations. Fueled up in Ruidoso for $115 & that was the first fill up since Tombstone AZ back on January 28th.

TREES ARE GREENING UP.....HEY, WHO'S THAT IN THE WINDSHIELD!!

By 9 o'clock we were over the mountains & down the other side into the rolling foothills heading out onto the great plains. Motored through Roswell & for the first time ever we didn't stop at Wal-Mart. In fact we hardly stopped anywhere. With our new Verizon air card we have internet with us in the motorhome at all times so we don't have to look for McDonalds or hot spots anymore. Last November on our way west we stayed in Brownsfield Texas for 2 whole days just so we could use the internet & get caught up on things. Now, while I'm driving, Kelly is at the computer desk looking after Deerpark business or just surfing. We are soooooo pleased with Verizon & have never doubted our decision to dump the Hughes-Net satellite system. When we get home the Verizon program will be de-activated April 4th until we activate it again in the fall. IT'S OUR 2 TRAVELING MASCOTS.......THE BISBEE KIDS:)) (no wonder a lot of people wave at us going by)

It's a long haul across the midwest plains with a lot of very flat & endless yellow grass fields but at this time of year it seems the farther east we drive, the greener the scenery is becoming. So nice to see trees appearing again with their lime green spring foliage. Signs of spring are everywhere & that is making the long driving days more enjoyable. THE DEERPARK PHONE KEPT KELLY HOPING TO-DAY

A lot of old, tired, & dusty little western towns along highway 380 but I like this route because there is very little traffic on the road. Many times I can see for miles ahead or behind & not a vehicle in site. We have used this route before & have become familiar with it's rest stops & overnight areas. Because we had a good stable tailwind to-day I decided to push it through to the little town of Haskell Texas. We knew there was a small free & public RV Park in the town because we had been there 3 times before so it was a welcome relief to finally reach our destination after 411 miles on the road to-day. We are in the park now with spring song birds in the tree beside us & a warm westerly breeze wafting through the open door & windows of the motorhome. Only 3 rigs here & we plan another peaceful night before heading out in the morning again. We know the part of the trip we have just completed in the last 2 days was the easiest part of our journey home because of the quiet, low traffic roads, few people, small towns, & no congestion or stress. To-morrow as we head east the traffic will begin to steadily pick up & by the time we get up into the Gainsville area things will begin to heat up & remain heated up for the rest of the way home. OUR OVERNIGHT SPOT IN HASKELL TEXAS....HAD TO TIE CHECKERS UP IN CASE THERE WERE ANY CHICKENS IN TOWN

Not sure where we'll be to-morrow night but we'll try to make it to Bonham Texas where we know we can stay in a Wal-Mart parking lot for the night if we have to. We take this longer route north of Dallas to avoid the traffic congestion & chaos to the south. As long as Kelly keeps feeding me those egg salad sandwiches & coffee & the wind stays at our backs, we'll just keep the big wheels rollin & rollin & rollin.

And thanks to the friends & followers for all the emails & comments yesterday & to-day. I plan to get back to you folks but it might not be until after we're home. By the end of these long travel days I'm just about asleep at the computer. In fact when I'm g..... ....... ................. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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THIS BLOG IS COMING TO YOU FROM ALAMOGORDO NEW MEXICO

GLEASON & PEARCE IN A PLAYFUL MOOD

In the words of television's Gomer Pyle years ago..."surprise, surprise." This blog is coming to you from the downtown fairgrounds in Alamogordo, New Mexico. Jeannie & Ray came home about 10 this morning so we figured there wasn't much point in us sitting around the rest of the day waiting for to-morrow. GLEASON GETS A TUMMY RUB THIS MORNING

The strong wind gusts last night had us out of bed about 1 a.m. but they finally subsided about half an hour later. Nevertheless, not a good sleep!! The sun was up before we were for a change & the start of another fine day was underway. A picture perfect morning for what we knew would be our last walk before leaving the ranch. We had a full turn out with 5 happy wagging furry doggy tails to accompany us up the road & back in the early morning Ariziona sun.

The thought had occurred to us that Jeannie & Ray might be home early this morning because they are early risers like us & we knew they weren't too far from home last night. Sure enough, around 10 the truck & fifth wheel pulled in. They had spent the night in Wilcox. Lots of hugs all way round including the dogs. Had us a bit of a chat for awhile & then we set about getting the rig ready to roll. Luckily I had most everything ready to rumble for Tuesday morning so it didn't take long to get last minute things in order for a Monday morning departure. We all said our good-byes & took some pictures. Jeannie took a couple with me, Pearce & Gleason so I hope to have those shortly. Again it was with mixed feelings but I could smell the dust of the open road in my nose so I was chomping at the bit to get rolling. Waved good-bye to the ranch gang & rolled out the gate at 11:17 a.m. Felt a little guilty at leaving so quick but I knew Jeannie & Ray would understand plus they had just got home from over a months trip & I'm sure they were anxious to get their feet on the ground, unload their fifth wheel, & grab a few zzzzzzz's. MY PAL PEARCE

Didn't take me long to begin my reminiscing as we rolled through Elfrida. Last night's supper with Ingrid & Tom at the Longhorn, Sergeant John's house with his Hudson Hornets in the garage, & the Elfrida Library where we had made 6 or 7 trips for DVD's over the past 7 weeks. There was the road to Gleeson which reminded me our ghost town hunt. Further along another road leading east into the Chiricahua mountains reminded me of our 2 trips into Rucker Canyon. Past the Apache Lair where the Sarge took us for fish n chips a few weeks back. We next passed through Sunizona & that brought back memories of our visit with Rosanna & her Mom Carol at their Paws & Hooves ranch. We continued north on 191 flanked by the mighty Chiricahua Mountains on our right & the Dragoon Mountains on our left with the heavily defended Cochise Stronghold so predominantly wedged into the mountain range. We were reminded of our day at the Chiricahua National Monument & our long hike into Fort Bowie. The Cochise Stronghold's memories came back when we had hiked the Cochise trail to the summit. Passed the turnoff for the ghost town of Pearce & that brought back memories of being there & then traveling on to the Amerind. Memories, memories, memories. We are so fortunate to have our memories & the ways & means to go out there & create those memories in the first place.

191 finally turned us east onto Interstate 10. Picked up an excellent tail wind, flipped on the cruise control & we were well on our way. I watched out the right window & rear view mirrors for many miles as the Chiricahua mountains finally faded into the distant haze. I was wondering if Gleason & Pearce were helping to unload the 5th wheel back at the ranch. Gonna miss those guys.

AL, KELLY, JEANNIE, & RAY

It was such a great feeling to be on the move again watching the great southwest scenery passing by. Mountains lumbered out of the mists on both sides then slowly took their places as they trundled by us heading west. Traffic was lite, ambient music on the radio was relaxing, Kelly made egg salad sandwiches & coffee, & we just kept on rolling & rolling. Wilcox, Lordsburg, Deming, & Las Cruces. Rig was running great & the doggy guys snoozed the miles away. We did get a little turned around in Las Cruses but figured it out enough in time not to get lost too bad. It's a steep climb out of Las Cruces on highway 70 up through the St Agustin Pass into the Organ mountain range. This is a hard grade on an RV & I remember the transmission light flickering on last year when we climbed this mountain. The Chevy workhorse engine & Allison transmission were working overtime. At last the summit was laboriously reached & we tumbled down the other side of the mountain into the Tularosa Valley & headed northeast. This set us up for a nasty crosswind all the way to Alamogordo. We could see towering columns of white sand in the air to our left as we passed the White Sands National Monument. At first I thought it was great clouds of smoke caused by some military tests or something but no, it was white sand being blown hundreds of feet into the air by turbulent winds for miles & miles.

We reached Alamogordo about 5:15 & that marked exactly 6 hours on the road & 317 miles with only one short pit stop for the pooches in Las Cruces. It was just one of those great days when I felt like driving forever & ever. When you have a good tailwind in an RV you want to take full advantage of it because it adds up to substantial gas savings. And, with a motorhome you can do that because it's many, many, miles between gas fill-ups. And you don't have to pull in anywhere for food or washroom breaks because everything is on board just a few steps away. Having lunch & coffee handed to you while on the move is pretty nice. Yessir, no more of that trailer pulling stuff for us guys!!!!

MY PAL GLEASON

Back in December of 08 while on our way out here from Ontario we had stopped in Brownsfield Texas for the night. A fellow there told us of a good spot to park in Alamogordo when we got there so we followed his directions to the large Alamogordo fairgrounds. Lots of room & nobody was around except there was a problem. The whole parking lot had been oiled just hours before we got there & was totally unusable. We then headed south for Oliver Lee State Park where we stayed for a night. Well, we remembered where that fairground was & that is where we are right now, minus the fresh oil of course. A couple of other Class A's pulled in shortly after we did. It's a good free spot for RV's & it's all paved. Oh, & there's a mall right across the road.

TRYING TO GET THE FURRY GUYS TO-GETHER FOR A PICTURE

To-morrow morning we'll head off through the Apache Pass & over the gentle Sierra Blanca mountains. Roswell NM lies on the other side & marks the end of the wild wooly west's many mountain ranges. We'll roll along for miles across flat grassy plains heading ever eastwards. On & on we'll go but where we stop, we don't know.................................:)) ALAMOGORDO FAIRGROUNDS

No photos for the web album to-day.

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DOGS....MY BESTEST PALS OF EVER:))

THE CHICKENS KEEP ASKING....WHEN IS CHECKERS GOING HOME!!

Despite my seemingly gruff outward appearance at times, I am a big softy at heart in many ways. I could feel the twinge of sadness begin as soon as I stepped out of the motorhome this morning. My two best ranch pals Gleason & Pearce came running over as they do every morning as soon as they see either Kelly or I. Tails wagging, jumping & playing. Gleason rolls over on her back for big tummy rub while Pearce snuggles up as close as he can get for big smooches on the nose. This goes on periodically all day long as we cross paths here & there on the ranch property. The sadness comes from knowing we will only be here one more day & I am going to miss my new best pals more than anything else. ANOTHER PEACEFUL MORNING WALK

It was a beautiful morning & we had our side door wide open from 6:30 on. Sunlight played across the distant Mule Mountains between cloud patterns & flocks of birds were in full spring song. I kept looking over at the mountains on our walk trying to imprint on my mind the beauty I was seeing. We don't have mountains on our morning walks where we live in Ontario so these memories are going to have to last me awhile until we return once more, one day, to our beloved American Southwest. DAPPLED MORNING SUNLIGHT ON THE MULE MOUNTAINS

Ingrid & Tom dropped Corky off (their big black Lab) about 9 so it was more snuggles & wagging tails. Sometimes I get down on the ground with the guys & it's dogs, dogs, everywhere flying around upside down. It's no wonder dogs are referred to as man's best friends. That sure has been the case in my life & I am very thankful for that. I'M GONNA GO OVER THERE & CATCH ME A CHICKEN!!

I saw Checkers whisper something in Corky's ear this afternoon & it wasn't long & the two of them had the chickens out to play. We hastily rounded up the ladies but not before our little Motormouse got in on the action taking a big run right into the midst of them. The birds just simply flapped themselves up & out of the way while the little Motormouse skidded headlong into the chicken wire fence shortening her nose up even more. She picked herself up, dusted herself off & beat a hasty retreat for the motorhome amidst a lot of feathered clucking sounds that sounded an awful lot like laughter to me. To save the chickens any further undo stress & exercise we put them in their main pen where the door has a latch & is Checkerproof. AND WE'RE GONNA MISS YOU GUYS TOO

Spent a lot of time reading this afternoon because I wanted to finish up my Walter Cronkite book before we leave. The book is entitled, A Reporters Life & was a bit heavy reading in spots for me but I did make it through cover to cover. He sure reveals the shady side of politics over the years & the game playing that goes on behind closed doors both in politics & the media. It doesn't leave you with a lot of trust in your fellow man. With all the ongoing Wall Street scandals it must be very difficult for a man of principle like Walter Cronkite, coming from a different era & morals to even begin to comprehend what has happened to the world he once knew & loved. MORNING CLEAN UP AROUND THE HAY BALES

Kelly is reading a book at the moment called, The Evolution Angel by Dr. Michael Abrams that sounds interesting. One line in the book goes something like, "we are not human beings going through life having a spiritual experience, we are spiritual beings going through life having a human experience." When I heard that, a dim light flickered on in my dense fog of understanding & I thought to myself, now there's something that finally makes a bit of sense to me. INGRID & TOM AT THE LONGHORN

When Ingrid & Tom returned from Sierra Vista this afternoon they invited us over to the Longhorn in Elfrida for supper. They are an interesting & kindly couple. Ingrid is a German lady who escaped the firebombing of Dresden during the second world war & fled Germany with members of her family narrowly avoiding capture by the Russians. She eventually made her way to America. Tom was in the Amercian Airborne 82nd Division during the war. Seems unlikely that a German girl & an American soldier would ever end up someday married for over 50 years but that's just what happened & it has been nice knowing them & hearing of their adventures over the years. Corky was in their truck waiting when we left so I blew him a smooch & waved good-bye. He was looking very sad............ & so was I:(( HE WAS LOOKING VERY SAD.....AND SO WAS I

It's windy to-night so that could mean a restless sleep for us. To-morrow will be final preparations for leaving Tuesday morning & I'll hitch the car up later to-morrow afternoon.
It will be a sad departure but I know once we make the turn onto Interstate 10 about an hour & some north of here my mind-set will change & the excitement of the open road will take over & my focus will be on the homeward journey. My mind will shift from looking back to looking ahead as we bring the bow into the wind with all sails set for home....................:))

No photos for the web album to-night.

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CHECKERS GIVES THE ROOSTER A GOOD BARKING TOO!!

ANOTHER FINE SUNSET OVER THE MULE MOUNTAINS

Well, the most exciting thing we did to-day was take a big bag of garbage to the Elfrida dump this morning. Now, where do I go with the blog from here:(( LOOKING SOUTH INTO MEXICO

Jeannie & Ray will be home sometime Monday so it looks like our departure date will be Tuesday morning bright & early. Secured the bicycles on the back to-day, re-organized some bins & to-morrow morning early I'll clean some windows & mirrors before the big winds roll in. Corky, the big black energy dog comes for the day to-morrow so that will be good for some rollicking tumbles in the grass. MULE MOUNTAINS NEAR BISBEE

Checkers let the chickens out again to-day for about the fourth time but it has turned out not to be a problem. The girls like to come out & strut around in the fresh & newly growing green spring grass. Checkers then goes into the chicken coop & really gives the rooster a good barking too in the next pen. It seems to be the rooster who is the focus of Checkers attention. Could be because the rooster is male & Checkers is acting on the girl's behalf about issues of the past when the rooster may have seemingly had his way with the ladies causing some undue stress & embarrassment in the old hen house. Whatever it is, Checkers has sure been giving the old rooster a piece of her mind!! By the time we leave the old bird may have changed his roguish ways completely. Yesterday was Kelly's last Yoga class & afterwards she got talking with some of the other ladies there. Turns out one of the ladies lives just south of McNeal at a Quakers community. It's an interesting concept they have & I was surprised to hear it was not based on religion. How refreshing!! We took a drive through there on our way back from Elfrida & it looked like quite a peaceful little community. Saw a small flock of Sand Hill Cranes this morning but the bulk of the birds have left for their northern summer quarters. I think some of them go to Nebraska & some of the older birds just fly over to Elfrida & hang around the Longhorn saloon for the summer. THE TOMBSTONE HILLS

To-day marks day 44 for us at the ranch & that is by far the longest we have ever stayed in one location. It also marks 101 days since having to pay for a campsite. At an average of $23 a night we have saved about $2,530.00. That more than pays for our gas here & back plus covers our propane usage for over 4 months plus buys us a fair good bunch of Cracker Barrel meals. Cost of having 2 solar panels plus 4 new batteries & accompanying hardware/software installed by Solar Mike's Sunworks in Slab City California over a year ago was about $3000.00. http://www.thesunworks.com/id7.htm Our solar installation has already paid for itself because we boondocked 2 months out of last years season too. We can generally do a couple weeks of comfortable boondocking before having to dump tanks & take on water. If it wasn't for having to dump the black tank we could boondock indefinitely because water can always be brought back in containers. SUN IS GOING DOWN OVER SIERRA VISTA ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MULE MOUNTAINS

Just when I thought I didn't have any photos for the blog to-night I was lucky enough to catch another nice sunset going down....................................

THE GLEASON MOUNTAINS

No photos for the web album to-night.

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A QUIET FINAL FEW DAYS BEFORE THE LONG JOURNEY HOME

SIGNS OF SPRING AT DUSK

It was actually a relief to see clouds this morning because it meant we were going to have a cooler day. Even with A/C going the last few days you just couldn't escape the heat build up in our rig. Windows & blinds closed to keep out old Sol's hot rays but it still gets mighty warm inside. To-day all the windows, vents, & side door are open letting welcomed cooling breezes flow through. Weatherman has issued a wind advisory for Sunday so looks like we're in for another big blow. We Canadians are known for always talking & complaining about the weather so just wanted to clear that up too. IT'S AL ON EARLY MORNING POOPER SCOOPER PATROL

About a week ago I added a widget to the bottom of the blog called, Linkwithin. It's those 3 little pictures of past blogs that may relate somehow to the present day blog above. Might be a little confusing to folks if they click on one from a couple years ago because we were traveling with a tan GMC truck & a white Rockwood 5th wheel at that time. And before that you might see us in small Class C Ford Gulfstream. Noticed that some of the blogs don't have dates on them but if we're in the truck & fifth wheel it will be the 07/08 winter season & if it's the Class C, that is a trip to Big Bend in Texas back in December of 2004. THE LITTLE ALPINE VILLAGE OF BISBEE IS THERE IN THE MULE MOUNTAINS

And a few words for several of our neighbors back home who are going through some very difficult medical problems right now. We are thinking of you & hoping your situations will improve. We'll see you out in the flower gardens soon. TWI-LIGHT AT THE RANCH

These are a quiet final few days here at the ranch before heading home. Kind of like the lull before the impending travel storm. We will take our usual route of about 2,400 miles of Interstates & highways. We have found a route that works well for us & have over the past few years become familiar with the rest stops, traffic hot spots, mountain passes, boondocking spots, & State Parks. Oh yes, & a few Cracker Barrels along the way too. SUNDOWN

No idea how long it will take us because it all depends on the weather at this time of year. Last year we had to hold up in Arkansas for a couple of gloomy wet & rainy days beside a lake waiting for a bad snowstorm west of Memphis to blow itself out. March is a volatile weather month across the country so we really have to pay attention to weather forecasts all the way. Two years ago we got into a bad Michigan storm with our truck & fifth wheel. That was not nice. Ice formed on the fifth wheel adding a lot of weight which in turn set up a bucking motion between the truck & trailer. I could not even hold a cup of coffee without the coffee jumping out the top. Some Interstates are made of cement slabs with a bump at the seams & that just made the bucking worse. By the time we got home the whole back of the truck, hitch, & trailer were coated in ice & I had to go to the local hardware store for a propane torch to thaw out the hitch before I could get the trailer off the truck. That was enough of that & we traded that truck & fifth wheel 3 months later for a motorhome & have never looked back. We love our motorhome.....10-4!! It's now after 8 o'clock at night, the side door & windows are wide open & it's a calm night. Kelly's in the ranch house with Motormouse watching her TV shows, Checkers is laying outside the door on a mat, & Max is already stretched out on my bed. The ranch dogs Gleason & Pearce are out there somewhere in the darkness patrolling the grounds along with Charlie the friendly cat. The chickens are roosting for the night the donkeys & horses are safe in the back 40. And I know the Goldfish in all the drinking troughs are having themselves a quiet night as well. My soothing ambient music is quietly playing away on the satellite radio here in the rig while I'm contentedly working away on the computer putting another daily blog to-gether. Now how much nicer could life be than that eh. My thanks goes out to the people who actually read the blog & give me reason & purpose each day to clear the mind's cobwebs & look for new photos & blog topics. Thanks guys, much appreciated..................................................:)) AND ANOTHER FINE DAY DRAWS TO A CLOSE AT THE RANCH

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GOT GOOIE LOUIED AT THE BBC IN BISBEE TO-DAY

I'M ABOUT TO GOOIE LOUIE MYSELF

We had some DVD's from the Bisbee library to take back before we leave soon so it was off to Bisbee we went this morning. Before we left I spent some time checking the motorhomes tire pressures, oil, trans fluid, radiator fluid, etc. Wanted to get that done early in the morning when the air is still cool & comfortable enough to do things like that. Grabbed a shower & we were westbound for Bisbee by 10. No Mexican back-packs along the way on Frontier road this morning. Got me a real nice fleece lined denim work jacket out the last backpack we found but feel bad for the fellow who lost it by suddenly having to shed his heavy load. If I knew who or where he was I would return the jacket to him but that's not likely to happen. LOOKS LIKE KELLY'S GOT SOME HEAVY READING AHEAD OF HER

First stop in Bisbee was a Thrift store & I actually made it in & out of there without spending my dollar. Next was Safeway for groceries & then off to the Bisbee Breakfast Club for lunch. That is one very busy place & we had to wait a few minutes for a seat. We had heard they have good burgs in there so I immediately went to that section of the menu. Just below the standard burg was something called a Gooie Louie so without further hesitation I knew anything with a name like that has got to be good. And so it was. Topped with mushrooms, onions, & Jim Bean's barb-e-que sauce it had a great flavor. It comes complete with home cut fries on a bed of lettuce, tomatoes, & ucky pickles. I'm not a pickle person!! This was a great burg & lived up well to it's name. Two thumbs up for the BBC's Gooie Louie:)) Kelly had something called a Grilled Coffee Chicken Breast. Don't ask, I have no idea what the coffee has to do with it. She said it was really good & ate the whole darn thing all by herself. BISBEE'S CITY PARK

Next stop was the Library to return the DVDs. Really nice old stone & brick building right in the heart of downtown Bisbee. This is one great little town & the more you get around to see, the greater it gets. You have to drive the narrow hillside streets as well as walk them. Everytime we go there we discover new things. It's hard for me to find the right words to describe this town so if your in the area just go to Bisbee & take a few days to walk the town & it's cliffhanging back streets & alleys. Climb it's thousands of steps, & enjoy it's quaint little cafe's & shoppes. This town is a photographer's paradise. Everything is here. Architecture, color, ambience, nature, landscapes, old cars, characters of all description, flowers, trees, an abundance of old buildings, history, birds, etc. etc. etc. The absolutely rare Abyssinian Asscrather bird has even been seen here nesting in an old sleeping hippies beard. Art studios & crafts are everywhere. Of all the towns & cities I've seen in my lifetime I would have to say Bisbee is at the top of my list as far as interesting places to visit. If I was forced to live in a small town again I would choose Bisbee Arizona & if I was a talented young professional photographer I would definitely make Bisbee my home for awhile & absolutely photograph the complete heck out of the whole darn place. I LOVE THE BOLD COLORS IN THIS TOWN

Last week when we visited the Texas John Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas & forgot to mention something about the road leading to the ranch. It's called The Geronimo Trail & it was the inspiration for Stan Jones's 1948 country hit song, "Ghost Riders In The Sky." I have misplaced the literature but it was along this trail either during or after a thunderstorm that he was inspired to write the song. One of my favs & I have the Vaughn Monroe version in my music library.

Checkers let the chickens out to-day again................................. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

ROUNDING UP ALL OUR EMAIL FRIENDS

ON THE COCHISE TRAIL IN THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS FEB 23/09

We knew it was hot out to-day when Kelly opened the barb-e-que lid this afternoon & the sun automatically lit the propane burners. Pearce & Gleason, the ranch dogs barricaded themselves in the cool ranch house & refused to come out. And two of the chickens laid fried eggs!! And you know what, it isn't even the hot summer season yet. IN THE GHOST TOWN OF CHARLESTON NEAR SIERRA VISTA JANUARY 28/09

Spent the biggest part of the morning on the computer gathering to-gether scattered emails, notes, & memos. I'm usually kind of well organized but our 3 email accounts had steadily been getting ahead of me. Should have set up a better system before leaving Ontario but fell into that, round-to-it stage so here I am nearly at the end of our trip organizing files that should have been done at the beginning of the trip. Sound familiar?? I came across a lot of people I had been meaning to email & stay in touch with so I've dashed off some quick emails to see if they are still out there amongst the land of the living. I always have a twinge of guilt if I don't get back to someone who has obviously taken some time out of their day to email us. Am hoping by rounding everyone up into the proper corals I'll be able to keep a closer eye on the herd. I enjoy communicating with people on the internet and don't want to leave anyone out. Just wasn't prepared for the number of emails coming in though. But, no excuses!! IN THE GHOST TOWN OF MILLVILLE

Sometimes there are website links from people in the emails, comments, or guest book pages. Some of those websites have music on them when opened. Our Verizon program allows us 5GB a month for bandwidth. Because I upload a lot of photos we just barely squeak under our quota each month & there is a heavy financial penalty if you go over. In order to wiggle under the line we don't listen to or download any music, podcasts, videos, animated jokes & cards, etc. When I hear music on somebody's website I have to turn the site off because I'm worried about using up bandwidth. This is really unfortunate because there are fellow RV'ers & bloggers out there with great sites that we're missing. No problem looking at these sites when we get home because we're on unlimited cable. But no can do while on the road. Came across some this morning while re-organizing & that is what reminded me of it. IN THE FORT HUACHUCA MUSEUM FEBRUARY 3/09

Kelly's place of employment back home is Deerpark Lodge in Bayfield. It's a seasonal business & that allows us to travel in the winter months. However, Kelly in effect, is still working. All calls to Deerpark are forwarded to a cell phone which Kelly carries with her. She handles all the reservations for the upcoming season so not only travels with a cell phone, but a big reservation book as well. That phone can ring at anytime & anywhere. We could be driving through downtown Indianapolis, eating tacos at Jilbertos in Boreggo Springs California, cresting a mountain road in the Chiricahuas, hiking a mountain trail in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, or fighting a heavy crosswind on a Kansas interstate. Makes no difference to the cell phone, it still rings. People on the other end have no idea they are talking to someone far away in the American southwest. They assume Kelly is sitting in the Deerpark office taking the call. Big surprise when some of them ask about the frigid temperatures & how much snow is in Bayfield. And now that spring is here the phone has been getting steadily busier. To-day's photos show Kelly taking some of those calls in different places we have been while I've had a camera close by. IN THE RIG FEBRUARY 10/09

Watched the second half of the Bob Dylan DVD this afternoon. "No Direction Home" reveals a Bob Dylan that I had always suspected. An ordinary talented guy with a knack for stringing words to-gether in a way that put his inner thoughts & feelings out onto the public stages of the world in a way that clearly shook up a whole generation. He was clearly uncomfortable in front of cameras & silly media questions & spurned the publics determination to turn him into some kind of great guru which he himself knew he wasn't. An honest & unassuming fellow despite all the hype. Great song writer & his music will live on for sure. It's a revealing DVD & I enjoyed it.IN THE DOUGLAS ARIZONA WAL-MART STORE FEBRUARY 8/09

Surprise visitor late this afternoon. Sergeant John stopped in on his way home from Fort Huachuca. I did a blog a few weeks ago about John & his Hudson Hornets. He didn't want us slipping away without saying good-bye. We have a bad habit of doing that so John made sure he was one step ahead of us. That's military training for ya:))

Double checked our medical coverage yesterday & realized it runs out on April 1rst so once we leave here we'll have to make some fast tracks for the Ontario border for sure.

ANOTHER CALL IN THE GHOST TOWN OF MILLVILLE ARIZONA

To-morrow will probably be our last trip to Bisbee so we want to slip into the BBC (Bisbee Breakfast Club) where we hear they put up a pretty good lunch special. I have a feeling I might get dragged through a couple thrift stores too. I'm only going to put a dollar in my pocket so I don't get carried away & blow my whole allowance for the week...........................

OUTSIDE THE CEMETERY IN THE GHOST TOWN OF PEARCE ARIZONA

No photos for the web album to-night.

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/