STICKY BUNNED AT THE BBC IN BISBEE:))

It's 3:15 a.m. Sunday morning & as usual I woke up early so figured I'd take another crack at re-writing Saturday night's blog.  When the computer seized up last night a combination of failed back-up errors on my part led to me losing the whole blog.

OLD ERIE STREET JUST DOWN FROM THE BBC

Saturday November 21rst 2009

At this time of year the nights can be very cold here in the high desert region of southeastern Arizona.  Thermometer this morning read 27F again when we got up around 6.  By the time I'm out the door around 7 to unlock the gate, feed the chickens, one cat, & two dogs, it sure hasn't warmed up any & I'm glad to get back to the warmth of the rig.  I would say the cold night's are the biggest downfall of the southwestern high desert regions.  I think we are somewhere around the 4,000 foot elevation mark here & in the southwest temperatures are governed by elevation.

ANOTHER GORGEOUS SUNRISE AT THE RANCH

We were getting a bit low on groceries so right after our dog walk around 9 this morning we headed off for the little alpine like town of  Bisbee Arizona nestled in the Mule Mountains about 25 minutes southwest of the ranch.  First stop was the farmer's market located in Warren which is now a part of overall Bisbee.  Hadn't been to that market before so just wanted to mainly have a look at it.  Didn't buy anything but I did manage to candidly photograph some of the locals who frequent the market.  I will add those people pics to an upcoming blog shortly along with other characters I photographed in & around Bisbee itself.

AT THE FARMER’S MARKET

It's a short drive from Warren over to the BBC (BISBEE BREAKFAST CLUB) on old Erie Street about a half mile south of historic downtown Bisbee itself.  As usual there were lots of people there & we were fortunate enough to get a table for two right by a big window at the entrance.  Kelly ordered up a big plate of something called Santa Fe Shrimp & I had my usual glass of water with a swatch of grass & a side order of parsley sprigs.....ya right!!  The BBC is well known for it's cinnamon sticky buns which it only makes & serves on the week-ends.  Kelly figured we should try one so we ordered a single sticky bun to split between us.  When that heated thing landed on our table dripping with melted butter I knew we were in big trouble.  This bun must have had a ka-zillion million calories in it because it just looked soooooooo good.  In anticipation of the yumminess we were about to consume I tried to take a picture of it but blurred the photo.  I think it was my happy tummy that made my hand shake.  No doubt this was probably the best sticky bun we've ever had & for that reason we most likely will not be having another one.  It was just too good & could become habit forming in an instant & I certainly do not need any more bad eating habits!!

BBC’S SANTA FE SHRIMP LEFT & A BIG STICKY BUN ON THE RIGHT 

I have blogged about the BBC & the street it's located on before.  We were here a week or so ago & also frequented the area back in February & March this year.  If you type BBC or Bisbee into the search box to the right of this post you can probably find those blogs plus there are photo albums for those days as well.  This old street is very photographic so once again after we ate I headed on down the sidewalk for a few more photos of the permanent yellow Chevy taxi that sits by the curb.  Noticed they have added a couple of old gas pumps behind the car as well.

GAS PUMPS HAVE BEEN INSTALLED SINCE LAST MARCH

The heart & main downtown section of Bisbee itself is located about a half mile from the BBC on the other side of the large open Lavender pit mine on the south side of the highway.  We rolled into the historic downtown & followed the narrow turning main street toward the north end of town where we made a sharp right hand hairpin turn onto a very narrow street heading up a very steep hill.  We were familiar with this part of town having driven through it before coming the other way.  Once you get off the main street & up the hillsides into the living part of Bisbee it is hard to call them streets anymore.  More like alleyways snaking around sharp corners & steep grades.  A lot of these tiny roads dead end & you have to back up & wiggle your way around a bit to get rolling again.  It's all part of the enjoyment & experience of Bisbee:))  Many of the roads are only wide enough for one vehicle & even then you have to keep your eyes open for porch's, sides of buildings, somebody walking, kid's playing, stone walls, iron gates, & countless stone stairways.  No matter how many times we come to Bisbee it is always a new experience for us & new treasures & surprises to be found.  The colors & architecture here are amazing not to mention the art of landscape living on the sides of what seem impossible hills & grades.  Man's ingenuity years ago is apparent in the many retaining walls, tightly packed houses, & how cleverly the thousands of stone steps inter-connect the whole mountain goat like terrain.  No fat folks living here that's for sure.

 

 

(click on any photo to enlarge it)

If you come to Bisbee & drive by it or through it you will not experience the true Bisbee itself.  For that you have to get out & walk, you have to climb the stairs & walk or drive the higher narrow roads.  You have to get up into the hillside above the main street below.  At times you are only a few feet from the highest sections of rooftops as you look across the town to the mountains beyond.  No, you cannot just drive into Bisbee, park your car, browse a few shops, & then leave again saying you have seen Bisbee.  You have seen nothing!!  If you come to Bisbee be prepared to spend many enjoyable hours here.  Yes, you might get a little dust on your shoes but you will see great old buildings, colorful characters, old hippies, young yuppies, cowboys, old clunker cars, BMW's, Jaguars, bikers, art galleries, painters, minstrels, sculptors, hippy vans, & maybe a few folks wearing guns.  Saw a guy with a gun & holster in the BBC last March & yes the gun was real.  Don't see that kind of thing in Canada that's for sure. 

CHECKING OUT AN ARTSY STORE

Bisbee is an old mining town right out of the rootin tootin pages of the wild west.  A walk up Brewery Gulch takes you back to a time in the late 1800's when hotels, bars, saloons, & brothels lined the streets.  Not hard to imagine the late night brawls & gunfights that took place here.  The street & buildings are pretty much as they were back at the turn of the century & the town is not commercialized like some other popular western towns.  It's just kind of a folksy atmosphere with real people doing real every day things.

JUST A FRACTION OF THE TOWN ABOVE THE TOWN

Oh, & I should warn anyone thinking of coming to Bisbee for a visit.  There are no Wal-Marts or big box stores here, no vast parking lots leading to mindless shopping malls, no hoity toity big high end stores & no fancy schmancy over priced restaurants to feel uncomfortable in.  Like I said, it's a folksy/artsy kind of place so bring your camera, your sense of adventure, leave your attitude at home & enjoy the experience & beauty of Bisbee.

PART OF BISBEE’S OPEN LAVENDER PIT MINE

Our last stop for the day was my favorite little grocery store in Bisbee's San Jose section.  Kelly slipped into the store while I stayed in the car & rested my legs.  I did pop in for a burnt tasting Charbuck's coffee to go though.  I always think of you Doug when I'm occasionally forced to have a Charbucks because I remember you telling me how awful you thought our Canadian Tim Horton's coffee was & about the time you threw one across a parking lot.  Oh well, we are all a bunch of different characters aren't we:))

THE WALL OF MANY FACES

We were back to the ranch about 3 & I was in my chair & sound asleep by 3:01.  To-morrow we're heading out again but not sure where we are going.  Have a couple options up our sleeves but will decide in the morning.

ONE OF TWO SECTIONS AT THE BISBEE BREAKFAST CLUB

I'm not going to try & cram all of to-day's photos into the blog but will theme them in over the next bunch of days or so.  Might also upload a separate Bisbee album to Picasa Web Albums as well.  Hadn't intended on taking so many pictures to-day but whenever we go to Bisbee I never come away from there with empty cameras!!  It's a good thing those old 35mm film days are long gone or I'd need a full time job just to buy film.  It's after 5 a.m. now so just about time to go back to bed & get up again.........oh dear:((

OVERLOOKING THE TOWN……JUST ONE OF MANY GREAT VIEWS

GROANER'S CORNER:((  If electricity comes from electrons... does that mean that morality comes from morons?

FACEBOOK READERS GO HERE TO SEE OUR ACTUAL WEBSITE COMPLETE WITH PHOTOS & MORE INFO.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL

NO BLOG TO-NIGHT…..THE COMPUTER SEIZED UP & I LOST THE WHOLE POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just spent about 3 hours putting everything to-gether, the computer seized up, & I lost the whole post.  It’s 10 o’clock & I don’t have enough energy to start all over again:))

ONE OF TO-DAY’S PICTURES FROM BISBEE……………………

GOOD NEWS FROM VANCOUVER:))

 

KELLY TALKING TO HER DAUGHTER SARAH ON SKYPE THIS AFTERNOON

This was the first morning we were not below the freezing mark in the last 4 days.  On the cold nights we turn off all the outside water here.  There are a lot of irrigation & water pipes on the ranch so water has to be shut off at a main valve about a foot underground.  It's easily accessible so no problem.  Trick is to keep an eye on the days weather to see how low the night time desert temperatures will drop.

TOP:  PROUD DADDY BRADLEY WITH HIS LITTLE PRINCES……BEAMING MOM SARAH WITH HER LITTLE PRINCE…….BOTTOM :  BABY GIRL AT LEFT & BABY BOY AT RIGHT

Mother & twins are doing fine up there in Vancouver BC Canada.  Kelly talked to her daughter Sarah & son-in-law Bradley to-day on Skype.  The baby girl (twins aren't named yet) is now out of neo natal intensive care & will be in the same room to-night as her new twin brother.  Sarah had developed a serious condition known as Hellp syndrome & that had complicated things for a few crucial days.  Everything is on the up & up now & they should all be one big happy family back home soon. 

TELESCOPE AT LEFT IS SET UP FOR ASTRONOMY & AT RIGHT IS CONFIGURED FOR THE CAMERA (the tall mossmagator thingy on the top is a red laser beam pointer for aligning the scope with an object in the night sky)

Kelly was off to Yoga this morning so I was able to put away my book of 1001 excuses for another few days.  Corky's Mom & Dad dropped him off about 11 so there was lots of neat-o play time doggy stuff going on for the rest of the day.  In between all that we managed to clear a bunch of old dead tomato stocks out of the garden too.

MY PAL CORKY

Sure wished I had something more exciting to write about but these are quiet days at the ranch right now.  I had uploaded a photo album to Picasa Web Albums on Thursday but to-day I deleted it & started all over.  Had made too many mistakes in putting the album to-gether & after looking at it to-day knew it was not acceptable.  I will do the new upload next time I'm at the Elfrida Library.

 

SAND HILL CRANES HEADING TO THEIR ROOSTING SITE AT THE WHITE WATER DRAW  (700mm lens)

Started reading my new National Geographic book, 'Backyard Guide To The Night Sky' a couple days ago.  Great book so far & to-night I was able to clearly see 4 of Jupiter's moons with my telescope.  It's a Stellarvue Nighthawk 80mm refractor scope & I have 3 varying power eyepieces for it.  A 5mm, 17mm, & a 35mm. With the moon being in it's quarter stage the craters & ridges are easily seen because of the shadowy contrast effect.  Contrary to popular belief a full moon is not the best time to look at it with a telescope.  Too bright & the lighting is too flat.  The cold & dry desert air is perfect of stargazing.  No humidity in the air to make images unstable.  Later to-night I will take myself for a tour around the sky checking out the Andromeda Galaxy, the double cluster in Perseus & the Orion Nebulae with various stops in between.  Like the song says, "fly me to the moon & let me play amongst the stars:))"

MAX IS RESTING HIS LEG ON THE MOTORMOUSE

DOG, DOGS, EVERYWHERE TO-DAY

GROANER'S CORNER:((  At a hastily called press conference this morning, the Taliban Minister of Emigration . . . . . Mohammed Omar, warned the United States that if any further military action was taken against Afghanistan, Taliban authorities would not hesitate to cut off America's supply of convenience store managers.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

AN EXCITING DAY FOR GRAMMA KELLY:))

MOTORMOUSE & HER BESTEST LITTLE PAL……FUNKY CHICKEN

Turned out to be an exciting day for Kelly.  One of her twin daughters gave birth late last night to a set of twins herself in Vancouver, British Columbia.  A few complications for the 4.5 pound boy & 4.3 pound girl plus Mom, but they are all doing much better to-day.  Sarah, Kelly's daughter, will have to remain in hospital a couple extra days though.  Needless to say she has been a busy little computer person to-day with emails & Skype calls to Spain, Cambridge Ontario, Spencerport New York & a few places in between.  Exciting times for sure:))

SAND HILL CRANES……..700MM

Did some updates on the laptop at the Elfrida library & uploaded another album to Picasa Web Albums this morning but I have to re-edit that album & make some changes & add some captions.  The librarian gave me the website of another couple living in McNeal who are fairly knowledgeable about this area so I hope to meet them before too long.  They had a photo of the stone cairn where Tombstone's infamous Johnny Ringo is buried & I would like to know where that is plus the McLaury boys who were killed in the shoot-out with Wyatt Erp at the OK corral had a ranch near McNeal here somewhere & I'm curious as to where that was.

SURVEILENCE BLIMP OVER SIERRA VISTA 30 MILES AWAY

Set my wayward tri-pod up this afternoon & popped my Nikon D-40 on it with the Stellarvue telescope/camera lens attached.  Was hoping to catch some returning Sand Hill Cranes but they obviously saw me setting up & immediately cleared the area.  All morning & early afternoon there had been flock after flock of Cranes going over but as soon as I was set up & swung my lens around & up into the air.............there was nothing there!!  Not a bird to be seen or heard.  Nothing!!  Isn't that always the way though.  About 3 hours later I heard a familiar weebling sound in the distance & managed one photo of 6 Cranes winging their way south just west of the ranch.

TO-NIGHT’S CRESCENT MOON

Managed a few shots of the crescent moon after supper.  Also a shot of the Border Patrol Surveillance Blimp flying high over Sierra Vista on the other side of the Mule Mountains from us.  It would be about 30 miles away as the crow flies so that 700mm lens did well in picking up that blimp.  Also a test shot in the dark of a porch light & silhouetted bell at the ranch house about 300 yards away.  Am looking forward to tracking down some local birds at the White Water Draw just down the road.  Some of you may remember the bird photos I did this past summer with this lens back home in Bayfield.  It's not an easy lens to use though because it is first & foremost a telescope & not designed for a camera so 2 separate adapters have to be used in attaching it to my camera.  I have no control over this lens except for shutter speed.  Focusing is done manually & because the lens is very heavy a tri-pod is required.   Oh well, keeps me on my toes & makes me do some manual thinking myself for a change.

 

To-morrow my old doggy pal Corky is coming for the day.  Haven't seen him since last March so I wonder if he'll remember me.  That will be 7 of us old scruffy dogs running around the ranch to-morrow if you include me.  And I'm sure Kelly would:))

GROANER'S CORNER:))  My last job was working at Starbucks, but I had to quit because it was always the same old grind and the job had no perks.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

SPENT PART OF THE DAY WORKING ON OUR LIVE WRITER PROBLEM!!

 

SUNSET AT THE CORRAL

We've been working on our Live Writer problem to-day but we are not a lot further ahead than when we started this morning despite reading reams of info, applying fixes, trying this & trying that.  And I should say it was Kelly who was doing most of the working. 

After Live Writer failed to publish last night again for about the 8th time in the last couple of weeks I was just so mad I grabbed the anchor chain & jumped overboard.  Kelly spent part of the day hauling me back aboard after RICK from Cowichan Bay in British Columbia had thrown me down a long lifeline in the form of an email this morning.  One of my self imposed problems is that I work on the blog at exactly the wrong time of day.  I am usually very tired at night & it is that time of day I have the least amount of patience left in my daily  patience reservoir for things that go bump in the computer.  I think Blogs & things like that are best done in the morning but my problem is, by that time I've probably forgot most of what went on the day before.  So, I'm stuck with nights.

Kelly chased the problem up this alley & down the next.  Emails to Microsoft & help forums.  She found that others were having similar problems & she found answers & solutions by various people.  She tried them all & none of them worked.  She went at the problem from different angles as did Rick from B.C.  Rick sent emails with possible fixes as well.  We practically re-wrote the rules but nothing worked.  And where was I when all this was going on??  I was making up some egg salad & peanut butter sandwiches to put in my knapsack before heading across the desert on foot to the distant mountains.  Figured on becoming a Hermit to escape all this frustrating technology stuff.  Living in a cave with a stick actually seemed attractive.

However, Kelly convinced me otherwise so I ate my sandwiches & sat down at the computer.  Ran a series of simple test Live Writer tests using text only, text & pics, pics only, plus photos in the Live Writer Photo Album.  Five out of 6 tests published successfully & thanks to the folks who responded with positive feedback about those tests.  The one test which failed was Live Writer's Photo Album after I uploaded about a dozen pics to it.  I am beginning to suspect a problem with that animated photo album.

To-night I will just put a  few simple photos in the blog & see if it will publish.  To-morrow night maybe the same plus a Table or something.  I'll add a little more each night until it fails to publish again & that should give me an idea of what feature is broken in Live Writer.  Or maybe I'll do all of that to-morrow as more tests.  We'll see.  Plan to slip into the Elfrida Library while Kelly goes to an exercise class in the morning & get my Picasa Web Albums updated.  Don't want to use our Verizon bytes for that.

We also have to get ourselves working on some day trips around the area shortly as well.  Our blog numbers are dropping like the autumn leaves & that tells me I'm boring people so it's time to get out & rustle up some excitement, new ghost towns, & interesting places.  Besides, this old rolling stone is beginning to get some moss on him again and I don't like when that happens!!  I didn't spend this past totally boring summer sitting around waiting to get on the road again just to sit around allowing moss to grow on me!!

Ok, I'm gonna try & post this now, but if it fails to publish again to-night I am definitely loading up my knapsack with peanut butter sandwiches & heading for that cave in the mountains!!!!!!

P.S. And thanks to Rick's sharp eye for pulling my bacon out of the fire this morning when I got my Jerry's & Suzy's, & Sherri's & Barry's , mixed up with my Bruces & Mooses again.  Whewwww, close call there for sure.  Thought I saw my life flash before me....................10-4

GROANER'S CORNER:))  A few years ago I thought my mining job was interesting.....but then they gave me the shaft!!

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

THE BENSON BUNCH MEETS THE BAYFIELD BUNCH

THE COWBOY COOKIE SHOOT-OUT

Well, as soon as towering Jerry got out of the car this morning I knew I was in big trouble because he was definitely bigger than me. I might be wider but he was definitely taller!! Suzy exited their car with cowboy cookies in hand but I was able to quickly dis-arm her in the midst of a hug. I immediately shifted their attention off the cookies so I could sneak some before taking them for a walk around tour of the ranch. And, when I had shaken hands with Jerry earlier I did not detect any peanut butter & onions fumes emitting from under his cowboy hat Rick. Whewww, close call there for sure.

                                                      THE 'COOKIE MAN' HIMSELF

Well, let me tell ya......THESE ARE NICE FOLKS.   Kelly had just left for Yoga when Jerry & Suzy rolled in so we had a couple of hours talking to do before Kelly got back. Now, I'm not a real good conversationist so was a bit worried about that. I have zero interest in sports, politics, or hunting & fishing so that usually knocks me out of about 90% of all male conversations right off the start but the 3 of us found some common ground right off the bat & we were away. Cowboy cookies, the RV lifestyle, blogging, & photography, kept us busy as did the antics of various dogs coming & going. The Sand Hill Cranes provided photo opportunities for Suzi & every once in awhile the nearby donkeys threw in an opinion or two.

JERRY & SUZY AT THE RANCH

Kelly was back from Yoga about 12:30 & brought her easy going personality with her. Where I am a bit clumsy in conversations she is a master of schmoooooz & no matter where we go she wins the hearts of one & all. Well, she won the heart of this old cursmudgeon 16 years ago ya know. We are truly a good example of beauty & the beast.....Kelly being the beauty of course!! And, while all the conversations were rattling around to-day I was sipping away on those totally delicious cowboy cookies. Right now as I am typing this to-night I'm feeling a tad uncomfortable from wolfing down so many of those round little delectable's. And yes, I did win the shoot-out by consuming the most cookies alright but Jerry being older, wiser, & bigger, turned out to be more wily in the ways of cookie shoot-outs & won in the end by not overloading himslelf like a two legged dump truck.........which I did  !! Jerry had sent an email earlier saying he wasn't quite up to speed to-day because of a little arthritis in his trigger finger. Ya right Jerry!! All & all it was good day & a real pleasure to meet some really nice folks.......10-4:))

TAKE CARE FOLKS & WE'LL BE UP TO BENSON TO SEE YA FOR SURE:))

Sounds like we 3 Amigos (Jerry, Rick, & I) might just end up in the same general area this coming March over in California. There has already been talk of a cookie shoot-out at the OK Cookie Corral somewhere around Palm Desert!! Could be a tense one if Rick shows up with his ham salmon sandwiches!!
My errant camera/telescope tri-pod arrived from Canada to-day via the post office in Elfrida. Bruce, our friendly reliable neighbor back home had done a totally fine engineering job on boxing it for shipping. I started to unwrap it around 4 this afternoon......well, you get the picture:)) Hopefully I can get some better quality bird photos now. I will probably need all 700mm to catch some of those high flying cranes.

YAAAAY, MY TRI-POD ARRIVED TO-DAY

I liked the suggestions I saw in our comment box regarding last night's blog on the computer/television differences we sometimes have. Great idea about plugging headphones into the television for muting the sound. We just hadn't thought of that. Definitely something we will look into because I think the television sound quality would be improved as well & it would work out better after Kelly goes to bed & I want to watch something too.

COWBOY COOKIES:))

Ok, to-night I am going to try Live Writer again so wish me luck..........Well, it didn't work again & I am sooooooooooooo upset.  I had included a nice photo album of to-day's photos which took me awhile to put to-gether & now I have to start all over again & go back & do the blog in Blogger.   Not a happy camper to-night!!!!!!!!!

GROANER'S CORNER:)) A top movie producer was discussing his new project, an action docu-drama about famous composers...starring several familiar Hollywood faces. Stallone, Schwarzenegger and Van Damme were all there. The producer really wanted the box office "oomph" of these three, so he was prepared to allow them to select the famous composer they would portray in the film. "Well," Stallone said, "I've always admired Mozart. I would love to play him." "Chopin has always been my favorite," said Van Damme. "I'll play him." The producer was very pleased. He then said, "That sounds splendid. But who do you want to be, Arnold?"
Schwarzenegger looked him square in the eye and said, "I'll be Bach!"

FACEBOOK READERS GO HERE TO SEE OUR ACTUAL WEBSITE COMPLETE WITH PHOTOS & MORE INFO.
BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/
The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.