BIT OF A STRESSFUL DAY AS MAX GETS HIS NAILS TRIMMED

 

OUR NUMBER ONE BOY, MAX

Due to recent rains the muddy roads had made quite a mess out of our car.  For the second time in a month I was out with a hose, water bucket, & a sponge this morning scrubbing all that muddy clay mud off.  The interior had about as much dust as the exterior had mud so the inside of the care came under a major clean up as well.

 

SEE, I TOLD YOU THERE WAS A MOLAR PATROLER:))

(click the photos to enlarge them)

Several weeks ago we had taken ranch dog Gleeson over to Hereford for her rabies shot.  While there we had talked to the Vet about getting our dog Max's nails clipped but knew it was going to have to be a special effort.  Several years ago he had an ear infection & when we brought him to the Vet back in Canada it took 4 of us to hold him while the Vet swabbed the ear.  The rabies clinic Vet gave us some anti-anxiety pills plus a tranquilizer & made an appointment for Max to-day at noon at the Vet's home in Douglas, Arizona.  We gave Max the pills at 11 & they acted so quickly I didn't get him into the car soon enough & had to carry him out of the motorhome about 5 minutes later.  We were at the mobile High Desert Veterinary clinic by 11:45 & Max was pretty groggy.  Michael John, the Vet, came out & we slipped a muzzle on Max.  He still managed a growl at us even under the sedation.  We got him on his side in the hatchback of the car & the Vet carefully got Max's nails trimmed without incident.  I was holding Max's head just in case & all the while he was having his nails down his teeth were bared inside the muzzle.  Had it not been for that muzzle & sedation both the Vet & myself would be in the Douglas hospital to-night with cuts, scrapes, scratches, contusions, abrasions, deep punctures, & severe bruising!!   Thanks to a kind & caring Vet the whole procedure went off with much less stress than we had anticipated.  We had been worrying about this for days & we were all stressed out this morning.

   

WAITING WITH MAX AT THE VET’S, TRIMMING THE NAILS, & MAX RESTING IN THE BACK OF THE CAR BACK AT THE RANCH

Made it back to the ranch by 12:30 & let Max sleep it off in the back of the Santa Fe until he started showing some recovery signs around 4:30.  He managed to let off some barks at the distant donkeys so we knew he was slowly on the mend from the sedatives.  We used a ramp to gently walk him down to the ground but he was very wobbly & could not get up the steps into the motorhome on his own so I carried him in & put him on my bed.  Both Checkers & The Motormouse were beside themselves in all the goings on & we could tell they were very upset & concerned about their buddy Max.  By 6 p.m. he was looking a little more like his old self & was hungry.  Still pretty tired but I think we've turned the corner into getting our big old barking dog back to his old self:))

<<<< CHECKERS & MOM CHECKING TO SEE WHAT’S FOR SUPPER

To-day's photos are a collection of pics over the last little while that never made it into the blogs.  I am so far behind now on uploading web albums because of our 5 Gig Verizon limit & failed local Wifi connections that I don't know when I will get the next Picasa web album up & running.

 

Jeanie backs their truck up to the 5th wheel	Morning motormouse snuggle
Tree decoration	Max playing sticks	Old abandoned trailer in the desert
Donkeys in the sunrise	A BIRDBATH DOGGY DRINK	At the ranch

CLICK ON THE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE

To-morrow morning we have some company coming.  Another RV couple from Ottawa Ontario has been following our blog for the past couple of years & are now over at the Kartchner Caverns near Benson for a few days.  We had been in email contact with Don & Thelma this past winter while boondocking near Borrego Springs, California but had departed the area for Quartzite by the time they got to Borrego.  I'm a bit puzzled as to how anyone following our blog for 2 years is not now in some kind of a recovery therapy program:))

SUNRISE AT THE RANCH

GROANER'S CORNER:((  How do you make a blonde's eyes sparkle......Shine a light into her ear!!

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

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

MY SMUG MUG (I am finally working on updating this site)

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WE ARE ONCE AGAIN ALONE AT THE RANCH

TO-NIGHT’S MOON COMING UP OVER THE SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS

Maybe one of these mornings I can start the blog off by saying how warm it is outside but probably not until later next month when we move over to the Yuma area.  We are in the high desert here in southeastern Arizona so the nights will be cold from now until March sometime. 

WE ENDED UP HAVING TO TURN AROUND HERE

Ranch owners Jeanie & Ray finished loading their 5th wheel this morning & it wasn't long & they were hooked up & on their way to Tucson.  Its hard for them to get a break from the ranch so we are staying on here until about the middle of January.  That will give Jeanie & Ray a nice RVing holiday to slip around the southwest doing some boondocking, 4 wheeling, & visiting with family & friends over the next 6 weeks.

RUGGED, BUT BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY OVER IN THE SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS

Kelly & I headed for Elfrida at 8:45.  She had an exercise class at 9 & I had planned to do updates & uploads to the computer at the library next door.  Had problems getting connected but remembered a small restaurant up the road that had Wifi.  No problem so that's where I headed & of course I couldn't get connected there either.  Only logical thing left to do was bury my face in a big mess of bacon & eggs while I was there & cut my losses.  We were back at the ranch by 10:30.

LOVE FOLLOWING BACK ROADS TO SEE WHERE THEY GO

Had a nice sunny cool day going for us so we didn't want to sit around.  Had heard there some roads going up part way into the Swiss Helm mountains north of Elfrida so decided to take the car for a little rock scramble.  Pavement ended & we were onto a rough rock strewn road.  Stopped to open & close a couple of gates & made our way up to as far as we could go.  It was surprising how the vegetation changed just by climbing maybe 5 or 6 hundred feet from the valley floor.  Cholla, Agave, large Prickly Pear cactus, Yucca & Mesquite trees.  Very rocky terrain & prime rattlesnake country in the warmer weather. 

THIS IS PRIME RATTLESNAKE COUNTRY BUT IT’S TOO COLD FOR THE SNAKES TO BE OUT AT THIS TIME OF YEAR

Dropped in for a few minutes to visit a lady we had met Thanksgiving Day at the Friends of the Southwest dinner.  "Cheryl & her husband Tony have a very nice place complete with a hobby barn that Tom calls the Man Cave.  Tom was busy doing some wood staining in the barn so Cheryl showed us around.  They moved here from Alaska 4 years ago.  Visited this area once, went back to Alaska, sold their house with one phone call, & moved right back down to Arizona's Sulphur Springs Valley.  Tom said the change in his health was immediate & Cheryl said he's been 100% better since moving to their home in the lee of the Swisshelm Mountains.  Nice folks. 

GOTTA WATCH YOUR STEP IN THE DESERT

FREE RANGE CATTLE & HORSES FEEDING AMONGST THE CACTI

After some more bumps, bangs, gulley whumps, wash outs, gulches, & some genuine thumps & wonkers, our little Santa Fe mountain goat got us back down to the valley floor & we were at the ranch by 3.  Fed the 8 chickens, gathered one egg, fed Gleeson & Pearce plus the elusive ranch cat Charlie.  Honked at the donkeys & that was it for another day.

 

	CHERYL & KELLY
	NICE HOUSE

CHERYL & TONY’S PLACE UP THE HILL EAST OF ELFRIDA

(click to enlarge the photos)

Well, the Bayfield Bunch has finally made it onto the HITCH-ITCH site.  Took us awhile to make the cut so would just like to say thanks to the Hitch-Itch folks for finally including us on their site & to any folks who may have mentioned our name over there.  Thanks guys:))

OUR LITTLE MOUNTAIN GOAT DOES WELL ON THESE KINDS OF ROADS

With all the health care talk & issues going on in the States we sometimes get asked about the health care system in Canada.  There seems to be a lot of mis-information going around about Canadian health care.  I don't know if it's the media or the politicians who are mainly responsible for all this but lets try to set the record straight about a few things.  Check out JB's second last paragraph on his blog DOWN THE ROAD FROM DOG POUND.   And if your fed up with all that paper junk mail just do as Ray does in his QCC blog……buzzzrup!!

THEY GROW SOME MIGHTY BIG TUMBLE WEEDS AROUND HERE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( A man takes his Rottweiler to the vet and says, "My dog's cross-eyed, is there anything you can do for him?" "Well," says the vet, "let's have a look at him." So he picks the dog up and examines his eyes, then checks his teeth. Finally, he says "I'm going to have to put him down." "What? just because he's cross-eyed?" "No, because he's really heavy."

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

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THE OLD GHOST TOWN OF COURTLAND, ARIZONA

 

AN OLD STONE WALL IN COURTLAND

Heavy frost on everything this morning & I could still see snow on the Chiricahua mountains about 40 northeast of us.  I mix up the chicken feed at night now so that is all I have to do in the morning.  Just toss it out to the girls without freezing my hands up.  Might have to get some of you RV ladies to knit us up 8 toasty little warm chicken sweaters for the gals.

We have been to what's left of most ghost towns here in the Sulphur Springs valley & last Saturday on our way to Pearce's Heritage Days we came across the ruins of the once booming & bustling little mining town of Courtland.  As with all other true ghost towns there wasn't much left of anything compared to what was once originally there.  What is left of Courtland is stretched out over a mile or so along a dirt road.  A few remnants of a stone wall here, some concrete slabs there, & one heavily constructed & reinforced concrete building that once was a jail.  As with all ghost towns we have rambled around in it is hard for the mind to  imagination what actually took place at these sites.  Standing amidst rubble of tumbled walls I try to close my eyes & return to the towns heyday but all my imagination has to go on are old faded photos of ghost towns, some old Hollywood movies, pieces of pottery, crumbling walls, maybe a few weathered boards with rusting nails, & perhaps an old leather sole from an old boot long forgotten.   Underbrush overgrows what were once bustling streets filled with people.  All traces of former railroads are gone & it's difficult to look back into history across the desert landscape & see old steam engines pulling railroad cars loaded with merchandise, ore from the mines, cattle, & people.  Hard to imagine children playing in the streets, horses tied up alongside old wood sided building & folks dressed in their finery buying sugar & flour in the general store.  Miners whooped it up in the many saloons at nights.  Strangers arrived daily by horseback, stagecoach, or trains.  It is an era that is lost forever & it is only the winds in the mountains that whisper the tales of a life & times that none of us will ever know......or imagine:(( 

This was COURTLAND.

And below is Courtland to-day.

 

INSIDE THE JAIL	THE COURTLAND JAIL

We caught ourselves a break to-day when the local propane delivery truck from Wilcox brought a load of propane for Jeanie & Ray's large propane tank here at the ranch.  It's a once a year delivery & supplies the house with heat.  We had filled up our motorhome's propane tank in Douglas about a month ago & were down to about half a tank.  Normally at three quarters empty we would have to square everything away, bring in the slides, disconnect the water, sewer, electricity, & satellite dish lines & drive our house to a propane filling station either in Douglas or at the closer Double Adobe RV park about half way to Bisbee.  While the fellow was filling the ranch tank Kelly asked him if he could fill our tank as well......& he did.  Nice break & it sure saved us a disruptive hassle.

SIGNS OF MINING NEAR COURTLAND

I have a habit of loosing camera lens caps & as of last Saturday my last lens cap had departed to the fair land far away where missing things somehow go.  Needed a lens hood for my smaller lens anyway plus both camera lenses were in need of UV filters.  Figured we might as well head on over to Sierra Vista where we had looked up a camera store that had all the aforementioned items.  The road to Sierra Vista is an easy wide open spaces drive that gently winds between the Dragoon & Mule mountains.  We drove through Tombstone at high noon & if I would have had my window down we might have heard some gunfire coming from the OK Corral gunfight site.  They do re-enactments there daily.  We have been to Tombstone a couple times before & it is very commercialized but I would recommend you do the BIRDCAGE THEATER if you go there.  Check out our TOMBSTONE PHOTOS.  This place has not been jazzed up & re-constructed.  It an eerie place to wander around in & it smells very, very, old.  If there are such things as ghosts I'm sure they are present in this old aging building.  Yes, there is a gift store at the back door exit but that doesn't have anything to do with what is inside that old building!!

<<< INSIDE THE BIRDCAGE THEATER 2007

The Charleston Road runs between Tombstone & Sierra Vista & for us to-day it was a trip down memory lane because we spent a few very enjoyable weeks boondocking in the area this past January.  It was at this time we did day trips to the ghost towns of Charleston, Millville, & Fairbank.  Took us 2 days to find the crumbling adobe walls of Charleston amidst the heavy mesquite underbrush.  If anyone is interested you can find our daily adventures in our archives.  Look back to late January of this year for our times in this area.  Also February & March for our times at the ranch & our escapades into the Dragoon & Chiricahua Mountains.

THIS CAN BE A HARSH LAND

Sierra Vista is a fair sized city & easy to get around in.  Every kind of store, facility, or business you need is here stretched out along Fry Boulevard.  Big box stores like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, Target, & Frys.  All the regular eating places are here too.  The driving force behind Sierra Vista is the large army base, Fort Huachuca.  We toured the Fort last March plus, Coronado Peak & Carr Canyon.  And of course it's all in our March archives.  

DESERT JUNK

Hit a few thrift stores to-day & then the busiest grocery store I've ever seen.  Frys is a grocery chain found only in the southwest  & is very, very, popular.  It was our second trip to Frys this year & it must have been our lucky day because we caught ourselves another break.  Kelly had picked up a Fry's discount card last March & that saved us a few dollars but on the first Wednesday of every month it is an additional 10% off for Seniors.  We didn't know that but when Kelly went to pay, the cashier eyed me up & down with a wary eye, turned to Kelly & asked, "is he 65!!"  Guess my old torn shirt, dusty hat, & totally out of control beard must have scared her real good & she was afraid to ask me directly.  I like when that happens.  Don't ask me about the days an old girlfriend dressed me in white pleated pants, panama sneakers, pink polo shirts, & hung a gold chain around my neck. Made me wear a matching gold bracelet to my sparkly watch on my other wrist.  No, don't even go there!!  And no, the gold was not real.  It was just window dressing for her new boyfriend.  Is it any wonder I prefer to be a scruffy old sod busting cowboy these days:))  Maybe I'll do a blog on that era of my life sometime.  Maybe use some pink ink too!!

Anyway, I got kinda sidetracked again but I did find the camera accessories I needed & if your in Sierra Vista & need to do some wheeling & dealing be sure to drop in & see a friendly old guy by the name of Harvey Ross at LANDMARK PHOTO 400 W Fry Boulevard.   "Old guy' were Harvey's words not mine:))

We were back at the ranch by 4:15 just in time to get the chickens saddled up & the dog's fed.  Another fine day in the life & times of, The Bayfield Bunch:))

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Two cows standing next to each other in a field, Daisy says to Dolly "I was artificially inseminated this morning." "I don't believe you," said Dolly. "It's true -- no bull!", exclaimed Daisy.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

MY SMUG MUG (I am finally working on updating this site)

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A VISIT WITH MARYBETH WEBSTER & HER 14 SIDED POLYGON HOUSE

 

SUNDAY AT MARYBETH’S

We were happy to wake up to sunny skies this morning.  Despite the cooler Arizona air right now, sunshine is always on the warm side down here.  Could still see snow on some of the mountain tops so grabbed a few more photos with the 700mm lens.  One of those mountains is about 30 miles south of us & is actually located in Mexico.

THIS MORNINGS SAN JOSE/NACO MOUNTAIN IN MEXICO ABOUT 30 MILES TO THE SOUTH

Quiet day at the ranch but I did manage to give Ray a hand to fix a fence gate that had been pulled off it's hinges by vandals.  We were fortunate to have a better weather day than the cold, wet, wind, & rain of Monday.

THIS IS RAY FIXING A RANCH GATE WEDNESDAY MORNING

I met a lady in our photography group a few weeks back who is instrumental in this community for many beneficial programs for the areas local citizens through the Chiricahua Community Health Center.  Her name is Marybeth Webster & Kelly also met her in one of her morning yoga classes.  Marybeth's goodwill actually extends south over the border into Mexico where she is also active in further programs to help the local Mexican population.  Marybeth invited us to her home near Douglas this past Sunday for supper.  She lives in a very unique house, but first, a little more about Marybeth.............

SAND HILL CRANES HEADING NORTH ALONGSIDE THE SNOW TIPPED MULE MOUNTAINS

(click on pictures to enlarge them)

"Marybeth Webster, 80, came to the Douglas area 6 years ago expressly to help minimize the poverty that breeds migration in her beloved Latin America.  She learned Spanish in Costa Rica and Honduras as a scientific illustrator for United Fruit Company 45+ years ago.  Her four children are all over 48 and doing well.   She left her home of 27 years in Grass Valley, CA and built her 14-sided polygon prefabricated dream house, six raven miles (as the crow flies) from Douglas, 10 by car.  The house was built by DELTEC HOMES in North Carolina  Marybeth has to supplement a small Social Security check by working and most fortunately, found the only job in the county in her profession, art therapy at the Elfrida Clinic Elder Wellness Project.  If she ever retires, she imagines continuing work with DouglaPrieta Works, her non-profit project which encourages self-sufficiency in the under-employed of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico which is contiguous with Douglas, AZ.  She would also like to do pastel portraits and landscapes, garden in her 6 refrigerator raised beds, hike and take photos of the incredible beauty she finds here."

Here is some additional info about Marybeth's polygon house & you can see the photos I took Sunday by clicking on our PICASA WEB ALBUM.

DELTEC HOMES are prefabricated in 8´ square panels with a patented climate-controlling pagoda roof.  They come in sizes from 8 to 23 panels and can be two or three story.  The owner orders the number she wants and works with the Deltec architect to design the interior, decide where the pre-installed doors and windows will be, and place it on her own site to best advantage, then has the slab built and ready when the semi arrives with the parts.  It took 5 men and a tractor-loader 8 hours to set up walls and roof of her 14-sided, 1015 square foot model, then nearly a year with a local crew to complete the house.

A WALK IN MARYBETH’S SYMBOLIC GARDENS

Some of you may remember our Thanksgiving dinner a week ago at a community center nearby with a bunch of nice folks & their group, Friends of the Southwest.  Marybeth is also a member of the committee here & has sent me this brief description of the tiny community...........................

THE 14 SIDED POLYGON HOUSE

"Friends Southwest Center near McNeal, AZ is a Quaker commune founded about 35 years ago by Ohio Friends.  About 10 dwellings house members, guests and temporary renters, mostly non-Quakers, on over 200 acres purchased by Pima Meeting, Tucson.  Community gardens, a common well, participative democratic decision-making, and the use of their community Center by Cochise Worship Group, the elder wellness project in Elfrida, Sembrando Salud, and others, makes it a significant element in rural Cochise County."

I would also like to add my own personal comment to the above description of the group.  I was very impressed by these people because there is no dominant religious factor at work here.  These folks are like minded in their concerns for the environment & overall peace & goodwill for the earth & their fellow man.  Truly, a common sense & logical approach to very real problems!!

Sometimes as I read through our blogs in the morning I am made aware of how fortunate Kelly & I are in our likes & dislikes of many things.  No, we do not always agree on everything but for the most part we do have a like-mindedness in much of our thinking.  For example, life is much easier for RVing couples if they both prefer to travel to the same destination.  If one prefers the palm tree lined paved roads & cement padded RV Parks of the east coast & the other partner prefers sleeping under the stars in the deserts of the southwest......there is going to be one mighty big problem for sure!!  Some folks would like to head south before the snow flies while a partner insists on staying home to do the Christmas thingy!!  One partner may look forward to the peace & serenity of boondocking while the other partner can't wait to get into all the social activities found in most RV parks.  Some want to escape the rat race while others prefer to get deeper into it.  Seems that a lot women cannot bare to be separated from their shopping malls & men from their television sports games.  Men have a habit of immersing themselves in golf.  Women have a habit of immersing themselves in shopping.  Maybe it's the golf that drives the women to the malls or vice versa.  Hobbies can become a problem if they are all consuming for one partner & not the other.  Some folks like to get dressed up & do the early bird specials at the restaurants everyday while others are happy at home with pizza & beer.  Couch potatoes & outdoor enthusiasts are not a good match.  Dusty cowboys & eastern fancy lady dressers are probably not a good idea.  Dependant & independent people are going to have a hard time making it if they are paired up.  And some folks like the call of the open road while others prefer the home & family life with kids & grandkids.  No question there for me.............give me that open road any day:))

IT WAS A FINE DAY FOR A VISIT

Kelly & I disagree on night time television but we work around that & it's the time of day I write the blog anyway with my headphones full of music clamped tightly to my head.  Our shopping habits are different.  I don't have the patience of sitting in the car like some men do while the ladies spend seemingly endless hours to go into one store after another & come out with 1 item.  I have about a 30 minute maximum attention span for the shopping thing & then I have to get out of town!!  Just being in a crowded people place of any size gets to me after a short period of time & I have to get out into the wide open spaces of the countryside.  Just one of the reasons I don't like crowded RV Parks.  Kelly is able to tolerate neighbors better than I am (just barely) but if we had a choice we would move right back out into the quiet people-less country again.  We both agree a hundred per cent of where we want to be during the winter months simply because we have the same outdoor interests.  We love the history of the southwest, the geography, & the fact that it is still seems like we're in the 1800's in many places.  We both love the RV lifestyle & through trial & error we both ended up agreeing a motorhome was our best mode of transportation.  We are animal lovers & prefer to see our dogs run free rather than having them tethered to leashes & chains.  Another one of the many reasons we avoid RV Parks as a rule.  Most of our philosophies & theories are in harmony as well & it’s another reason we are both in agreement with the Friends of the Southwest thoughts & feelings.  All & all we are a pretty good darn match but like I have said many times before......I definitely got the best part of the deal when I met Kelly & like it says at the top right of our blog site, she is the beauty & the brains of the Bayfield Bunch & I am, well..................... bah humbug!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS LITTLE DOGGIES ASLEEP UNDER A PILE OF DAD’S PAJAMAS

GROANER'S CORNER:((  In the early 20th Century, Thomas Edison was spreading the word about electricity. Once, while vacationing out West, he stopped at the Sioux reservation. Edison was shocked to learn that there was no indoor plumbing, and that he would have to use an outhouse. In fact, he was told, the Sioux had to use the outhouse even in the dead of night. To help the Sioux, Edison installed lights in the outhouse. With this kind act, he became the first person to wire a head for a reservation!    ('head' is a military term for washroom)

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

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