TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Monday, January 25, 2010

GOT MYSELF A NEW LID TODAY & MY LAST PHOTO GROUP

OLD BUILDINGS ARE ALWAYS GREAT FOR PHOTOS

Another sun filled day & the ground is drying up nicely. I am over my bout of temporary insanity in wanting a concrete pad, acres of pavement, & a postage stamp swatch of manicured grass. Very close call there. I could have been hauled away & locked up for those terrible thoughts:(( Fortunately we'll be back boondocking next week again & I know that will instantly erase any nasty thoughts of concrete & pavement.....10-4:))

Kelly headed off for her exercise this morning & I headed off down to the corral to do some clean up after the donkeys were in the pen for a few days during our recent spate of rainy weather. I suppose that stuff in the corral is normally left to dry up & blow away in the wind but the landscape gardener in me took over & hauled me down to the pen with a shovel & rake to clean things up.

KELLY AT JIMMY’S HOT DOG COMPANY IN SAN JOSE-BISBEE A COUPLE WEEKS AGO

Headed off about 12:45 for my Elfrida photo group in the little towns library. The usual gang, Mary Beth from Douglas, Jim from Sunizona, plus Jean & Ray from Gleason were all there & it was decided to drive a half mile up the road to an old tumble down building & do some photography. Each went their separate way crawling around with cameras clicking amidst the brambles & rubble of the building. Different ideas & different perspectives. I knew it was my last Photo group but didn't have the heart to tell anybody. I'm just not very good at saying goodbye to people so we all parted with the old familiar, "Ok, see ya next week." I'm kind of like that about not going to funerals as well........."Ok, see ya later."

MONDAY AFTERNOON PHOTO GROUP

Happy to report the little Motormouse woke up totally fine this morning. No stiffness or soreness that we could see. It is possible the donkey accidentally or intentionally missed Cora & stomped the ground around her. In the fraction of a second it took I thought I saw her stomped but maybe not. Anyway, all is well & I was over at the fence today rubbing some donkey noses & scruffling some donkey ears telling them everything was A-OK & not to worry:))

PIGEON PALS

On the way back from Photo Group today I stopped into Elfrida’s High Lonesome store. They have a bit of everything in this well stocked western store from hay bales stacked outside to western belts, jeans, shirts, jackets & cowboy hats. It was a cowboy hat I was after. Wanted a lighter one than I have & something I can wear on hot days. Wanted a wider brim as well. Saw hats ranging from $32 to $155 so it was a no brainer for me as I found a size 7 & a half $32 lid made in Mexico. It’s called a SUN BODY HAT.

NEW LID TODAY

Test fired the rigs engine this morning & it started right up & ran as smooth as a Swiss watch. Brought it up to temperature & did not leave the area in case I forgot to shut it off like I did one time this past summer. Also fired up the generator & all was well there too. All systems are go so far but already today I could feel a bit of sadness creeping in about our departure. As much as I'm ready for new horizons I am definitely going to miss the old ones here at the ranch. Don't know if we'll ever be back this way but as we pull out of the driveway & head down the road soon I'll look out the window back at the ranch to Gleason & Pearce thinking......Ok, see ya later.

PEARCE, MAX, GLEASON, CHECKERS & CORA (MOTORMOUSE)

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Sign seen hanging on a divorce lawyer's wall: "Satisfaction guaranteed or
your honey back."

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.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

TODAY WE NEARLY LOST ONE OF THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:((

MOTTY & PATTI CHECK OUT THE MOTORHOME

My bed isn't very wide but ranch dog Pearce managed to squeak himself up onto the bed sometime in the night & slept contentedly beside me at the bottom. Gleason stayed for the night as well & found himself a nice quiet spot in the hallway on the rug. Little Motormouse was curled up on her favorite chair with Max & Checkers on their respective doggy beds. A little crowded in the front of the motorhome but I don't mind. It's not every night I get to have a sleep-over with all my best pals.

When I saw the first rays of sunlight enter the coach's side window this morning I knew we were in for nice day. The storms of past days have long gone & soon we will be into warming temperatures. An email arrived from Motty & Patti saying they were headed for Belles to feed the animals so we sent an email back saying for them to come over to the ranch when they finished.

CHECKERS >>>>>>>>

Kelly loaded our present location into the new GPS system then stepped outside to do some weird arm & wrist movements to calibrate the PN-40. That worked & minuets later it actually pinpointed exactly where we were. A message flashed on the screen saying for the guy with the scruffy white beard to put a bag over his head. I can see me & PN are gonna get along real darn good!! Walked around in circles outside for awhile pressing buttons & trying things out. Finally got onto the moving GPS compass but haven't figured out how to activate the stationery electric compass yet. Altimeter told me I was at 4,069 feet. Ever since the late 60's I've always had a keen interest in how high I was everyday:)) I'll read some more of the instruction book in the morning & see if I can program it to make me a peanut butter sandwich on demand.

<<<<< LOOKING FOR KELLY WITH THE GPS

Motty & Patti, with their Boxer dog Moe rolled in about 11:30 & we all spent the day sitting in the warm Arizona sun chatting. It was while visiting that we nearly lost our precious little Motormouse. We had all walked over to a gate in the fence line to talk with the donkeys. We didn't see the little Motor squeak under the gate between us & venture out in front of the donkeys until it was too late. One of the donkeys immediately attacked her & stomped her with it's hooves. I immediately scrambled over the gate as I heard her squeal in pain. The donkey quickly bolted & I scooped up the little Motor & swiftly handed her over the gate to Kelly. And, she was still intact. No blood, no apparent twisted limbs, broken ribs, or crushed skull. She was shaking like a leaf & scared. Patti is a former dog trainer & quickly checked Cora (that's her real name) for any broken bones. No squeals of pain. Just a little mud on her nose & down her right shank where we think one of the hooves hit her a glancing blow. It was a miracle she wasn't killed or seriously injured. We held her for a long time & after awhile set her down & she seemed to walk ok. It is now about 7 hours later & she seems fine although Kelly thinks her right hip looks a bit swollen & she did have a little trouble jumping up onto my bed. She may be a bit stiff & sore in the morning but right now she's having a big snooze after eating a big supper. And of course she's really been soaking up all the extra attention she has been getting too. And, I should add, it was not the donkey’s fault for attacking a perceived threat moving across the ground at them. Could have been a rattlesnake, small coyote or something & the donkey was only protecting itself & it’s family. So, not to worry, I am still big buddies with the donkey gang:))

I THINK CHECKER’S LIKES MOTTY:))

Motty, Patti, & Moe left about 4 & we'll probably see them a few more times this week. Maybe over at Belle's or in Bisbee. Interesting & nice folks. They are awaiting a phone call from Camping World in El Paso Texas in regards to a part for one of their 5th wheel slide outs that won't work. They have to head back to El Paso to get that fixed.

HANGING OUT AT THE RANCH HOUSE

It's a cozy Sunday night here in the motorhome. We have our nice cactus cowboy boots lights on, Kelly's eating popcorn watching her favorite TV shows, I'm sitting at the computer with my 7 o'clock coffee & head phones on listening to my all time favorite acoustic guitar player of all time, WILL ACKERMAN. Max, Checkers, Motormouse, Gleason, & Pearce are all contentedly stretched out in their favorite doggy sleep modes & for a short time frame in the life & times of the Bayfield Bunch............all is well. And most best of all we still have our precious little Motormouse with us after today's near fatal & harrowing incident.

CHECKERS & THE LITTLE MOTORMOUSE THIS MORNING

GROANER'S CORNER:(( You know your getting old when the gleam in your eye is from the sun hitting your bifocals.

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.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

THE RAINS HAVE ENDED…..AND NOW THE MUD!!

SNOW COVERED SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS EAST OF ELFRIDA, ARIZONA

It was still dark this morning around 5 when Max wanted to go out to do his business. I opened the door & put my foot into something soft & cold on our bottom step. Snow!!!! Too dark to see how much snow but later as dawn broke I could see there was a small amount on our car but nothing on the ground. A second look told me all the surrounding mountains had snow on them as well. Brrrrrrrrr!!

A DUSTING OF ICY SNOW

Broken clouds today but lots of warming sunshine despite the cold wind that increased as the day went on. Last year while boondocking on the banks of the San Pedro River near Sierra Vista we met a fellow working at Fort Huachuca who we named Sergeant John. The Sarge lived in Elfrida with his wife Jackie & we visited with them at that time. I did a post about the Sarge & his HUDSON HORNETS. Today we dropped over for a visit with John & Jackie. Always nice to touch base with folks you haven't seen for awhile.

PLENTY OF SNOW ON THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS

Rest of the day was spent around the rig. Sometimes I jest & pooh pooh the high enders with their spotless cement slabs, acres of polished pavement, & swatches of manicured grass. Today I was wishing we had all of the above!! With all the rain recently we had so much mud tracked into the motorhome I was considering calling in a front end loader to haul it all away. Luckily we travel with a good vacuum cleaner. The first trip we made to the southwest we never thought to bring one. Lesson learned!!

AND NOW WE HAVE THE MUD

I wasn't able to make much headway with the new Delorme GPS unit this afternoon but Kelly was able to plow through some early instructions & we did get a map of southern California uploaded. Tomorrow we'll get a little smarter & put a correct map in for the actual area where we are.......southern Arizona!! I have a feeling this GPS stuff is going to be quite a challenge for us. Well, for me anyway:((

SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS (click pics to enlarge)

Tonight we have 5 contented & snoozing doggy guys in the motorhome. It's probably a good thing we don't have our own ranch or we would probably be overwhelmed with stray critters needing a good home & lots of TLC. Breaks my heart to see animals neglected or mistreated.