MOONBEAMS KEEP FALLING ON MY BED

 

NOW, HERE’S A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE FOR MANY OF US…STANTON ARIZONA

With a full moon approaching, & my large bedroom window facing east, each night around 9, my bed becomes awash in moonlight for an hour or so.  Looking out, I keep thinking I will see ET bicycling across the very face of the the Moon itself.  Oh how nice that would be for this boyish imagination & it’s life long belief in Extra-Terrestrials:))

NO, THAT IS NOT A BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO…DARN

Pheebe has been making some friends along the way on our morning walk.  Seems everyone in the southwest owns a dog or 6.  All properties here are fenced so we walk the Pheebs off leash.  Most dogs we encounter are behind fences & are friendly, but some little guys are really super feisty.  Pheebs does her best to make friends with them all & seems so hurt when some of the little guys just go ballistic.

 

FRIENDLY:))

 

NOT SO FRIENDLY:((

We had ourselves a 2 vehicle convoy formed up & ready to move out by 8:30 this morning.  Destination: STANTON ARIZONA.  Don’t have to tell you what a fine Arizona morning it was.  That just goes without saying. 

 

ENTERING & REGISTERING OUR PRESENCE AT THE CAMP’S OFFICE

It’s only a short 15 minute drive from our house to Stanton.  Jean & Skip followed us in their Pontiac Sunrunner as we turned off the smooth pavement of highway 89 at the foot of the Weaver Mountains.  Headed east on a dusty hard packed washboardy road.  I knew any vehicles we would meet from here on in would have something to do with Gold prospecting.  This area is loaded with prospectors & gold.   Ya just gotta find the darned stuff.

THIS IS RUGGED GOLD COUNTRY WITH PROSPECTORS WORKING THOSE HILLSIDES

    

 

Turned into what looked like an RV Park which of course is/was the former wild west mining town of Stanton.  We didn’t get 20 feet out of our vehicles before a Gal stuck her head out of an old building & hollered for us to get on over there & register our presence.  Oh dear.  Got that little formality out of the way & spent the next little while ambling the few historic & original buildings.  Outside of every nearby RV were piles of buckets & various home made sluice box configurations.  But, for an RV Park, there was something unusual here.  No people!!  No “Howdy Neighbor,” no music, nobody out shining up their SUV’s, no BBQ’s going, just no activity at all.  What?? 

OLD MINER’S CABINS HAVE BEEN REPLACED WITH MODERN RV’S

These people aren’t here to lounge around.  They are all prospecting folks & they were all up early & out working their claims in the surrounding hills, gullies, washes & mountains.  Because of the hot days, most are back by noon.  Some with their ATV’s loaded with buckets of sand & gravel to be processed in the afternoon at their RV sites.  Talked to one couple who after only two days in the area had already found two flakes of Gold.  Always stories going around about lucky nugget finds but here’s something the couple told us that we found surprising.  They said many of these folks never cash in their gold finds.  They just hang on to their booty.  Almost like a trophy of sorts.

 

WALKING AROUND WHERE ONCE THE OLD WEST MINING TOWN OF STANTON STOOD

From Stanton it was a dusty run back down to highway 89 where a right turn took us up the south side of the Weaver Mountains to a quaint little whistle stop of a place known as Yarnell.  One stop at the colorful must see YARNELL EMPORIUM (my blog) & we slipped over to the site of the ‘Shrine of St Joseph of the Mountains’.  Jean, Skip, & Kelly took a quick walk around the Shrine area while I stayed back at the road with the horses.  Whether one is religious minded or not, this Shrine is worth seeing & experiencing.  Very quiet & peaceful place & I suggest you check out my post HERE for that day’s photos.  On the way to the Shrine, Kelly had spotted a floor lamp sitting by the road with a sign on it saying, free.  We scooped it on the way out & yes, when we returned home later & tried it out, it worked:))

STOPPING TO POINT OUT A FEW THINGS ALONG THE WAY

SHORT STOP AT THE YARNELL EMPORIUM

  

A STOP AT THE YARNELL SHRINE

It’s a twisty winding road coming down what is commonly referred to as the Yarnell Hill.  Stopped at a scenic look-out on the way.  Easy to spot the Escapee’s North Ranch RV Park out on the desert floor as well as Vulture Peak & HARQUAHALA MOUNTAIN (my post) on the horizon with the town of Congress to the right tucked into the mountain base.  Had we had our binoculars we could have seen our house because with binoculars we can see the viewpoint location from our front porch.  We were all down safely on the Valley floor & back home shortly after 12 noon.  Like the prospectors, we like to be home out of the mid day desert heat early.

STOPPING AT A VIEWPOINT

Relaxing afternoon just staying inside & staying cool until about 4 when the heat begins to back off returning us once again to comfortable energy inducing temperatures.

---

One month ago today was our last day at Kelly’s Mom’s place in Spencerport NY.  It already seems so very, very, long ago.

GROANER’S CORNER:((    The local sheriff was looking for a deputy, so Gomer - who was not exactly the sharpest nail in the bucket went in to try out for the job.  "Okay," the sheriff drawled, "Gomer, what is 1 and 1?"  "11" he replied.
The sheriff thought to himself, "That's not what I meant, but he's right."
"What two days of the week start with the letter 'T'?"  "Today and tomorrow."
He was again surprised that Gomer supplied a correct answer that he had never thought of himself.
"Now Gomer, listen carefully: Who killed Abraham Lincoln?"  Gomer looked a little surprised himself, then thought really hard for a minute and finally admitted, "I don't know."  "Well, why don't you go home and work on that one for a while?"
So, Gomer wandered over to the pool hall where his pals were waiting to hear the results of the interview. Gomer was exultant.  "It went great! First day on the job and I'm already working on a murder case!"

--------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

HAMBURGERS, LEMON TARTS & A SURPRISE CERAMIC ROOSTER

<<< WE WERE OUT THE DOOR THIS MORNING AT 7:30

Nice quiet desert walk this morning. Always a positive start to any day walking with mountains at dawn, prickly green cactus close enough to grab ya, & an endless blue sky overhead just waiting to make for another perfectly great Arizona day.

ALWAYS LIKE THE EARLY MORNING SHAPES & SHADOWS…CAN YOU SEE THE ELEPHANT’S HEAD, THE LION’S FACE, & THE ALIEN

Arriving back from our walk we were surprised to see a ceramic Rooster perched upon a table on our porch.  A rather handsome fellow indeed who fits in well with our colorful southwest décor.  Not only the neighbor’s with Roosters now.  Thanks to Jake, Sophie, Louie Jean & Skip:))

 

Aside from a little bit of yard work today I decided to give my leg & hip a rest.  Still having problems there but not as bad as couple weeks ago.  Stuck close to my recliner & watched half a dozen biographies on the biography channel.  Jean & Skip slipped out for a look around Congress while Kelly & I rode shotgun on the doggy gang.  What a bunch of Sweetie Pies they are.  Tomorrow we may convoy with Jean & Skip up to the old mining town of Stanton, which is still a hub for a new kind of gold prospector in these here parts.  They don’t ride horses much any more, they drive ATV’s….& we’re told some of em still wear shootin irons.

CLOSE UP OF CRATERS ON THE MOON?  NOPE, JUST A FEW LOCAL ANT HILLS >>>

Despite the daily hot sun, we stay nice & cool in our house without any air conditioning units or a swamp cooler.  We figure that is a direct result of the positive insulation factor we gained by having the house stuccoed last March.  Bonus:))

<<< WE HAVE OUR FINGERS CROSSED THIS WOODEN SCREEN DOOR IS GOING TO FIT

Kelly did up some hamburgers for supper & Jean did up some lemon tarts for dessert.  Al won’t be able to do up his pants for 6 weeks.

 

SLOW DAY AROUND OUR HOUSE FOR JAKE & PHEEBS… SOPHIE SAYS, “DON’T YOU BE A MESSIN WITH MY NEW PAL, SQUIRRELY…..OR ELSE!!

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Three Pastors were having lunch together.
One of them said, "You know, since summer started I've been having trouble with flying bats in my loft and attic at church. I've tried everything, but nothing seems to scare them off."
Another pastor said "Yes, me too. I've got hundreds living in my belfry and in the attic. I've even had the place fumigated, and they won't go away!"
The third pastor said, "I baptized all mine, made them members of the church, and they haven't been seen since!"

--------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

I’ve always had a curious mind about a lot of things.  Especially stuff that just doesn’t seem to add up for no logical reason.  My inquisitive mind will work overtime trying to tie up loose ends.  For that reason, I enjoyed Mark’s post over at the BOX CANYON BLOG.  Sherlock Johnson put in a bit of overtime solving The Mystery Of Flying Monkey Mesa.  I like to see logical answers hung onto seemingly impossible mysteries.  Keeps my head on an even keel:))

--- 

THE FIRST RV TO ROLL THOUGH OUR NEW GATE

In Friday night’s moonlight it was an accordion I heard first.  And, then it was the sound of people singing in Spanish.  It was Thanksgiving week-end on Ghost Town Road & a Mexican family just south of us had come together to celebrate & sing.  In our travels, we have found Mexican folks to be very music oriented celebratory people.  I kinda liked the distant sound drifting through the Mesquite on the quiet desert night air.

I hung out on the end of my leaf rake this morning while Kelly did a garage sale in Congress.  More little southwest treasures found their way to our house including a customary skeletal Steer’s head.  Some Mexican pottery along with some Mexican curtains.  Average price for each item….about a dollar:))

 

A quick trip into Wickenburg had us listening to Christmas Carols in an Alco store.  Slipped across the road to Stewarts Hardware to pick up our wooden screen door & applicable hardware.  It’s anybody’s guess if it is going to install correctly.  We might just have to find somebody with a sledge hammer to make it fit!!  Getting a standard size door to work well in an old house is a real Turkey shoot.  Oh, & mentioning Turkeys….yep, turkey sandwiches for lunch:))

It was early afternoon when Jean & Skip rolled in with doggy Pals, Jake, Sophie & Louie.  Last time we saw them was a couple winters ago at the Clark Dry Lake Bed near Borrego Springs California.  Jake & Pheebe didn’t exactly hit it off right away today but after a bit all was well & they were best Pals.  The whole gang gets along great & it’s nice for Pheebs to have some Pals to play with.

 

JEAN & SKIP ROLL IN EARLY THIS AFTERNOON

 

DON’T KNOW WHICH ONE IS LOUIE & WHICH ONE IS SOPHIE BUT THAT’S JAKE ON THE RIGHT FOR SURE

NOW HERE’S A HAPPY SNOW BIRD FAMILY:))

We all sat on our front porch for a couple hours & it was nice to get caught up on everything, compare notes, & set a few fellow RVing Bloggers ears abuzzing:))

 

LOTS OF SMOOCHES GOING ON TODAY

We have enough room to easily park any size RV on our property so we suggested Jean & Skip just stay right here in our newly fenced yard where it would be safe for the doggy guys to be out & about.  Pheebe liked that idea as well.

 

JEAN & SKIP’S BOONDOCKING SPOT IN OUR SIDE YARD

YAAAAY, HERE COMES THE PIZZA:)))))

It was a good night for Pizza so Kelly & Jean headed off over to the Congress Mercantile Depot to bring back a big yummy fully loaded 300 pound Supreme.  Well, maybe not quite that heavy, but if we keep it up…..we’ll all be that heavy for sure.

AND A GOOD PIZZA WAS HAD BY ALL

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The graduate with a physics degree asks, "Why does it work?"
The graduate with an engineering degree asks, "How does it work?"
The graduate with an accounting degree asks, "How much will it cost?"
The graduate with a liberal arts degree asks, "Do you want fries with that?"

--------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS - .https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com