FOUND OURSELVES ANOTHER CRESTED SAGUARO CACTUS TODAY

The Big Dipper is straight overhead & slightly to the North in the predawn sky now.  The dipper’s handle points southeast in the direction of my favorite summer night’s sky constellation SCORPIOS, the large Scorpion with it’s warm colored star heart, ANTARES.  This dark sky Scorpion also has two giant star claws.  The Scorpions tail will soon be visible as it winds down around the horizon curling back up & ending with two stars known as SHAULA & LESATH.  These stars are commonly referred to as the Scorpions stinger stars.  If you are up before dawn now, or out under the June, July, August summer skies, the big Scorpion will be in the southern hemisphere traveling east to west…..just above you.

I’ve been able to change up my morning routine a bit this past week.  While staying in the Motorhome for 5 days last week I got into the habit of not turning the mindless television on thereby not irritating myself first thing every morning with the repetitive doom & gloom news reporting by stations like CNN.  Local news channels are even worse with their panels of giggly squawking chickens thinly disguised as responsible news reporters.  I am continuing & hope to continue my habit of not starting my days off by deliberately irritating myself anymore with morning news channels.  Now, it is out of bed & into my relaxing chair with computer on my lap listening to my favorite Sirius satellite radio ambient music channel, the Spa at 068.  A much nicer way to start the day methinks:))

VIEW FROM MY CHAIR THIS MORNING SHOWS THE PHEEBS SOUND ASLEEP ON MY PILLOW

Last week while out on Jerry’s PETROGLYPH WALK he told us of a Crested Saguaro Cactus across the valley along a ridge line.  Said it was one of the nicer crested Saguaros he had seen.  This morning, with Jerry’s words still fresh in our ears, we set off in search of that Saguaro.

 

We knew a road out near the Pioneer cemetery that would lead us back along that ridge line so that is where we headed.  A little rough & tumble in spots but we took it slow following along the northwest facing ridge, heading southwest.  About the time we figured we had missed it, I spotted something ahead on the left.  Looked like a crested Saguaro alright. Found a rare flat spot & parked the Jeep close by.  Pheebs was out the door & off exploring.

YES, THIS IS DEFINITELY A MIGHTY FINE CRESTED SAGUARO

 

 

At first glance & from a distance I thought this was the shortest Crested Saguaro I had ever seen but as we neared we could see the Saguaro was growing from a low hillside gully giving it a short appearance.  It was truly a fine specimen with many twists, curls, & swirls.  No one really knows what causes Saguaros to occasionally distort like this but when they do, they end up looking quite remarkable.  You can see another nice Crested Saguaro we found on Pipeline road near Ajo Arizona last year…IN SEARCH OF THE SAGUARO FOREST.  Another Crested Saguaro here…GROWING GHOST TOWN OF STANTON & lastly, another one on this blog entitled, WE FOUND THE MICA MINE.

 

 

Near the Crested Saguaro we saw another rough & tumble road heading in the direction of Congress so rather than return the way we had come we decided to follow it in hopes it would lead us to a highway.   Better than that, it led us right back to Ghost Town Road near the railroad tracks on highway 71.  But, it was a bouncy ride all the way as we skirted some deep gulleys, made our way through sandy washes, & slowly clambered over a series of ruts & grumbles.  Even saw a train go flying by.  Actually, it was about 10 train engines all joined together,  I suspect they were headed to the town of Hillside to load a lot of train cars with copper ore from the big copper mine in nearby BAGDAD. 

TRAIN ENGINES IN THE DESERT

 

KELLY’S ALWAYS KEEPING AN EYE OUT FOR GOLD & YEP, LOOKS LIKE SHE FOUND ANOTHER BIG NUGGET:))

Again, it was nice to be out in a part of the desert nearby that we had never seen before.  Always something different to see, challenging hills to climb, & interesting roads to rattle & bump along on.  No two Saguaros are the same, no two mountain tops alike, & the valleys & canyons can quickly change in a few miles, or a few feet in altitude.  Always something to see & do here in the southwest.  Always somewhere to go:))

FOLLOWING THE TRAIN TRACKS BACK TO CONGRESS

 

THIS TUNNEL UNDER THE TRAIN TRACKS ALLOWS RAIN WATER TO RUSH THROUGH IN THE MONSOON SEASON

Didn’t do a lot of yard work today.  Leg is feeling much better so I am trying to give it a lengthier period of rest to see if that will heal whatever may be wrong with it.  And remember all those Cactus plants I hauled home & planted a couple months ago.  Well, that cold snap a week ago has killed about half of them.  Many are droopy & some are already turning black.  Very disappointing:(( 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The judge read the charges, then asked, "Are you the defendant in this case?"
"No sir, your honor, sir," replied Jill, "I've got a lawyer to do the defendin'. I'm the person who done it."

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- 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.

 

I THINK WE MAY HAVE SOME FELLOW RV BLOGGERS HEADED OUR WAY THIS WEEK

MORNING PATROL ALONG THE RIDGELINE

I really like my new bedroom/computer set up.  My music is now just an arm’s length away from my bed or my comfortable laptop computer chair.  I don’t have the scenic sunroom view of our front yard in Bayfield but from my chair I can see the tops of our Saguaro Cactus & I can see Cactus Wrens on the Saguaros .  And, I can see a part of the night time sky:))

WASN’T A LOT OF ROOM LEFT FOR ME IN BED LAST NIGHT

Such a beautiful morning.  Had ourselves a nice desert walk & chatted with a couple neighbors on the way back.  Nice older couple who live just around the corner from us.  I much prefer mature responsible people…..to the other kind.

 

NEIGHBOR LOU CUTS HIS GRASS WHILE IT’S BREAKFAST TIME AT ANOTHER NEIGHBORS HOUSE

Thought I had better check my plumbing job this morning & sure enough the pipe was leaking.  Tightened the tap but it still leaked.  Kelly came out, touched the tap & it immediately stopped.  I am so totally jinxed!!

 

OLD TAP…OLD TAP SHOWING CRACK… NEW TAP

While doing a bit of raking & leveling around the property the last couple days I have noticed some very early signs of Spring.  Tiny new grass shoots are coming up & I’ve seen the beginnings of new growth in a few plants.  I remember when we first walked onto this property last March 7th, there was already tall green grass growing.  Not sure if I mentioned it but we are seriously considering letting a neighbor graze a few sheep here in the summer to help keep the weeds & grass down.  He used to raise Lizards for Pet Smart years ago.  No, we are not getting any pet Lizards. 

 

MARCH 2012                            JANUARY 2013

 

 

MARCH 7TH,  2012                   JANUARY 20TH, 2013

Wowie Kazowie, looks like we are going to be up close to the mid 70’s by Tuesday.  Hold on now, let’s not get too carried away with this heavy duty heat thing.  We don’t need Al’s complaining again about going from too cold to too hot, now do we!!

 

DOGGY RUNNING VERY FAST IN THE DESERT THIS MORNING

Not a whole lot going on today.  Relocated some Prickly Pear Cactus.  I like green things, even if they are prickly.  Despite the obvious barbed danger, I like the looks of them & always have.  One just has to learn to be careful & handle them by the roots.

TYING A FEW DRIED OUT SUNFLOWER STALKS TO OUR FENCE POSTS >>>

I think we might just have us some fellow RV Bloggers headed our way this week.  Could be coming up from Quartzsite I hear.  Stay tuned:)) 

 

A PHAINOPEPLA (FAY-NO-PEP-LA) SPOTTED ALONG THE VULTURE PEAK TRAIL A FEW DAYS AGO

Don’t know exactly when it was I lost my interest for making small talk with people but it seems like it was sometime in the last 5 or 6 years.  Not sure exactly why I lost it, but I did.  Maybe it’s because I increasingly enjoy spending more time by myself.  Seems a whole lot less hassle that way.  I’m finally kinda getting a bit more comfortable in my own skin now that I’m a tad older.  Kind a think what I want, talk things over with myself I want, & just plumb get annoyed with myself when I want.  Conversations are harder to come by these days, simply because my interest isn’t there in a lot of things like it used to be.  I’m not as good a listener anymore either.  There was a time when I might have been interested in somebody’s blow by blow RV travelogue of their trip from Moosewater Saskatchewan to EL Burrito Mexico back in the late 80’s sometime.  But, unless I’m planning on specifically going to EL Burrito next week I could really care less about how many food vendors & restaurants they have there, how wide the beach is, how tall the waves are, or the color of somebody’s first cousin’s wife’s Uncle’s socks.  And, if I was interested, I would ask…….with interest of course:))

CATCHING UP ON A LITTLE R&R

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Man: Just look at that young person with the short hair and blue jeans. Is it a boy or a girl?
Bystander: It's a girl. She's my daughter.
Man: Oh, please forgive me, sir. I had no idea you were her father.
Bystander: I'm not. I'm her mother.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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