PETER & BEA DROP IN FROM QUARTZSITE ARIZONA

TRYING TO GET THE DOGGY GUYS LINED UP FOR A PHOTO

Woke up to warm 63F temps with overcast skies.  A drizzling rain began around 8 limiting our walk to our own property. We  ambled around the perimeter discussing what to plant here & what to plant there.  First thing we had better plant though is a money tree. 

PHEEBS, PETER, KELLY, MOLLY, & BEA

Good thing we have crushed stone all the way around the house now so we do not have to worry about getting buried up to our knees in the sticky gumbo mud.  Looks like it might rain for the next 5 or 6 days.  That should go a long way into sparking some early Spring growth & begin greening things up a bit.  Love the sweet smell of the desert after a rain as well.  Some rainy days will also be a good test for the new roof over my bedroom.

THE DOG LADY

Bea & Peter from AMERICAN-TRAVELER rolled in from Quartzsite Arizona this morning about 11.  These are the folks who travel all the way from the North-East’s CAMPOBELLO ISLAND to the Southwest each winter.  That’s a distance of about 3300 miles one way.  It’s a long haul for sure, but the South-West is always worth the trip:))

It was Peter who we were sitting having breakfast with last March near Vulture Peak when we got the phone call from our Realtor in Prescott Az. that our Congress house deal had gone through.  Bea was over in Europe at the time.

OOPS, HAD A LITTLE FOCUSING PROBLEM ON A FEW OF TODAY’S PICS

Nice to see Peter again & it was our first time meeting Bea.  Now, here are 2 fine well meaning folks & as expected, we never ran out of things in common to talk about.  With like minded RV blogging people there is always something to keep the conversation rolling.  They brought their dog Molly with them & it was nice for Pheebs to see Molly again.  Kelly made up a yummy casserole for lunch while we discussed RV’s, travels, & border crossings amongst other things.  Peter & Bea are boondocked in Quartzsite for a few days before returning to Holtville, California where they will spend the remainder of the winter.  We were pleased they had taken the time to make the 2 hour journey up from Quartzsite to see us.  With rain still falling out of the sky they head out about 1:30 for the drive back to Q  And a big Hello from the Bayfield Bunch to the Quartzsite gang Peter & Bea are camped with out there on south Plomosa Road somewhere:))

A bit of talk Wednesday over supper about maybe heading off somewhere in the Motorhome for a week or so.  Must admit, neither one of us were too enthusiastic about going anywhere just yet aside from day trips.  Maybe in February or March sometime.  Next winter, the dust may have settled enough from all our house projects & we’ll be ready to once again get ourselves out traveling, seeing some new sights, & doing a little adventurous boondocking again.  I hope so…………

BEA CRACKS OFF A FEW PHOTOS

For a couple years now we have been kicking around the idea of switching from Verizon to Millenicom for our internet service but just haven’t pulled a decision out of the hat yet.  Been doing some more talking about it.  A lot of people have been making the switch to the cheaper monthly rates at Millenicom.  Using our WILSON SLEEK antennae booster with Verizon here on Ghost Town Road has been working pretty good for us & maybe we’re worried that if we switch, it might not work as well.  Decisions, decisions.  Any thoughts?

BEA & PETER FROM CAMPOBELLO ISLAND, NEW BRUNSWICK CANADA

And, another thought on our Mallopollis day on Wednesday.  I do agree with MIKE when he commented… “ Surprise is GREAT, right out here on the west edge of Phoenix and it has everything,,,including a lot of medical facilities.. It saves us from going on into metro and we love that. We are so lucky to have it”!!  Mike is right of course.  We here in Congress have the best of several worlds again.  It’s a short easy drive to Surprise where we can find anything & everything we want & yet we do not have to live in or be a part of a big city Megapollis.  Now, how nice is that eh:))

I don’t know how Kelly does it.  She reads stacks of books at a time.  I haven’t been able to read one single book for 3 years.  Library’s are the source for her books & she brings 4 or 5 home at a time.  And, these are not pencil thin books either.  Big ones, all of them.  I miss my reading days but after a few paragraphs, the small print lines just seem to blur on me.  I’m kinda restricted to reading the labels on Corn Flakes boxes now.

 

Reading the GOOD LUCK DUCK'S blog today & seeing photos of Bisbee Arizona sure brought back lots of pleasant memories for me.  We had many trips there over the past 5 years while Ranch sitting just a few miles away in the Sulphur Springs Valley.  I have more photos of Bisbee than any other town I can think of.  And, I always liked candidly photographing many of Bisbee’s colorful characters.  You can see one of my Bisbee albums here at…BISBEE ARIZONA....A FEW FINE MEMORIES.

THANKS FOR DROPPING BY FOLKS:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  There was a Captain of a ship. Everyday at a certain time he locked himself up in his cabin to look inside a mysterious black box. He did this every day, but he told nobody what was inside that box.
Then one day he died and in his testament he wrote: "Now you can open the black box."
So they opened the black box. And what they found was a piece of paper, on it was written "Starboard is right, port is left."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

WELL, SURPRISE SURPRISE WE WENT TO SURPRISE…SURPRISE ARIZONA THAT IS

WICKENBURG ARIZONA HAS A NICE QUAINT & PICTURESQUE DOWNTOWN

Still 63F when I took Pheebs out Tuesday night.  Nice, & with a large moon overhead the landscape was lit up beautifully.  And, good thing it was.  I heard a scuffling sound over by the neighbor’s fenced gate.  Quietly walked over to our fence line & in the moonlight saw several small dark objects walking around.  I suspected Javalina’s right away & I was right.  Turns out there were 5 adults & 2 babies.  Pheebe, behind me & over by the house, sensed the Javalina’s & came a running up beside me to the fence.  The Javalina’s sensed her too & dropped back except for one who came right towards us.  I could tell this fellow meant business.  I knew we were safe behind the new chain link fence so I didn’t turn & head for the house.  Pheebs of course didn’t understand the danger & her tail was wagging & she wanted to play.  She let out a yip & the Javalina made a short charge toward us & stopped.  It was obvious this fella was the enforcer & had I or Pheebe made a move toward him or the the others they would have attacked.  I threw my arms up in the air & made a big noise (no, not a passing gas noise) but the Javalina held it’s ground & was not phased.  This was a little unnerving because it told me that if we ran into a pack of Javalina’s sometime, they were not going to simply run away.  They would hold their ground & attack us if they felt threatened.  I am now thinking it might be wise for us to get ourselves some kind of artillery piece to carry on our desert walks, hikes, & Jeep ventures…..just in case.

<<< ONE HAS ALWAYS TO BE WARY WHEN MOVING ABOUT IN THE DESERT

My annoying insomnia dilemma had me up at 3 a.m. again for the second night in a row. No problem getting to sleep, but big problem staying asleep. Determined not to go back on the sleeping pills again, but slipping into a Zombie like state by mid afternoon is not acceptable either. Not very productive in the old energy department that’s for sure:((

STILL A FEW CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS IN OUR MESQUITE TREE

Surprise is the name of a city about 35 miles south of Wickenburg Arizona & fairly close to the northwest end of Phoenix.  We had never been further south of Wickenburg than just 3 or 4 miles so today was the day to explore some new territory.  Kelly had spotted an RV dealer there on-line who had a couple of the Class B+ RV’s that we have been discussing.  Figured it was a good excuse to drive to Surprise & see first hand what they looked like.  Also wanted to check out the Golden Corral location in case my Aunt Jean makes it here next month.  No, not to eat.  This is where we would meet the shuttle van from Phoenix Airport with Jean on board.  Kelly & I learned a long time ago to stay out of those Buffet/Smorgasbord places like Golden Corral.  We just do too much damage to ourselves in those ‘all you can eat’ places!!

SOME DAYS I JUST ENJOY LOOKING AT GOOD OLD ROCKS

We were on the road & headed south by 8:30 this morning.  Pheebs stayed behind to hold the Fort down.  Once we turned off 2 lane highway 89 & headed south to Wickenburg it was a 4 lane flat speedy drive all the way to Surprise.  Light traffic & a nice warm slightly cloudy morning for a drive.

WICKENBURG ARIZONA

Surprise is one huge Malloppolis.  For shopaholics, this is Mecca.  It is simply one giant mall complex after giant mall complex & just about any store imaginable is probably here.  Acres & acres of pavement, mega stores, huge parking lots, traffic lights, lots of traffic & the usual hordes of humanoids everywhere.  Ain’t no place for country fellers that’s for sure. 

Our first destination was the ORANGEWOOD RV CENTER on Bell Road.  Didn’t take us long to get ourselves turned around, mixed up & semi lost in a few big mall parking lot areas.  Somehow relocated Bell Road & promptly headed off the wrong way.  Took us about half a dozen blocks to realize we were headed southwest when we should have been heading northeast.  Quick U-turn on the 6 lane traffic infested street (you can do that in a Jeep) & we were off like a herd of turkeys in a cloud of heifer dust heading the right direction.  Finally found Orangewood.

THE RED TAIL HAWK WAS AGAIN IN HIS USUAL SPOT THIS MORNING

Why oh why oh why would anyone ever want to live in a city if they didn’t have to.  Lucky for me I do not suffer from Shopaphobia…… but not to worry, I am not going to launch into my usual ‘big city anti-shopping’ rant.  Let’s get back to the reason we were there. 

CACTUS WREN IN OUR FRONT YARD OCOTILLO

Met a nice fella at the Orangewood RV center by the name of Sonny.  I’m leery of salespeople for obvious reasons but I did feel Sonny was fair with his RV speak as we looked at 3 different rigs.  Felt he answered our questions honestly, showed patience, concern, & asked us all the right questions about ourselves. (see Tuesday’s post:))  We did look at a 2004 Lazy Daze that had a lot of character, quality, & homey appeal, but I think our search will continue.  Nice rig but just not quite what we had in mind.  Not really sure what we are looking for but we will know, if & when we find it:))  And Sonny, if you happened to look at that Bayfield Bunch card & are reading this, all the best with your back surgery in the morning.   

 

From the Orangewood RV Center we floundered our way back out into traffic looking for a hamburger joint Kelly had spotted on our way in.  A favorite burger place TIOGA GEORGE has talked about in his blog.  Half a dozen wrong turns later we finally found ourselves parked in front of FIVE GUYS BURGERS & FRIES.  It was high noon as we sat down with our stuff.  Good homemade burgs, good fresh cut fries & good prices.  We would go there again because Kelly really liked her burg:))

 

AND, THAT’S KELLY WAY OVER THERE IN THE CORNER GETTING SOME KETCHUP

From Five Guys it was a short walk to Starbucks.  Not my favorite coffee shop by a long shot but Kelly wanted a coffee so who was I to argue.  Don’t like their burnt tasting coffee & always thought their prices verged on the point of gouging.  With that said, I had a coffee as well, plus a donut.  The donut was nothing to write home about but the newer ‘Blonde’ brand coffee was at least better than the usual burnt Charbucks taste.

Walking back to the Jeep we spotted a Best Buy about half a mile away so had to get ourselves & the Jeep twisted & turned around again in one mall labyrinth after another to launch ourselves across a 6 lane highway into another Malloppolis on the other side of the road.  Flip & flopped our way through another 30 acre parking lot & finally spotted the Best Buy store.  We were curious to have us a look at the new Bose Solo sound system for improving the tin can sound of televisions.  Best Buy didn’t have any.  Just as well methinks.

OUTSIDE AFTERNOON COFFEE AT CHARBUCKS

We almost made it back to the road heading home but ran into a Lowe’s store with a big sign saying, ‘Indoor Lumber Yard'.  Aw what the heck, lets look at the price of some fence lumber.  Checked out their greenhouse as well to see what the prices were for some Hopseed plants.  Ended up buying some light bulbs, hose washers, a bag of charcoal & some propane for the BBQ.  This time we were determined to get out of Surprise & make tracks for home.  And get out of Malloppolis we did. 

VIEW FROM MY COMPUTER CHAIR THROUGH THE BEDROOM WINDOW

Easy flat land drive back to Wickenburg where we stopped at Safeway for a few groceries.  $119.00 later we struggled our heavy grocery bags out to the Jeep & made a bee line for home where the fabulous Pheebs was patiently waiting for us.

       

From time to time, readers have sent us some nice things over the past few blogging years.  Rose, over there in that Texas State recently sent us this original Mexican Serape for our southwest house.  She had originally bought it during her college years back in 1961.  It fits in so well here with our décor.  Very, very, much appreciated Rose:))

 

And thanks to SUFFICIENT GRACE FARM for identifying the Northern Mockingbird & Say’s Phoebe in Tuesday night’s post:))

HEY, LOOKS LIKE MY BED IS GETTING TO BE A PRETTY POPULAR PLACE AROUND HERE

GROANER’S CORNER:))  Sound travels slowly.  Sometimes the things you say when your kids are teenagers don't reach them till they're in their 40s.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

A FEW THOUGHTS ON TALKERS & LISTENERS

 
CACTUS WREN
It is so nice to not have heaters running all night.  55 at 5 this morning was pretty nice for a desert climate at that hour, at this time of year.  In our 5 day cold snap recently we found our little plug in heaters were no match for the cold so had to revert to our two big electric baseboard heaters.  They did a good job in keeping us warm alright but they also did quite a job on our finances too.  We just received the electricity bill from hell.  Yeeeouch!! 
 
THIS FELLOW ACROSS THE ROAD JUST LOVES THE PHEEBS & EVERY MORNING HE RUSHES TO THE GATE TO HAVE A BIG NOSE TO NOSE WAGGING TAIL CHIN WAG WITH HER & CRIES WHEN SHE HAS TO LEAVE…AND YES, IT WAS EVEN COLD FOR THE PHEEBS LAST WEEK
So happy to read rescue dog Molly is fitting in so well with her new owners over at the BIRDING RVERS.  They have a great shot of Molly on the couch reposing in her ‘belly scratch’ position.  And, IVAN has been busy jostling with crowds in Quartzsite these past few days.  Wandering Willy doesn’t blog anymore but rumor has it he’s hanging out just south of Why Arizona these days.  It was nearly a year ago when Kelly & I, Pheebs, & the Motormouse rolled out of Darby Well road & met up with Wandering Willy & Ivan for a few days near Bouse Arizona.  From there it was on to Slab City California, Borrego Springs, Desert Center, back to Bouse & finally over to Congress Arizona where, shall we say, the rest is history.

OUR MOTORHOME IS PARTIALLY VISIBLE IN THIS PHOTO…SEE LONG HOUSE IN CENTER & AN OLD 5TH WHEEL TO THE LEFT…THE TAIL END OF OUR RIG IS THAT SQUARE PATCH OF WHITE IN THE BACKGROUND BETWEEN THE HOUSE & 5TH WHEEL…THE RED ROOF PLACE  IS OUR NEIGHBOR BEHIND US (300mm about a mile away)
And, if you are still having problems with Anonymous spams or conventional spams overloading your blogs comment section you might want to check out a solution over at Rick’s blog…A TIP FOR BLOCKING ANONYMOUS SPAM.
 
SPOTTED THESE ON THE DESERT FLOOR THIS MORNING, MUSHROOMS??  
Had thought of doing a day trip over to Quartzsite to have us a look at some smaller RV’s but I don’t think that is going to happen now.  I think we have just got ourselves too darn comfortable here.  Heck, we haven’t even got over to see MIKE & PAT yet & they’re only about 3 miles away.  Kelly’s still busy checking out RV’s on-line to see what is available & what’s out there.  Thanks to the folks who sent in suggestions & leads.

 
I’M GUESSING A RED TAILED HAWK HERE

NAW,  DESPITE IT’S APPEARANCE IT CAN’T BE A PENGUIN CAN IT…MAYBE IT’S A HAWK THAT JUST ATE A COW
One of the most asked questions I get sometimes is, ‘where do you get all your jokes for Groaner’s Corner’?  One word answer, ‘Internet’.  If I want Christmas jokes I just type ‘Christmas jokes’ into Google Search.  One can type in anything they want such as Monk jokes, Elephant jokes, Clever jokes, Wise sayings, Knock Knock jokes, Seniors jokes, Puns, Blonde jokes, etc, etc, etc.  There are millions of jokes out there on-line.  Sometimes readers send in jokes but I’ve been kind of hesitant in using them for fear of being deluged with folks sending in jokes.  But, occasionally I do slide in a reader’s joke or two.  I do thank readers for their thoughts though.

A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD
Due to our limited Verizon bandwidth each winter in the southwest I have to stay away from any video You Tube type stuff.  I’m not a big You Tube guy anyway.  We have the Verizon 10 Gig plan but still push the limits each month. Anything audio/visual being emailed to us from readers I put in a separate file to be looked at when we return home in the Spring. No limits or over usage penalties with our cable internet in Bayfield.  One reader, Lloyd, sends in some really nice audio/visual stuff that I can occasionally use in the blog during summer months but not while we are on our southwest travels using Verizon.  By the way, thanks for that enlarged ‘Target Rock’ photo awhile back Lloyd:))
  
SAY'S PHOEBES
Sometimes, at my keyboard I rattle things off my head before I’ve had a chance to really think about what my head is even really rattling about. But, it is a one way conversation with myself I am comfortable with I guess.  Being a modest fellow, it is my way of talking without being interrupted, overwhelmed, or swamped by someone I might be talking to.  My ‘small talk’ paragraph kind of eluded to that a few posts ago. 

There are talkers & there are listeners. If two listeners meet, probably not much is going to happen. Each one will appear to the other as not being interested in what the other has to say & they will go their separate ways without having discussed much. If two aggressive talkers meet, it could be a battle of who talks the loudest, longest, & fastest that wins & the ‘out-talked’ one will probably walk away in frustration. If a talker & a listener meet, well, unless the listener is really interested in what the talker has to say, that may not work out so swell either. But, on rare occasions when both parties are able to find common ground, they can bring out the best of talking & listening in each other. In my opinion, that constitutes something enjoyably akin to a two way conversation. And, if that combination of agreeable listening & talking sparks a genuine interest & focus, it can probably be the start of a long lasting & meaningful friendship between two people. 
 
BIT OF TRAFFIC ON GHOST TOWN ROAD TODAY
I’m sure we have all met the non stop talkers though.  You know the one’s who never stop talking long enough to take a breath, never ask a question, & never take an interest in what you have to say.   They just go, go, go, go, & goooooooooo!!  Kind of like being run over & overwhelmed by a speeding Mac truck, over & over & over.  I guess blogging is just my way of avoiding getting flattened by all the out of control Mac trucks out there.  Sitting behind a keyboard is my safety zone.  I know many of these people mean well, but…….

KINDA BLURRED BUT IT’S A CACTUS WREN JUST TAKING FLIGHT
Just some of my rattling & rambling opinions again on another mighty fine Arizona evening…………:))
 
GROANER’S CORNER:((  How about some good old run of the mill zingers tonight………..
- He's the world's greatest proof of reincarnation-- no one could get that dumb in just one lifetime.
- She’s like yesterday's coffee -- a little weak in the bean.
-  He should study to be a bone specialist -- he has the head for it.
- He paid $500 to have his family tree re-searched, and found out he was the sap.
- The only time he thinks is in a poolroom, where he can rack his brains.
- Once he saw an old woman fall down, but didn't help her up. His mother warned him against having anything to do with fallen women.
- He's never bought Christmas seals --says he wouldn't know what to feed them.
- He called it quits when his fourth child was born, because he read that every fifth child born is Chinese!
- He jumped off the bus backwards when he heard someone say, "Let's grab his seat when he gets off."
Ok, that’s enough of 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.