TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Tuesday, January 07, 2014

AN EXPLORATORY JEEP TRIP TO A CITY WE ONCE DID SOME BUSINESS IN

HAD US A NICE BACKYARD SUNSET TONIGHT

With cloudy skies overhead this morning I wasn’t inspired to venture outside & resume my clean-up project. Couldn’t even get myself into a morning walk so Kelly & Pheebs headed out without me. I busied myself with a load of laundry & a couple other small indoor projects.

ALWAYS ENJOY SEEING THE NEIGHBOR’S COLORFUL ORANGES

We figured it might by a good day for a day trip to a city. Prescott Arizona is a place we have only been to twice & both times it had to do with business back in March of 2012 when we bought our Congress house. We do kind of bounce off the outskirts of Prescott coming & going between Bayfield & Congress each Spring & Fall though.

SOME KIND OF NEST, DEN, OR LAIR BOTTOM RIGHT BUT WE DON’T KNOW WHAT IT IS

There are 2 ways to Prescott from Congress & the one we take with our rig is Iron Springs road. It is not recommended RV’s travel highway 96 through Wilhoit to Prescott. This is a mountainous stretch of road with hair pin turns & many 20, 25, 30 & 35 mph curves. This is the route we took both going to & returning from Prescott today. We had traveled it once before back in March of 2012. Let me just say…..this is a marvelous stretch of highway but may not be for everybody.

DIDN’T TAKE ANY PHOTOS OF THE CURVY ROAD BECAUSE I DIDN’T WANT TO ALARM MY PASSENGER

Personally, I enjoy the driving challenges of road’s like this. Scenery is great as well as the 15 mile stretch from the town of Wilhoit to Prescott winds it’s way through scenic forests of tall Pines & a variety of other greenery. Valleys of forest with snow scattered along ridge lines, hill tops, & small mountain peaks.

A BARREL CACTUS SEEMINGLY GROWS OUT OF THE ROCKS

Our drive to Prescott today was that of an exploratory mission to familiarize ourselves with the town/city for future trips. Luckily we remembered our way around a bit from nearly 2 years ago & didn’t have any problem finding the great mall complexes east on highway 69. We had no particular destination in mind other than to have a look around but it was soon lunch time & after spotting a Red Lobster Kelly had a hankering for some sea food. She assured me I could get a burg in there. I am definitely not a seafood guy. Had been about 15 years since Kelly had been to a RL & I had only been in a RL once back in the mid 80’s. That was when I found out I do not like Lobster or any other creepy crawler critter that comes out of the ocean.

KELLY CAREFULLY PONDERS THE BIG RED LOBSTER MENU

Kelly’s seafood platter was acceptable but she felt it was overpriced for what she got. My last minute decision to have Fish n Chips was OK & I was glad my plate was not overwhelmed with French Fries like so many other places. Fish was good but I think somebody spilled the salt shaker on my fries. Took a long time to get the bill & we both decided we would probably not head on back to a Red Lobster again. We made the same decision about Applebee’s after being in one in Sierra Vista Az a few years back as well.

THAT’S A HUNK OF LOBSTER WITH SOME SHRIMPY THINGS & SCALLOP DOLLUPS

Kelly spotted a ‘Ross’ store she liked so headed on in for a looky see while Pheebs & I held the Fort down in the Jeep. She returned with some new bed sheets. A quick stop at Home Depot netted us some Mineral Spirits. In Canada we call that Varsol or Turpentine. The HD clerk had no idea what Kelly was looking for & said they had never heard of Turpentine or Varsol. Yes there are some definite differences between our two countries alright.

PATIENTLY WAITING FOR MOM TO COME OUT OF THE ‘ROSS’ STORE

Next stop was a store I have heard a lot of RV’ers raving about so figured I had better go in & see what all the fuss was about. Was there a water slide inside, free ice cream for every customer, or an all expenses paid Caribbean Cruise for every 100th customer through the door? Well it was none of those & there wasn’t much fuss that I could see but then again I am not a ‘Foody’ person & this was definitely a Foody person’s store. We were at Trader Joes.

YEP, WE WERE AT TRADER JOE’S ALRIGHT

It was the business right next to Trader Joes that caused us to give ourselves a kick in the pants & added insult to injury for going to Red Lobster. One of our favorite burger places is 5 Guys & sure enough there it was with all it’s free peanuts & everything.

A casual question to the clerk at Trader Joes led us around the corner to Cupper’s Bistro for ice cream. Now here was a place we liked & had ourselves some very tasty Gelato. Chocolate for Kelly & Carmel for me. Yummy. Decided on a coffee to go & it came in the most intelligent coffee cup I have ever seen. Charbucks & Tim Hortons are missing the boat on this practical cup design. Tim Horton’s cups have flat cardboard sides which can be very hot on fingers. Cupper’s cups are ribbed so fingers are protected from the heat. Very clever. Liked the different slide open sippy cup idea as well. Two thumbs up for Cuppers Bistro:))

KELLY BELLIES UP TO THE GELATO BAR

ABOUT THE SMALLEST SPOONS WE HAVE EVER HAD

CLEVER COFFEE CUP & LID DESIGN

It was going on 3 p.m so decided it was time to head for home. But not before a stop at City Hall in downtown Prescott. It was maps we were after & someone had told us City Hall had them. They did. Kelly went in for the maps while I slipped across the street to take a few photos in a lovely Park surrounding the Yavapai County Court House building. This is the core of historic Prescott & the street with all it’s stores & little Shoppe's running along on the north side is called Whiskey Row. We made a mental note to return to Prescott another day & spend some time having us a look around this part of town.

YAVAPAI COUNTY COURT HOUSE

NICE PARK SURROUNDING THE COURTHOUSE

LOTS OF DOGGIES OUT WALKING IN THE PARK INCLUDING THE PHEEBS

WHISKEY ROW

It was shortly after 3 when we began our southerly journey back down highway 96 twisting & turning our way through the scenic green forests. Nice drive into a late afternoon cloud banked setting sun. One hour from Prescott to Congress.

Slipped on down through Peeples Valley into Yarnell where we began our decent down the Yarnell Hill to the floor of the Sonoran Desert & our home only minutes away in Congress.

THE FAINT WHITE LINE BETWEEN THE 2 DARK HILLS IS NORTH RANCH

ABOUT 3 MINUTES FROM PHEEBERS HOUSE

Still full from our lunch in Prescott today we skipped supper. Well sort of, I had a walloping big peanut butter & honey sandwich. Fiery sunset in our backyard finished off what I consider to be a worthwhile day. We went somewhere, saw some things we had never seen before, learned some new things along the way & just quite simply had an enjoyable Bayfield Bunch day………..:))

FROM OUR BACKYARD

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A three-year-old boy went with his dad to see a new litter of Labrador puppies. On returning home, he breathlessly informed his mother, "There were three boy Labrador puppies and four girl Labrador puppies."
"How did you know that?" his mother asked.
"Daddy picked them up and looked underneath," he replied. "I think it is printed on their bottoms.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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 sure hope I don't live long enough to get old....AL.

Monday, January 06, 2014

AND SO ENDS ANOTHER DAY………

NOTICED SOME MORE KELLY-ART IN OUR CACTUS GARDEN THIS MORNING

Another ‘not so much going on day’. Kelly went to Wickenburg for groceries & I continued with my clean-up project.

Sometimes out of curiosity & maybe tinged with a touch of melancholy I’ll look back in our Archives to see where we were & what we were doing a year ago or maybe two or three. This morning I picked January 6th 2012. We were at the Ranch in McNeal Az. & my Aunt Jean was visiting from Sarasota Florida. Earlier that year I had fallen in love with a little 40 acre Ranch nestled between Elfrida & Swiss Helm Mountains. Kelly & I boondocked on the vacant property for a week or so & I spent my time cleaning up the grounds around the house. Spoke to a Real Estate guy but the price was way too high for us. Jean was curious to see the Lazy W Ranch so that’s where we were 2 years ago today & it was the last time we were ever there.

PHEEBS & BEANS & SUPPER IN THE CLASS A DAMON WE HAD AT THE TIME

A COUPLE OTHER FAMILIAR RV BLOG TRAVELERS STOPPED BY THE LAZY W AFTER WE LEFT AS WELL:))

January 6th 2009 found us in Borrego Springs. We attended our one & only Happy Hour campfire ring that day. Don’t mind so much visiting with one couple at a time but a whole bunch of people sitting around in a circle…..um, not so much. That Happy Hour stuff just never caught on with us.

JANUARY 6TH 2008 ALSO FOUND US IN BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA AS WELL…MISS YOU BEANS……….

And so ends another day………….

KOFA MOUNTAIN SUNRISE

GROANER'S CORNER:(( Three sisters, ages 92, 94 and 96, live in a house together. One night the 96-year-old draws a bath. She puts her foot in and pauses. She yells to the other sisters, 'Was I getting in or out of the
bath?'
The 94-year-old yells back, 'I don't know.
I'll come up and see.' She starts up the stairs and pauses 'Was I going up the stairs or down?

The 92-year-old is sitting at the kitchen
table having tea listening to her sisters; she shakes her head and says, 'I sure hope I never get that forgetful, knock on wood.' She then yells,'I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door.'

Sunday, January 05, 2014

NOT MUCH HAPPENING TODAY BUT HEY AT LEAST WE ARE NOT SHOVELING SNOW

ALWAYS ENJOY OUR NEIGHBOR’S CACTUS GARDEN ON OUR MORNING WALKS

Not often we seem to get gusty winds rolling through our area as compared to other parts of the southwest we have been but we did have some wind come through Saturday night that set up a bit of sporadic howling in our roof. It also brought in some cooler air.

WE HAVE LOTS OF GREAT ROCKS TO SCRAMBLE ON CLOSE TO OUR HOUSE SO NOW WE JUST NEED THE ENERGY TO GET OUT THERE & SCRAMBLE ON THEM

Had a bit of soreness in my right hip reminiscent of last winter so figured I had better back off my neighborly clean-up project for a bit. I’ve never been one good at pacing myself when it comes to doing things. Seem to have it in my head that a week long project has to be all finished up in 20 minutes:(( Did manage to scratch around in the dirt a bit & get 6 more Yucca’s planted though:))

DALLY & PHEEBS RACE ALONG A FENCE LINE THIS MORNING

Oatman Arizona was one of the destinations we were heading for nearly 2 years ago when we became discouraged one Saturday morning due to traffic congestion in Lake Havasu. We never did make it to Oatman & re-routed ourselves further East ending up in some little place called Congress. To make a long story short…..we are still here. But RAY & CINDY did make it to Oatman just a few days ago on their southbound journey. Oatman is an old mining town on Route 66 known for it’s wandering Burrows in the street. Oh, & Clark Gable & Carol Lombard as well.

COULDN’T FIND THIS LITTLE FELLOW IN MY SOUTHWEST AUDUBON BOOK >>>

GYPSY is finally out of the hospital & staying with family until she is strong enough to head home & resume her normal life. She will probably soon have some camping plans simmering on a back burner. And it looks like all that nasty winter weather back east has succeeded in blowing RETIRED ROD & his spiffy new Jeep Wrangler all the way back to his Arizona digs. Better get all that road salt washed off right quick.

A GAMBLE’S QUAIL STROLLS THROUGH ONE OF OUR CACTUS GARDENS

We’ve been through Death Valley California a couple times but have never made it to Scotty’s Castle. From things I have read it is quite a place & well worth seeing. Janna & Mike were just there a few days ago. Janna relates the history behind the castle & her photos depict quite a grand mansion in the desert. SCOTTY'S CASTLE 1 --- SCOTTY'S CASTLE 2.

THIS LITTLE EYE TAKEN THROUGH A FENCE BELONGS TO A 2 DAY OLD BABY LAMB

GROANER’S CORNER:(( What did the Buddhist say to the hot dog vendor? I’ll have one with everything on it.
The hot dog vendor then gives him the dog and the Buddhist gives him a $20 bill. The vendor does not offer any change.
Buddhist – Hey, where’s my change?
Vendor – Change must come from within.

Saturday, January 04, 2014

ONE OF THESE DAYS WHILE MY LONG TERM MEMORY IS STILL INTACT……….

There was no hurry to get myself dressed & out the door this morning. When I looked out my window I did not see my good friend waiting for me. Had us a cloud cover & old Sol was nowhere to be seen. And 48F under cloud cover with a slight breeze from the North just didn’t do it for me. I don’t exactly get roaringly inspired on cool cloudy days. I was just being a bit of a Grumpypants first thing this morning anyway.

Fortunately by 10 the cloud cover thinned & old Sol once again sent his warming rays to earth charging my batteries for another day. Wasn’t long in getting out & carrying on with my clean-up job at the neighbor’s. Put in about 4 hours & tonight I’m still digging Prickly Pear Cactus barbs out of my hide. Not much else I can tell you about my day except to say I once again enjoyed working away by myself clearing brush & trimming trees & bushes. I have always preferred working alone over the many years & many different types of jobs I have had.

Tried the assembly line in a furniture factory once. Nope that wasn’t for me. Had a stint in the retail business dealing with customers & employees. Eee-gads that didn’t work. Tried construction, yuck!! Tried my luck as a Security Guard a few times. Nope. Did a stint in the Canadian Navy & didn’t care for that either. A few more factory jobs. One lasted for 4 hours & another one about 6 years. One I never even showed up for the first day of work. Worked in the camera department for K-Mart one time. That was pretty boring. Washed cars for a dealership in Kitchener one summer & the best part of that job was going to Toronto & racing used cars back from the auction. Stocked shelves in a grocery store once. Had my own small photo business for a few years. Enjoyed that because I spent a lot of my time alone in my dark room working on old prints for folks.

Probably another dozen or so jobs I’m forgetting but overall it was the driving jobs I always liked because I worked alone. Drove for Purolator one time & that was good. Those were the days when jobs were plentiful & easy to find & I was always one of those restless people who tired of routine jobs quickly & moved on to try something else. One of these days while my long term memory is still intact I must take the time to sit down & weave those 20+ jobs together in some kind of story form. A lot of crazy stuff happened in those often turbulent years……….

Well I sure got off track there again. Anyway I put about 5 hours into my clean-up job today. Kelly & Pheebs went to the Library & hit a garage sale on the way back. Picked up some Navajo things made up around CANYON DE CHELLY. The fellow with the Navajo stuff also threw in something else kind of curious. Says they are original stage coach tickets. I’m always skeptical about ‘original’ claims.

FOUR HORSE CORALS ON THIS PROPERTY CHERYL:))

And there’s a new puppy over at KAREN & STEVES. Eight week old Finnegan has joined the clan & I especially like the photo of little Finnegan & big Duke sleeping side by side. Reminded me of the first day we met Pheebs. We had brought little Cora aka Motormouse along & she remained in the car while we went in the house where Pheebs lived. After about 15 minutes we brought Motor in & introduced her to Pheebs. They seemed to get along just fine but the clincher came when Cora walked over to a mat & laid down. Pheebs walked over & laid right down beside her & it was at that moment we knew we had ourselves another new member for the Bayfield Bunch:))

THIS LITTLE FELLOW HAD TO SLAM ON HIS AIR BRAKES WHEN A SEED SLIPPED OUT OF HIS BEAK

Cheryl over at DEEP CANYON has had a computer crash & is in the painstaking process of getting herself up & running again. I’m sure we have all been there. The question she had in her post was, “Can anybody recommend a web based site to store photos? Or, a cloud based one? I've always just stored them on the desktop...THANK YOU for your help! I sure need it!”……I don’t have an answer for Cheryl but maybe someone else out here does. I store all my digital photos in an old shoe box under my bed.

You Tiffin owners may be interested in NAN'S post about their day at the Tiffen Surgery Service Center. She has a detailed write up with photos about some repairs going on with their rig requiring welding, gluing, & painting, amongst other things. It seems they had an unfortunate encounter with a rather stubborn boulder.

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Did you know…..A politician is one who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after….The very first doctor of dermatology had to start from scratch….What do you call a funeral where you smell your own flowers? A wedding…."Waiter! This coffee tastes like mud." "Yes sir," came the reply, "it's fresh ground."….Two men are approaching each other on a sidewalk. Both are dragging their right foot as the walk. As they meet, one man looks at the other, knowingly points at his foot and says,"Vietnam, 1969." The other hooks his thumb behind him says,
"Dog poop, 20 feet back.”