THE BAYFIELD BUNCH HEADS OUT ON A SCOUTING MISSION THIS MORNING

FOUND US SOME REAL NICE BOON-DOCKING SITES TODAY

With this warmer Arizona weather upon us my restlessness is growing by the day so combining that need to get out & go somewhere with my other need to get myself off this recently repetitive ‘house sale’ topic I figured it would be a good idea to get out & get a little traveling time in.  Kelly felt like doing something different today as well so we all piled into the Jeep & away we went.

With some new directions to a boon-docking area about an hour & a half’s drive from us we figured we would head on over that way & scout out the region for possible boon-docking sites while traveling in the future.  We weren’t disappointed by what we found.

FOUND US SOME GREAT BOON-DOCKING SITES TODAY

LOOKS LIKE GREAT JEEPING ROADS IN THE AREA AS WELL

MOUNTAIN TRAILS

ROCK SCRAMBLING

LOTS OF ROOM TO STRETCH ONE’S LEGS ON MORNING WALKS IN THESE HERE PARTS

It was another beautiful morning for a drive & how nice to be cruising through the greening early Spring Sonoran desert landscape with tall Saguaros climbing majestically up Arizona’s rocky mountainsides.  How nice to be here & how nice to be headed somewhere this morning with purpose in mind. 

NEXT TIME HERE WE’LL SEE IF WE CAN GET LIBBY UP THAT ROAD TOP RIGHT LEADING INTO THE MOUNTAINS

NOT EVERBODYS FAVORITE LANDSCAPE BUT WE LOVE THE ROCKS, THE DIRT, THE PRICKLY CACTUS & THE NEVER ENDING VIEWS

We didn’t have any problem finding what we were looking for as we turned off a paved highway & followed a Jeep road gaining a bit of altitude for a mile to the base of a large mountain.  I was so much reminded of being in the Kofa Mountains south of Quartzsite.  Didn’t take us long to find about a dozen ideal flat boon-docking sites.  Stopping at the farthest doable Motorhome site from the highway we parked the Jeep & got out.  ‘WOW’.  I could feel that old twinge of excitement we used to have back in our first 6 years of boon-docking.  And I could tell right off Kelly was feeling the same way as we walked around the site just absorbing the beauty we were standing in.  I was very much reminded of my favorite mountain range south of Quartzsite.  The Kofas.  Beside us stood a jagged towering mountain to the south with a sweeping view stretching for miles across the valley floor below to another mountain range on the northern horizon stretching westward.  Yes, we both felt that old excitement again.

How nice it was to feel that good old traveling spirit again as we continued to check out some additional roads in the area for more boon-docking sites.  Roads we had never travelled before.  I was surprised by the amount of agricultural land we drove through with fields of Arizona green.  We think they may be growing cotton here & possibly a type of grass & clover mixed for making hay.  Irrigation canals with a few Palm trees along their banks.  Needless to say we took a liking to what we saw.

WHEREVER YOU FIND A BOON-DOCKING SITE YOU FIND A CAMPFIRE RING

Finally turning for home I knew the location of a nearby Subway shop so we made some fast tracks straight away heading in that direction.  We had worked us up an appetite.  Twenty minutes later we were pulled up out front the Sub shop.  Pheebs & I stayed in the Jeep while Kelly went in to fetch us all a big yummy foot long Subway Club with lots of fixins. 

While waiting I noticed an older fellow with all his gear sitting on the sidewalk leaning up against a wall.  It was blazing hot out & I wondered why this man would be sitting there in the hot sun when I could see shady areas nearby.  Must be one of those poor homeless souls we see so many of down here in the south.  I noticed he had a lot of rings on his fingers & was dressed in black with an orange wool knit cap on.  When I see people like this I often wonder who they are & what happened in their lives to bring them to this point.  Then I noticed something in his hand.  He had a cell phone & sure enough there was a pink charging cord stretching back & up to an outside electrical outlet.  So that’s why he was sitting there…..he was charging his cell phone.  I was close enough to hear him talking & heard him say to the person on the other end of the line he was about 330 miles from Los Angeles on highway 10. (Interstate 10)  Then I heard him talking about his guitar & asking the person where it was.  Holy Smokes I thought to myself maybe this is Chuck Berry…………..:))

I OFTEN WONDER WHO THESE PEOPLE ARE & WHAT IN THEIR LIVES BROUGHT THEM TO THIS POINT

 

WHY WOULD THIS MAN BE SITTING HERE IN THE HOT SUN…..THEN I SAW THE CELL PHONE & CHARGING CORD

Kicked on Libby’s A/C, ate our Sub in the parking lot then headed for Congress.  A quick stop at Wickenburg’s Safeway store & we were home before 2 just in time for another episode of my favorite TV situation comedy Corner Gas.  All & all we had ourselves a great 5 hour day trip traveling some roads we hadn’t traveled before & seeing some new territory to boot.  We talked of future traveling plans & how nice it had felt once again to feel that old twinge of excitement stirring within as we stood in another mighty mountains shadow teetering on the doorstep of yet further upcoming changes in our lives.   Oh how nice it felt, how nice it felt indeed……….:))

Oh & here is something I just noticed about Open Live Writer while putting my post together tonight.  While typing the word ‘suprise’ I saw a red line appear under the word & that right away told me Open Live Writer finally has a Spell Checker installed & I had better change suprise to surprise.  Thanks again to the Open Live Writer gang:))

WE LIKE THIS CANDID PHOTO JOHN BROWN TOOK OF US SUNDAY….GOOD CANON SHOT JOHN:))

GROANER’S CORNER:))  Senility Prayer::

God grant me the Senility to forget the people
I never liked anyway, the good fortune to run into the ones I do, and the eyesight to tell the difference...

SOME OLD FRIENDS DROP BY THIS MORNING & THEY’RE REAL COWBOY FOLKS TOO

Our 4 Sunday morning visitors arrived around 11 & two of them we hadn’t seen for about a year.  Brenda & John from John & Brenda's Incredible Journey were in the area to visit with Janna & Mike from Tin Tee Pee/Log Cabin.  Brenda & John are ranchers from Alberta with a winter place near Maricopa southwest of Phoenix.  Janna & Mike are Montana ranch folks who have a winter place in North Ranch just south of Congress.  Always good to see these people & catch up on what has been going on in their lives.  Pheebs was happy too having Janna & Mike’s little Emmi to play with as well as Brenda & John’s 2 bigger dogs Max & Maya

MIKE & JANNA FROM MONTANA & JOHN FROM ALBERTA CANADA

BRENDA SNAPS THE PHOTO BELOW SECONDS AFTER I SNAPPED THE PHOTO ABOVE……..I AM HAMMING IT UP FOR JOHN’S CAMERA ACROSS THE PATIO

Turned out to be another really nice day with warm temperatures & a light cooling breeze.  After our colder than usual Arizona winter we are sure basking in all this warm welcome air.

NO BRENDA IS NOT ON HER CELL PHONE

BY THE WAY BOTH MIKE & JOHN ARE ‘REAL COWBOYS’….YESSiRIEEEE:))

NOPE THAT’S NOT PHEEBS IT’S MAYA RELAXING IN THE SHADE

I THINK IT MUST HAVE BEEN MY TALKING THAT PUT JOHN TO SLEEP…..I DO HAVE THAT AFFECT ON SOME PEOPLE YOU KNOW

Kelly suggested I clear something up about the Realtor I mentioned in connection with our ‘house sale.’  We have not locked ourselves in or signed any papers with a Real Estate agency but have a verbal agreement with our Realtor friend to the effect if he finds a buyer for our house we will make good on an agreed upon commission.  By doing it this way it gives us the option of finding a buyer for our own house ourselves.  We have advertised in several medias & have had an encouraging response with a Wickenburg fellow coming to have a look at the house this week.  We are under no ilusions that our house will sell quickly & are quite prepared to return to our Ghost Town Road Abode next Fall & resume our selling efforts then if need be.

We’re having quite a time trying to decide what we will take back to Bayfield with us next month whether the house sells or not.  We are ‘stuff’ people & we do like our ‘stuff’, especially me.  We’re not hoarders just ‘stuffers’ & of course it’s going to be hard for us to leave things behind.  Over the past 4 winters we have lovingly dragged home some nice pieces of furniture along with various other southwest sundries but we have no way to get them back to Bayfield & nowhere to put them even if we did. 

I know it is going to be sad for us when we at some point close the door of our little southwest home for the last time & drive slowly out our gate & down the road but I also know something else…………

THE RANCH FOLKS ARE HEADING OUT

WITH THAT WINDOW BUTTONED UP TIGHT I FIGURE THOSE BUNDLED UP CANADIANS GOT THEIR A/C A-GOIN

And that something else I know is this.  With each passing mile & each passing hour turning into days & weeks the sadness of leaving will slowly but steadily drop away & be replaced by fond memories of our life & times these past 4 winters spent here at our house & surrounding area in Congress Arizona.  And knowing us as well as I do I also know that as soon as we leave our little abode our minds will automatically begin to re-focus on not what lies behind us but what lies ahead.  We will once again be looking forward to new adventures………….:))

THAT JEEP OF JANNA & MIKE’S CERTAINLY IS YELLOW ISN’T IT

GROANER’S CORNER:((  An elderly couple were driving across the country. The woman was driving when she got pulled over by the highway patrol. The officer said, "Ma'am did you know you were speeding?"  The woman, hard of hearing, turned to her husband and asked, "What did he say?"  The old man yelled, "He says you were speeding!"  The patrolman said, "May I see your license?"  The woman turned to her husband once again and asked, "What did he say?"  The old man yelled, "He wants to see your license!"
The woman gave the officer her license. The patrolman then said, "I see you are from Arkansas. I spent some time there once and went on a blind date with the ugliest woman I've ever seen."  The woman turned to her husband and asked, "What did he say?"  The old man yells, "He said he thinks he knows you!".

PLANNING FOR OUR FUTURE

SPOTTED THIS HUMMINGBIRD AT ONE OF OUR ALOE FLOWERS TODAY

As much as we are enjoying all this wonderfully warmer Arizona weather the 80+ temps are having their usual effects on my energy levels & I’ve been spending a big slice of my time rather lethargically sitting on our shady front porch reading. However Pheebs & I did manage to slip out for a short half hour windows down Jeep ride in the cooler morning air.  She sure bugs me every morning now to go for a ride in the Jeep.   I’m not too keen on taking her out in the desert for walks or rock scrambles right now because I know with all this hotter weather rattlesnakes will be out & about for sure.

Well it’s quite a mixed bag of comments & shouts we have received on our house sale decision.  I had thought of responding in regards to how we arrived at our price & why but have decided instead to simply quote a Guest in the Shout Box who said: “I think that's a fair price for your house. If you get greedy, it will sit, and things are slowing down in the US economy. Lots of Canadians are selling their property, and there's a lot on the market in Congress, some nice properties even cheaper. If you price it right, it will sell quickly”…….. For us the key words in the above comment were, “If you get greedy”.

And this question from Cheryl, “ Are you going to stay in Ontario, then, for the winters”?  No, we have no intentions of staying in Ontario for the winters just yet.  We may leave a month later this Fall in order to cut down on insurance costs but we will definitely be back out here to the Southwest whether it be to our house if it doesn’t sell or somewhere in our Motorhome just like we did for the first 6 years of our travels before buying the house.  This question from fellow RV’ers & friends Caron & Chis: “US or CDN $$”?  Our selling price is in American dollars.

Our decision to sell has not come easy for us but we both feel it is time to move on & lay the groundwork for future plans.  We very much enjoyed our earlier RVing years of Ranch Sitting & boondocking but by the 6th year we were tiring of the wandering & felt we needed a new challenge.  The purchase of our Congress house came just at the right time & gave us a new direction filling our lives with enthusiasm once again.  These past 4 winters have been great for us but again we both feel it is time for a change.  The next ‘phase’ if you will.  Without our house we will be free again to travel wherever we desire & there are many many places we have not been or seen…..& not just here in the Southwest.  We just may have a few good winters on the road ahead of us yet so we had better get rolling while we still can.

Also with the way the economy is going & the exchange rate on the Canadian/American dollar being what it is we know it would be in our best interest to sell now.  And, we don’t want to wait until we are in a disadvantagous position & forced to sell.  We’re not getting any younger & with a few medical possibilites on the horizon we have to take those things into consideration too. 

Although we have a nice cozy little place in a 55+ community in Bayfield Ontario the sale of our Congress house will put us in a better financial position should we decide to find ourselves a house & property a little more to our liking in that same area.  Long time readers well know of our many summer drives these past number of years looking at house properties for sale.  There will come a time when our winter RVing days in the sunny warm south will no longer be possible so we’re just kind of thinking ahead to where we would like to be when that time does come………

GROANER’S CORNER:((  There were 3 sisters living together 92, 94 and 95 yrs. old. The oldest went upstairs one evening to take a bath. As she was getting in the tub with one foot in and one foot out, she called down to her sisters, "Am I getting in the tub or am I getting out of the tub?"
The 94 yr. old decided to go upstairs to see if she could help figure out the situation. She got to the 3rd step and stopped - then called out, "Was I going up the stairs or was I coming down the stairs?"  The 92 yr. old, sitting at the kitchen table, thought she better knock on wood and as she knocked on the kitchen table she said, "I hope I never get as bad as my sisters. Now was that someone knocking on the front door or the back door?"

OUR CONGRESS ARIZONA HOUSE & PROPERTY ARE NOW OFFICIALLY FOR SALE

Knew the higher altitudes would be a little cooler so Pheebs & I took ourselves for a drive this morning up through Yarnell & north along highway 89 for awhile.  Turned around in the small settlement of Wilhoit & headed ourselves back home again.  Just needed to blow a little house dust off ourselves. 





Some may have been wondering these past few months if we are still planning on selling our Congress house & the short answer to that is ‘yes’.  Back in early September of last year we made the decision to sell it but after arriving here in October we fell in love with our little place all over again & decided to put a hold on that decision for awhile.  Well the ‘awhile’ is up now & here we are again back to our original September decision.  We notified our Realtor Thursday afternoon of our decision.  We just feel the time is right for us to move on. 

Our little 1 acre ranch style house & property would be great for any Snowbirds out there looking for a cozy winters nest:))  If anyone is interested just email us at stargeezerguy@gmail.com & we can send you the details.  I will also put together a photo album shortly & make that available with a link on my sidebar.  Almost forgot......$85,000 'Firm'!!

Google Earth Co-ordinates for our house………..
34°10'32.40"N ----- 112°51'22.35"W


Whether our house sells or not before the end of March we are busy now prioritizing what we can carry with us back home to Bayfield in 7 weeks.    We will be selling the house fully furnished.  We bought the house as is, made some signifcant improvements & will sell the house the same way we bought it.  ‘As is.’  We are hoping for a cash buyer.  If it doesn’t sell we will simply be back next Fall…………………….

GROANER’S CORNER:(( At a local Burger King an elderly couple came in and ordered one burger, one order of fries and one coke with two glasses. When they got to their booth, the man placed a napkin in front of himself and one in front of his wife, then proceeded to divide the fries, cut the burger in half and divided the coke equally. A gentleman nearby noticed and offered to buy them another burger, fries and Coke. The woman then said, "No you don't understand. We've been married over 50 years and all our life we agreed to split everything right down the middle."  Her husband then began eating, as she sat with her hands in her lap.  The gentleman nearby noticed and asked the lady why she wasn't eating.  She replied, "As I said before, we split everything right down the middle, and it's his day to use the teeth first."

AN 11 A.M. APPOINTMENT AT A ‘TITLE AGENCY’ THIS MORNING

NIGHT SKY FROM OUR BACK YARD

We were outside this morning in short sleeves at 8:15.  Only one word to describe that…..’WOWSERS’:))  Decided right off it was a good day for an outside haircut so out came the scissors.  While cutting Old Grumpy’s hair Kelly mentioned the small pair of scissors she uses were over 40 years old.  She bought them at a SALLY BEAUTY SUPPLY STORE when she & her first husband John & their 5 children briefly lived in Florida.  She has used those same scissors all these years for hundreds & maybe even thousands of family haircuts over the years.    She always does a fine job on my hair & her years of home style hair cutting experience has served her well.   Of course my hair is always a challenge because I generally wait until it is too long & in such a mess before I agree to having it cut.   Now you would think after all these years I would learn & have my hair cut on a regular basis wouldn’t you but nope it’s just one of those things I still haven’t got too darn smart about yet:((

THIS SMALL PAIR OF SCISSORS HAS BEEN CUTTING HAIR FOR OVER 40 YEARS

Managed to slip out into our back yard for a few more photos Wednesday night.  Still experimenting with settings & things but here are some camera settings I have been having a bit of beginner’s luck with so far.  ISO 1600 with most of my shutter speeds at 1/30th of a second.  Been toying around with some lighting settings as well.  Did some goofy face shots with a red beam flashlight.  This kind of thing is often referred to as painting with light.  Maybe I’ll try a little more of that creative sort of stuff using different subject matter.  I was suprised at the number of F-16 Fighting Falcons in the night sky darting about amongst the stars.  They are much easier to spot in the darkened sky because of their white blinking lights.  They look exactly like tiny twinkling stars moving about.   I heard a couple ‘Crrrruuuumps’ like munitions being dropped but I don’t know of any bombing ranges anywhere near here.

CAUGHT THIS COMMERCIAL AIRLINER’S RED BLINKING LIGHT FLYING FROM EAST TO WEST…(R TO L)

BIG DIPPER CENTER STANDING ON IT’S HANDLE

Leaving Pheebe at home in the coolness of the house Kelly & I slipped into Wickenburg this morning for an 11 a.m. appointment with a lady at the Pioneer Title Agency.  Our Realtor friend Dave Allen suggested a couple months ago we have a sit down with Peggy Coppinger to see what all is involved should we decide to sell our house at some point.  Procedures & costs were talked about and questions were asked & answered.  We now have a much better understanding of what is all involved & how to go about things.  In a nutshell it would be far easier to sell our Congress house while we’re here rather than from 2300 miles away in a different country.

THIS CACTUS WREN LIKES THE ORANGE SLICES KELLY HANGS ON A POST IN OUR FRONT YARD

Needing a few groceries we stopped into a very busy Safeway on the way home.  Big week-end coming up in Wickenburg with it’s 68 th Annual Gold Rush Days & Rodeo Events rapidly gearing up for Friday Saturday & Sunday.  Lots of cowboys & their horses flocking into town for all the events & we saw some of that inbound traffic this morning.

LOTS OF RVING COWBOYS IN WICKENBURG THIS COMING WEEK-END

Rollling out of Wickenburg we kicked on our A/C figuring it was a good time to check out Libby’s system.  Hadn’t used it since last summer & happy to say everything worked just fine.  With temps over 80 folks are saying it’s above normal for this time of year & I figure we’re just having our Arizona March weather in February that’s all.  We’ll be back down into the 70’s next week & that’s my kind of temperatures:))

WEDNESDAY NIGHT’S CRESCENT MOON BUT NOTICE THE RED DOT

THE RED DOT APPEARS TO BE ON THE SURFACE OF THE MOON….BUT MOVING

THESE 3 PHOTOS WERE TAKEN IN A SPAN OF ABOUT 6 SECONDS & ALREADY THE DOT HAS CLEARED THE MOON…..UFO??  NAW, PROBABLY JUST AN AIRCRAFT IN THE WESTERN SKY

Finished my book ‘The Last Enemy’ this afternoon & am already into another book recommended by Rob K in our Shout Box.  Within the first half dozen pages of ‘The Few’ I could tell this was a well written account about the Battle of Britain & the young pilots from both sides who fought each other over England, France, & the English Channel.

OH-OH YOU DON’T SUPPOSE THAT RED DOT UFO HAS LANDED IN OUR BACK YARD DO YOU??

OH-NO……LOOKS LIKE ALIEN CREATURES TO ME ALRIGHT

HEY WAIT A MINUTE……THAT ALIEN IS KINDA LOOKING FAMILIAR TO ME!! 

THE BRIGHTEST STAR IN THE TOP RIGHT CORNER IS SIRIUS THE DOG STAR & IT IS THAT LITTLE DOG YOU SEE ON YOUR SIRIUS SATELLITE RADIO……HORIZON GLOW IS LIGHTS FROM WICKENBURG BUT ARE NOT NEARLY THIS BRIGHT TO THE HUMAN EYE….IT’S A CAMERA THING

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An elderly woman and her little grandson, whose face was sprinkled with bright freckles, spent the day at the zoo. Lots of children were waiting in line to get their cheeks painted by a local artist who was decorating them with tiger paws.   "You've got so many freckles, there's no place to paint!" a girl in the line said to the little fella.  Embarrassed, the little boy dropped his head. His Grandmother knelt down next to him. "I love your freckles. When I was a little girl I always wanted freckles," she said, while tracing her finger across the child's cheek. "Freckles are beautiful."  The boy looked up, "Really?" "Of course," said the Grandmother. "Why just name me one thing that's prettier than freckles."  The little boy thought for a moment, peered intensely into his Grandma's face, and softly whispered, "Wrinkles."

FRONT PORCH READING & LISTENING TO THE BIRDS

OOOPS I JIGGLED THE CAMERA

It’s early Spring here in Arizona & our backyard birds are busy feathering their nests.  About a dozen Sparrows make their home in old Gila Woodpecker nests burrowed into our front yard Saguaros.  Sitting quietly reading on our front porch today with our 2 tall Saguaros only a few yards away I at times found it hard to concentrate on my book with all the seemingly happy chatter going on in & around those Saguaros.  Little Sparrows steadily coming & going from their nests.  It’s quite a close knit society they have.

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GROANER’S CORNER:(( A recent study has found that women who carry a little extra weight live longer than the men who mention it.