Thursday, December 06, 2007

DESERT WALKS




THURSDAY DEC. 6/07
We had busy skies overhead as we headed out for our morning desert walk. Within minutes we were buzzed by a border patrol helicopter checking us out in case we were a band of illegal Mexicans heading north across the desert floor. As they went over I shouted up that we weren't a band, but a bunch. The Bayfield Bunch!!
The sky high overhead was also filled with many unseen jet engines as the fighter pilot boys must have been doing high altitude combat maneuvers again. We could see the occasional sharp turn of a vapor trail as one of them would get above the 30,000 foot level. Some were much lower by the sound of it & one made a hard banking turn near us & I caught a piece of him with my telephoto lens but he still ended up pretty small in the picture. He's identifiable but I just don't know my fighter planes well enough to I.D. the make of the aircraft. The engines died away after about half an hour sending us back to the peace & tranquility of the silent Sonoran desert. Only the tweet of an occasional bird interrupted the quiet silence. Checkers lagged behind for the first part of the walk & then came alive as her & Max ranged out ahead of us scaring up the occasional jack-a-lope. Kelly built a small Inukshuk atop a ridge that will now guard the desert floor below forever..... http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy Our walk lasted about an hour & a half.

Around noon we hopped in the car & took a little explorative drive around the immediate area. Met a fascinating elderly lady living in her motorhome full time in the desert just a couple of miles away. Other rigs were scattered about across the desert floor as well. These people have a combination of solar panels & batteries & can stay for prolonged periods out in the boondocks & that's why they are called Boondockers. That kind of life certainly appeals to us & we've been thinking about that for quite awhile. RV parks can be very expensive & I'm not crazy about being near people to begin with. I like the idea of total peace & quiet & being able to open the door & let the doggy guys out without having to tie them up & I could hoist up our CANADIAN flag too!!!!!!!
Drove the 10 miles north to Ajo & picked up some groceries later & had us a little look around the place. It had once been a mining town but sure has fallen on hard times by the looks of the houses around the back streets. Check out the pink trailer park in the Web Album.

We were home by 4 & had another go at getting our Star Choice satellite system running but once again it ended in frustration which put a cloud over the rest of the day again. We seem to be so close but just can't figure out what the problem is. Got a site meter in Ajo to-day which told us we were right on the satellite signal but back at the television the signal strength just wasn't strong enough to bring in the Star Choice programs. This modern technology stuff sure can be stressed filled!! I can remember back to the days of no television & just a.m. radio stations. Crank telephones, party lines, coal furnace, wood kitchen stove, outside outhouse, pump for water, etc. etc. Geeeezzzzzzz, what happened!!!!

It's 8 o'clock Thursday night, the flyboys are chasing each other around overhead in the night sky again, the wind is picking up significantly, rain predicted for the week-end, dogs are sleeping, Kelly's reading a book, & I'm sitting here typing away at this here blogger thingy. I know it's not too exciting or particularly well written but for me at the end of the day it kind of put's things into perspective & gives me something to do that I like. If you find anything in the writing or in the photos that bring you some enjoyment, then I'm pleased. If not, you are only a couple of clicks away from traveling to anywhere in the Universe with your computer that you care to go......................... Happy travels:))

P.S. Thanks to Hermit for all the encouraging comments & thanks to Froggi Lady for this mornings "flag issue" support:))

Hope the nasty Bayfield weather clears up in time for the Stormrunner folks heading to Florida.

Thanks to Camlachie Fred for all the favorable photo comments.

Much appreciated everbody...................................

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