Thursday, November 26, 2009

A FINE THANKSGIVING DINNER WITH A FINE BUNCH OF LOCAL FOLKS

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BISBEE’S MULE MOUNTAINS COMMUNICATION TOWERS

We woke up to a slight cloud cover this morning & that meant some temperatures above 32F for a change.  My feet didn't freeze to the ground when I stepped out of the rig.  The cloud cover also signaled an incoming weather change.  The day started out calm as I relaxed in a lawn chair with my 10 o'clock coffee soaking up some warming rays & quiet serenity.  Minutes later I'm nearly upside down as the first wind gusts swept into the valley blowing swirling clouds of dust before them.  The rig's awning was bouncing & the flags were snapping as we scrambled to get the awning up & secured to the rig.  Just goes to show you can never leave your awning unattended in the southwest.  That wily old wind is always nearby tucked away in a canyon somewhere just waiting for you to head off to town & leave your lawn chairs out & your awning down.  I'm sure it finds great pleasure in swooping down, scattering tables & chairs & bending awning arms around like pretzels.  I swear someday's I can hear that mischievous old wind laughing as it goes blowing by with a load of somebody's laundry in it's clutches.  It's enough to blow the underwear right off a horse.

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OUR CHILE LIGHTS IN A DRAGOON MOUNTAIN SUNSET

Noticed we had a new blog follower this morning & would like to welcome fellow Canadian Pat from Guelph Ontario & his blog, TRAVELS WITH LEFTY Welcome aboard neighbor:))

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SAND HILL CRANES WINGING THEIR WAY HOME AT THE END OF THE DAY

Received an email from Marianne at, THE RV TRAVEL BLOG this morning.  Turns out they are also Canadian neighbors from Elora, Ontario & while checking out our outdated links site I came across these folks at FULL TIME RVINGBoth of the these sites are very informative & I would recommend you have a look at them.  I can see I am going to have to update & re-vamp our links section because I had totally forgotten about one of them & didn't have the other one linked at all.  While double-checking our blogger list I also came across DOWN THE ROAD FROM DOGPOUND'S latest post 3 weeks ago which I had totally missed in the flurry & fog of Bloggerville. I wonder how many other folks I have missed:((  I did finally catch up on our email correspondence with readers but also feel I've missed some of you so have decided to deal with each email right away from now on as soon as it lands on the desktop.  Well, that's my well intentioned plan anyway!!

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It's the American Thanksgiving Day here & I've noticed a lot of other bloggers giving thanks to various things so I'll add our thanks to the roll.  No great grandiose thanks to imagined ethereal entities or supposed worldly Saints.  Just a very simple & realistic thanks to all you folks out there who send in your comments & emails to the Bayfield Bunch.  Thanks to you all for reading our simple little travel blog & thanks to our fellow bloggers for sharing their daily lives.  And a special thanks to my family members both living & deceased for making this whole Travel with The Bayfield Bunch possible.  Somewhere down the road I will share with you all the true motivation of why I do this blog every day.  

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TO-NIGHT’S MOON OVER ARIZONA (Nikon D40 in combination with a Stellarview Nighthawk refractor telescope)

I successfully dodged the snipping scissors this morning & kept my gray locks to grow another day.  Even got away without having to trim my beard.  Kelly fixed up a Sweet Potato Baked Casserole for the potluck Thanksgiving dinner over at the FRIEND'S OF THE SOUTHWEST (Quaker Intentional Community) this afternoon.  I was a bit apprehensive about this place having religious overtones but I needn't have worried.  We arrived at 1 p.m. & met a fine bunch of local people who made us feel welcome & comfortable.  About 2 dozen people altogether.  A diverse bunch of backgrounds & I'm sure everyone had a tale to tell of how they ended up here in the Sulphur Springs Valley of southeast Arizona.  A lady sitting across from me had moved with her husband to this area several years ago from Alaska.  Several friendly Mexican fellows were there from Agua Prieta across the border from Douglas.  Lots of great food, fine deserts, & friendly people.  We received several invitations to visit people at their homes & we learned a bit more about the history of the area.  One lady at the table told us about the history of the Quaker like community, but 10 seconds into her description my short term memory had already forgotten the first 5 seconds so I'll have to try & remember to write things down next time.

 

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DSC_0014 DSC_0007 DSC_0015 THANKS FOLKS:))

THANKSGIVING DINNER AT THE FRIENDS OF THE SOUTHWEST CENTER NEAR McNEAL, ARIZONA             (Click the pictures to enlarge them)

We were back to the ranch shortly after 3 & by then the wind had subsided & it turned out to be a pleasantly warm day with a nice sunset.  We had eaten so much turkey at the dinner this afternoon that we skipped supper entirely.  Took a few sunset & moon photos & that was about it for another fine Arizona day.  To-morrow morning we'll head off to Pearce for their annual, 'Old Pearce Heritage Days' & maybe brush shoulders with some real wild west cowboys:))

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GROANER'S CORNER:((  A gossip is someone with a great sense of rumor.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

MY SMUG MUG (I am finally working on updating this site)

http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

8 comments:

  1. oooh...love, love your "moon over Arizona" photo. Have it on my desktop and just enjoy gazing at it...gives me shivers!
    Space...stars...moon...they are all SO amazing!

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  2. Awesome picture of the moon!

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  3. That moon pic is a good one, Al. Looks like you did ok on Thanksgiving considering you're a Canadian!

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  4. Al, you are unashamedly asking for compliments this morning! What "simple little travel blog?" Your blog is one of the leaders in the industry!

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  5. I have to add my "kudo's" to the moon picture. Glad you enjoyed Thanksgiving and we may run into you at Pearce.

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  6. As others have said, that is a neat Moon picture!! Good Blog, as I enjoy the shorter one... Like Teogia George. I have a very short attention span.....keep up the good work!

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  7. Are you sure it wasn't those 'chili peppers' that were interfering with your old sunset....LOL!

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  8. Love your blog...Al and the bunch! Thank YOU for sharing it with all of us. Fantastic photos, as always.

    Underwear off a horse? Hmmmm that would be good to see.

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