Sunday, February 20, 2011

A GLOOMY MORNING MATCHED OUR GLOOMY MOOD AS WE LEFT THE FLYING W RANCH

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OUR LAST SUNRISE AT THE FLYING W

Saturday’s tremendous winds slowed themselves down a bit in the night but never totally abated.  Despite the slide awnings flapping we did manage to slip off to dreamland.

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I was up at 3 & Kelly at 5.  Sky was overcast & gloomy.  It matched our moods because this was the morning we left the Flying W Ranch.  I filled the bird feeders for the last time & topped up all the water dishes.  Kept myself busy packing things up so I wouldn’t think about the ranch.  Kelly did the same.  The winds were brisk & cold.  Even the Swisshelm Mountains lacked their morning appeal.  A last minute check of everything & we were almost on our way, but……:((

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Our main slide would not retract again.  Switch was totally dead just like our last move a week ago.  Wasn’t until I moved the Motor Home ahead & back that the switch worked & the slide came in.  Definitely something amiss with our slide.  Not a fuse & probably not the motor.  More like a loose connection somewhere.  We had the big wheels rolling at 10:05.

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I’m not going to tell you how we felt as we rolled out the driveway.  I have said enough about all that already & as previously stated I concentrated my mind on the journey ahead & not the journey behind.

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Couldn’t help but reflect on some fine memories of the past 3 months as we rolled north through the Sulphur Springs Valley.  Jeep tours with Jeanie & Ray along with Rosanna, Carol & Joy.   Lunch at Margie's with DOUG & JOANNE along with FRED & JO.  Breakfast with JOE & NANCY at Sandy’s RV Park, hiking the Chiricahuas, my Tumbleweed Photo Group friends, the wiggly piggly gang, meeting W.D. Arizona, cold nights and broken pipes, Rucker Canyon & the Muleteam Hiking Club,  Bisbee’s many photos, Parker Lake tour, Wings over Wilcox, Grapevine Canyon Ranch,  up & over the Middlemarch Pass.  Shopping at J.C. Pennys & finding Cochise’s Council Rocks & let’s not forget  searching for the lost Donkeys.  RVing friends JERRY & SUZY,  Kathy & Bob, Ed Frey, Ivan, MIKE & JANNA, JIM & RENE all dropped in to see us.  Bob even considered waving a white flag before approaching:))

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These few memories of the past 3 months are some of our best & it would take me all night plus a day to list the rest.  Thanks to everyone for making our stay in Cochise County again the absolute best ever & if we weren’t heading west at the moment we would head right back there & do it all over again.  Hello to Paula in Bisbee:))  Cochise County has definitely become a second home for the Bayfield Bunch…10-4 & then some:)))))))

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Waved to JERRY & SUZY as we rolled through Benson about 11:20.  Darn nice folks those two & probably the Bayfield Bunches greatest supporters.  We did make a quick stop for $225 worth of fuel for the rig in Benson plus $12 worth of McDonalds for us:))

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The sky brightened a bit as we headed into Tucson & sailed through the city & embedded ourselves right into the rear end of a massive traffic jam just north of the Tucson on I-10.  That cost us the best part of an hour before getting through that mess.  An eastbound vehicle had rolled across the median into the westbound lanes involving several other vehicles.

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DOWNTOWN TUCSON & A TRAFFIC JAM

Jim Kortsen Park west of Casa Grande has always been a nice little free spot to pull in for an overnighter when traveling through the area & we have stopped there several times before.  That was our destination today but were disappointed there were no spots available.  Seems like a lot of Snow Birders have found the Park as well & are now calling it home for the entire winter.  Decided to push on for Gila Bend.

Gila Bend is another little place very familiar to us having stopped here to take on propane, fuel & water over the years.  Gray & Black water tanks can be dumped here free of charge as well behind any of the 2 Shell stations. 

Kelly noticed in her Day’s End book that Gila Bend also had free camping at the Elk’s Lodge.  Took us a bit of fumbling & backtracking but we finally did find it at the northern outskirts of town on highway 86 to Buckeye, west side.  Very large flat parking area with no facilities.

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OUR OVERNIGHTER SPOT AT THE ELK’S LODGE IN GIAL BEND

Would you believe our slide would not deploy at first but after repeated threats to the slide Gremlin it finally went out.  I suspect we’ll have trouble retracting it in the morning.  Kelly has already sent in a question to RV NET FORUM asking about reliable RV repair places in Yuma & we are already receiving replies.  Gotta love these RV folks.  We have to pick up some special dog food in Yuma anyway Monday so we’ll see if we can get this slide problem looked after as well.

Anyway, that’s it for tonight folks.  We are in Gila Bend Arizona with our destination being Yuma in the morning.  Well, sounds good in theory anyway but knowing us we could end up just about anywhere……………… 

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GROANER’S CORNER:(( 

How Old Are You Really?
From the following list of 25 items, count all the ones that you remember -- not the ones you were told about! How to score yourself is at the end.

  1. Blackjack chewing gum
  2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar-water
  3. Candy cigarettes
  4. Soda-pop machines that dispensed bottles
  5. Coffee shops with tableside jukeboxes
  6. Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers
  7. Party lines
  8. Newsreels before the movie
  9. P. F. Flyers
  10. Butch wax
  11. Telephone numbers with a word prefix (e.g., Olive - 6933)
  12. Peashooters
  13. Howdy Doody
  14. 45-RPM records ... and 78-RPM records
  15. S&H Green Stamps
  16. Hi-fi systems
  17. Metal ice trays with lever
  18. Mimeograph paper
  19. Blue flashbulb
  20. Packards
  21. Rollerskate keys
  22. Cork popguns
  23. Drive-in theaters
  24. Studebakers
  25. Washtub wringers
If you remembered!
         0 - 5 = You're still young
         6 - 10 = You are getting older
       11 - 15 = Don't tell your age
       16 - 25 = You're older than you think!

28 comments:

  1. And you could add Carbon Paper and Onionskin Paper to your list!

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  2. well, I guess I am older than I think!..thanks for that!..we, too have had a gloomy weekend..not weather wise just mood wise..not our finest moments that is for sure..have a safe travel day tomorrow as you head to Yuma!..great sunrise/sunset photos!

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  3. No fair - I'm older than I thought because I remembered every single one of those oldies.

    Things will always turn out for the best, and leaving the ranch will be the best for you right now. I hope you cheer up and enjoy more of the southwest for the time being.

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  4. Good travels and best of luck getting the slide gremlin under control there in Yuma.

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  5. Likewise, I am too old now. I remember all of them. Our phone number on Whidbey Island, WA was Fleetwood 8 3517....this was from the 50's and I still remember it. And yes Cochise County is a wonderful place.
    -mike
    I also think they should bring back the ice trays with the levers instead of these plastic things that eventually crack!!

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  6. Have a great journey and be safe out there. Sam & Donna.

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  7. I knew I was older than dirt before taking the quiz.
    A perfect score; but I need to add that we had a cow that we milked so never had it delivered in the bottles.

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  8. You need to get some of them sticky boards to catch that gremlin.

    I too remember all 25 was it that long ago?

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  9. About your slide. Ours only works if the emergency brake is on, about two years ago when we hit the switch there was nothing, no movement, no noise nothing. I figured it was a bad switch and I played with that for about an hour and still nothing. Then I checked under the dash by the emergency brake. There is a little switch there that gets triggered when the brake is on, I sprayed that pretty good with some WD-40 and worked the switch a dozen times with my finger, the side has worked perfect ever since.

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  10. You could also add Flash Gordon and Ding Dong School TV shows to that list!...
    Keep headin' West...You just never know when you might end up back in Cochise County..Hey, if that's where you want to be, I'm sure there are other places for sale around there...Keep the faith...
    That last photo is by far my favorite of all...I screams "Flying W Ranch"...frame it...and you will always be there.

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  11. I too have been having slide "issues." Going from intermittent working-not working, to totally dead. We could hear the motor working, but nothing happened. I learned a big lesson - there is "oil" in the HWH box that needs to be checked. In 7 years, I had never done that and the fluid was practically gone. Now waiting on a new valve (shutter I think it was called) to arrive today before we can head out.

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  12. Now you'll be making some more fond memories! :)

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  13. Sorry about your slide issues... Hope you find someone to fix you up! I too remember all of those things but even though I am old I am still young at heart! LOL LOL
    Have fun travel safe
    Donna

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  14. I'm going to miss your pictures of the Ranch but I really am looking forward to your new pictures that you will share with us.

    God's beauty is everywhere and I love experiencing new places, even if it's only through the beautiful pictures of others.

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  15. REALLY? 18/25 I'm older than I thought!
    K

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  16. Oh, sorry to read that it was such a down day for you. :( If you are among those who find chocolate to be helpful in these situations, you are headed in the right direction. Yuma has some of the best chocolate we have ever tasted! Just off of I-8, head south a couple of blocks to Chocolate Crafters - it will be in a small SW style strip mall on the right hand side. We, and everyone we have sent there, were totally knocked out the the quality of the chocolate and the friendliness of the chocolate maker: http://laurieandodel.blogspot.com/2010/12/favorite-foods-in-foothills-of-yuma-az.html

    Thanks to all the samples, we left with big smiles on our faces (and a bag of chocolate, of course).

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  17. Thanks for the very hice words! Didn't know we ranked up there so high on the list -- we are humbled and honored.

    We got 23 remembrances, and we sure were aware of the other two (P.F. FLyers and party lines).

    Farewell, dear friends - have a good reet of your winter in the southwest. We'll surely be here to greet you when you come back next winter!

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  18. Well dang it all, you could have slid into Dogpound South for the night, but I should have said that yesterday not today, but keep it in mind for next time you are through the area. I was by the Jim Kortsen park a few weeks ago and it was near empty but I did notice it had filled up this weekend, probably the rodeo and Indian Festival in Casa Grande has something to do with that.

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  19. Hey there Bayfield Bunch.

    Regarding the slide, yet another possibly lame suggestion. Could it be that the switch is dirty? Ours got replaced once, and the second time that we had "issues", I took the thing apart and touched up the contacts with some emery paper. If you started the engine and moved the rig back and forth, just maybe you were creating enough amperage to make contact in the switch? Just another idea. Don't shoot the messenger. On second thought, maybe that would be voltage? Whatever..."juice". That should cover it.
    Best of luck with it.

    Bob.

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  20. Looks like you're getting a lot of good clues on your slide problem. Hope one of them ends up being the culprit as they seem like pretty inexpensive fixes.

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  21. Good travelin my friend. Yuma repair facilities are really booked up... I remember calling a place there and he said "ya I can do it for you, but it will be a month before I can get to you"...Just a heads up.

    I have a feeling in the back of my head that you and Ms Kelly may be back to the good ole flying W before you head North.....I just betcha!!:-)

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  22. Guess I'm older than I think because I remember the majority of them.

    It's always sad to leave someplace you fell in love with but I bet you will be back there again sooner than you think.

    Good Luck on the repair.

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  23. Golly, i actually had tears in my eyes!! But like Judy says, new memories :)

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  24. Just remember those wheels roll in all directions!! Stay safe!

    I didn't remember all 25....probably because I'm older than I think and can't remember nuttin.

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  25. Thanks for letting me ride along. Beautiful pictures and such a great way of saying everyting.

    Safe travels

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  26. What beautiful sky pictures! Looking forward to seeing these places someday.

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  27. beautiful pictures! It's always hard to leave a place you just love. There could be more great places ahead. That's why the windshield is larger than the rear view mirror! Safe travels.

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  28. Gila Bend is an interesting place. We've only been there once, but would love to go back. I have a refrigerator magnet from there that always reminds me of how fun it was. "It's hot, but it's a dry heat!" And then there's a skeleton on the magnet.

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