SAGUARO PARK…BLOG READERS…MOUNTAIN DRIVE…AND A SHRINE

SAGUARO PARK AT NORTH RANCH

Wasn’t long after arriving in the Wickenburg area we received an email from fellow RV’er Bev who has been reading our blog for awhile.  Bev & husband Jim live at the NORTH RANCH Escapee Park just south of Congress Arizona.  They are knowledgeable folks about this area & Bev sent us ideas for some things to see & do.  We emailed back & forth for a few days & this morning Bev & Jim invited us over to North Ranch for a visit.

 

MARY & HER HUSBAND IN THE RIGHT PHOTO WITH THE HATS ARE TWO OF THE VOLUNTEERS WHO MAKE THIS PARK SUCH A TREASURE

They are full timers who have been alternating their time between winters at North Ranch & summers managing a Cherry Orchard up in Oregon.  (hope I got that Oregon part right)  Jim has a great hobby here during the winter prospecting for gold.  He has actually done very well with this.

 

RIGHT PHOTO…BEV & KELLY

We were at Bev & Jim’s about 10 & as with all RV’ers there is always lots in common to talk about.  And, always lots of new info to digest.  Too much for a short term memory I’m afraid.  Jim pointed out some points of interest on a map & Kelly made notes.

 

Bev suggested we take a walk over to the Park’s ‘Saguaro Garden’ where they have the largest Saguaro Cactus we have ever seen.  It has been named Methuselah & it has been determined this Saguaro dates back as far as the 1600’s.

   

 

METHUSELAH DATES BACK TO THE 1600’S

This beautifully landscaped desert Park area is second to none & the Volunteers who have created & look after it are to be commended for their efforts.  It is a continuing work in progress & we liked how they have added the names of all the cacti, shrubs, trees & flowers.  A great place to familiarize & educate oneself with so much of the desert’s marvelous wonders.  Well done all you North Ranch volunteers.

 

 

And a special thanks for Bev & Jim’s warm hospitality today.  Just two more great RV people to include in our slow but ever growing list of traveling friends.

 

 

BEV & JIM’S DIGS AT NORTH RANCH…SAY, THAT’S QUITE A SATELLITE DISH ON THEIR RIG’S ROOF 

From North Ranch we headed north up highway 89 into the  Weaver Mountains.  Wow, what a great little scenic mountain drive this turned out to be.  Lots of great twists & turns with scary drop offs & great scenery to boot…..and this will be our Motor Home route once we leave the Congress area.  Gonna be a bit of a climb.

        

Upon reaching the outskirts of Yarnell we decided to pull over & get our bearings.  Just so happened the parking lot contained a restaurant we had heard about.  We hadn’t been hungry but the great smells coming out of that place had us inside & seated within seconds.  We found the ‘Ranch House’ a great little spot & boy did they ever load up our plates with food.  I like these kinds of places with nothing fancy on the menu I can’t pronounce.  That big pile of food on my plate (below) is an open face roast beef sandwich with bread, mashed potatoes & a big smash of gravy on top.  Got through half of it & brought the rest home to put under my pillow for a midnight snack:))

 

From there it was only another couple of miles up the highway to a left hand turn which took us to the SHRINE OF ST. JOSEPH OF THE MOUNTAINS AND WAY OF THE CROSS.  We had no idea what this Shrine was or what to expect when we got there but we did find it interesting & a lot of work has gone into creating this.

 

  

 

From the Shrine it was time to get ourselves back down Weaver Mountain to the warmer valley floor below.  Nice drive down complete with a stop at a lookout point.  Yep, getting to like this whole area more & more every day:))

Tomorrow morning we are off to find our new wayfaring Darby Well friend, RV SUE & HER CANINE CREW.  And, tomorrow at long last, we will be dropping in to see long time blogging friend Mike & his wife Pat from, MIKE & PAT'S TRAVELS.  Mike & Pat are also happy residents of North Ranch.  Yep, we got ourselves a bit of visiting lined up for tomorrow alright so I’d better get myself off to bed for a good night’s sleep……….10-4:))

THE WEE TOWN OF CONGRESS IS AT TOP RIGHT  

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A man escaped jail by digging a hole from his jail cell to the outside world. When finally his work was done, he emerged in the middle of a preschool playground.
"I'm free, I'm free!" he shouted.
"So what," said a little girl. "I'm four."

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