Thursday, February 23, 2012

WE ALWAYS LIKE TO CHECK OUT AN AREAS REAL ESTATE

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FRIDAY MORNING WE WILL JEEP OVER TO VULTURE PEAK SEEN HERE FROM OUR CAMPSITE

Just as humans, animals have their daily routines & patterns.  No cows in sight when we first get up but soon after, they begin drifting in through our campsite either singly or in small groups.  They just kind of appear & disappear in the surrounding Mesquite.  Their big iron water tank is just a couple hundred yards from us & this is where they congregate & mill around for part of the morning.  From there they kind of drift off again, returning in mid afternoon for a few hours.  By late afternoon they are once again headed past our place out into the Mesquite again, but in the same direction they all came from in the morning.  There could easily be a couple hundred or more head of cattle freely roaming about.  We have not seen any fences except for along the highway.

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SHHHH, KELLY DOESN’T KNOW THERE IS A HERD OF CATTLE BEHIND HER

Knowing absolutely nothing about cattle & cattle ranching, here’s my theory of their routine.  They either graze on the sparse grass during the winter months or have another food source somewhere.  Maybe baled hay or greener pastures somewhere.  They don’t seem to spend the night in this area near their water trough.  Maybe the water & food sources are separated by a few miles to ensure the cows get daily exercise by traveling further afield for their water.  Just a theory of course.  Have not seen the free ranging horses again since the day we arrived here.

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SOMEBODY ONCE TOLD ME THESE WERE DESERT BROOMS & WE HAVE A LOT OF THEM NEAR US

For anyone wondering, our campsite is actually much closer to Congress than Wickenburg.  On our walk this morning we spotted an even nicer campsite about a quarter mile to our east & debated all morning whether to move the rig.  There was a tricky wash to navigate which gave me a bit of concern so we finally decided against it.  Endless miles of Jeep roads in the area so we were off to do a bit of scrambling.  Probably as many Jeeping roads in Arizona crisscrossing the land as paved roads.

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YELLOW MESQUITE LEAVES ALONG OUR MORNING WALK

Later in the morning we took ourselves for a little drive up & around the small town of Congress Az.  Not a lot there but it does have a small grocery store & a well known restaurant by the name of Nichols West.  Nichols East is in the Hamptons back in New York.  Singer/songwriter & ex Beatle Paul McCartney actually phoned Nichols West & wished them well when they opened just a few years ago.  Kelly actually read that on a newspaper clipping a couple nights ago when we stopped in for a wee bite to eat.

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We are always on the lookout for a little piece of property with 3 or 4 acres & a house on it so Kelly had spotted one for us to look at.  No acreage but the house was listed as quietly private so we found it on Old Ghost Town Road & had a look at it.  Even had 3 Saguaros out front.  Could be had for low to mid 30’s probably, but it was older, in need of repair, & just didn’t have the WOW factor going for it.  And…..there were neighbors:((  Not so good!!  Our search continues.   Like I have said many times, whether RVing or living in a sticks & bricks, the only thing we want to see around us is the fine & undisturbed works of Mother Nature.

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JUST DIDN’T HAVE THE ‘WOW’ FACTOR………

Depending how things go medically this summer we will likely resume our search once again next winter somewhere here in the lower half of Arizona.  New Mexico isn’t out of the question if we could find a reasonably warm winter location somewhere.  But, I am kinda drawn to the areas south of Tucson for some reason.  Easy access to a nice Airport & Hospital are a couple things.  Easier to slide further west using the Ajo Way over to Why & up through Ajo & Gila Bend.  Easy access to the East on I-10.  Gotta love the green forests in the close by Huachuca, Chiricahua & Patagonia Mountains and the many Saguaro’s & abundant greenery of the Sonoran Desert.  Never met a large city I liked but Tucson strikes me as the possible exception.  Oh well, better not get ahead of myself.  We’ll just have to wait & see what next winter brings……10-4:))

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ONLY HALF OUR SECURITY DETAIL WAS ON DUTY THIS AFTERNOON

Our afternoon was spent relaxing & just totally loving the great weather we are having.  Kicked back in one of our recliners & just let the warm Arizona breezes lull me to asleep.

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YEP, IT WAS A SNOOZY AFTERNOON

Pheebs Bovine Pals were back again this afternoon for another round of curious stares & Pheeber smooches.  Before departing they left a few of their usual calling cards but neither Pheebs or Motor have shown any interest in rolling in them.  Little Motor did come rumbling out of the rig at one point & decided to show the Cows who the big Boss really was around here.  We had to quickly retrieve her before she took a few rounds out of the lead cows & done them some grievous harm.

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MORE SMOOCHES TODAY

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HEY!!!!

Friday morning we are off to a scenic area called Vulture Peak just southwest of Wickenburg.  We can see it towering up on the horizon from our campsite & we hear there are some great views from up there.  We also have some Jeep trips lined up to various points of interest in the area.

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PHEEBS RELAXES WITH HER NEW FRIENDS 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  In class one day, Mr. Johnson pulled Johnny over to his desk after a test, and said, “Johnny I have a feeling that you have been cheating on your tests.”
Johnny was astounded and asked Mr. Johnson to prove it. “Well, said Mr. Johnson, I was looking over your test and the question was, ‘Who was our first president?’, and the little girl that sits next to you, Mary, put ‘George Washington,’ and so did you.”
“So, everyone knows that he was the first president.”
“Well, just wait a minute,” said Mr. Johnson. “The next question was, ‘Who freed the slaves?’ Mary put Abraham Lincoln and so did you.”
“Well, I read the history book last night and I remembered that,” said Johnny.
“Wait, wait,” said Mr. Johnson. The next question was, ‘Who was president during the Louisiana Purchase?’ Mary put ‘I don't know,’ and you put, ‘Me neither’.”

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11 comments:

  1. Love the interaction between Pheebs and the cows...great pics!

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  2. Keep looking, it there somewhere and you will recognize it when you find it.

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  3. who do Pheebe's new friends belong to?..or are they just out there on the open range making themselves at home!?

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  4. Love the photos of Pheebs and the cows... so cool! When you least expect it you will find your winter home.
    Have fun & Travel safe
    Donna

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  5. Love the photos of Pheebs and the cows, amazing that Pheebs just stands there and lets them smell her! Most dogs would put the chase on a yearling like that. Good, good dog!

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  6. Pheebs is so cool.

    PS that area would be my number 2 choice place to live in AZ, my first would Cochise County.

    All good read, thanks.

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  7. If Pheebs ever decides to run for U.S. President, she's got my vote. She has all of the attributes I'd want to see in that office - friendly, down to earth, good looking, kind to other species, not spoiled by money, smart, knows when to take a nap (like Winston Churchill), etc. Maybe I'll start a write-in campaign. :) Chinle

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  8. that Pheebs totally amazes me...wow did you luck out with her...great blog and great pictures....

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  9. The pic of Pheebs napping and cows looking on its like they are saying...Hey wake up lets play.
    Bet she felt safe to have so much 'beef' guarding her while she slept.

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  10. Can't remember what kind of dog Pheebs is, but she looks like some kind of "herding" dog, the ones who are natural for herding cattle...And by the looks of how relaxed they all are, I think she is of that heritage...LOVED the photos of her...

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  11. How often could you adopt a dog with the attributes of pheebs. She is the coolest dog next to our poodle Ha

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