Wednesday, November 28, 2012

IN THE SHADOW OF VULTURE PEAK

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WATCHED THE BIG MOON SLIDE DOWN BEHIND A ROCKY RIDGE NEAR OUR HOUSE THIS MORNING

Big difference between a full moon at our place in Bayfield Ontario compared to our place here in Congress Arizona.  No change in the moon of course, but a big change in how we view the moon.  In Bayfield, because of the numerous large Pine trees surrounding our house, we can only catch fleeting glimpses of the it.  Here in Arizona, the Moonlight floods the desert floor & surrounding mountains & our visibility stretches for miles.  Not only do we get to see all the Moon rises here but we also get to see all the sunrises & sunsets as well.  Always look forward to that every year & it is definitely worth the long drive down from Ontario:))

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HASTY SHOT OF A UFO THIS MORNING BETWEEN THE MOON & PLANET JUPITER…WELL, NOT EXACTLY…THE ROUND GREEN ORB IS A LIGHT REFLECTION IN THE LENS CAUSED BY THE MOON’S LIGHT:))

For the second time in a week we had our 2 vehicle convoy ready to roll this morning at 8:30.  Jean & Skip hadn’t been out to the Vulture Peak area so with windows down, plenty of sunshine, & warm temps, we headed off to Wickenburg & west to the Peak.  Just a great morning for a scenic drive through the mountainside.

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OUR 2 VEHICLE CONVOY IS READY TO RUMBLE

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TWENTY MINUTES LATER WE WERE ON THE VULTURE PEAK TRAIL

Kelly & I had done the first half of the Vulture Peak trail last March so knew it to be a nice moderate hike through stands of Saguaro & mini-forests of Teddy Bear Cholla cactus.  My hip & leg were feeling good so we had ourselves a leisurely walk on part of the trail.  How fortunate for 4 Snow Bird’s from Canada to be out of the cold, wet, & blustery Canadian winter, ambling along surrounded by so much natural desert & mountain beauty.

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LEFT PHOTO SHOWS THE JEEP ROAD LEADING TOWARDS THE PEAK

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JEAN & SKIP…ON THE TRAIL

Following the hike we drove south a bit to have a look at the Vulture Mine.  They conduct Saturday morning tours at this mine.  Not a lot visible from the road except  for some old mining buildings.  Heading back towards Wickenburg we drove through a boondocking site.  Same place AMERICAN TRAVELER, WANDERING WILLY, & IVAN have previously stayed.  Well, at least I think Ivan stayed here.  Hailey’s not too sure where they end up sometimes:))

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LOUIE WAS STILL NOT IN A SHARING MOOD TODAY

Back into Wickenburg where Kelly & I stopped at Safeway for groceries while Jean & Skip headed on up to the Escapee’s North Ranch for a walk around the well laid out & well cared for beautiful cactus garden.  You can see a few of my March photos of that garden HERE

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PETER, THIS IS YOUR SITE FROM LAST MARCH WHERE WE HAD BREAKFAST ONE FINE MORNING…JUST A TENT THERE NOW

As usual, we were back home by noon to beat the heat.  Because of my poor sleeping habits each night I generally run out of energy in the early afternoon & have to plug myself into the recliner for a few hours & recharge my batteries.

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A NARROW ROCKY PATH LEADS THROUGH THE SAGUAROS

Awhile back, reader Chris sent in an email about our Blog Follower/Friend Connect list at the top of our blog, “I tried to leave this as a comment on your blog but I couldn't figure out how to do it since you changed things around. I don't have any of the required accounts”……. I actually haven’t made any changes to that Friend/Follower program since I first set it up in the blog back in late 07 but my guess is that Google, in it’s never ending quest for change, changed things. From the comments & emails I have received, it is clear the sign up process is not as easy as it once was, for whatever reason. At one time we had a healthy growing Blog Followers list but this past year or so the growth has slowed to a trickle & I suspect that has to do with some kind of difficulty folks have with signing onto our Blog Follower/Friend Connect list now. I wonder if other Bloggers have noticed this? And Carmella, I knew you had joined our list when your photo appeared as Blog Follower 531:))

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IF WE WERE HERE YEAR ROUND TO KEEP THEM WATERED, WE WOULD PLANT SOME BOUGAINVILLIA AROUND THE PROPERTY

Jean & Skip sprung for Pizza tonight & slipped down to the Congress Mercantile Depot to bring back a big pizza supreme. Yummy.  Big Jake, Sophie & Louie even rode along as back-up in case there were any Pizza robbers along the way.  We are sure going to miss all these guys when they are gone.  We always leave our doors wide open so these past few days has been like old times with dogs wandering in & dogs wandering out.  We love dogs & having a pack of dogs around, playing together, hanging out, & just being dogs, is right up our alley.  And, we like Jean & Skip a whole bunch too:))  We will genuinely feel sad when the whole gang leaves in the morning:((

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JEAN & KELLY ON THE VULTURE PEAK TRAIL THIS MORNING

GROANER’S  CORNER:((  "Mr. Clark, I'm afraid I have bad news," the doctor told his anxious patient. "You only have six months to live." The man sat in stunned silence for the next several minutes. Regaining his composure, he apologetically told his physician that he had no medical insurance. "I can't possibly pay you in that time." "Okay," the doctor said, "let's make it nine months."

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
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14 comments:

  1. It's a good thing you are an early morning person! The big sky is one of the things I miss around here as well. We have a reasonable amount of star view, but sunsets and moonrise are blocked by trees and hills.

    Haven't seen a sunrise for years! I'm usually sleeping.

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  2. Al, thanks for showing the Vulture Peak campsite. Have great memories of that site. Maybe we can meet again in the new year.

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  3. I'll have to say that being able to see the sky was one of the best things about Arizona for me. I can't really say I like the desert, although it's nice to hear your descriptions and excitement about it. Different strokes for different folks, as the old song goes.

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  4. My followers list has also almost stopped, or as you say slowed to a trickle.... I also have someone spamming one of my old Blogs, You ever have that happen? He must have sent me well over 100 spams as "anonymous" yesterday alone. Probably that many the day before too. Always on the same old Blog I posted a couple years ago, I sign in this morning and there are 40 more,,, Any idea how to stop or report this jerk? I'm gettin tired of deleting his spam comments,,,,Geeze!!

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  5. Just love the clear cloudless skies of Arizona, but kinda looks like we may not get to see them this year.

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  6. What a great moon shot...poor Pheebes she just wants to play and share...

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  7. Looking on our Atlas, I see you aren't real far from Alamo Lake State Park and Dam. Looks like there is a short cut/gravel road that enters from the East..That is a beautiful lake and lots of fishing there...We stayed there for 2 weeks in 2007 or 8...(we still had the Cougar)..Might be a decent jeep ride!

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  8. Some time when we get rid of obligations, we gotta spend some time in your area. We'll come up and let you show us around your part of our home state! We probably won't go on any strenuous hikes,but we hear that you are taking it a little easier in that activity as well. Thanks for the good pictures!

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  9. Al, you could probably get away with planting some variety of BOUGAINVILLIA there in Congress. There are some of them that are drought tolerant.
    However, I hark back to your previous statement that you were going to have 'native plants'. You then tend to focus on plants that are not native to the area.

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  10. I thought I was the only one whose follower list has started flowing like molasses on a cold day! Good ole Blogger.

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  11. Same thing here Al, Blog followers have just dissapeared!

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  12. Love that first moon shot. I was looking for ET to come flying across the photo.

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