Wednesday, December 05, 2012

SHOULD WE BE THINKING OF A SMALLER RIG, MAYBE NO TOW VEHICLE………

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I OFTEN HAVE CURIOUS ONLOOKERS IN THE GARDEN

We had another Cactus pick-up this morning.  Jackie, from Elfrida’s Jackie & John had left a message on the phone saying she had some more Cactus to get rid of over at their digs on highway 89.  Didn’t take Kelly & I long to pile into the Jeep & head out on another Congress Cactus rescue.  Jackie had one big old Prickly Pear in a rustic pot plus 3 small Golden Barrel Cacti for us.  Also gave us a dozen Golden Barrel seed pods.  We have no idea what we’re doing with all this cactus stuff but we’re having fun learning. 

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CACTUS FROM JACKIE’S PLACE THIS MORNING…GOLDEN BARREL & POTTED PRICKLY PEAR

I have probably planted close to 50 or 60 Cacti sprigs this last while so it will be interesting next fall when we return, to see how many, if any, survived the hot Arizona summer.  Marge gave us bunch of ‘Bird Of Paradise’ seeds as well & I will plant them too.  Not too optimistic about their survival because they need water & we won’t be here for 5 months.  Thought of putting in a water drip line but Kelly doesn’t like the idea of leaving the water on when we are not here.  We have to pay for every drop of water we use & if a leak developed in the line somewhere while we were gone, our next Arizona water bill could wipe us out:((  

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Kelly was off to Wickenburg again this morning looking for whatever it is that Gal’s look for.  I think we should have bought a place in Wickenburg.  Either that or Wickenburg should seriously consider moving it’s whole town here to Congress.  A lot less driving for Kelly.

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WOULD YOU BELIEVE I AM THIS CUTE LITTLE FELLOW’S HALF UNCLE??   YEP…..IT’S TRUE:))  THAT’S MY HALF BROTHER DAVE, WIFE NATALIE & THEIR SON, PARKER BOSSENCE

DONNA commented on a photo in my post Tuesday showing the ‘Have Gun Will Travel’ VCR jacket beside our Boombox.  Yes, it was Richard Boone who once played the character of Paladin.  Below are a couple photos.  The one on left shows Richard Boone standing in right foreground & Randolph Scott sitting by a campfire.   Scene is from ‘The Tall T’.  Photo on right is my photo of where I think the same spot that movie location photo was taken.  My white Cowboy hat on the ground is about where I figure Randolph Scott was sitting beside the campfire.  Location is the Alabama Hills west of Lone Pine California & you can read my post about the day I took that photo…. IN SEARCH OF RANDOLPH SCOTT'S CAMPFIRE.

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Fired up the rig a couple days ago & let it run for a bit.  While sitting there I turned on the radio & hit the seek button.  Found 7 FM stations……all in Spanish!!!!  Not one  single English speaking radio station did I find.  Not one!!  Why is that??  We are 75 miles north of Phoenix Arizona & all’s we can get is Mexican stations.  Something not right here & it’s not the first time we have noticed this in southern parts of the south-west.  Thank heavens we have Sirius Satellite Radio.

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PHEEBS WORKED TOO HARD TODAY…SHE’S CRASHED OUT ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE PORCH

Now that our winter RV lifestyle has changed a bit, we are looking down the road a tad & asking ourselves some travel questions. Last March we began thinking of a cheaper mode of transportation between Bayfield Ontario & Congress Arizona. Thought of a few alternatives but weren’t sure at the time because it was too early & we hadn’t even spent a night in the house yet. We have been here over a month now & it looks like we are here to stay for a few winters to come.

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SAW THIS SIGN ON OUR MORNING WALK

Eight months ago we were thinking along the lines of selling or trading the Motorhome in on a small trailer or something we could pull with the Jeep. A bit of research soon made it clear we were not going to tow anything much larger than a utility trailer with a Jeep Wrangler. We like our Motorhome a lot, it runs great & has served us well. It is also nearly 10 years old. If we are not going to be boondocking for 5 or 6 months at a time, do we really need a 33 foot Motorhome? How about a smaller Class C or a Class B? What about a truck camper? If I was traveling alone I would consider all those but there are 3 of us so I don’t think we would be comfortable with anything smaller than a C. But, it’s all just a thought so far.

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CORNER POSTS FOR THE DECORATIVE FENCE…THE LIGHT WOOD WILL TURN MUCH DARKER WHEN WEATHERED

We ask ourselves, is a small Jeep Wrangler the best vehicle for us now here in the southwest…& our answer is, ‘not really’. Would it be more practical to bring our Santa Fe next year instead of the Jeep? Yes it would. Way more room in the Santa Fe, comes complete with a full back seat & large hatchback cargo area. Nicer for the Pheebs. My heart loves the little Jeep to bits but my head says, ‘whoa there, not practical’. Our Santa Fe still has it’s tow plate on so we could easily hook it up & bring it along behind our rig. Maybe sell both the Jeep & Santa Fe & pick up another Mini-Van, which to me is the most practical multi purpose vehicle on the road. Not so good for towing though. Maybe do the trips between Ontario & Arizona with the mini-van. Maybe not. I think we better keep the Jeep.  Lots to think about this winter. Lots of things to consider. Not a lot of time for boredom. I like that:))

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OUR BEADED DOOR BACKGROUNDED WITH AN OUT OF FOCUS ARIZONA SUNSET

GROANER’S CORNER:(( There were these two guys out hiking when they came upon an old, abandoned mine shaft. Curious about its depth they threw in a pebble and waited for the sound of it striking the bottom, but they heard nothing. They went and got a bigger rock, threw it in and waited. Still nothing. They searched the area for something larger and came upon a railroad tie. With great difficulty , the two men carried it to the opening and threw it in. While waiting for it to hit bottom, a goat suddenly darted between them and leapt into the hole!
The guys were still standing there with astonished looks upon their faces from the actions of the goat when a man walked up to them. He asked them if they had seen a goat anywhere in the area and they said that one had just jumped into the mine shaft in front of them! The man replied, 'Oh no. That couldn't be my goat, mine was tied to a railroad tie.'

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16 comments:

  1. Love, love, love what you two have done to your Arizona home - looks fantastic! Enjoy reading your blog and your photos are always the best!! Enjoy!
    Connie in PA

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  2. Seems you and Kelly have a lot to think about and some decisions to make. Well, that keeps life interesting.

    Your place is looking so good! It's changed a lot since you made the purchase.

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  3. Regarding tonight's post, a few things I can relate to. One, when we are in MN in the summer we HAVE to leave our water on---without the automatic sprinklers we would have no yard; also, concrete foundations of homes crack if they aren't kept watered. The sprinkler system sprang a leak soon after we left home this summer. The result, one month's water bill was $250, the next $220. We came home sooner than we wanted to!

    Fantastic your finding that Randolph Scott scene!

    We have a minivan. We thought we could use it for our trip north just south of Thunder Bay. 1300 miles. Sold a class C & bought the van. Did not work! Too many things we wanted to transport. Two yorkies to be accomodated in motels. Two years was enough. Bought another Class C. Works out much better. We use the RV for storage in MN and in TX. Handy. Tow my Honda for running around; it's actually a red wagon that carries plants, etc. from TX to MN and back again!

    What you said about the Spanish. I
    have a minor in Spanish from college days. Lived in Houston. Remember being the only person in the Sears store who could talk with a lady from Venezuela. Thought back then that I would need to go someplace else to use the language. Not so. Instead, Mexico has moved here to North Texas. Lots more Spanish than English at the Walmart 5 minutes from our house. So I hear what you are saying.

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  4. Do you get any rain there? The refuge I'm at catches all rain water and it is stored in large containers and you could hook up a drip system to a water storage container instead of leaving the water on.

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  5. Parker Bossence is a fine looking young man, and I'm sure you will see the family resemblence as he grows. With summers getting hotter, fires everywhere as well as drought, it doesn't make sense to leave water on all winter just to water the plants.

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  6. I''d love to have you around here. This house would be done and on the market in a month!

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  7. If you sell your motorhome, you will never get another class a like it.... Make absolutely sure that is what you want to do...

    Our irrigation is set up so we can turn off the water to the house when we leave but leave the outside water system on.. We found a lady that will come to our house for money for each trip to look over the place and the irrigation.. Once every two or three weeks makes sure that things are still OK and is worth the money she charges... That way we will have plants that are still alive and not have a flood with the outside water... Neighbors are fine but not reliable unless they are being paid and held responsible... You need someone that sees the visits as a business...

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  8. Mike and I have considered a Class C too if we purchase a place in AZ but ruled them out due to the sleeping arrangements in most of them--we have no interest in crawling up into a bed over the cab. But it's fun to think and dream and dream and think isn't it! I HATE motels so can never see us not traveling in our own RV.

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  9. Parker Bossence..sounds like a movie star to me...Lots to think about..We are wondering about how much longer we want the set up work in a fiver..McGyver is 70, albeit a young 70, but youth isn't forever, and aging isn't for the fearful.

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  10. Just as you have you house the way you want, you also have motorhome decorated you way as well. You have the coach and a class c would not get much better fuel economy and have less room and storage. Think long and hard on that one.

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  11. I'm with Teri.. once those summer monsoons start up your roof will supply plenty of water to drip feed cacti... if you can find a way to collect and store it in barrels. Be sure to put a lid on them tho or it will evaporate.

    As for the RV change... I've been up and down the Perfect RV ladder so many times that I get Christmas presents from RV salesmen. They LOVE people like me :). We recently bought a new used 94 Class C Lazy Daze and it is working out well... so far. So now we are trying to sell our last "experiment," a Chalet A-Frame Pop Up with kitchen dormer... which proved to be a little too small for travels over a month.

    I beginning to think the solution is two RVs, one small and light for remote camping in the backcountry, one larger for extended winter stays in warmer climates. Even if we could afford that solution, it creates a storage problem. I'm beginning to think you have the right idea... two houses in opposite climates. Then a small camper could be used for shorter, deeper into the backcountry expeditions. :)) As you can tell, I've wasted a lot of time thinking about this subject :)
    A Salesman's Best Friend,
    Box Canyon Mark

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  12. Yup, life makes it own changes, and then you gotta think about other changes. Suzy and I have been pondering RV alternatives for a few years now. We think our best bet is to take Rosie over to San Bernardino and get her scrubbed clean and repainted, plus some internal work. She's in great shape mechanically, so we're not worried on that side. Maybe this winter we'll do that. Maybe.

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  13. Re. your cacti: Remember that these are local plants and are at home in a desert summer. I don't think you have to worry about them. Matter of fact if you water a cactus too much it will die!
    Your future transportation and camping needs could be taken care of in a Sprinter Class C. They make 20miles to the gallon. And maybe you would consider having a locally registered 4x4 at your AZ house.

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  14. Hi Al... Well, you know I'm going to suggest a set-up just like mine. A regular van can tow a small trailer, has plenty of room for stuff, and there's a big seat for Pheebs! Once you get over the lack of style... the fuel economy is great! Just something more to add to your options to think about.

    Like the creative desert landscaping!

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  15. I love barrel cactus and they are low upkeep. Prickly pear tend to take over the world. They are bred to live in that climate.
    I would build a shed behind my Casa and park the Jeep under it. Have a small solar panel keep the battery up.
    Keep your class A. It is a truck and can last a lot of miles. You have it fixed up your way and it can get you back to each of your homes. No need for a tow car, you are on a trip. That is my two cents.

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  16. I always enjoy your posts. I don't have a blog but we go to Southern California every year fromCanada. You and Kelly sure have the knack to make a house a home.

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