YES THERE IS A MEMORIAL TO THE 19 FIREFIGHTERS IN YARNELL

 

YEP, SURE IS GOOD TO BE IN OUR SOUTH-WEST HOME AGAIN

It was already warm this morning by 7:15 as we did a short walk around the block.  Kelly wanted to hit a couple neighborhood garage sales at 8 a.m.  We did that & there was nothing of interest for us.

  

WE ALWAYS LIKE TO CHAT IT UP WITH OUR NEIGHBORS IN THE MORNING

NASH PATIENTLY WAITS FOR PHEEBS

The 3 of us piled into the Jeep about 9 & headed up to YARNELL.  Kelly wanted to check out a Craft store or 10 & I had something to pick up at the hardware store.  Asked a lady if there was a memorial to the 19 Firefighters & she said yes it’s on the north side of the Ranch House restaurant.  Not easy to see at first but it’s there on a hillside a few steps from the restaurant parking lot.

 

KELLY READS AN INFORMATION BOARD & THE MEMORIAL IS LOCATED JUST NORTH OF THE RANCH HOUSE RESTAURANT WHICH MANY PEOPLE MAY HAVE SEEN IN THE NEWS REPORTS

FIRE OCCURRED ACROSS THE HIGHWAY IN YARNELL’S POPULATED NEIGHBORHOOD

 

I’M THINKING THIS RESTAURANT PARKING LOT WAS A KEY STAGING AREA DURING THE FIRE

We had no intentions of having breakfast but while looking at the Memorial the smell of bacon & eggs coming from the nearby Ranch House soon changed our minds & we wondered on over.  As usual it was packed but we bellied ourselves up a couple stools at the counter.  We both had us a big mess of bacon & eggs & I was once again reminded how I cannot eat as much as I once did.  Of course there is another factor involved here as well.  As mentioned in other posts we have always found American portions of food dished up are generally larger than Canadian portions.  You American folks really know how to strap on the old feed bag & of course we Canadians really appreciate that:))

  

The Ranch House restaurant is & always has been a popular spot of for bike clubs coming up out of Tucson & Phoenix or down from Prescott & points beyond.  Bikes of all kinds but mostly Harley-Davidson riders.  All bikers like the challenging ride up & down the Yarnell Hill as well.  From one climate zone to another in less than 10 minutes.  As Yarnell’s logo says, ‘Where a desert breeze meets the Mountain air’.  Yep & it sure does too…………

KELLY BROWSES SOME CRAFT STORES

  

THIS YARNELL SCOOTER RIDER HAS HIS 2 BEST PALS WITH HIM

I had mistakenly said in a recent post it didn’t appear the Yarnell fire had crossed highway 89 but this morning we saw obvious signs that it did indeed jump the highway.  Many Firemen must have been very vigilante & busy putting out spot fires as they flared up on the east side of 89.  Some right around where the Firefighters memorial now stands.

BURNT SHRUBS & TREES ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE HIGHWAY

After a quick stop at the Yarnell hardware store & a few craft shops we took a drive through the neighborhood where the fire did most of it’s destruction.  Reminded me of how an unpredictable Tornado can flatten a house & not touch the next one to it.  Fire damage in the Glen IIah area was like that.  One house burned to the ground & both houses on either side untouched.  Some areas with burnt trees right next to another area with no fire damage at all.  I’m guessing it depended a lot on where flaming hot embers landed.  Most structures & their roof’s are wood so would be quick to catch fire maybe.  Even saw some brick dwellings burnt out.  Must have been an extreme expression of emotions when residents were allowed back in.  Some came home to chaos & burnt ruins while their neighbor came home to an undamaged house & property.  Can only imagine the anguish by some & the joy of others.  We saw about a dozen ‘For Sale’ signs on burnt out properties.  

 

IN SOME PLACES ONLY AN OLD STONE FIREPLACE CHIMNEY REMAINS

   

THIS BURNT CORNER PROPERTY IS FOR SALE ‘AS IS’ FOR $10,000

RE-BUILDING OF HOMES IS UNDER WAY

Despite the fire Yarnell’s residential neighborhood is still a very pretty place with it’s winding roads & cozy homes set amongst towering boulders & lots of of greenery.  Construction was underway on rebuilding homes & I think a year from now one will be hard pressed to see any fire damage as foliage & trees quickly spring back to life.  Already I saw flowers growing on black earth.  Thought we would would have a look for Gaelyn (GEO GYPSY) & her fifth wheel but soon realized there are now a lot of fifth wheels parked on scorched properties as people live in them while rebuilding their homes.

YARNELL WAS, STILL IS, & WILL CONTINUE TO ALWAYS BE A WONDERFULLY SCENIC LITTLE COMMUNITY

   

19 SHOVELS & 19 FLAGS FOR THE 19 FIREFIGHTERS WHO DIED NEARBY BRAVELY FIGHTING TO SAVE THE PEOPLE & PROPERTY OF YARNELL

We were back down on the desert floor by 12:30 & quickly retreated to the cooler air inside our house.  It was another hot day which luckily came with a breeze.  Noticed last week when we arrived a metal latch on our front gate was broken.  The weld was busted.  Kelly phoned Marteen, the fellow who did our fencing last winter & he came today & re-welded the latch back on.  Nice Mexican fellow & he never charged us for welding it.  Said he had never seen a welded latch broke like that before.  I’ll bet it was those darned Sheeps in a hurry to get in for their daily succulent cactus feast.  Marteen knew about the sheep in our yard.  It’s funny, but I think everybody in Congress knows about the sheep in our yard.  When we’re talking to people they will say, “Oh, so you’re the people who had the sheep in your yard”.  We did come across one fellow this morning at a garage sale who keeps chickens in his yard to keep weeds down.  NO, we are not thinking about getting a herd of chickens!!!!

 

MARTEEN OUR FENCE BUILDER FROM LAST WINTER REPAIRS A BROKEN GATE LATCH

CAUGHT THIS HOT SHOT PILOT ROARING LOW OVER OUR HOUSE TODAY

Kelly called a Wickenburg Vet about a snake bite vaccine shot for Pheebs & the Vet kind of discouraged us from doing that.  Said the Rattlers are not active now & if they are out they are very sluggish.  Vet also said there would be no Rattlers out in March but we already know better…..

SPOTTED THIS LITTLE FELLOW ON MY BEDROOM WINDOW SILL KEEPING AN EYE ON PHEEBS WHO WAS SOUND ASLEEP ON MY BED THIS MORNING

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Did you know every morning is the dawn of a new error.   And frustration can be described as trying to find your glasses without your  glasses.  Here’s a good answering machine message……"I am not available right now, but  thank you for caring enough to call. I am making  some changes in my life. Please leave a message after the beep. If I do not return your call, you are one of the changes."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.

‘HO-HUM’…..MORE CACTUS PLANTING & TREE TRIMMING…..& PIZZA:))

MATTHEW TENDS HIS FLOCK OF SHEEP THIS MORNING

Until we get our first road trip on the go from Congress here I’m afraid my days may get a little repetitive as we continue to get things in order around the house & grounds.

 

PHEEBS IS NOT TO SURE ABOUT THESE 3 NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK…THEY SEEMED A BIT SURLY

Picked up half a wheelbarrow load of Cactus pads & Aloe Vera plants from our Mexican neighbor & managed to get them all planted before it got too hot.  More tree trimming & that about did me in for the rest of the day.  It’s very hot here but at least it is not humid.  Did myself a load of laundry & how nice to hang things outside to dry.  Sure doesn’t take long in this dry Arizona air. 

 

ALOE VERA IS PLANTED & THE MEXICAN CACTUS PADS WILL BE NEXT

Kelly & Pheebs cruised in to the Congress Post Office, checked out a garage sale & stopped to say hello to the folks at Congress Depot.  That is where they make the yummy Pizza’s & it’s where we had our Damon sitting for a few weeks last winter with a ‘For Sale’ sign on it.  I still have to wash all the road grime off our Winnie Wagon from last week’s 2,000+ mile trip.  Got some tanks to dump too & luckily we can do that right here at home.

  

RATHER THAN WALK WAY AROUND WE CLIMBED A GATE EARLIER TODAY

Chances are we may not go ahead with our Direct or Dish satellite TV program plans.  Kelly has spent a fair bit of time on the phone with especially Dish & does not want to get into a 2 year contract or have to pay over $400.00 to have them put a dish on the house, buy the equipment outright in order to not go the contract route.  Our Canadian Shaw satellite TV seems to be working fine. I have hardly watched any TV since we got here nearly a week ago but did manage to find half a dozen episodes of CORNER GAS so far:))   And so glad to have much better cell phone coverage this year.  Kelly’s not doing the Deer Park reservations this winter so we bought a newer 4G phone & that solved our spotty connection problems.  Our internet seems to be working fine as well.  Not like March of 2012 when we had so many problems with it here at this location.

 

THESE ARE ALL VIEWS TAKEN FROM MY BEDROOM’S COMPUTER CHAIR WHERE I SPEND MOST OF MY RELAXATION TIME

A 300mm VIEW OUT THE WINDOW FROM MY CHAIR…SAGUARO CACTUS

Still not attracting the herds of birds to our feeders like last year yet & I’m wondering if it might have something to do with a Predator.  Couple days after arriving I was in the back yard standing near the bird feeders when I heard a flapping disturbance in a Mesquite tree behind me.  Turning I saw what may have been a small Hawk with a bird pinned to the ground.  Reached for my camera but the Predator took off clutching it’s prey.  Only thing left on the ground was a bunch of small downy feathers.  I wonder if the sight of those feathers are keeping birds away or do they know a Predator is frequenting our back yard.  

SO THIS IS WHERE OUR BAYFIELD FRONT YARD AMERICAN GOLDFINCHES COME FOR THE WINTER

When I first met Kelly over 20 years ago Friday Pizza nights were very popular at her house.  She still had 3 teen-agers at home so Pizza it was.  And Friday night Pizza from the Congress Depot it was for us tonight as well.

AND HERE COMES THE PIZZA NOW WITH KELLY DRIVING & PHEEBS RIDING SHOTGUN

 

Think we’re going to try working on rustling us up some day trips in the area shortly.  There is still a whole area to our northeast we have yet to explore.  And we will once again get ourselves & the Jeep out into the desert looking for new Jeep roads & new scenery.  Going to wait until the days cool off first though.  No A/C in the Jeep plus we do not want any unexpected encounters with Rattlesnakes.  Majority of the them are now underground in early stages of hibernation but hot days can still bring them out to warm themselves on sunny rocks.  We always walk early in the morning when it’s still cold or very cool just to be on the safe side.  And we won’t be venturing into any rocky outcrops until temps drop even further.  Finding 2 DEAD RATTLERS last March has made us more cautious.

PHEEBS SNOOZING ON MY BED TONIGHT WITH HER FAVORITE DUCKY

GROANER’S CORNER:((  The  irony of life is that, by the time you're old  enough to know your way around, you're not going  anywhere.  And did you know God made man before woman so as to give him time to think of an answer for her first question.  Ya, figured you all knew that.

-------------------------------------------------------------
- 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.