TO-DAY WE ENDED UP IN PARADISE

 

A DESERT SUNRISE BEGINS A NEW DAY

I beat the sunrise again this morning & was outside enjoying the fine desert air before old Sol even made it over the mountain ridge to the east.  Watched the sun's rays begin their slow descent down the rugged Chiricahua mountains casting soft pastel colors into the deep canyons & ravines of the steep rock faces, bringing a start to another new day.

MET THIS CHARMING FELLOW IN THE WOODS TO-DAY

That was this morning & right now I am sitting in a relaxing lawn chair outside the motorhome with the rising desert moon directly in front of me casting a pale glow across the desert floor.  The day is behind me now & the aroma from my 7 o'clock coffee fills the night air around me.  Soft ambient music whispers out of the laptop.  A fine way to wind down another day I'd say:))

NANCY SHOWING US AROUND THE BED & BREAKFAST COTTAGE

We are amazed at how our furry guys love the fenced in doggy do do & play yard across from us.  When they rumbled down the motorhome's steps this morning they all headed the short distance to the play yard & waited by the door to go in.  

We had breakfast at home before setting out around 9:30.  Saves a few dollars & some time.  Headed back over to the quaint little town of Portal again & decided to do the Cave Creek loop drive to a place called Paradise.  We first came across Paradise last March on our trek over the Chiricahua mountains from the west.  Heading east on the bumpy dirt mountain road we saw a sign pointing to Paradise with an even dirtier &  bumpier road so decided to follow that & it led us to the tiny settlement last spring.  After some creek fording with our little Santa Fe we finally reached Paradise at that time.  And, that is where we returned to-day.  On rainy days the total population of Paradise is about 7 people with the population swelling to 8 on sunny days.  Don't ask me why that is but a lady from Paradise told us that to-day.

THIS IS THE ROAD TO PARADISE

Rusty, here at Rusty's RV Ranch told us this morning about a bed & breakfast place in the mountains that caters to birding folks.  Bird watchers flock to this area by the thousands in the spring & it is probably one of the most popular birding areas in the whole country.  We bumped & grunted along the old dirt road past the Paradise cemetery, over an old bridge, made a left hand turn past an old abandoned house & officially entered Paradise, well sort of.  With only 8 people living here (7 if it rains) there isn't much in the way of living quarters.  Maybe have a dozen old houses scattered along the old road in a half mile stretch.  Some of them livable & some of them not.

HIS NAME IS TUNDRA & HE GREETED US AT THE GEORGE WALKER HOUSE TO-DAY

At the western end is  THE GEORGE WALKER HOUSE bed & breakfast.  Normally we wouldn't drive into someone's driveway & bother them but Rusty said to go right on in because the folks there are real friendly.  So, up a bumpy laneway we trundled to have us a look at a place advertised for birding & lodging.  It was immediately apparent this was a true nature hideaway.  First thing we saw was a young deer grazing by the driveway.  Mexican Jays were darting about everywhere & a friendly doggy guy came running right up to the side of the car looking for a big smooch.  A lady came out of a big newly constructed house and we quickly walked up explaining that our intrusion was OK'd by Rusty at Rusty's RV Ranch:))

AN EARLY BUILDING IN PARADISE

The ladies name who welcomed us was Nancy & she was looking after things for a few days while the owners of the George Walker House took a week off to return to their other home in Las Cruces.  Nancy pointed out all the different birds that seemed to be absolutely everywhere flitting amongst the trees from feeder to feeder.  Tundra, the friendly poochy guy kept a close eye on the feeding deer & when that deer later came up close to us Tundra put the run on him back into the bush.  Nancy took us in & showed us the old quaint bed & breakfast cottage & gave us some of the areas history.  I busied myself with photos while Kelly & Nancy chatted about the bed & breakfast concept & RVing.  Nancy is a fulltimer & has just recently purchased herself a 29' Class C Jamboree.  She is a computer person so hopefully we'll hear from her down the road somewhere & see how she's making out.  We probably ended up staying there for nearly an hour before resuming our journey back in the direction of Portal.  Stopped & checked out a couple really nice picturesque camping sites & finally stopped at a trail head whereupon we set off on a wee hike.

INSIDE THE BED & BREAKFAST COTTAGE

We didn't go far when I began to tire.  I just haven't got my hiking legs under me yet & have been unable to tap into my extra energy resources needed for these longer fun days.  But, no matter because I couldn't -help feeling as we were winding our way through the mountain roads to-day how lucky we were & how great it was to be once again actively doing something everyday in a place as beautiful as these southwestern States.  When I think back to the long boring summer I'm just energized by the fact that we are here:))

KELLY MADE ME POSE FOR A PICTURE AGAIN

To-morrow morning we will head for the Ranch over near McNeal which is on the other side of the Chiricahua mountains in Arizona.  We have really enjoyed our stay here at Rusty's.  As everyone who reads this blog knows, we are not RV Park people but I must say in this past week we have had some favorable RV Park experiences.  Kelly made the statement this morning that Rusty's is probably one of the nicest parks we have been in.  For me personally, one of the things that makes it a nice park is the fact there are few rigs here at the present time.  With the exception of one fella playing his western music kinda loud a couple nights ago this has been a stress free stay for us.  Rusty, the owner is a very pleasant & personable person & is always right there to answer any questions you may have about the Park or the area.  The grounds are immaculate, sites are very spacious, & all & all we think this is a great place for any RV'er to stay.  Even you high enders would like it here despite not having your pristine little spotless dust free cement pads..............10-4!!

TYPING UP TO-NIGHT’S BLOG UNDER A DESERT MOON

I have taken a multitude of photos these past few days & next week I will put some photo albums to-gether of our travels & experiences these past few days.  Most of you computer people out there will recognize the name, McAfee from the anti-virus world.  John McAfee frequented this area a few years ago working on some rather bizarre business ventures.  He's somewhere in Belize now but his flamboyant lifestyle here has left behind some prominent landmarks.......which I have pictures of.  And I will post more photos from the George Walker House visit in the coming days as well.  And then there is the Astronomy community. 

I have not been able to get Rusty’s photo album to upload in Live Writer to-night again so I’m going to put them in their own album which will be accessible on our Picasa web album site so just click RUSTY'S to find the pictures.  I will caption them later.

IT’S RUSTY HER VERY SELF GIVING US SOME HIKING TRAIL IDEAS

Hey, Walkabout Jack……..welcome aboard:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  If you are an average American, in your whole life, you will spend an average of 6 months waiting at red lights.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now......Al.