IT'S A LIFESTYLE, NOT A VACATION.....PART 2

HIKING THE WILLIS SLOT CANYON NEAR CANNONVILLE, UTAH
Woke up to rain again this morning & on checking the on-line weather map could see it was a large system stretching all the way back down into Kansas City. Lots of rain but not even a whisper of wind. All this moisture sure is good for all the plants & trees I have been planting & moving around these past few weeks. 

 
HICKIWAN TRAILS IN WHY ARIZONA 
In regards to last night’s post about the time it takes me to put a post together let me quickly say that the time I spend on my blog is all enjoyable time for me. If it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it. As said before, I like writing & photography. I also happen to like typing & it’s always an enjoyable challenge for me to put things together whether it be editing photos or pulling thoughts together in a meaningful way. I see my blog as an enjoyable hobby so I don’t mind spending the time on a hobby I enjoy.  It gives my day purpose & it gives me something to do at night while Kelly watches her television shows.  Same applies when we are traveling.
 
GRAND CANYON, SOUTH RIM.....ARIZONA 
In keeping with my Southwest ‘It’s Not A Vacation…..It’s A Lifestyle’ theme a couple days ago I have a few additional thoughts on the diversity of culture between our Ontario home & our Southwest home. I will focus my thoughts on Arizona because that is where we have spent most of our time these past few years. Let me first direct you to my post on February 1rst of this year entitled, DON'T LET POLITICS STOP YOU FROM COMING TO ARIZONA. This post address’s my thoughts on guns & attitudes & goes hand in hand with tonight's post.

HELL HOLE CANYON NEAR BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA
Before I go any further let me emphasize that the following thoughts & opinions are mine alone. It is my lightly humorous & slightly exaggerated take on why I like the Southwest culture. (but, only slightly exaggerated:))

GILA CLIFF DWELLING, NEW MEXICO 
The old wild west history of the American Southwest has intrigued me all my life & is one of the many attractions that draws me to the West each winter. That history is still alive & well to this very day in various parts of Arizona & can be experienced by anyone traveling there. Now, just as I mentioned a couple days ago, I am not talking about the big cities here. Big cities are big cities no matter where you go. I am talking about the small towns & rural populations. This is where the true feeling of the old west is still alive & well. This is where you can see horses on the main streets of dusty little western towns. Clumps of sagebrush can be found resting in doorways on their tumbling way through town. You can walk into small stores & restaurants that haven’t changed for decades. They are not restored & fancy versions of their former selves, they are the buildings & interiors that in some cases have been there from the beginning. You can still see old wooden barns, sheds & houses being held up by nothing more than a stiff southern breeze.

SPLASHING ACROSS THE SAN PEDRO RIVER IN SEARCH OF A LONG FORGOTTEN GHOST TOWN.........CHARLESTON, ARIZONA 
Most folks in these here parts live their whole lives underneath their cowboy hats with button up shirts, blue jeans & dusty desert boots to match. Guns & holsters are occasionally seen as well & gun racks in pick trucks may carry old Winchester rifles. It’s a part of the old west that is still very much alive to this very day. It’s a place where the day's dust that settles on a feller, stays on a feller.

BOON DOCKING BETWEEN SIERRA VISTA & TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA
  
GAZING AT THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS & SIERRA VISTA, ARIZONA & LISTENING TO 'THE SONS OF THE PIONEERS.' 
Free range cattle in the fields, sometimes on the road. Old broken down pick up trucks & new SUV’s loaded to the axles with bales of hay. A big bag of feed over an old timers stooped shoulder coming out of the town’s general store is not an uncommon sight. No fancy manicured malls or glittering Big Box stores in the towns. No fashionably trendy shops in the outback either. Houses, barns & old wooden fences may look as well weathered as the locals themselves. Personalities are neighborly, downright homespun & friendly. And, every town & rural area has it’s own unique cast of ‘colorful characters.’ Some of them right out of the wild west days themselves. It is this very kind of setting that draws us, year after year to the Southwest because it is sooooo different from our area & culture here in southwest Ontario Canada.
 
  
EAST OF CANNONVILLE UTAH   
By comparison, Ontario is very ruled & regulated. A place for everything & everything in it’s place, very proper like. Wear a cowboy hat here & somebody is liable to call the police saying there is a nut bar loose. And, if you can find a horse to ride into town you are probably going to get yourself arrested. Not that you would ever find a horse nearby!!   And if your shirt happens to be ripped up in a few places you might want to put on a different one before going into town.
 
MEETING FELLOW HIKERS ON THE COCHISE TRAIL IN THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS, ARIZONA
No, no, no, I am not running down our beautiful area of southern Ontario. We happen to have a very nice place here in a great area that we like very much. I am just drawing some slightly exaggerated comparisons as to why I find the southwest more to my liking because of the type of person I am & the type of lifestyle I prefer.
  
HIKING IN THE CHIRICAHUA MONUMENT, ARIZONA  
I understand very well society’s need for rules & regulations. We support & live that lifestyle very well here in Ontario but it is the less constraining lifestyle & feeling of freedom that we so much love about the Southwest. People don’t seem to take their lives as seriously there as we do here. Just seems to be less hassles, less fuss & muss,  with less emphasis on prim & proper. A far greater laid back lifestyle in Arizona & that appeals to me in a very, very big way. 
 
A SCENIC RAINY DAY DRIVE UP THE MOUNTAIN TO JULIAN CALIFORNIA FROM BORREGO SPRINGS   
If I had hair down to my ankles, a beard down to my knees & wore a big 10 gallon cowboy hat, rumpled plaid button up shirt with dusty jeans, a shootin iron & muddy cowboy boots I would be arrested by the local constabulary here right quick. But, in small town Arizona I would fit right in.  And that, is one of the main reasons I love Arizona so much. I feel the freedom to just be me. I feel the freedom of the 1800’s & I feel the freedom of the people to be themselves. No fancy schmanzy, no keeping up with the Jones’s & no feeling of having to keep up fashionable appearances. And, if at the end of the day I end up with more dust & dirt on me than my Jeep does then that’s a bonus & something to feel good about. It is the way of the West, And, I love it to bits……..10-4:))

CHRISTMAS DAY DINNER AT THE SENIOR CENTER IN COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO....2006
 
HANGING OUT AT THE 'PINK STORE' IN PALOMAS MEXICO & THE KIND OF SOUTHWEST COLORFUL DECOR IN COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO THAT WE LIKE SO MUCH....2007

A NEW MEXICAN SUNSET FROM PANCHO VILLA  STATE PARK IN COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO
GROANER’S CORNER:(( More than anything, Bob wanted to be a cowpoke. Taking pity on him, a rancher decided to hire the lad and give him a chance. "This," he said, showing him a rope, "is a lariat. We use it to catch cows." "I see," said Bob, trying to seem knowledgeable as he examined the lariat. "And what do you use for bait?"
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