OUR SUMACS ARE BEGINNING TO SHOW THEIR AUTUMN COLORS
Kelly busied herself loading the Motor Home for awhile this morning and I was able to successfully repair a loose step runner. After that major accomplishment I was flushed with success and briefly entertained the thought of applying for an engineering job at Nasa’s Rocket Science center in Florida. Thought to myself….Nawwww, I wouldn’t be able to take the humidity down there.
Not a real productive day again but Pheebs and I did make two trips around the forest trail. Took the rig for a short drive this morning because we are having a problem with the ABS brake warning light. Brakes are fine but the light persists. It’s not an uncommon problem for the earlier years with that ABS Anti-Lock Brake System. I did manage to get the light to go out this morning by backing up and applying the brakes. May have to take it back to the Bayfield Garage Monday morning. We’ll see.
WILD GRAPE VINE IN THE PINE TREES
The closest Galaxy to our own in this Universe is now visible in the night sky. You can find the Andromeda Galaxy high in a dark Eastern Sky at the moment. It's visible to the naked eye assuming your eyesight is 20/20. Best seen through a pair of steady binoculars though. TONIGHT'S SKY gives you an idea where to find the Andromeda Galaxy and it is predicted that our own Galaxy will one day collide and merge with the Andromeda Galaxy. Hope that doesn't happen before we get on the road next month. Could cause quite a ker-fuffle in our travel plans.
A commenter wondered if the You Tube video in my Wednesday night blog was part of some blog changes. My short answer to that is 'no.' That particular video happened to land on my desktop while I was writing the post and was a spur of the moment decision to throw it in. Any blog changes or whatever in the future will simply be done quietly without me blabbering about it anymore.
Our Pine needles have begun to fall and soon the ground will be covered in a carpet of gold. A slight breeze today lazily brought a few leaves to the ground. Nice to hear my footsteps shuffling through the leaves along the forest path. Easier for me to keep tabs on Pheebe too because I could hear her rustling in the leaves off to the side of the trail.
I SURE HOPE TO BE GETTING ME SOME GOOD OLD MOUNTAIN AIR SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST ABOUT A MONTH FROM NOW
And a big Bayfield Bunch welcome to Geo for joining us our latest Blog Follower. Thanks for stopping by Geo and welcome aboard.
A few posts ago I talked about our reluctance to travel in Mexico. Just as we have decided to avoid any unnecessary problems by doing that I am also aware there are many RV'ers who have the same feeling about the South-western United States border areas near the border itself. This is the area we frequent quite regularly in our travels and at times we are face to face with the Mexican border itself with only a few feet separating us. We have spent many months ranch sitting a short 20 miles or so north of the border these past 3 winters and have felt quite comfortable in doing so. We have taken the time and interest to meet local folks who have been good at orienting us to the do's and don'ts along the way. There are known problem areas with heavier illegal traffic so we don't go messing around those places, and especially not at night. Rule of thumb is to use common sense and be aware of your surroundings. Now, having said that, we did have an uneasy encounter about a year ago just a few days after we arrived in Elfrida, Arizona.
THE MEXICAN BORDER JUST WEST OF CORONADO PEAK IN ARIZONA…..WE WERE TEMPORARILY LOST WHILE LOOKING FOR PARKER LAKE…JANUARY 2ND 2011
THE MEXICAN BORDER A MILE WEST OF THE TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER RANCH NEAR DOUGLAS ARIZONA…YOU CAN SEE KELLY TRYING TO DO A LITTLE CROSS BORDER SCROUNGING THERE AS SHE REACHES INTO MEXICO UNDER THE FENCE…..MARCH 11TH 2009
At the eastern most end of Elfrida's Jefferson road there is a nice area at the foot of the Swiss Helm Mountains where we had driven up to a few times before in previous years. Last year having acquired our Jeep Wrangler we knew we could get in closer to the mountains so off we headed. It was only a couple miles from where we were staying. Wasn't long when we ran into a couple of, shall we say..... SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS!! Click on ‘Suspicious Characters’ for that brief encounter……….
WE’RE THEY REALLY HUNTERS?? WE’LL NEVER KNOW……. THE GUY ON THE LEFT DIDN’T SAY MUCH AND JUST STARED AT US AND THE GUY ON THE RIGHT JUST SEEMED WAY TOO FRIENDLY. WERE WE NERVOUS ABOUT THIS 10 MINUTE ENCOUNTER IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS?? DAMM RIGHT WE WERE!!!!
We have spent a fair bit of time in and around Douglas Arizona and there is a heavy Mexican population there because Douglas is a border town on the American side. A trip to Walmart is like entering Mexico itself because most of the shoppers and staff are Mexican folks. We feel just as much at home in Douglas as we feel in any of the cities in our area here in southern Ontario. And, mentioning cities, I'm sure there are a lot of city areas all over North America that are far more scarier than anything we have come across in our travels through the southernmost parts of New Mexico, Arizona and California. But, like I said, our travels stop at the border.
GROANER'S CORNER:(( Back in the 1800s the Tates Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to produce other products and, since they already made the cases for pocket watches, decided to market compasses for the pioneers traveling west. It turned out that although their watches were of finest quality, their compasses were so bad that people often ended up in Canada or Mexico rather than California. This, of course, is the origin of the expression, "He who has a Tates is lost!"
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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
I probably wouldn't waste the money trying to fix an ABS light that keeps coming on. I had the same thing with my Jeep, and I learned to hold my hand on the steering wheel in such a way as to not see it! Even my mechanic told me they were problematic and suggested a piece of electrical tape if it bothered me.
ReplyDeleteThe ABS light is only one of the bells and whistles that is blasting away on my dashboard.
ReplyDeleteI have to say Ugh! to the groaner.
Al, before visit the "Bayfield Garage" try disconnect plus battery, wait 2-3 min and connect again. In this case car's computer will be reboote and light ABC - off.
ReplyDeleteSometimes it's help . In any case worth to try
Know nothing about ABS lights. But I'm with you on the no Mexico RVing. AZ works just fine for us.
ReplyDeletethose characters you met?..at least their clothes match the truck?
ReplyDeleteI was born in Douglas but I cannot say I'd go back to live there. Still, it has a history of its own, too. Go to the hotel and see the hoofprints of Pancho Villa's horse on the stairs. There is more, but you probably have seen it.
ReplyDeleteEmjay
You'll need to work on your Spanish, don't think any of the people in Mexico understand Canadian, eh? ;c)
ReplyDeleteWe too have come close, but never crossed over into Mexico. We are not sure the US would let us back in! LOL!
ReplyDeleteI have to say that the way things are worsening in Southern AZ, I find it scarier to wander the Sonoran desert around Ajo and Hickiwan...If we get out there, we will talk to the locals about the dangers in the area BEFORE taking our long walks!
ReplyDeleteYou didn't tell us what Kelly was trying to sneak from across the border.
ReplyDeleteAs I am in TX, a gun in a pick-up is not that unusual? How else would you protect yourself from the slithery or two or four legged wildlife?
Those guys let you take their picture, so I don't think they were running from anything or meant you any harm.
But you never know!!
Happy Tails and Trails, Penny, TX