CHRISTMAS DAY….THE QUIET WAY:))

SNOOZING WITH TEDDY
It was another very cold night with temps down around the 24F mark again.  We normally just use a small electric heater plus our propane fired Legacy Blue Flame heater but last night we actually kicked on the rig’s rarely used furnace.  One has to be ever mindful of water pipes in these kinds of temperatures.  Should add that winter temps are always colder here in southeastern Arizona because of the higher altitude we are at.  Around 4300 feet above sea level I think.  It is called the high desert.  Last winter this area was rocked with record breaking cold temperatures.  Water lines and water pumps were broken and decades old Prickly Pear cactus froze and died.  Folks will definitely be warmer down around Yuma way:))

HAD TO BREAK THE ICE IN GLEESON & PEARCE’S BIG WATER DISH THIS MORNING
Had myself a perfectly fine Christmas morning finishing up my little corral cleaning job.  Big Arizona sun in the morning sky and Sand Hill Cranes in the air overhead.  Distant mountains all around held the Valley in a quiet silence.   Certainly not everybody’s idea of a fine Christmas morning and years ago it wouldn’t have been my idea either.   But, for me, it was a right place to be:))

IT WAS A WORKING CHRISTMAS MORNING FOR PHEEBS & AL

HAD A LITTLE PROBLEM KEEPING MY HELPER MOTIVATED
We have sometimes been asked why we just don’t go to Florida for the winters because it is half the distance from the southwest. Perfectly logical question and one we have been asking ourselves as well lately, especially in light of recent medical developments.  My heart is in the Southwest and always will be. I think readers well understand my love for the scenery and the way of life. The wide open spaces, the great boondocking sites, the lack of people congestion and traffic chaos. And of course the whole history of the West.  I think I am one of those fellas who was just simply born on the wrong side of the country.

A SCALE QUAIL SKITTERS BY THE RIG
In the past few years we have tried to come up with some kind of a practical idea on how we can assure us a warm place ‘down south’ in the coming winters. We considered moving to British Columbia to be closer to the southwest but it was just not practical. We considered full timing at one point but we just couldn’t get that plan off the ground either. Each year we have looked at properties both in New Mexico and Arizona but in the end it is always the long distance of travel that causes us to pause and reconsider our thoughts.

 
We have an older aging Motorhome. Our financial resources will not last forever and we are a couple of slowly aging Senior travelers. At this stage we have to be realistic about our future and we have to be realistic about future medical challenges.
 
DROPPING OFF A LOAD OF BUNS
Traveling days end for everyone regardless of who they are and we are finding ourselves having to ask ourselves some unavoidable and necessary questions. Will we have to alter course, bring the bow around into a fresh head wind and set ourselves a new course. No, not planning on giving up traveling (Egads)……just maybe plotting a course change in the future with steerage into new seas closer to home.  Sometimes we just gotta do what we gotta do and simply make the best of it.

PHEEBE RUNNING FAST ALONGSIDE THE SPEEDING ATV
Wished I could tell you we were out exploring some new hiking trails or scenic mountain roads today but once again we never ventured far from the rig. We have been spending a lot of time on our computers looking at future travel option ideas and areas.  The winds of change are once again a blowing……………….

DID SOMEBODY MENTION FOOD………
GROANER’S CORNER:((  In Africa, some of the native tribes have a custom of beating the ground with clubs and uttering spine chilling cries.
Anthropologists call this a form of primitive self-expression.....
In North America we call it golf.
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-Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
BAYFIELD BUNCH PHOTO ALBUMS https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295
The only thing better than right now  will someday be the memories of
right  now...AL.