“YA-HOUIE LOUIE”….IT’S A DONE DEAL, WE GOT THE GHOST TOWN ROAD HOUSE & ‘ALL’ THE PROPERTY THAT GOES WITH IT:))

IT WAS 10:10 A.M. MONDAY MORNING MARCH 12TH WHEN WE GOT THE CALL…KELLY’S FACE SHOWS THE STRAIN

 

WE WERE AT PETER & BEA’S RIG FOR BREAKFAST NEAR VULTURE PEAK WICKENBURG, ARIZONA

Noticed a few more eeks & squeaks this morning when I crawled out of bed but that’s OK, it’s for a good cause:))

 

KELLY HELPS PETER BRING BREAKFAST OUT 

We hit the decks a runnin this morning & by 8:45 we had Pheebs in the Jeep & off to Wickenburg.  First stop was Safeway for groceries.  Of course that filled up the back of the Jeep so Pheebs had to sit on Kelly’s lap while we drove out Vulture Mine Road.  A left turn onto a bouncing sandy Vulture Peak Road road took us a short distance looking for a big gray Class A Motorhome on the left.

PETER

We were soon at Peter & Bea’s rig from AMERICAN TRAVELLER.  Bea was away in Germany visiting so unfortunately we missed her.  It was our first time meeting Peter & their wonder dog Molly.  Of course Pheebs & Molly hit it right off.  Peter turned out to be one of those happy go lightly kind of guys with a sense of humor & a positive outlook.  He had an outside table all set for breakfast & 10 minutes later we were chowing down some delicious scrambled eggs, bacon, cheese, slices of ham & turkey plus breakfast rolls.  Coffee & a jar of Hodge Podge Jam rounded out our great brekky.

 

PETER COOKED US UP A GREAT BREAKFAST 

It was while we were eating breakfast under a clear blue Arizona sky that the call came in.  It was precisely 10:10 a.m. when Kelly’s phone rang & I heard her say, “Oh hi Randy,”  It was our Real Estate agent calling from Prescott & this was the call we were anxiously waiting for today.  Freddie Mac had accepted our offer on the house…..and it included the severed piece of property giving us nearly an acre of land with a completely livable house on it for $29,100.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay:))  That house by the way includes a refrigerator, stove & dishwasher.  Maybe we can trade that dishwasher on a washer & dryer:))

PHEEBS & MOLLY CHECK OUT THE CAMPSITE PERIMETER

  

Well, of course that positive phone call started another round of paperwork which required a printer on our side.  We do not travel with a printer but Peter was quick to jump in & offer us his.  We all moved inside his Motorhome & he soon had the printer hooked up & rolling.  All told we had to print out 13 sheets, which we later faxed to our Realtor for free from our newly opened Bank of America branch in Wickenburg.

KELLY HEADS INTO THE BANK TO FAX A HANDFUL OF PAPERWORK 

A big thanks to Peter for letting us almost clean him out of printer paper.  Said the paper was old & he needed some new stuff anyway.  Peter & Molly are moving in a couple days down to Ajo’s Darby Well area & will drive to Phoenix from there to pick up Bea flying in from Germany shortly after March 20th.  Thanks again Peter, much appreciated…and, great breakfast:))

 

KELLY ON THE PHONE WITH REAL ESTATE AGENT RANDY DOUBLE CHECKING THE FAX NUMBER

A quick stop at the Bank to fax all that stuff & we were back out to our peaceful desert existence just before 2.  We have our fingers crossed for a closing date of March 20th but it may be longer.  When we have the house keys in our hands, then, & only then will I feel confident the house & property are truly ours.  Again, it was Kelly who had the multitudes of patience to handle all this stuff.

THAT PHEEBS IS SUCH A CLOWN

 

NEW PALS:))

We plan to move in the morning.  We’ll stop at North Ranch to dump our tanks & take on water.  From there it’s over to our Ghost Town Road house & property to get ourselves set up until we pull out for home around the end of the month.  Oh dear, that is going to be a sad day indeed.

PHEEBS MAKES HERSELF RIGHT AT HOME WHEREVER SHE GOES

            

I remember just over a year ago when we were trying to figure out a way to buy an empty little Ranch house we were boondocking at for a week or so near Elfrida, Arizona. (the Lazy W)  Some questions from commenters at the time wondered if that would be the end of our traveling days.  Would we just spend our entire winter in one place.  My answer to that question at the time is the same as my answer to that question now.  ‘No way Jose’!!

INITIALING FRESHLY PRINTED COPIES WE LATER HAD TO FAX TO THE REALTOR

We came to the conclusion several years ago that if we wanted to ensure our continued winters away from the frozen North we would have to have ourselves some kind of home base in a warmer southern climate.  With the skyrocketing price of fuel & the fact our Motorhome will not last forever, we wanted a permanent home we could reach ‘one way or another’ in year’s to come.

The Congress/Wickenburg area is central to all areas of New Mexico, Arizona, & California.  At some point we hope to base our Motorhome here at our new place & do the long trek back & forth to Ontario in a more fuel efficient vehicle.  This should extend the life or our rig by a few years enabling us to do shorter trips around the southwest during the winter months.  From Congress we can be just about anywhere here in the Southwest in a couple days & it would spare us that grueling long distance fuel expensive trek twice a year between Ontario & Arizona.  Also, because we purchased this house & property so cheap we also look at it as an investment.  The property alone is worth more than what we paid for everything.

  

The house needs a lot of work & we will be busy with all that next winter but our plan is to intersperse that work with two week periods of travel here & there to some of our old favorite haunts along with new explorations as well.  We also plan to leave Ontario sooner & stay in Arizona longer.  Well, that’s our reasoning anyway.  Certainly not everyone’s way of thinking but it is definitely ours.

YES, WE DO HAVE NEIGHBORS ON BOTH SIDES, BEHIND & ACROSS THE ROAD OUT FRONT, BUT BASICALLY, THIS IS IT…….

A recent commenter wondered about my ‘Hitch-Itch’ problem which I suffer so badly with during our long summers sitting at home in Canada.  As long as I have a project under my belt to keep my mind occupied, that ‘itch’ to be on the road traveling is satisfied.  With our plans to intersperse our Congress house project with traveling, I will be just fine with that mix.  I totally understand that old saying, ‘variety is the spice of life.’  Anything to get away from long boring daily routines works just fine for me…….10-4:))

BACK YARD      

New Blog Follower SARA has joined us on our travels & we welcome & wish Sara well with her upcoming retirement plans & future RV travels in 2013:))

And, commenter Anne asks…" We are fairly new readers and are wondering how long you are planning to stay in Arizona each year - if you go down in the fall and return in April, aren't you over the 180 day limit?”……. There has been a recent change in that & the newer requirement is as follows… Ontario allows you to be out of the country for 212 days (seven months) and Newfoundland for eight months without risking loss of your medicare benefits…..For most provinces, that requirement is six months plus a day (183 days) spent at home. The exceptions are Ontario—which requires you to be present for only five months (153 days) and Newfoundland and Labrador which requires only four months (122 days). The remainder of the time you can be out of the province or out of the country.

 

 

NOW, DON’T LET THE PHOTOS FOOL YOU…THIS HOUSE NEEDS A LOT OF TLC & IS DEFINITELY A FIXER UPPER, BUT WE’RE KINDA FIXER UPPER’S OURSELVES SO WE ARE ALL A GOOD MATCH….:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((

Q: I’ve heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that’s it… don’t waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that’s like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

- And, did you know, A fool and his money are a girl's best friend.

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- Tourists see the world, travelers  experience it.

- Home is where your pet is:))

- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right  now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com