FOUND OURSELVES IN SKULL VALLEY TODAY

I ALWAYS ENJOY SEEING THE RESULTS OF PEOPLE’S CREATIVITY & FREE SPIRITED SOUTHWEST IMAGINATIONS…YARNELL ARIZONA

Our stormy skies cleared early Monday evening & Aunt Jean & I were able to get out & do a little stargazing.  She likes to follow the constellation Orion across the Southern sky during the summer months while out for her early morning walks in Florida.  Orion is in the night sky now so she was anxious to see her old familiar early morn walking Buddy.  Orion was high in the sky & for a change, Jean, without all the Sarasota big city light pollution, was able to see the many other stars surrounding Orion.

COFFEE & COMPUTER TIME FOR THE GIRLS THIS MORNING

Our morning dawned clear & bright.  But, darn cold.  It was a quick trip around the block for us & back into the warm house.  Within an hour the sun’s rays began heating things up & melting the few pockets of ice we had seen on the roadway.

PHEEBS WAS LIKING THE WARM HOUSE TODAY

Thought I would try my luck using a hair dryer to see if I could get the condensation out of the Sunseeker’s back-up camera.  It worked, but only temporarily.  By the time I switched on the camera inside, the condensation had formed again.  I very carefully removed 4 tiny screws from the front of the cam & opened up the glass plate.  I was able to clean the glass & the camera lens behind it.  Decided to leave the camera open & warming in the sun while the mornings gentle breeze got in & dried out any damp parts.

 

After being cooped up in the house all day Monday due to inclement weather, we were all needing a major change today.  Including Pheebs, we all piled into the Jeep & headed up the Yarnell Hill for a drive atop the Weaver Mountains through Yarnell & beyond.   Snow along the roadsides, on house roofs, & in a few parking lots.  Toured through a very hilly community in Peeples Valley & decided to head further north looking for a restaurant in Skull Valley we had heard good things about.

A SANDER SPREADS ANTI-ICE GRAVEL ON THE YARNELL HILL

Peeples Valley is on the Colorado Plain & is not a part of the Sonoran Desert.  The Desert ends at the foot of the Weaver Mountains in this area.  We rolled through wide flat grasslands flanked by mountains on all sides.  This was horse & cattle country.  Pine trees & huge Cottonwood trees dotted the landscape.  We were on a higher plateau & the topography had completely changed from the much lower desert floor just a few miles behind us. 

THE COMMUNITY OF PEEPLE’S VALLEY

We found our unique little restaurant in a rather quaint setting called Skull Valley.  Kelly & I had driven through here before on our way back to, & coming from Canada.  Basically a General Store, a gas station, a small restaurant & a smattering of other random buildings.  Kinda neat.

  

It was going on high noon when we sauntered ourselves through the front door of the Skull Valley Diner & bellied ourselves up to the long wooden counter.  I like these old places with their western charm & décor.  Nothing fancy, just a good old western eatin place right alongside the road.

  

‘MMMMMMMM’ KELLY IS THINKING WHILE AUNT JEAN DIGS RIGHT IN

The girls had their Mexican feed bags strapped on so Aunt Jean had a Red Beef Tamale & Kelly had a huge green Chile Pork Burrito the size of a plump Groundhog.  Me, I stuck to my tried & true bacon & eggs.  Later, waddling out the door, we all agreed it was a great place to eat.

PHEEBS GRABS A QUICK DRINK OF WATER IN THE BACK SEAT

Wasn’t long & we were back through Peeples Valley to Yarnell.  Had never really ever taken any time to look around Yarnell at any time other than the main street before.  We were totally surprised at how nice the big boulder neighborhood was we drove through across from the Roadhouse Restaurant.  Snow on the ground added to the beauty along with quaint houses & tall Pine trees.  Really took a liking to the place.  This is the area fellow RVing Blogger Gaelyn from GEOGYPSY lives.  She’s in South Africa at the moment.

A JAVALINA RAN ACROSS THE ROAD IN FRONT OF US & I WAS ABLE TO GET A SHOT OF HIM HIGHTAILING IT INTO THE SNOWY ROCKS

THERE’S A HOUSE HIDDEN IN THOSE ROCKS

 

MAJORITY OF SNOW WE SAW TODAY WAS RIGHT IN YARNELL

AN OLD VINTAGE TRAILER

We were soon back to the highway again making our way down the twisty winding Yarnell Hill.  Always great views from here & always a great drive.  We were back home before 2.  Aside from the chilly wind, it was a nice day & Jean got to see another little slice of sunny Arizona.  Well, mostly sunny that is.

THIS WAS AN ACCIDENTAL COMPOSITION…IT WAS MY FIRST SHOT AT THE RUNNING JAVALINA BUT I MISSED HIM ENTIRELY, THE RESULT WAS THIS PHOTO, WHICH ACCIDENTALLY RESULTED IN AN OK PIC

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A few thoughts on life…………….

1. Raising teenagers is like nailing Jell-O to a tree.

2. There is always a lot to be thankful for, if you take the time to look. For example, I'm sitting here thinking how nice it is
that wrinkles don't hurt.

3. One reason to smile is that every seven minutes of every day, someone in an aerobics class pulls a hamstring.

4. Car sickness is the feeling you get when the monthly payment is due.

5. The best way to keep kids at home is to make for a pleasant atmosphere - and let the air out of their tires.

6. Families are like fudge . . . mostly sweet, with a few nuts.

7. Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

8. Laughing helps. It's like jogging on the inside.

9. Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

10. My mind not only wanders; sometimes it leaves completely.

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- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.