A JOSTLING JEEP JAUNT IN THE DESERT:))

JUST ANOTHER GREAT WALK IN THE SONORAN DESERT THIS MORNING

Rather than our usual walk out into the desert this morning we decided to take the Jeep out to House Rock & re-familiarize ourselves with all the winding Jeep roads.  How nice to once again be shaking up our innards jostling & bouncing around in the Jeep like a bunch of ping pong balls.  Since the big rains this past season we find the roads a bit rougher with water ruts & washes cut through the desert floor.  We never had any problems anywhere though.

NICE TO BE OUT DOING SOME DESERT JEEPING AGAIN:))

WHAT!!!! DUCKS IN THE DESERT??

TIME TO TIGHTEN UP THE SHOELACES

How nice to touch base with House Rock again & take ourselves for a meandering stroll through rocky boulders, Saguaro, Prickly Pear, & Hedge Hog Cacti.  Agave plants, Yuccas, Brittle Bush, & Beaver Tail Cactus make this area a true delight.  Even managed a few minor rock scrambles.  Not a sound in the air & that always makes these desert outings special for me.  Mountains peaked the horizons all around us.  Deep blue sky overhead with a morning sun casting it’s light into cracks & crevices as it lumbered itself into the Eastern sky.  Standing in the shadow of a large Saguaro I was again reminded of our good fortune.

We always feel better here in the South West during the winter season.  Not only physically but mentally as well.  It is rare for me to be bothered by any depressive mood swings all the time we are here.  My legs are feeling the best they have since we were last here 6 months ago.  They say the dry Arizona air is good good for Arthritis & I firmly believe that.  Both Kelly & I are bothered by Arthritis back home but here the word hardly ever comes up.  It’s just an all round better feeling in this dryer air.  Days are hot right now but nowhere as uncomfortable as the humidity we endure during our summer months in Bayfield. 

‘HOUSE ROCK’ DWARFS KELLY & PHEEBS BELOW

 

NICE TO WALK IN THE DESERT SOUTH OF HOUSE ROCK AGAIN

 

  

After a delightful hour & a half we bumped & jostled our way back in the direction of Congress pointing out familiar spots along the way.  Oh there’s the place we, and look over there, do you remember when………I like when that happens & especially liked when we drove by the jumble of rocks Aunt Jean made her triumphant climb on last February.  Oh the great memories we have created for ourselves over the years.  And how great to be back in an area of the United States we love so much.

 

 

THESE ARE THE VERY ROCKS AUNT JEAN SCRAMBLED AROUND ON EARLIER THIS YEAR

Didn’t realize until we arrived back home one of us had suffered an injury.  Kelly had somehow twisted an ankle somewhere in our hike through the boulders.  She iced it and wrapped a towel around it.  I tied Pheebs dog leash around her ankle to hold the ice pad on.  Kelly pretty much stayed off her ankle as best she could for the rest of the day.  We’ll see how it is in the morning but we do not think it is serious.

And a word of thanks to everyone for all the suggestions regarding our pest control problem whether in the house or out in the garden.  Lots of good ideas from folks.  Fox urine to electronic devices with high frequency waves bothersome to rodents.  We do have some old fencing in a back corner so I may try fashioning something out of that.  We do have a bucket of water near the Cactus but that hasn’t deterred the Rabbits, Pack Rats, Demon Squirrels,  grazing Cows,  rumbling Buffalo, Rogue Elephants, Dwarf Giraffes, or whatever it is gnawing on our plants or running around in the attic & under the house.  The only one of all the above we have visibly seen so far are the Rabbits although Kelly says she saw a Buffalo in the bird bath yesterday.  And no, a shotgun isn’t the answer either.  We don’t want Al blowing holes in the roof of our house or his new shoes.  Besides, he wouldn’t know which end of the shotgun to look through anyway……………………(just experimenting with a different font color here)

On our way to Congress a couple weeks ago I was again reminded of all the single RV folks on the road traveling without the eyes, ears, & smarts of a fellow travel partner.  I have great respect for people traveling alone like that & wonder how they do it.  In our case I am strictly the driver while Kelly does the navigating.  Kelly programs our Garmin Gertie GPS system & I just follow instructions. (well not always:))  Four eyes watching for exit or entrance ramps in large traffic congested cities is much more efficient than two eyes. So much easier & less stressful having 2 problem solving heads as well.  Working as a team & sharing all the set-up chores works better as well.  I always preferred traveling alone years ago & did very well at it but I’m afraid I would find it much more difficult now.  Programming TV’s, remotes, problem solving Wifi & computer problems etc would do me in right quick.  Computerized gas pumps frazzle me & any little mechanical problem about shoves me over the edge nowadays. 

A BIG TUMBLE OF ROCKS WITH MANY SAGUARO CACTUS GROWING AMONGST THEM

 

I really take my hat off & give credit to all you single RV’ers out there doing it on your own.  And especially all you Gals.  I can’t imagine backing a heavy Harley-Davidson motorcycle out of a high Class A down a set of ramps.  SASSY does.  Judy over at TRAVELS WITH EMMA does it all herself in a big Class A as well.  And then there is RV SUE & HER CANINE CREW boondocking their way around the west every single day.  And how about Gaelyn from GEOGYPSY pulling that big fifth wheel up to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon for her Ranger duties every summer.  And Chinle over there at SPOTTED DOG RANCH moving about in her stealth trailer somewhere in Colorado or Utah.  And where oh where is the GOOD LUCK DUCK these days.  These are only 6 of the many Gals doing it on their own.  Amazing.  And then there’s the guys like JIMBO, IVAN, STEVE, WANDERING WILLY, BOONIE & now RETIRED ROD as well.  And by golly let’s not forget ED his very self hanging out down there at the bottom of our Blog Followers list.   Yes indeed, my hat comes off to all you single Pioneering RV folks.  You are blazing trails for many who are still at the RV dream stage.  You are answering questions for minds asking themselves, ‘can I do this by myself?  Will I be afraid?  How will I know where & when to go?  What about holding tanks, what about driving an RV as big as a house or as small as a chicken coop.  Where will I sleep, how will I hitch up, where can I find water, & what about dark scary nights?  To my fellow Bloggers I say keep those blogs coming cause you are the eyes & ears for many of those up & coming single RV’ers desperately seeking answers & information.  In this age of instant communication you guys are the information trailblazers…………. 

 

OH OH SOMEBODY TANGLED WITH A PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS

Not much to tell you about my afternoon.  Just kinda more of the same.   Raking, tree trimming, & burning up some brush.  Got some wire around one of the chewed cactamooses.  Moved a water barrel, & in general just totally enjoyed working away in the back yard listening to an ever growing chorus of twittering birds around our feeders.  Had us nice campfire tonight & watched the sun go down.  Just another fine day in the great American South West:)) 

A NICE WAY TO WIND DOWN THE DAY

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Pondering Old Age…..

How do I know that my youth is all spent?
Well, my get up and go has got up and went.
But in spite of it all I am able to grin
when I recall where my get up has been.

Old age is golden-so I've heard it said-
but sometimes I wonder when I get into bed,
with my ears in a drawer and my teeth in a cup,
my eyes on the table until I wake up.
Ere sleep dims my eyes I say to myself,
"Is there anything else I should lay on the shelf?"
And I'm happy to say as I close my door,
my friends are the same, perhaps even more.

When I was young, my slippers were red,
I could pick up my heels right over my head.
When I grew older, my slippers were blue,
but still I could dance the whole night through.
But now I am old, my slippers are black,
I walk to the store and puff my way back.

The reason I know my youth is all spent,
my get up and go has got up and went.
But I really don't mind when I think, with a grin,
of all the grand places my get up has been.
Since I have retired from life's competition,
I accommodate myself with complete repetition.

I get up each morning, and dust off my wits,
pick up my paper and read the "obits".
If my name is missing, I know I'm not dead,
so I eat a good breakfast and go back to bed

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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.