“HEY HERE I AM BACK AGAIN”….. I LOVE WHEN THAT HAPPENS:)))))

ANOTHER FINE MORNING FOR A CRUISE THROUGH THE WICKENBURG HILLS

Chris, the fellow who cleaned the Mass Air Flow Sensor on our Motorhome last week sent an email wondering if I had seen or been to an old abandoned house just off Blue Tank Road.  When he described the house I knew the one he was talking about.  Pheebs & had spotted then driven up the rocky road in the direction of that house about 3 weeks ago but didn’t approach it because I had spotted a couple large white trucks working at something near the house.  This morning Pheebs & I headed off to have us a second look & with no white trucks in sight we drove right up to the house. 

ON YONDER RIDGE A FEW MILES AHEAD LIES OUR MORNINGS DESTINATION

Once a magnificently beautiful ranch style hacienda on a hill with a commanding view over the town of Wickenburg in a valley about 6 miles away the house is in tatters & ruins.  It has been totally vandalized.  We’ve come across places like this before here in the west & the question is always the same, ‘what happened to the original owners’. 

LARGE FIREPLACE STONES PULLED FROM THE WALL

I’M STADING IN THE TRASHED LIVING ROOM LOOKING TOWARDS WHAT WAS ONCE THE KITCHEN BEYONE THAT ARCH

INSULATION BATS STREWN ABOUT THE FLOOR AMID OTHER DEBRIS

NATURE DOESN’T SMASH WALLS LIKE THAT, PEOPLE DO!!  THAT IS WILFUL & WANTON INTENTIONAL VANDALISM

THIS WAS PROBABLY ONCE A NICE KITCHEN

IT’S EASY TO SEE THIS WAS ONCE A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE

Someone obviously invested a big pile of money in a dream then something went very wrong.  What always angers me though about these kinds of places is the willful & totally senseless damage caused by mindless vandals.  This house has been torn asunder inside & it’s not the forces of nature which have done that.  Drywall kicked, hacked, & punched through, every shred of glass smashed, insulation torn out & scattered about, stones pulled out of the fireplace, & appliances tipped over.  The intentional human damage just goes on & on.  I was young once & I know how these things happen & I guess that is why it angers me now all these years later when I see things like this………

BROKEN WINDOW GLASS EVERYWHERE

LOOKING THROUGH WHAT WAS ONCE A LIGHT & AIRY LIVING ROOM

I’M GUESSING THEIVES STOLE THE WOODEN DOORS, VANDALS SMASHED THE WINDOWS & WIND JUST GOT INSIDE THE HOUSE THEN & OVER TIME HAS WEAKENED & BLOWN OFF PARTS OF THE ROOF

WITH WICKENBURG IN THE VALLEY BELOW AN OLD COUCH LIES UPSIDE DOWN OUTSIDE THE HOUSE

THIS MULTI-CAR GARAGE HAD THE SMOOTHEST FINELY FINISHED CEMEMT FLOOR

THIS PHOTO SPEAKS FOR ITSELF

EVEN AN ELECTRIC OVERHEAD GARAGE DOOR OPENER

WHAT A SHAME TO SEE SUCH A FINE HOUSE TOTALLY RUINED BY VANDALS & OTHER TYPES OF LOW LIFE

After leaving the house ruins we continued east a bit further along the rocky Jeep road finally stopping atop a ridge where 3 Jeep & 1 ATV road converged.  Because of all the broken glass & nails etc around the wrecked house I hadn’t let Pheebs out of the Jeep so atop the ridge it was time for a leg stretch & a walk.  Great view of Wickenburg below to the Southwest.  Thought to myself how nice this must be at night  to see Wickenburg’s lights twinkling far away in the darkness.

DEFINITELY A NICE VIEWPOINT OVERLOOKING WICKENBURG ABOUT 5 MILES DISTANT

RUINED HOUSE TOP RIGHT

VULTURE PEAK  APPEARS TO LOOM OVER THE TOWN OF WICKENBURG….300mm TELEPHOTO

ANOTHER ANGLE OF THE RUINED HOUSE TO THE TOP LEFT

18mm WIDE ANGLE LENS VIEW OF WICKENBURG & VULTURE PEAK

MAYBE NEXT TIME IN THE AREA WE’LL TAKE THIS ROAD & SEE WHERE IT GOES

THE DRY HASSAYAMPA SANDY RIVER BED CAN BE SEEN IN THIS PHOTO

RETURNING FROM A SHORT WALK WE CAN SEE THE JEEP

PHEEBS WAS NEEDING A BIG DRINK BY THE TIME WE GOT BACK TO THE JEEP

CONTEMPLATED TAKING THIS ROAD HEADING IN THE DIRECTION OF LITTLE BOX CANYON & THE NARROWS BUT DECIDED NOT TO….NEXT TIME:))

Had it in mind to head back down to Blue Tank Road & make our way over to the south end of Wickenburg.  Been a couple months since Pheebs & I ‘Whoppered’ ourselves at Burger King.  Before getting back in the Jeep I had a feeling maybe I had better check my wallet.  I did…..I had $3:((  Well, that wasn’t going to get us a Burger King Whopper & McDonald coffee so that was the end of that idea.  Had I not checked my wallet Pheebs & could very well have ended up at Burger King washing dishes for the rest of the day.  Me drying & Pheebs washing.  Not so good for me but I bet Pheebs would have thought it a great idea.

WE TURN LIBBY’S WHEELS BACK DOWN THE ROAD IN THE DIRECTION FROM WHENCE WE HAD COME

PASSED BY THE RUINED HACIENDA ON OUR WAY BACK TO BLUE TANK ROAD

Sun was getting hot & my heart wasn’t really into a Jeep drive this morning anyway so we headed ourselves back on home.  I think the crash of our house deal last week has knocked more stuffings out of me than what I care to admit.  But not to worry I’m not going to go on about it.

VULTURE PEAK ON THE LEFT & WICKENBURG STRAIGHT AHEAD

SAW SOMETHING MOVING THROUGH THE BRUSH BELOW OFF TO OUR RIGHT

THESE 2 HORSE PEOPLE WERE BEING LED BY A 3RD HORSE PERSON UNSEEN IN THE GREENERY AHEAD OF THEM

Majority of our packing is done & there’s no further ‘house sale’ commitments holding us here so it’s just a matter of picking a date & route back to Bayfield now.  Of course at this time of year & especially with the weather being so unpredictably volatile lately the smart route is the northern I-40 route to East of Albuquerque somewhere then swing up to I-80 well above the warmer air coming up from the Gulf meeting cooler air in the tornado prone lower States.  But who knows we just might slide out our old southern route anyway just simply for a needed change of pace & scenery.  We’re beginning to monitor the long ranch weather forecasts now.

I’M GUESSING THIS FLOWER MAY BE A DESERT LILY LIKE THE ONE’S WE HAVE SEEN IN BORREGO SPRINGS CA.

Just another short friendly reminder to readers again that due to being hacked twice accepting ‘Friend Requests’ on Facebook I do not accept requests from anyone anymore.  I’m not a big Facebook user to begin with so please do not send me any of those ‘game requests either.  I only use Facebook to drop my daily blog post in & that’s it.

THE HASSAYAMPA RIVER BED LEADING TO LITTLE BOX CANYON & THE NARROWS

Sorry if I unintentionally mis-lead anyone in Wednesday’s post by implying we would never be back to this area again if we sold the house.  If it sells I would love to come back & see what any new owners have done with it.  We love this area just as we love the area down around Bisbee Az. or Borrego Springs California.  Back in 2011 & 2012 we looked at a lot of houses & properties down around Sierra Vista & if we had found something affordable that is where we would have stayed for a few years.  It was our 3 winter seasons ranch sitting in Cochise County that grew our love for that whole area just as our 4 years here in Congress has cemented our love for this whole region.  We haven’t been back to the Bisbee area for 4 years now & we were hoping to get down that way next winter again for awhile.  I would love to go around & see all our favorite spots just as I would like to do here in & around Congress & Wickenburg should our house sell at some point between now & next Fall.  I always so much enjoy seeing places I had once said good-bye too thinking I might never see them again.  In fact I might just be able to drive on out to ‘Aunt Jeans Rock Scramble’ & Indian/House Rock once more & say, “Hey, here I am back again”.  I love when that happens:))))))))

WHEN I SAW THESE DISTANT SMOKE SIGNALS I FIGURED WE’D BEEN SPOTTED & HAD BETTER SADDLE UP & GET OURSELVES ON OUT OF THE AREA

GROANER’S CORNER:(( There's a guy with a Doberman Pincer and a guy with a Chihuahua. The guy with the Doberman Pincer says to the guy with a Chihuahua, "Let's go over to that restaurant and get something to eat."  The guy with the Chihuahua says, "We can't go in there. We've got dogs with us."  The guy with the Doberman Pincer says, "Just follow my lead."
They walk over to the restaurant, the guy with the Doberman Pincer puts on a pair of dark glasses, and he starts to walk in.  A guy at the door says, "Sorry, mac, no pets allowed."  The guy with the Doberman Pincer says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."  The guy at the door says, "A Doberman Pincer?" He says, "Yes, they're using them now, they're very good."  The guy at the door says, "Come on in."
The guy with the Chihuahua figures, "hey why not?," so he puts on a pair of dark glasses and starts to walk in.  The guy at the door says, "Sorry, pal, no pets allowed."  The guy with the Chihuahua says, "You don't understand. This is my seeing-eye dog."  The guy at the door says, "A Chihuahua?"  The guy with the Chihuahua says, "What!!!! You mean they gave me a Chihuahua!?"