A BIG COOL DOWN AS WE SEARCH FOR WILD BURROS BUT STUMBLE ACROSS RUIN AND DECAY INSTEAD

THE CONSTELLATION ‘ORION’ IS AT TOP RIGHT
Had my camera all set up for some night action in the sky and waited for the U.S. Air Force to show up with their jets and flares.  Nothing happened, they didn’t show up.  No planes in the sky darting about amongst the stars.  Waited and waited……then it dawned on me.  It was Friday night and the start of the week-end.  Of course there were no planes in the air.  Who wants to work week-ends anyway and those pilots and all the support staff deserve their week-ends off.

I DID ENCOUNTER AN ALIEN CREATURE IN THE DESERT LAST NIGHT THOUGH

I HAVE A SMALL RED ‘LED’ LIGHT ON MY HAT WHICH I USED TO PAINT THE TALL SAGUAROS AND ORGAN PIPES
 
MY CAMERA AND TRI-POD SET UP FOR A TIME EXPOSURE
It was such a beautifully warm night Friday I probably stayed outside for well over an hour.  Took a few photos and tipped myself back in my gravity lounger with binoculars in hand and traveled myself around the dark starry night sky.  Star gazing on a warm night is so much better here in the Southwest as opposed to a warm night back home when one has to constantly contend with bothersome mosquitos,  During winter months in the Southwest there are no bugs in the air and that makes it so much nicer to be outside day or night.  Plus with no humidity in the air here  night skies are so much clearer.

SATURDAY MORNING’S SUNRISE LOOKING SOUTHEAST TOWARDS THE AJO MOUNTAIN RANGE

CAN YOU SEE THE BIG CLOUD FACE

Winds came in the night to flap our awnings causing Kelly to pull her bedroom slide in.  Air was cooler this morning and the winds made it cooler but no matter, it was better than hot so out the door we went in search of some wild burros reportedly around the south end of Darby Well Road.  Well, we never did see any burros but did see lots of fresh evidence we had just missed them.  Ann and Bill had commented about the new solar powerd water trough there so we stopped to have a look at that.  Great idea for the burrows and other dry desert dwellers.  We were heartened to see a humane effort being made to help these poor creatures in this bone dry arid land.

A SOLAR POWERED WATER PUMP KEEPS THAT BIG TANK FILLED WITH WATER

THIS IS THE OLD TANK
  
OLD TANK ON THE LEFT AND NEW TANK ON THE RIGHT
 
THE NEW WATERING HOLE EVEN HAS IT’S OWN ‘CRITTER CAM’

PHEEBS CHECKS  OUT THE NEW WATERING HOLE

WE THINK THIS AREA AROUND THE WINDMILL WAS PROBABLY A LARGE CATTLE RANCH AT ONE TIME

BLACK MOUNTAIN IN THE BACKGROUND

On our walk we also came across a few other things along the way.  Here in the mountains and deserts of the south-west it is not uncommon to come across things that mankind has left behind.  Could be a couple days ago or could be a hundred years ago.  It so often seems where human beings have come together at some time in the past they have had a habit of leaving behind whatever it is they don’t want.  And so it was again this morning when we wandered into what once may have been some kind of mining operation.  What we saw is very typical Of the way things were left or abandoned years ago.  No regard for the land or safety of animals or people.  Projects were simply walked away from leaving the grounds cluttered with junk.  To add to the mess these places are often taken over by homeless people and the trash and litter simply continues to grow.  Once again I have way too many photos to put into one blog so I hope to stretch them out over the next couple posts.

SPOTTED A BUILDING AHEAD AND CAME ACROSS SOMETHING I CONSIDERED SAD

It was a comment in our Shout Box by Mark Watson that cleared up a mystery for me.  Ever since arriving in this area at the beginning of the week I have noticed something in the night sky that has left me puzzled.  A wide cone of faint light stretching up into the night sky from a point in the West.  I had never seen anything in the night sky like this before.  Mark said in his comment, ‘Al, I think you captured the zodiacal light in one or two of your night time photos.’  And with that comment my mystery was solved.  Zodiacal Light is explained as, ‘a faint elongated cone of light sometimes seen in the night sky, extending from the horizon along the ecliptic. It is thought to be due to the reflection of sunlight from particles of ice and dust within the plane of the solar system.’

CAME ACROSS A TALL WOUNDED SAGUARO CACTUS SHOT FULL OF HOLES
  I FIGURE THAT LARGE GASH AT RIGHT WAS DONE BY A SHOTGUN BLAST

SEEING MORE BUILDINGS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF A DRY WASH WE HEAD OVER TO HAVE A LOOK

IN MONSOON SEASON THIS DRY CREEK BED WOULD BE RAGING WITH WATER

LOOKS LIKE OLD ABANDONED BUILDINGS OVER THERE

 
IT OFTEN SEEMS WHEREVER THE HAND OF MAN TOUCHES EARTH THERE REMAINS BEHIND  A DESTRUCTION OF DECAY AND RUIN

WITH NO GUNFIRE COMING FROM THE BUILDINGS WE VENTURE CLOSER

And another Mark (Box Canyon) from way over there in that Colorado place inquired about the camera and settings I used to take Friday’s post lead photo showing the Organ Pipe cactus at night.  Okay here goes….Nikon D7200 with an 18 to 300mm Nikkor lens.  Photo was taken at 18mm wide angle - F6.3 – 1600 ISO – Spot Metered with a manual 10 second exposure.  Using my flashlight I flashed the Organ Pipe and foreground for maybe a second.  Took me 3 tries to get that flashlight exposure half right.  I actually met Mark two years ago at Bloggerfest 2016.  I’ll include links to my 3 posts from that event and Mark is the tall fellow with a blue T-shirt and ball cap.  When I found those 3 posts I noticed a few photos of fellow RV Bloggers who are no longer with us anymore.  There they were full of life that day………………….
Bloggerfest 2016 Part 1 and Bloggerfest 2016 Part 2 and Bloggerfest 2016 Part 3 
A few days later I expressed a few feelings about Bloggerfest and towards the end of my paragraph it was Mark from Colorado I was talking about.  Here is that paragraph:: ‘Now that the dust has settled from Bloggerfest 2016 & my nerves are once again relatively intact I’d just like to say how nice it was re-connecting with old friends & meeting a few new ones along the way.  Only unfortunate part was not being able to take time to chat longer with people but at least initial contacts were made & that’s what Bloggerfest is all about.  I was a bit overwhelmed by some of the nice things a few folks quietly said to me and I so much appreciated their kind thoughts and meaningful words.   I’m afraid I am not a relaxed or confident conversationalist when meeting new people and it was apparent to me while talking with a fellow RV Blogger Saturday when I found myself stumbling for the right words in response to his kind and complimentary words of encouragement, gratitude, & understanding.  I just didn’t know what to say.  Maybe one day we will meet again at another time and another place.  May those long Colorado mountain trails always be with you my friend:))’

I’M GUESSING THERE WILL BE DENS OF RATTLESNAKES UNDER THESE OLD DILAPETATED MICE  INFESTED BUILDINGS….I WOULDN’T WANT TO BE ANYWHERE NEAR HERE IN THE HOT SUMMER MONTHS

THAT’S A MATTRESS ON THE GROUND WITH A SLEEPING BAG ON TOP OF IT

I WILL INCLUDE MORE PHOTOS IN MY NEXT FEW POSTS OF WHAT WE FOUND AROUND THE GROUNDS AND INSIDE THE OLD BUILDINGS……IT BRINGS ABOUT A SADNESS OF DAYS GONE BY

WE MAKE OUR WAY BACK TO THE JEEP AND HEAD FOR THE MOTORHOME A FEW MILES TO THE NORTH
After our morning’s explorations we headed back to the rig.  Kelly hasn’t been feeling well for awhile and I asked her this morning if she thought we should maybe head for home.  Her answer was typically Kelly,  ‘No, If I’m going to continue not feeling well I would sooner not feel well here where it’s warm and sunny rather than at home where it’s cloudy and cold.’   We’ll see how the next little while goes………..

LITTLE MISS SMARTY PANTS KNOWS I HAVE SOME DOGGY TREATS STASHED AWAY ON MY SIDE TABLE
<<< ALWAYS MOM’S VERY MUCH MOST BESTEST LITTLE HELPER IN THE KITCHEN
GROANER’S CORNER:(( A young Technician and his General Manager board a train headed through the mountains on its way to Wichita. They can find no place to sit except for two seats right across the aisle from a young woman and her grandmother.   After a while, it is obvious that the young woman and the young tech are interested in each other, because they are giving each other looks.   Soon the train passes into a tunnel and it is pitch black. There is a sound of a kiss followed by the sound of a slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel, the four sit there without saying a word.  The grandmother is thinking to herself, "It was very brash for that young man to kiss my granddaughter, but I'm glad she slapped him."  The General manager is setting there thinking, "I didn't know the young tech was brave enough to kiss the girl, but I sure wish she hadn't missed him when she slapped and hit me!"  The young woman was sitting and thinking, "I'm glad the guy kissed me, but I wish my grandmother had not slapped him!"  The young tech sat there with a satisfied smile on his face. He thought to himself, "Life is good. How often does a guy have the chance to kiss a beautiful girl and slap his General manager all at the same time!"
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After two years of marriage, Tom was still questioning his wife about her lurid past. "C'mon, tell me," Tom asked for the thousandth time, "how many men have you been with?"  "Baby, " she protested, "If I told you, you'd throw a fit." Tom promised he wouldn't get angry, and convinced his wife to tell him.  "Okay," she said, then started to count on her fingers, "One, two, three, four, five, six, seven - then there's you - nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen.....”
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