WE’VE BEEN IN A ‘FRAZZLED’ STATE OF MIND FOR A FEW DAYS

OUR SECOND NEW LOCATION TODAY
We left Ajo Arizona's Darby Well Road Tuesday morning at 9:40 heading 70 miles north on highway 85 to Gila Bend where we dumped tanks and took on water, propane and gas.  It was 116 miles along I-8 west to Yuma and it was 2:15 when we rolled through the easily navigable city and right out the other end.  No problem with on-going construction and we swung right off onto Ogilbe Road heading north.  Knowing this area well it was less than 10 minutes later when we made a right hand turn into the desert and brought the rig to a stop a short distance from the road.  We had been here before and only planned on staying overnight so we left the Jeep hooked up.  Half an hour later a silver Jeep Liberty pulled up alongside our coach but I didn't recognise the occupants right away and I should have.  Maybe it was their newer unfamiliar Jeep that threw me off.  It was one of our favorite RV couples that we had met in Borrego Springs California years ago.  Hadn't seen Jean and Skip since they left our Congress Arizona house two winters back.  Our conversation picked up right where it had left off.  We'll see them again next month and it was great to un-expectantly see them today.  They had escaped the clatter of Quartzsite and rolled in earlier Tuesday morning.

TUESDAY MORNING HEADING NORTH ON HIGHWAY 85 FROM AJO TO GILA BEND

PASSING BY THE EAST SIDE OF THE BARRY M GOLDWATER MILITARY RANGE

FIELD WORKERS TAKING A BREAK WEST OF YUMA ARIZONA

OUR OVERNIGHTER SPOST OFF OGILBY ROAD WEST OF THE CARGO MUCHACHO MOUNTAINS

PHEEBS ENJOYS A BRUSHING WITH HER NEW DOGGY BRUSH
With our great sunny warm weather continuing we left Ogilbe Road Wednesday morning heading west for Borrego Springs, another one of our favorite destinations. 

SHORTLY BEFORE ROLLING OUT ON OUR WAY TO BORREGO SPRINGS

HIGHWAY 78 HEADING TOWARDS GLAMIS AND THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES

IS THAT ‘LAWRENCE OF ARABIA’ I SEE AHEAD ON A CAMEL IN THOSE SAND DUNES

WEST OF THE DUNES WE CROSS A WATER CANAL AND THE LANDSCAPE INSTANTLY CHANGES TO GREENING FIELDS OF AGRICULTURE

BIT OF AN ODD LOOKING TREE I’D SAY

AT A BORDER PATROL CHECK POINT ON HIGHWAY 86 WE TURN LEFT

OCOTILLO WELLS STRAIGHT AHEAD

TURNING OFF INTO THE DESERT HEADING FOR OUR DESTINATION
We've been coming to Borrego Springs every year since January of 2008 but for the first time in 10 years we did not come in our usual way to boon-dock at Rock House Road.  Too crowded there now since Anza-Borrego State Park has taken over much of the area and restricted access to boon-dockers.  Too bad because we liked it there with it's easy access to hiking trails on Coyote Mountain where the great stone Snake resides.  And I always loved the big majestic mountain S22 drive from the Salton Sea to Borrego Springs.  However, time has a habit of changing things so Wednesday we came in through Ocotillo Wells on highway 78  Had our fingers tightly crossed we might find the same quiet out of the way spot we stayed at last winter.  Un-hooked the Jeep in Ocotillo Wells and headed on up the highway before turning off into the desert.  Topping a rise at the end of a narrow dusty desert road I apprehensively looked ahead and off to my left and ‘YAHOOIE LOUIE' our spot was empty with not another RV in site anywhere.  It was just short of 1 p.m. California Time and were under a very warm and sunny 70+F.  We was happy campers…..at first.

WE WERE SO HAPPY TO PULL INTO OUR OLD SPOT

VIEW FROM MY RECLINER WITH BORREGO SPRINGS ON THE VALLEY FLOOR BELOW BETWEEN US AND THE MIGHTY SAN YSIDRO MOUNTAINS

FONT'S POINT
We weren't long in setting up camp and soon piled into our loungers on the cooler shaded side of the coach.  A relaxing afternoon ensued as we enjoyed the scenery laid out before us.  We can see Borrego Springs maybe 5 miles away down on the vast Borrego Valley floor.  With binoculars we can see Font's Point and Peg Leg Smiths not to mention the huge towering Santa Rosa and San Ysidro mountains behind Borrego Springs.   And we’ve never seen as many military helicopters in the air as we saw over us Wednesday afternoon.

WONDERING IF THAT 2 BLADED FELLA BOTTOM RIGHT MIGHT BE AN ‘APACHE’ ATTACK HELICOPTER


EVEN A WIDE BODIED JET COMING FROM THE DIRECTION OF SAN DIEGO

AND CAN YOU SEE THE GREAT PUMA RACING ACROSS THE SKY FROM RIGHT TO LEFT??
And as if this whole bogging fiasco thing hasn’t been totally aggravating enough these past number of days we soon discovered that the Verizon connection in our new spot was very weak and sometimes non existent.   A year ago in this same spot the connection was fine.  We were sooooooo disappointed and that left us with a decision to make.  Stay where we are with a poor Verizon and phone signal or try to find a new location. 

THIS IS A TEDDY BEAR CHOLLA AREA THAT HAS SEEN BETTER DAYS

CAN YOU SEE THE BUNNY CHOLLA AT THE RIGHT YELLING AT THE RAZZLE DAZZLE HEADED  CHOLLA ON THE LEFT AND SCARING THE BA-JEEBERS OUT OF IT

FIRST TIME WE’VE HAD OUR BBQ OUT THIS WINTER
Kelly discovered the ‘Open Live Writer’ problem may have been solved overnight when she tried a post  this morning with a couple photos only.  Shortly after that we noticed other Bloggers began saying the same thing.  Despite our  poor connection it worked.  Our fingers are crossed that we may finally be on the other side of this whole thing but I know it’s only temporary.  Using ‘Open Live Writer’ is like being on the Titanic.  It hit the ice berg when Microsoft dropped it and a hardy group of Live Writer supporters revived it and has kept it going as best they can ever since.  But it’s steadily sinking and many of us on deck know it.  One of these times one of the dreaded and on-going ‘error’ messages will occur and the program will finally roll over for the last time and plunge beneath the waves forever.  If I was smart I would begin looking into and learning a new program.  And no it will not be Blogger!!  There has to be something better out there than Blogger.  Thanks to Donna for sending us some suggestions.

AND A FEW PARTING PHOTOS FROM AJO EARLIER THIS WEEK

‘IF MY DAD WOULD CLEAN THE WINDSHIELD MAYBE I COULD SEE WHERE THE HECK WE’RE GOING FOR A CHANGE’

THIS LITTLE BIRD AT OLSON’S FOODMART CHECKS OUT THE SHOPPING CARTS FOR ANY BITS OF FOOD LEFT BEHIND

WHILE KELLY POPPED INTO THE AJO LIBRARY MONDAY PHEEBS AND I WALKED OVER TO THE TOWN PARK WHERE PHEEBS  WENT NOSE TO NOSE WITH HER BEST PAL ‘SHADOW PUP’
 
YES THAT’S ME BEHIND THE TREE AND THAT’S ABOUT WHAT MY HAIR LOOKS LIKE NOW TOO

KELLY PUT DOWN A MAT FOR PHEEBS ON THE ROCKY GROUND AND SHE CAME OVER AND AT LEAST GOT HER FACE ON IT

THIS WHITE CROSS WITH A FAINT QUARTER MOON ABOVE IT STANDS LOOKING DOWN ON THE TOWN OF AJO ARIZONA
Strong gusting winds in the night forced us to pull in both slides and I didn’t get a good night’s sleep again.  To say we are both ‘frazzled’ from the whole Blogging thing and poor Verizon signal would be putting it extremely mildly.  Frustrated, discouraged and depressed would sum up my being this morning as we gathered up all our stuff and re-packed it back into the Motorhome for preparation to moving again.  While I was doing this Kelly with her smart phone and Pheebs walked over to a patch of higher ground a couple of hundred yards east of where we were.  She came back saying there was a good Verizon signal there so without further ado I drove the Motorhome a short distance to the new location and that is where we are now.

A BORREGO SUNRISE THIS MORNING

COFFEE AND MUFFINS ON ‘CALICO’S’ OUTDOOR PATIO ALONG MAIN STREET BORREGO SPRINGS CALIFORNIA

CLOUD SHADOWS ON THE SANTA ROSA MOUNTAINS

THE JEEP IS POSITIONED THERE TO BLOCK THE WIND FROM OUR SATELLITE DISH BEHIND IT

THE BORREGO VALLEY WITH BORREGO SPRINGS DOWN THERE ON THE VALLEY FLOOR

IN THE FOREGROUND OF THESE PHOTOS CAN BE SEEN THE BORREGO BADLANDS WHERE KELLY, PHEEBS, LIBBY, AND I TEMPORARILY MIS-PLACED OURSELVES ONE DAY LAST WINTER

THAT’S COYOTE MOUNTAIN WITH PEG LEG SMITHS POPULAR RV HANG-OUT AT IT’S BASE

IT’S RUGGED MOUNTAINOUS COUNTRY OUT HERE AND THAT’S WHAT DRAWS US BACK YEAR AFTER YEAR

THAT’S COYOTE MOUNTAIN RUNNING DOWN AT THE LEFT AND AT IT’S BASE RIGHT OF CENTER IS ROCK HOUSE ROAD WERE THE MAJORITY OF BOON-DOCKERS GATHER

WE HAD QUITE A TIME SETTING UP OUR SHAW SATELLITE SYSTEM THIS AFTERNOON, ANOTHER STRESSFUL AGGRAVATION THAT FINALLY WORKED OUT OKAY
We drove into Borrego Springs this morning but my usual good feeling enthusiasm and happiness to be there was nowhere to be found.  We might as well have been driving through Sudbury Ontario on a cold  dark rainy day.  Back at the Motorhome later the west wind beat us up all day and we didn’t bother setting anything up.  If I had a dollar for every time my baseball cap blew off my head I would have been a millionaire by supper time.   We’re both tired and stressed at the moment but I keep saying to myself, ‘better days ahead Al, better days ahead…………………..

AND ANOTHER DAY DRAWS TO A CLOSE IN THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE BAYFIELD BUNCH

Thanks to readers for sending in suggestions  and words of encouragement over these last few days regarding the ‘Open Live Writer’ problem so many of us had.  We did try all those suggestions but to no avail.  In fact we still don’t know what the overall problem was or who fixed it.  With tonight’s post I am once again caught up to my daily blogging routine and all is slowly returning to normal.

CAN YOU SEE THE FEROCIOUS CROCODILE SNAPPING AT THE LITTLE POODLE??

We are no strangers to these big bad winds of Borrego and tonight as I post this they have our Motorhome swaying as the relentless wind gusts keep pounding us.  Slides are in and it’s probably not going to be a good night for sleeping again.  When I am overtired I’m like a bear with a nasty toothache………:((

GROANER’S CORNER:(( 
Q: What does it take to be a good economist?
A: An unshakeable grasp of the obvious!
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Poem Of English
Dearest creature in creation,
Study English pronunciation.
I will teach you in my verse
Sounds like corpse, corps, horse, and worse.
I will keep you, Suzy, busy,
Make your head with heat grow dizzy.
Tear in eye, your dress will tear.
So shall I! Oh hear my prayer.
Just compare heart, beard, and heard,
Dies and diet, lord and word,
Sword and sward, retain and Britain.
(Mind the latter, how it's written.)
Now I surely will not plague you
With such words as plaque and ague.
But be careful how you speak:
Say break and steak, but bleak and streak;
Cloven, oven, how and low,
Script, receipt, show, poem, and toe.
Hear me say, devoid of trickery,
Daughter, laughter, and Terpsichore,
Typhoid, measles, topsails, aisles,
Exiles, similes, and reviles;
Scholar, vicar, and cigar,
Solar, mica, war and far;
One, anemone, Balmoral,
Kitchen, lichen, laundry, laurel;
Gertrude, German, wind and mind,
Scene, Melpomene, mankind.
Billet does not rhyme with ballet,
Bouquet, wallet, mallet, chalet.
Blood and flood are not like food,
Nor is mould like should and would.
Viscous, viscount, load and broad,
Toward, to forward, to reward.
And your pronunciation's OK
When you correctly say croquet,
Rounded, wounded, grieve and sieve,
Friend and fiend, alive and live.
Ivy, privy, famous; clamour
And enamour rhyme with hammer.
River, rival, tomb, bomb, comb,
Doll and roll and some and home.
Stranger does not rhyme with anger,
Neither does devour with clangour.
Souls but foul, haunt but aunt,
Font, front, wont, want, grand, and grant,
Shoes, goes, does. Now first say finger,
And then singer, ginger, linger,
Real, zeal, mauve, gauze, gouge and gauge,
Marriage, foliage, mirage, and age.
Query does not rhyme with very,
Nor does fury sound like bury.
Dost, lost, post and doth, cloth, loth.
Job, nob, bosom, transom, oath.
Though the differences seem little,
We say actual but victual.
Refer does not rhyme with deafer.
Foeffer does, and zephyr, heifer.
Mint, pint, senate and sedate;
Dull, bull, and George ate late.
Scenic, Arabic, Pacific,
Science, conscience, scientific.
Liberty, library, heave and heaven,
Rachel, ache, moustache, eleven.
We say hallowed, but allowed,
People, leopard, towed, but vowed.
Mark the differences, moreover,
Between mover, cover, clover;
Leeches, breeches, wise, precise,
Chalice, but police and lice;
Camel, constable, unstable,
Principle, disciple, label.
Petal, panel, and canal,
Wait, surprise, plait, promise, pal.
Worm and storm, chaise, chaos, chair,
Senator, spectator, mayor.
Tour, but our and succour, four.
Gas, alas, and Arkansas.
Sea, idea, Korea, area,
Psalm, Maria, but malaria.
Youth, south, southern, cleanse and clean.
Doctrine, turpentine, marine.
Compare alien with Italian,
Dandelion and battalion.
Sally with ally, yea, ye,
Eye, I, ay, aye, whey, and key.
Say aver, but ever, fever,
Neither, leisure, skein, deceiver.
Heron, granary, canary.
Crevice and device and aerie.
Face, but preface, not efface.
Phlegm, phlegmatic, ass, glass, bass.
Large, but target, gin, give, verging,
Ought, out, joust and scour, scourging.
Ear, but earn and wear and tear
Do not rhyme with here but ere.
Seven is right, but so is even,
Hyphen, roughen, nephew Stephen,
Monkey, donkey, Turk and jerk,
Ask, grasp, wasp, and cork and work.
Pronunciation -- think of Psyche!
Is a paling stout and spikey?
Won't it make you lose your wits,
Writing groats and saying grits?
It's a dark abyss or tunnel:
Strewn with stones, stowed, solace, gunwale,
Islington and Isle of Wight,
Housewife, verdict and indict.
Finally, which rhymes with enough --
Though, through, plough, or dough, or cough?
Hiccough has the sound of cup.
My advice is to give up!====================================