LAST SATURDAY NIGHT'S SUNSET AT BAYFIELD'S PIONEER PARK |
I could see through the pine trees a thin yellow pencil line along the horizon to the east this morning. I was hopeful for a firey sunrise but it vanished quickly into heavy snow-laden cloud cover that remained for the whole day. Pheebs and I rolled out of the Park heading east on Bayfield River Road and as soon as we exited the protective forest it was readily apparent that high winds were at work whipping up twirling whirligigs of dancing snowgypsies across farmer's fields. Luckily the wind direction was coming from behind us so it wasn't blowing across the road. Visibility was fine. Or so I thought. Reaching the end of Bayfield River road after passing a logging operation in progress, I had planned to make a U-Turn and head back home. However, a snowplow was sitting in the middle of the road at the T-intersection contemplating how to get around the logging truck up the road from him. I had to squeak around him to the right so decided to just turn left on Parr Line and drive the short mile or so north to Bayfield Road then turn left and head home that way. However, there was an immediate problem. The strong winds were blowing snow straight across the northbound highway from west to east and I right away encountered a couple small whiteouts. The oncoming southbound lane beside me had just been cleared by the snowplow but not the northbound lane I was in which was driveable. I accelerated and within seconds I drove right into a larger whiteout and didn't know there was a hidden snowdrift in the unplowed lane on my side of the road. I immediately had about five seconds of scary excitement as that snowdrift tried its best to pull me off the road and down into the ditch on the right side. And, had I been driving a rear-wheel drive car or possibly a front wheel drive vehicle, that is right where would have gone. But, keeping my hands firmly at the 9 and 3 o'clock position on the steering wheel and making small corrections while continuing to add power, Subies all-wheel drive unwaveringly pulled and pushed me through that snowdrift in the direction I was steering. We popped out of the whiteout on our side of the road still heading north. Did that scare me?? Darn right it did!! Took a little wind out of my sails too. A minute later we rolled up to a stop sign, turned left on Bayfield Road, and headed west into the wind. Less than ten minutes later I was backing safely up our plowed driveway (Frank) and into our carport. I was needing a hot cup of coffee after that one. I think Pheebs and I might stay off the roads tomorrow:))
I WAS SURPRISED TO SEE A LOGGING OPERATION GOING ON HERE |
EASING BY THE LOGGING TRUCK |
SQUEAKING AROUND THE SNOWPLOW TO THE RIGHT FOR MY LEFT-HAND TURN |
OH OH IT'S NOT LOOKING GOOD UP AHEAD |
PUNCHING INTO A WHITEOUT |
PUNCHING OUT OF THE WHITEOUT |
HEADING INTO THE WIND IT WAS CLEAR SAILING THE REST OF THE WAY HOME |
PHEEBS USES A RAMP TO EXIT THE SUBARU |
I MADE THIS RAMP BACK IN 2006 FOR OUR DOGS, MAX, CHECKERS, AND CORA TO GET INTO AND OUT OF THE BACK SEAT OF OUR GMC SIERRA PICK-UP TRUCK |
A Blast From Our Past:))It was in January of 2011 that I was able to show some members of a Bisbee Arizona hiking club an area in the Chiricahua Mountains where they might find some new hiking trails. Another Fine Day In The Chiricahua Mountains Rucker Canyon
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BOONDOCKED WEST OF GILA BEND AND IF YOU LOOK CLOSE YOU CAN SEE KELLY AND MAX AND A CAMPFIRE |
GROANER'S CORNER:(( A married couple in their early 60s were out celebrating their 35th wedding anniversary in a quiet, romantic little restaurant. Suddenly, a tiny yet beautiful fairy appeared on their table and said, “For being such an exemplary married couple and for being faithful to each other for all this time, I will grant you each a wish. “Ooh, I want to travel around the world with my darling husband.” said the wife. The fairy moved her magic stick and – abracadabra! – two tickets for the new QM2 luxury liner appeared in her hands. Now it was the husband's turn. He thought for a moment and said: “Well this is all very romantic, but an opportunity like this only occurs once in a lifetime, so, I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me.” The wife, and the fairy, were deeply disappointed, but a wish is a wish… So the fairy made a circle with her magic stick and -abracadabra! – the husband became 92 years old. The moral of this story: “Fairies are female.”
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A hillbilly was making his first visit to a hospital where his teenage son was about to have an operation. Watching the doctor's every move, he asked, "What's that?" The doctor explained, "This is an anesthetic. After he gets this he won't know a thing." "Save your time, Doc," exclaimed the man. "He don't know nothing now."
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- Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7,8,9.
- What kind of shoes do frogs love? Open-toad!
- How did the baby tell his mom he had a wet diaper? He sent her a pee-mail.
- How did Benjamin Franklin feel holding his kite when he discovered electricity? Shocked!
- What is a room with no walls? A mushroom.
- What is brown, hairy, and wears sunglasses?
A coconut on vacation.- Why is a football stadium always cold? It has lots of fans!
- What did the Dalmatian say after lunch? That hit the spot!
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Al's Art Gallery
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Pappy sees Elmer walking with a lantern and asks, "Where ya going, boy?" The son smiled and replied, "I'm a-going courting Peggy Sue." The Father said, "When I went a-courtin', I didn't need me no dang lantern." "Sure Pa, I know." the boy said. "And look what you got !"
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Al's Doggy World
Meanings::
Kelly's Corner
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IN OUR FAVORITE LITTLE MOUNTAIN TOWN OF BISBEE ARIZONA |
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BISBEE WAS NEAR OUR RANCH SITTING JOB SO WE VISITED BISBEE OFTEN....BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY BISBEE PHOTO ALBUM ON OUR SIDE BAR |
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WITH BLOG READER AND NEW FRIEND PAULA |
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THAT'S OUR JEEP TO THE RIGHT |
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I think a day staying home is a good idea for you and Pheebs:) Whiteouts are scary.
ReplyDeleteBrrrrr..... I like your desert photo much better than the winter scenes you're having. Bisbee is a unique place and Kelly seems to have fun with her hats. The ramp seems to work well for Pheebs. If I recall correctly, you tried that a while back but she didn't seem to like it.
ReplyDeleteIt's really good news that you Pheebs made it safely home despite the snow and poor visibility,,stay safe and warm -Mary
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely fellow that Frank is...so nice that he does your driveway. What a scary drive you had! You're right that Subie got you through there, whereas a front- or rear-wheel drive would likely have failed because snowdrifts are so dense and heavy. Great that you use that ramp for Pheebs...we're all getting stiff muscles these days, dogs too. Fabulous photos again, Kelly looked so happy in Bisbee. I remember reading your Bisbee blog back in the day...and you carefully weaving the rig through Bisbee's narrow hilly and winding streets.
ReplyDeleteGlad you made it through that white out spot safe and sound. Those are scary!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the flashback about the Rucker Ranch! You are the one that turned me on to the book by Mary Kidder Rak and gave us directions when we were down in that area how to find the ranch. One of our fondest memories was wandering around that old abandoned place and having it all come to life because of having read the book in advance. We had brought along a picnic lunch and spent the whole day there. Thank you so much for giving us such a great memory from our travels!!!
Isn`t that a scary feeling when you hit a drift with a big whomp! Glad you got home safely. `Twirling whirligigs of dancing snowgypsies`- I`always appreciated your way with words Al, but that must be worth some sort of prize.
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