MAY 24TH WEEK-END....THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER:))

GEARED UP FOR SUMMER & READY TO RUMBLE

In Canada we commonly refer to this as the May 24th week-end & it is the traditional kick-off to summer.  It's a big celebratory week-end with folks pouring out of the cities & heading for cottage country & the beaches like here in Bayfield, Grand Bend, & Goderich.  Many boats will be going back into the water after a long winter in storage.  Cottages will be opened & aired out.  Stores, shops, art galleries, eateries, & cafe's will be open for another busy summer.  Lots of parties & fireworks going on.  The teenagers will flock to Grand Bend about 20 minutes down the coast from us & the police presence there will be tripled & quadrupled for the week-end.  A lot of the rowdy teenagers who used to hang out in 'the Bend' back in the 60's have since grown up & are now retired in Bayfield........ including me.

 

'GRAND BEND BEACH'....PROBABLY A COUPLE OF THOSE WILD TEENAGERS FROM THE 60's.....REMEMBERING WHEN:))

Unlike the tourists who flock to Bayfield we remain hidden in our little pine forest about a 5 minute drive from the heart of the village.  Traffic will be chaotic & the small local grocery market will be shoulder to shoulder with people picking up everything from bags of ice to an endless supply of wieners, charcoal, & suntan lotion.  We learned years ago to make sure we have all our groceries or anything we need before the week-end tourist gang rolls in & especially on the long week-ends. 

ALONG BAYFIELD'S COLORFUL & PICTURESQUE MAIN STREET

It is a perfect week-end to stay home because the roads & highways can be heavy with people racing to & from their cottages.  Camp grounds & Provincial Parks will be jammed packed full & will basically stay that way right up to the Labor Day week-end in September.  The only times we would ever go to the Provincial Parks anymore around here is either before the May 24th week-end or after the Labor Day week-end.  The Pinery Provincial Park which is a half hour south of us is totally beautiful in Spring & Fall when the hordes of people are not there.

ANOTHER BAYFIELD SUNSET

Noticed on Facebook that MOTTY & PATTI are now in the Bryce Canyon, Cannonville, & Kodachrome Basin area of Utah. (you might want to read their post about returning to their rig after 3 weeks to find a very much most nauseating stench)  The places Motty & Patti are visiting right now bring back a lot of memories for us.  Utah is one of my most favorite States simply because of it's beauty.  That whole southwest area of the United States is like no other.  I have picked out 3 separate blogs & photo albums of our memorable times in & around Cannonville Utah.  Check out...............WILLIS CREEK SLOT CANYON...SLOT CANYON PHOTOS

ATOP GROSVENOR'S ARCH...GROSVENOR'S ARCH PHOTOS

DESCENT INTO BRYCE CANYON...BRYCE CANYON PHOTOS

MAX CROSSES THE SHALLOW CREEK IN WILLIS CANYON

LOOKING BACK & DOWN INTO BRYCE CANYON WHERE WE HAD JUST HIKED THROUGH THE 'QUEENS GARDEN' FAR BELOW

NOVEMBER 15TH, 2007 - VIEW FROM ATOP GROSVENOR'S ARCH AFTER A HEFTY CLIMB FROM THE VALLEY FLOOR BELOW....I FIRST CLIMBED THIS IN 1992

GROANER'S CORNER:((  "Grannie, do all fairy tales begin with, 'Once Upon A Time?"  "No darling.  There is a whole series of Fairy Tales that begin with, "If Elected I Promise'."

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

A SMATTERING OF THOUGHTS & A PHOTOGRAPHIC LOOK BACK TO THE WILLIS SLOT CANYON IN UTAH

 MAX BLENDS RIGHT IN WITH THE ROCKS  (Click on photos to enlarge them)

All photos plus the album below are from our  November 17th 2007 hike in Willis Canyon near Cannonville, Utah.

THE GUYS ARE ALL LOADED UP & READY TO HEAD OUT FOR WILLIS CANYON:)) (Not much room for Mom to squeeze in....Checkers is in the back seat)

It's 5 in the morning & I'm in my big comfy recliner with my Toshiba laptop on one lap & the sleeping little Motormouse on the other.  Soothing ambient music on the stereo with only soft light from dials casting a pale glow into the darkened living room.  We have high winds this morning & I have heard cracking branches so I know there will be pine limbs to pick up later this morning.  A 'crack' means a branch has come down & a 'thud' means a whole tree has come down.  Cracks, but no thuds yet this morning however.   The electricity just blinked off & on again which means re-setting all the clocks & light timers later!!  PIne trees are not strong trees & it doesn't take much to break the branches off or snap the whole top third of the tree right off.  I have seen heavy snow laden winter storms here that have brought whole trees crashing to the ground.  Hazards of living in a pine forest I guess but it sure beats the heck out of having to live in a city!!

WOW, WHAT AN AWESOME PLACE

My chair is situated right next to our sliding patio door & I have a hooked stick that I use to open & close the door for the furry guys without having to get up.  Our back yard is fenced in so we don't have to worry about the furry kids wandering away.  I just open the door with the stick & out they go without any worries.  Of course that is all about to change soon when we're back on the road again.  No sitting in my warm comfy chair at 5 in the morning opening & closing the door with a stick for each of them.  No, not that easy.  Each time one of the guys has to go out I have to get up, throw something remotely warm over my shoulders, slip into some kind of footwear, grab the flashlight, & out the door & down the steps we go into the darkness with doggy bag in hand.  I don't normally put their leashes on because they stay close & respond to voice commands if necessary, but I never let them out of my sight for a minute.  Especially little Cora because there are roaming coyotes at night.  Sometimes I only have to shiver in the darkness for a minute or two & other times they may make me stand around forever while they take their time exploring here & there before doing their business.  Always so nice to get back into the cozy warm motorhome but it's usually only short lived because it's not long before the next critter is crying at the door.  I do this 3 times every morning while traveling.  Not a good idea to have them all go out at once in the darkness because it's too difficult to keep track of everybody & I don't have a motion detectable 3 beamed flashlight. 

View Full Album

The ranch in Arizona where we are headed has a high coyote proof fence around the perimeter on the acreage of the ranch house so that does make it less stressful letting the guys out at night plus there are 2 super great ranch dogs outside who make it their business to see that no coyotes or night walkers slip into the ranch compound.  Night walkers??  The ranch is close to the Mexican border & in a high traffic area for illegal immigrants (Mexicans) coming across the border at night.  While there last winter we could sometimes here them on the nearby road at night but it's not a worry.  The last thing these people want is to be detected so they go about their nocturnal business as quietly & unnoticed as they can.

YES, WE HAD SOME VERY WET FEET BY THE TIME WE GOT BACK TO THE CAR...12 WET LITTLE PAWS TOO

Karen over at the BIG BACK YARD has a good description & photos of some RV renovations they did & how they repaired & put down a new hallway & bathroom floor in their motorhome.  She makes it all sound so easy but I know for me to try that it would be ohhhhhhhhh so hard:((  For sure I'd end up getting the floor tile glue on upside down & the wood screws hammered in sideways!!  Noticed her blog for to-day is about sealing their motorhome's fiberglass roof so some of you might want to have a look at how they did it & what they used.  And it sounds like ROD is having a few 'beeping' & satellite tracking problems with his new motorhome.   Check out WANDERING WILLY'S early camping years in France & if you happen to be going by GYPSY'S place maybe you can drop in with a bowl of chicken soup because I think Gypsy is down with the flu:((  And if your thinking about installing a new wireless keyboard & mouse sometime in the future just drop in & see how VERAGIRL is making out with her new  board & mouse.

STOPPING FOR A REST ON OUR WAY BACK

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A little boy went up to his father and asked: 'Dad, where did all of my intelligence come from?' 
The father replied. 'Well, son, you must have got it from your mother, 'cause I still have mine.'

OUR PHOTO ALBUMS  http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.