ALTHOUGH WE DON’T CROSS THE MEXICAN BORDER, WE DO SPEND A LOT OF OUR TIME…….REAL DARN CLOSE TO IT

OUR SUMACS ARE BEGINNING TO SHOW THEIR AUTUMN COLORS
Kelly busied herself loading the Motor Home for awhile this morning and I was able to successfully repair a loose step runner.  After that major accomplishment I was flushed with success and briefly entertained the thought of applying for an engineering job at Nasa’s Rocket Science center in Florida.  Thought to myself….Nawwww, I wouldn’t be able to take the humidity down there.
Not a real productive day again but Pheebs and I did make two trips around the forest trail.  Took the rig for a short drive this morning because we are having a problem with the ABS brake warning light.  Brakes are fine but the light persists.  It’s not an uncommon problem for the earlier years with that ABS Anti-Lock Brake System.  I did manage to get the light to go out this morning by backing up and applying the brakes.  May have to take it back to the Bayfield Garage Monday morning.  We’ll see.
WILD GRAPE VINE IN THE PINE TREES
The closest Galaxy to our own in this Universe is now visible in the night sky.  You can find the Andromeda Galaxy high in a dark Eastern Sky at the moment.  It's visible to the naked eye assuming your eyesight is 20/20.  Best seen through a pair of steady binoculars though.  TONIGHT'S SKY gives you an idea where to find the Andromeda Galaxy and it is predicted that our own Galaxy will one day collide and merge with the Andromeda Galaxy.  Hope that doesn't happen before we get on the road next month.  Could cause quite a ker-fuffle in our travel plans.
A commenter wondered if the You Tube video in my Wednesday night blog was part of some blog changes.  My short answer to that is 'no.'  That particular video happened to land on my desktop while I was writing the post and was a spur of the moment decision to throw it in.  Any blog changes or whatever in the future will simply be done quietly without me blabbering about it anymore. 
Our Pine needles have begun to fall and soon the ground will be covered in a carpet of gold.  A slight breeze today lazily brought a few leaves to the ground.   Nice to hear my footsteps shuffling through the leaves along the forest path.  Easier for me to keep tabs on Pheebe too because I could hear her rustling in the leaves off to the side of the trail.

I SURE HOPE TO BE GETTING ME SOME GOOD OLD MOUNTAIN AIR SOMEWHERE IN THE WEST ABOUT A MONTH FROM NOW
And a big Bayfield Bunch welcome to Geo for joining us our latest Blog Follower.  Thanks for stopping by Geo and welcome aboard.
A few posts ago I talked about our reluctance to travel in Mexico.  Just as we have decided to avoid any unnecessary problems by doing that I am also aware there are many RV'ers who have the same feeling about the South-western United States border areas near the border itself.  This is the area we frequent quite regularly in our travels and at times we are face to face with the Mexican border itself with only a few feet separating us.  We have spent many months ranch sitting a short 20 miles or so north of the border these past 3 winters and have felt quite comfortable in doing so.  We have taken the time and interest to meet local folks who have been good at orienting us to the do's and don'ts along the way.  There are known problem areas with heavier illegal traffic so we don't go messing around those places, and especially not at night.  Rule of thumb is to use common sense and be aware of your surroundings.  Now, having said that, we did have an uneasy encounter about a year ago just a few days after we arrived in Elfrida, Arizona.

  
THE MEXICAN BORDER JUST WEST OF CORONADO PEAK IN ARIZONA…..WE WERE TEMPORARILY LOST WHILE LOOKING FOR PARKER LAKE…JANUARY 2ND 2011

 
THE MEXICAN BORDER A MILE WEST OF THE TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER RANCH NEAR DOUGLAS ARIZONA…YOU CAN SEE KELLY TRYING TO DO A LITTLE CROSS BORDER SCROUNGING THERE AS SHE REACHES INTO MEXICO UNDER THE FENCE…..MARCH 11TH 2009 
At the eastern most end of Elfrida's Jefferson road there is a nice area at the foot of the Swiss Helm Mountains where we had driven up to a few times before in previous years.  Last year having acquired our Jeep Wrangler we knew we could get in closer to the mountains so off we headed.  It was only a couple miles from where we were staying.  Wasn't long when we ran into a couple of, shall we say.....  SUSPICIOUS CHARACTERS!!  Click on ‘Suspicious Characters’ for that brief encounter……….

WE’RE THEY REALLY HUNTERS??  WE’LL NEVER KNOW…….  THE GUY ON THE LEFT DIDN’T SAY MUCH AND JUST STARED AT US AND THE GUY ON THE RIGHT JUST SEEMED WAY TOO FRIENDLY.  WERE WE NERVOUS ABOUT THIS 10 MINUTE ENCOUNTER IN THE FOOTHILLS OF THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS??  DAMM RIGHT WE WERE!!!!
We have spent a fair bit of time in and around Douglas Arizona and there is a heavy Mexican population there because Douglas is a border town on the American side.  A trip to Walmart is like entering Mexico itself because most of the shoppers and staff are Mexican folks.  We feel just as much at home in Douglas as we feel in any of the cities in our area here in southern Ontario.  And, mentioning cities, I'm sure there are a lot of city areas all over North America that are far more scarier than anything we have come across in our travels through the southernmost parts of New Mexico, Arizona and California.  But, like I said, our travels stop at the border. 

GROANER'S CORNER:((   Back in the 1800s the Tates Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to produce other products and, since they already made the cases for pocket watches, decided to market compasses for the pioneers traveling west. It turned out that although their watches were of finest quality, their compasses were so bad that people often ended up in Canada or Mexico rather than California. This, of course, is the origin of the expression, "He who has a Tates is lost!"
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-Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
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RANCH DOG PEARCE HEADS FOR THE ANNUAL ROUTINE RABIES CLINIC IN ELFRIDA, AZ.

 

The ranch we are on is located a short 20 miles or so from the Mexican border running through Douglas, Arizona.  I blogged earlier this year about finding backpacks loaded with clothing & food along the roadsides in the area.  That is common.  I still wear a nice fleece lined blue jean jacket we retrieved from one of two back packs we picked up one day.  No idea whatever happened to the owners but the packs were probably carried for many miles through the desert nights before being hastily abandoned on a road near Bisbee.  The U.S. Mexican border running east west through the desert near here is quite visible for miles & miles.  In March of this year Kelly & I drove down to visit the Texas John Slaughter  ranch right on the border.  PHOTOS FOR THAT DAY This is the area where, 'GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY' was written.'  We could see the actual border fencing stretching from horizon to horizon.   After we left the ranch we took a short half mile dirt road that headed right for the border itself.  Below are the photos of what the actual physical border looks like in this region.

 

BETWEEN MEXICO & THE U.S.	STICKING MY FOOT INTO MEXICO
LOOKING EAST	FACING WEST	WE SAW SIGNS OF ENTRY

CLICK ON THE ABOVE PHOTOS TO ENLARGE THEM

THIS IS THE AREA THAT INSPIRED STAN JONES TO WRITE THAT GREAT WESTERN SONG ‘GHOST RIDERS IN THE SKY’ ON JUNE 5TH, 1948

From time to time we get a question we don't have an answer for.  I was reminded of that when another reader inquired, 'how come you guys aren't on the HITCH ITCH site.  It's a good question & we have no idea why they won’t put us on.  I've sent them our Bayfield Bunch site 5 times over the past 3 years but we have never made their RV list.  We did finally receive an email last summer after my 5th attempt that said to contact them again when we're traveling.  I did that a couple weeks ago but we still didn't make the site.  We have many friends on Hitch Itch & some of them are not traveling at all right now but they made it on so the only thing I can figure is that for whatever reason the folks at Hitch Itch took a dislike to the Bayfield Bunch & that was that!!  I'm sure they are fine people over there but I won't be bothering them folks again.

Isn't it amazing how the weather holds us captive.  In Canada during the winter there isn't much you can do outside unless you happen to be a winter sports type person.  We did like cross country & down hill skiing for a few years but that was a long time ago & interests change.  Long days are spent inside where it's warm & comfy.  To go outside for any extended period of time is to risk various cold related illnesses, frost bite, & in some cases even death.  It is the main reason RV'ers in colder climates head south for the winter.  But, we can be held captive in the south as well.  To-day is a good example of that as we stay indoors out of the hot sun.  If we were in Canada right now we would be trapped in our house staying warm but instead right now we are trapped in our RV trying to stay cool.  D'ya suppose it's ever possible to please a human being!!  Rarely do we run the A/C but this is the third time this week we've had it on.  Am I complaining??  No, not at all........just stating some facts:))

IN THE RANCH’S CACTUS GARDEN

There was a rabies clinic this morning in the little town of Elfrida nearby & we were to take the 2 ranch dogs Gleeson & Pearce in for their shots.  Pearce jumped into the car no problem but try as we might we could not get Gleeson in.  She's a very skitterish girl & knew something was up right off the bat so headed off down by the hay barn despite being enticed with yummy treats.  We ended up just taking Pearce & the nice Vet guy shot him up in the back of the car with no problems at all.  Next Saturday we'll try again to see if we can get Gleeson to come along with us over to the small town of Hereford near Bisbee where another rabies clinic is being held.

 

SITTING WITH PEARCE BEFORE HIS RABIES SHOT TO-DAY

We are so fortunate to have real water here at the ranch.  It is pumped straight out of the ground right to the tap.  No poisonous chemicals added to destroy people's health.  Back home we used to have real water as well until the Government decided about 8 years ago to start dumping tons of chlorine into it.  I'm sure the Government has to be in bed with the major chlorine producing industry.  Every time we turn on a tap we are met with a wafting chlorine smell.  We don't like it, our house plants & outdoor gardens don't like & we won't even let our dogs drink it.  I don't wash any vehicles at home because the chlorine residue leaves white spots & streaks on everything.  I was reminded of all this when I washed the car here this morning & it dried perfectly spotless.  No poisonous chemical residues!!  Thanks Arizona:))

 

WE HAVE A CUTE LITTLE DUTCH GIRL ON THE RANCH WHO LIKES TO TAKE THE GANG FOR MORNING WALKS:))

Spent some time down around the hay bales this afternoon looking for a snake.  Ray said he saw a Gopher snake there a couple of days ago but I couldn't find anything.  I've never seen a Gopher snake so wasted about 5 minutes taking some tele-photo shots of an old twisted piece of rope the wind was moving around a bit.  The Gopher snake was probably standing behind me all the time making faces at the dumb Gringo from Canada!!  From there I moved on & took a few photos of some old farm machinery.

OLD FARM PARTS & MACHINERY

Have once again received some really nice emails from people this past week.  Some from home & some from other RV folks we've never met. I try to email everyone back but sometimes my memory plays hardball with my head & I forget about responding to everyone.  Now that the dust has settled a bit from our shotgun trip to the ranch I'm working on getting re-organized & hope to get back to folks shortly.  I always feel bad when I forget to answer someone.  Despite my blustery cursmudgeony side I do care a great deal for the folks who have taken time out of their day to email or leave comments for the Bayfield Bunch.  As all my fellow bloggers well know, if it wasn't for the positive feedback from caring people out there reading our blogs, none of us would probably be doing this anymore.  So, from the Bayfield Bunch & on behalf of all our friendly fellow blogsters..........thanks folks for giving us closet writers something to think & blog about each & every day:))

And welcome to Randall Carrier for climbing aboard as another Bayfield Bunch follower:))

THIS MORNING’S SUNRISE

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Back in the 1800s the Tates Watch Company of Massachusetts wanted to produce other products and, since they already made the cases for pocket watches, decided to market compasses for the pioneers traveling west. It turned out that although their watches were of finest quality, their compasses were so bad that people often ended up in Canada or Mexico rather than California. This, of course, is the origin of the expression, "He who has a Tates is lost!"

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