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.

TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER......THE RANCH

THE RESTORED RANCH HOUSE

We were up in good time, organized, & had the Santa Fe wheels rolling by 9:30 for Douglas Arizona & beyond. The Texas John Slaughter Ranch is 15 miles east of Douglas right on the Mexican American border. Road is paved for a few miles but then turns into dusty gravel. John Slaughter's ranch seemed a long way & it was hard to imagine people having to travel by horse & cart through the rough & tumble desert all the way to Bisbee for supplies. They sure were enduring people back in those days. THE ARTESIAN SPRING WAS DAMED TO MAKE THIS POND

Texas John Slaughter
http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/jun/papr/slath.html
http://www.thewildwest.org/cowboys-western/287/Outlaws-Lawmen-of-the-Wild-West.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Horton_Slaughter

The very first thing that impressed me as we approached the ranch was the greenery. The cottonwoods were fully dressed in their shimmering green spring leaves & I couldn't get over the acres of lush green grass. This was a true emerald green oasis in the harsh dry & sometimes bleak looking desert. John Slaughter had chosen this site to build the ranch because of the artesian wells here. He dammed up the springs & made a large pond which is now the water source for all the grass & trees. It has been so long since we have walked on green grass under big green trees & it was that which impressed me more than anything else to-day except for the farm fresh smell coming from the barn. Took me right back to my childhood with memories of barns & cattle.

BUILDING WAS ORIGINALLY THE GRAINERY BUT IS NOW A MUSEUM

We were very fortunate to be the only ones there for awhile & it made touring the quiet old ranch house a nicer experience. There are many photographs on all the walls from the life & times of the folks who lived there. The buildings & grounds have been completely & lovingly restored. From the house we walked out around the big pond, under the large cottonwoods to a series of steps leading up to Mesa de la Avanzada. This was the site of the old cavalry encampment just east of the ranch where soldiers watched as Pancho Villa's army made camp before turning to attack Agua Prieta south of Douglas Arizona. This army camp was strategically positioned on this mesa with a clear view to the south for many miles into Mexico. Not much left of the fort anymore except piles of old stone walls. Geronimo, years earlier had used this same valley to travel from the Sierra Madre mountains up into the United States on his raiding parties. THE LAST OLD ORIGINAL BORDER MARKER BETWEEN MEXICO & THE UNITED STATES

Back in December a rare Blue Mockingbird was sighted at the Slaughter ranch & since then thousands of birdwatchers have been pouring into area for a glimpse of the bird. I think we were the only people on the property to-day who were not bird watchers. I saw some pretty fancy cameras & long powerful lenses as people ambled around the grounds searching for the Mockingbird. And then we heard shouts of, "there it is, there it is!!" Walked over to a group of people with binoculars & cameras snapping away at a grove of bare trees & had us a look. Could hardly see the dark colored bird in the branches of the dark colored tree but I finally saw some movement & started firing away with my little 200mm lens. It wasn't until I got home & severally cropped the pictures that I was actually able to pull something resembling a bird out of the photo. You can see my poor results in to-day's web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ The bird people were sure excited though. From there we strolled around the grounds & I stopped to have a nice little chat with some horses. They sure were friendly. In the meantime Kelly got a ride in the staff golf cart to where our car was parked up the hill from the ranch because by this time my hip & right leg were so painful I couldn't make it any further. She brought the car down & picked me up. LOOKING EAST ALONG THE THE BORDER BARRIER

From the ranch we traveled a short distance to a spot one of the staff had told us about where the last old original border marker between the countries of Mexico & the United States was located. Those markers used to be placed a mile apart. A sign said to keep out of the area but Kelly made me drive down the road to the border wall anyway. Those photos are also in the web album. It is mind boggling to think how these Mexican people come through these fences & over these walls & then have hundreds of treacherous & unknown miles & dangers ahead of them. And all they have are what they can carry on their backs. We recently found two backpacks alongside the road near McNeal fully loaded with food & I could hardly lift the one pack because it was so heavy. Can't imagine carrying that on your back in the dead of night through endless miles of unknown desert. The determination of these people is nothing short of totally incredible.AL IS IN NO MAN'S LAND BETWEEN MEXICO ON THE LEFT & AMERICA ON THE RIGHT

We were back in Douglas by 2 & Kelly picked up a few groceries at Wally-World. The pain in my lower back, hip & leg was too much & I didn't get too far in the store. Made it back to the ranch OK so guess I'll have to just back off the hiking & traveling for a few days until this problem corrects itself. Feels like it's probably a pinched nerve because I can feel numbness down my thigh to my knee sometimes. Guess it's just the price you pay for pushing the aging body a little too hard sometimes. But hey, that's what life is all about & I wouldn't want it any other way.............................:)) ANOTHER FINE END TO ANOTHER FINE DAY

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