DO WE HAVE ANY 'RANCH SITTERS' OUT HERE IN RV BLOG LAND:))

FULL MOON RISING OVER THE SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS AT THE RANCH IN DEC. 09 (700mm telescope lens)

Anyone following our blog knows that we have spent the last 4 winters traveling around the American Southwest.  You will also know that we have spent some time 'ranch sitting' the past couple years as well.  When we leave Bayfield in late October we will once again head straight for the ranch which is located in Arizona's southeast corner near McNeal, Douglas & Bisbee.  Unlike last winter, we have decided to spend less time at the ranch this year & more time traveling.  We will be there from the beginning of November until mid December.

STORM CLOUDS OVER THE RANCH HOUSE

The owners of the ranch, J & R are also RV folks & again this year would like to spend the winter months doing some traveling of their own .  Another RV couple is going to take over the ranch sitting job from us from mid December to mid January.  A third RV couple & friends of ours will take over sometime in January & will stay for awhile but not sure how long yet.  That will leave part of February & all of March available.

OUR FULL HOOK-UP SITE AT THE RANCH

Workampers will probably not be interested in this because it is not a paying job. You do have full hook-ups & the security of a locked gate & a very large area with coyote proof fencing so it's a great safety factor if you have pets.  The ranch is an excellent home base for day trips in this historical southeast corner of Arizona.  Thousands of Sand Hill Cranes fly directly over the ranch every single day.  Their roosting area is only one mile south of the ranch at the, WHITEWATER DRAW WILDLIFE AREA

SUNSET ON THE PORCH

It is imperative that you understand, care for & love animals.  The ranch has about a dozen frisky chickens, 3 clever donkeys, 2 new cows, two lovable dogs (Pearce & Gleason) & Charlie the cat to look after.  The gang has to be fed twice a day & the 3 or 4 chicken eggs have to be gathered daily.  And, you will be required to milk the chickens every Saturday morning before breakfast:))

DRAGOON MOUNTAINS NORTHWEST OF THE RANCH

Douglas & Bisbee are only about a 20-25 minute drive away.  Tombstone is about a 40 minute drive & Sierra Vista is just another 15 minutes on the other side of Tombstone.  The ranch is located in the Sulphur Springs Valley & surrounded by the Dragoon, Chiricahua, Swiss Helm & Mule mountains.  And, if you haven't been to Bisbee Arizona yet, you are in for an alpine treat in an old mountain mining town.  For many photos of the ranch & surrounding area attractions just check our archives for Feb-March 2009 & again from November 09 to just about the end of January 2010.  Or, check our PICASA PHOTO ALBUMS for those same dates.

3 OF THE RANCH'S DESPERADOS'....SARAH, NELLIE & PONCHO

So, if anyone is interested in 'ranch sitting' for a spell in February & March, just let us know & we'll forward your interest to the folks at the ranch.  Preference will probably be given to anyone on our blog list that we know or have been in email contact with for awhile.  Just a little something for you Buckaroo RV'ers to think about:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED...................
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair..
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

Until one has loved an Animal, part of their soul remains un-awakened.

OUR BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

AL'S SMUG MUG PHOTO GALLERY http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/

It is not the concept of God I have a problem with.....it's his fan club that causes me grievous concern:((

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

THE EXCITEMENT OF STARTING OUT

BOONDOCKED IN THE AJO HIGHLANDS, ARIZONA

It is always nice to come across new RV folks just starting out because it brings back great feelings of excitement & anticipation of our own early RV days.  Check out Janie & John's FLAMINGO ON A STICK .

BOONDOCKED NEAR WHY, ARIZONA

Looking back I would say those early days of shopping for an RV both online & on RV lots were some of the most exciting new days we have had as RV'ers.  Comparing notes with other RV folks & faithfully reading everything we could find in the RV NET FORUM.  Travel trailers, Class C's, truck campers, 5th wheels, Class B's & Motorhomes.  So much to choose from & so many questions to be asked & answered.  So many decisions to make.  Throw in a healthy serving of tension, stress, plus anxiety, and you have a really great mix of genuine apprehensive excitement.   It's a unique kind of excitement & I remember that stomach turning stuff well.  We didn't always make the right decisions & I'm sure we probably have a few more wrong decisions ahead of us but we have managed to get ourselves on the road every winter for the last 5 out of 6 years & with a bit of luck we'll be back on the road this coming September or October again.

BOONDOCKED IN SLAB CITY, CALIFORNIA

Cloudy cool day so most of my time was spent inside getting my little used SMUG MUG photo account organized.  A long, long, way to go but I did get a good start on it today.  Have had this account for about 3 years so it's about time I used it's great photo galleries.  Sure is nice sorting photos on a nice big new 20" monitor.  Great colors & great detail.

BOONDOCKED AT THE CLARK DRY LAKE BED ALONGSIDE ROCK HOUSE ROAD IN BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA (no, we didn't build that earth oven)

MOTTY & PATTI got themselves a bigger & better truck plus a newer & smaller dog & I'm assuming RICK & RICK & PAULETTE arrived safely home today in Cowichan Bay on British Columbia's Vancouver Island.  Just two more examples of excited RV folks.  Different degrees of excitement maybe but excitement just the same. 

BOONDOCKED NEAR TOMBSTONE, ARIZONA

I had run the generator in the motorhome a couple of days ago & after a few minutes it quit.  A quick look at the gas guage in the motorhome showed the needle on a quarter tank so knew that's why the genny quit.  Off to Goderich yesterday for $75 worth of gas.  Yep, that was good enough to get the generator up & running again.

BOONDOCKED IN QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA

GROANER'S CORNER:(( 

GAMES FOR WHEN WE ARE OLDER

1. Sag, you're It. 
2 . 20 questions shouted into your good ear.
3. Kick the bucket
4. Musical recliners.
5. Simon says something incoherent.
6. Pin the Toupee on the bald guy.

And another sign of getting old is when you don't care where your spouse goes, just as long as you don't have to go along.

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

AN ONTARIO SPRING LIKE DAY IN ARIZONA

OK BIG GUY LET’S TALK…………..

It felt like a refreshing Ontario spring day in Arizona's Sulphur Springs Valley this morning.  Just one of those feeling fine days with birds filling the air with happy songs. I often wonder where birds go on rainy days.

SNOW COVERED SAN JOSE/NACO PEAK……………… IN MEXICO

We took a techno break today.  No Delorme GPS or Win 7 stuff.  It was time to let the brain swelling go down & just do some simple domestic stuff.  Kelly was off to her last Yoga class & I busied myself with a shovel & bucket removing all the mud from the motorhome's interior.  Had the vacuum working overtime & shook out all the mats.  Even managed to get the ATV stuck in the mud down near the hay enclosure & had to round up a couple boards to place under the wheels for traction.  By the time I had the ATV unstuck I had about as much mud on me as the ATV did so I first hosed down the ATV & then hosed down myself in the shower.  All & all, a great Ontario spring like morning:))

                            

AWWWWWWW NUTS!!!!!!!!

We plan to leave Sunday morning so it was a busy day getting things stowed away & secured.  Windshield sunscreens to come down, a big patio mat to be hosed off & dried before storage.  Another tire pressure check & outside patio furniture to be cleaned.  Bar-b-que away, tow hitch greased, & coach batteries checked.  Nice feeling to be scurrying around knowing we'll be back on the road shortly.

SURE GOT A BIG PILE OF MUD OUT OF THE MOTORHOME THIS MORNING

A lot of cars coming & going to the Whitewater Draw today with convoys of 4 & 5 cars in some groups.  I was just on my way over to milk the chickens when a small brown car came slowly into the driveway.  Figured it was one of the birders coming in to ask if we had seen the elusive & very rare fuscia feathered Abyssinian Asscratcher that was reported in the area again a few days ago.  But, something looked a bit familiar about this car.  Turns out it was JERRY & SUZI from Benson dropping in to say hello.  They had been to Sierra Vista & thought they would slip over to say goodbye to the Bayfield Bunch before we left the area.  Nice to see them & we had us a chin wag for about half an hour.  Suzi is doing really well since her shoulder surgery back in December & will soon be trying out for the Harlem Globe Trotters.  We're hoping to meet up with them again over in California somewhere when we track down RICK & PAULETTE.

View Full Album

A few days ago when we slipped over to Sierra Vista we went through Tombstone & I cracked off a few pics driving past on the highway.  Not the best pics but noticed a fair few people clicked on them to have a look.  We first spent some time in Tombstone in December of 06 & you can see some much better pictures here at TOMBSTONE 1.  In the spring of this year we were there again & you can see those photos at TOMBSTONE 2 by scrolling to the bottom of the photo album.

                                    

CLOUD PATTERNS                                                 A FACE IN THE CLOUDS

In RICK'S blog this morning he posted about visiting Slab City near Nyland California Thursday.  We spent a few days at the 'Slabs' two winter's ago while having our solar system installed on the rig by Solar Mike who we think is the best Solar installer in the business.  If you have ever wondered what the Slabs look like or have ever heard of Leonard Knight's Salvation Mountain you can see our stay at the Slabs here..........

 

BUSY PACKING UP

SLAB 1 & SLAB 2 & SLAB 3.  We may stop at the Slabs again on our way west shortly & have Solar Mike check our system over to make sure we have been doing things right these past couple years. 

Well it's 7 P.M. & it's raining again.  Jerry phoned from Benson wondering if we could see the full Moon beside Mars in the Eastern sky.  Slipped outside but we are under a solid cloud cover here in McNeal.  Too bad because Mars & the Moon side by each would have made a good photo.  Maybe I can catch them tomorrow night although the positions won't exactly be the same.  We brought ranch dogs Gleason & Pearce in out of the rain & they are 2 very happy guys right now all stretched out in our warm, dry, & cozy motorhome.  Yep, there's a gonna be a lot of contented doggy snoring again tonight & that makes me a happy contented guy myself:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  My mind works like lightning,...........one brilliant 'Flash' and it is gone!!

FACEBOOK READERS GO HERE TO SEE OUR ACTUAL WEBSITE COMPLETE WITH PHOTOS & MORE INFO.

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.

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH IS ABOUT TO MEET…..WINDOWS 7:))

A FROSTY MORNING AWHILE BACK

The morning dawned cloudy but at least we remained above freezing through the night & anything above freezing is a bonus.  The day later turned into one of the finest days we've had here in the Sulphur Springs Valley for quite awhile.  Sunny & warm:))

ON THE CHARLESTON ROAD FROM TOMBSTONE  TO SIERRA VISTA WITH THE SNOWY TOPPED HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS ON THE HORIZON

This morning our laptop computer presented us with a blue screen.  Not good!!!!  We bought our current Toshiba laptop back in September of 2006 from a Future Shop store in London, Ontario.  Despite me dropping the computer on the kitchen floor less than 48 hours after we brought it home our Toshiba has performed flawlessly for most of the past three & a half years.  In the past 3 months it has occasionally seized up, etc.  Lately it has refused to shut down a few times, seized more often & this morning it presented us with a blue screen saying, 'Checking file systems.'  We managed to work through that but other problems occurred.  Kelly read up on the start up blue screen malfunction  & it said the problem could be the beginning of a deteriorating hard drive.  For awhile now we felt our computer was becoming a bit unstable & last fall we had talked about some of the computer problems & done a bit of research on new laptops just in case.  After the blue screen this morning we decided it was time to make a decision.  Could we afford another laptop.......'of course not!!'  Could we afford to take a chance on losing our stuff......an even bigger 'of course not!!'  Do we have things backed up......yes & no.  We do have an external hard drive with a lot of stuff backed up but we felt this was as good a time as any to move into Microsoft's new operating system.....Windows 7.  I have a huge load of high resolution photographs so felt it was time we had a more stable platform with greater power & much bigger memory capabilities.

 

A FEW QUICK PICS WHILE ROLLING THROUGH TOMBSTONE ON THE WAY TO SIERRA VISTA THIS MORNING

Kelly had previously done a lot of research on many brands of laptops & read all the reviews.  Because of our trouble free Toshiba plus the fact that they are reportedly better built laptops than many of their competitors we decided to stay with Toshiba.  After comparing our needs to what the various models were offering we decided on a Toshiba Satellite A 505 S6005  We also paid a bit extra to have it optimized which means the Geek Squad at Best Buy had already removed all the junk stuff that comes with new computers.  The recovery discs are already done & all that has probably saved us about 4 hours of trying to un-install all the junk ourselves.  The computer comes out of the box 'clean' & that was well worth the extra $60 to have that mess taken care of!!  Laurie from SEMI TRUE TALES recently purchased basically the same computer.  Laurie is a pretty smart gal & we knew she had done her research as well so felt comfortable knowing she also felt the Toshiba Satellite was a good buy.

 

IN SIERRA VISTA’S BEST BUY LOOKING OVER THE COMPUTERS

We have the computer home but not out of the box yet so am looking forward to having a look at this new Windows 7 everybody is talking about.  We will copy & transfer all our important stuff from this computer to the new one & that will give us a complete back up operating system.  Probably will continue using this one as long as it remains stable & so far today it has been running fine again. 

WHAT A COUPLE OF BUMS

From Best Buy in Sierra Vista this afternoon it was over to 'Jack-in-the-Box' for a production line burger.  Ho-hum!!  Next was Lowes for a few things, Wal-Mart for some motor oil, & Fry's for groceries.  By the time we got to Frys my patience was totally fried so I stayed in the car to guard our new laptop:))  Sierra Vista is a nice city & if I was forced (and I would have to be forced) to live in a city I think this one would be as good as any.  Located right at the foot of the scenic Huachuca mountain range this place has all the amenities plus it's picturesque location is only minutes away from mountain or desert wilderness.  It's a small city with an even smaller local town feel.  As I sat in the parking lot outside Frys I could look up at the looming mountains only a few miles away & see the warming sun glinting off the snowy slopes.  Reminded me of years ago when I did some downhill skiing & how beautiful the snow looked on the tree lined hills.  Today reminded me of the last time I swooshed my way down a long & fast hill on a fine sunny & warm spring day west of Toronto Ontario.  Yep, I think this Sierra Vista town is just about as good a place to be as any.

Motty & Patti are heading for El Paso in the morning so I hope we’ll see them again out here somewhere  on the highways & bi-ways of the wild & wooly west.  Ok, see ya later guys:))

We made some more progress on our new Delorme GPS unit today, or I guess I should say Kelly has.  We took it along to Sierra Vista this morning & Kelly was able to do some reading in the GPS manual & figure a few more things out.  We're slowly getting there.  I tried making a phone call with it this morning & was having a great conversation with something until Kelly told me it wasn't a cell phone & could not be used as one!!  Oh well, like I said.......I'm not the brightest crayon in the package:))

“HELLO HELLO”…… CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW??

Well, I'm gonna wind this up, go get a crowbar & see if I can pry that new computer out of it's box & see if I can find the 'Start' button.  Maybe I can even tune in an old frumpy Star Trek episode or something.  Or was that on television years ago.  Oh well, here I go, wish me luck........................:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Old age is when former classmates are so gray, wrinkled, and bald, they don't recognize you anymore.

FACEBOOK READERS GO HERE TO SEE OUR ACTUAL WEBSITE COMPLETE WITH PHOTOS & MORE INFO.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

TOMBSTONE TO PEARCE THROUGH THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS

 

NEW YEAR’S EVE FULL MOON ………………from the ranch:))

No frost on anything this morning so I was outside at dawn running around in my pajamas taking some photos of the Moon setting in the west somewhere over in the direction of Tombstone.

 

THE MOON SETTING IN THE WEST THIS MORNING

Kelly had an exercise class at 9 so we loaded the computer in the car & off we went.  While Kelly was pumping iron I uploaded a bunch of updates that we had been getting behind on because of our Verizon megabyte limit.  What a big pain in the assparagus that Verizon 5 Gig cap is!!!!

From the Elfrida library we headed up the highway & turned west heading for the little old ghost town of Gleeson.  We had never traveled the dirt road from Gleeson to Tombstone before so figured to-day was a good day to do that.  Always so nice to see new scenery.  Rolled right through Tombstone & headed north a couple miles before turning east onto the rough & washboardy MIDDLEMARCH ROAD.  Our destination was another little ghost town on the other side of the DRAGOON MOUNTAINS.  Wanted to see the route Tombstone residents took over a hundred years ago to Pearce after gold was discovered there.

The Dragoon mountains ahead of us stood majestically in the high noon sun & I was reminded of our hike to the COCHISE STRONGHOLD this past March from the east side of the mountains.  (OUR COCHISE STRONGHOLD PHOTOS)  The Dragoons ahead marked the very spot where Cochise's many Apache lookouts took up posts on high rocks scanning the valley we were currently driving through.  Troops from Fort Huachuca on the west side of the San Pedro valley would set out across the desert floor in force to chase Cochise & his men down.  The Indians could see the troops coming for miles & miles & always had the advantage in any battles that took place & Cochise was never captured.  Thought about all that as we approached the natural rugged mountain fortress ahead.

 

Turned off the Middlemarch Road onto a smaller dirt road & headed north past a sign saying, Coronado Forest.  Road was a bit rough for a short distance then smoothed out reasonably well.  We had gained some altitude so Agave, Yucca, Prickly Pear began appearing along with a lot of trees that we couldn't identify.  These trees stand about 15 feet high with a spreading canopy but we just don't know what they are.  Alongside the road we saw campfire rings where people have pulled in & set up camp.  Saw a windmill slowly turning in the breeze amongst a cluster of trees.  A road led in that direction so we followed it stopping to take some windmill photos.  A cluster of tents marked the end of that road but we didn't see anyone around.  Could have been a group of rock climbers.  We backtracked to the main dirt road & headed a little further north before taking another road which led us a short distance right to the very foot of the beautiful Dragoon Mountains. 

    

CAN YOU SEE THE INDIAN HEAD PROFILE LOOKING TO THE LEFT IN THE LARGER PHOTO?

Parked the car & looked up at the large rounded rocks climbing into the sky.  It was so beautiful here that you just wanted to jump out of the car & run right up those huge boulders into the canyons beyond & the towering heights above.  It was a perfect place for rock scrambling because the rocks had a sandpapery surface & with good hiking boots the traction was phenomenal & I just felt like I could walk straight up the mountain.  Didn't take us long to scramble up a hundred feet or so just reveling in our great fortune to have found such a perfect camping spot for future days.  We could see the darkened Huachuca mountains probably 40 miles to the southwest & Bisbee's Mule mountains as many miles to the south.  Sunlight glinted off distant rooftops in Tombstone.  The towering Whetstone mountains led north to Benson which we could also see at the far end of the valley.  Beyond Benson the Rincon mountains spread across the horizon.  Just wanted to stay at this place forever.  It is days like these & places like this that remind me of how truly fortunate Kelly & I are.

We continued our journey back to Middlemarch Road & wended our way along the bumpy dirt trail winding it's way up & over the summit of Middlemarch Pass.  Patches of snow & cooler temperatures marked the highest point but overall it wasn't that high & it wasn't that cold.  Nice views of the Sulphur Springs Valley far below as we began our descent & I could see the town of Sunizona way out on the valley floor to the northeast.  Finally rolled through sleepy little Pearce east of the Dragoons around 3, picked up highway 191 & headed for home with a quick stop in Sunsites for a very late 2 o'clock coffee.   Awwwww, my kinda day:)))))))

(click on photos below for captions)

       

ALIEN DINOSAUR MOUNTAIN GOAT

Well, it's New Year's Eve & the thing I am most happiest about to-night is that I don't have to do all that silly New Year's Eve stuff anymore!!  I have now been over 30 years free from New Year's Eve's parties.........yaaaaaaay:)) 

JUST HAVING A LAZY AFTERNOON IN THE DRAGOONS

BELLE’S UPDATE

Emails have been rolling in again to-day with questions, suggestions, & offers.  We plan to go over to the Silverado Ranch in the morning & have us a sit down with Belle & talk about all the positive things that have been happening the past couple of days & her vision for the ranch.  Some decisions will have to be made & a direction forward found.  Emails have to be answered & work has to be started.  Again, Kelly & I thank everyone for their encouragement & support & I will post updates as they happen............................:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A man was telling his neighbor, "I just bought a new hearing aid. It cost me four thousand dollars, but it's state of the art. It's perfect." "Really," answered the neighbor. "What kind is it?" "Twelve thirty."

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

ALL THE BEST TO EVERYONE IN THE NEW YEAR FROM THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))