TODAY WE DROPPED IN TO SEE……'WANDERWOLF’

(This is Saturday’s post)
I do not have to tell you it was another beautiful desert sunrise.  Some things are just a given:))

SUNRISE BEHIND THE MIGHTY AJO MOUNTAIN RANGE
Had us a whole boat load of laundry to do so loaded up the Jeep and headed the 6 minutes into Ajo.  Kelly remembered where the Laundromat was from a few years ago so it wasn’t long and we had things all sudsy and tumbly.  Slipped down the road to the big Shell station on the curve where they have a nice car wash.  The Jeep was covered in road grime from our Ontario trip down here so figured it was best to get that stuff off.  Besides, I wanted to have the Jeep nice and shiny for our return trip to the Motor Home on a very dusty road:))
 
WE ARE SURROUNDED BY SAGUARO CACTUS
From the gas station it was over to the Circle K store where we knew there was an outside tap on the building.  Filled up our water jugs with about 20 gallons of water.  This way it extends our stays in the desert.  A quick stop at the laundromat to switch the clothes from washers to dryers.  Across the street to Radio Shack we did go to get a power cord for our Cradlepoint Router.  Next came the grocery store and a quick stop for AL at a local Sub shop for eats.  And, then we went to visit somebody:))

Some fellow RV bloggers know Mike from his WANDERWOLF blog.  Good friend of FROGGI DONNA.  TIOGA GEORGE has dropped in to see Mike a couple times.  We were familiar with Mike’s blog, MEANDERINGS OF WONDERWOLF and the last time we were here we looked him up just as he was just getting his studio off the ground back in 07.  Mike is a very talented artist/painter/sculptor fellow who lives at his ‘Lizard Flats’ on 920 Rocalla.   Mike’s artwork hangs on many people’s walls and anyone in Ajo seeing some of the large building murals will be seeing much of Mike’s work.  He’s a friendly kind of a guy and another one of those southwest ‘characters’ you hear me talk about some times.  If your in Ajo you can find Mike, his art, and his playful tiny dog, ‘Little Bit’ alive and well at his quaint and artsy ‘Lonewolf’ studio.  Look for the big Lizard on the front of his building and the artworks in his yard.  Tell him the Bayfield Bunch sent ya:))

MIKE’S GROOVY RV HASN’T MOVED FOR A FEW YEARS BUT HE’S THINKING ABOUT IT…….
 
MIKE AND HIS LONEWOLF STUDIO AT LIZARD FLATS
Mike also gave us a smokin hot tip on another boondocking area close by with a giant Saguaro forest, rock arches and towering Chollas.  Might be a stronger Verizon connection there.  We’ll check it out later.

SOME MIGHTY FIERCE LOOKING SECURITY HERE AT OUR RIG

AND, SHE’S GOT BACK-UP TOO!!
We are having great difficulty where we are with a slow and sometimes non existent Verizon connection.  It fades in and out plus Kelly doesn’t have a phone connection.  It took my blog hours to publish last night and I actually fell asleep while it was doing so.  It timed out twice and the last time I hit ‘Publish’ at 4 a.m this morning it finally finished uploading.
   
A mutual friend of ours and LAURIE AND ODEL has just put her southeastern Arizona ranch up for sale.  Rosanna and her Mother, Carol from PAWS AND HOOVES ( can’t access link due to bad connection) have bought a little house near Placerville California.  I am quoting the following from Laurie’s post this morning in regards to the ranch sale just in case there is anyone out here interested in a fine little ranch just west of the Chiricahua Mountains near Sunizona.  “To Quote Laurie: Anyone looking for a horse property in SE Arizona (Cochise County)? Rosanna’s home is new-ish (15 years, maybe?), 3 bedrooms, two bathrooms, nice big kitchen. Lots of windows. BIG barn, corrals of various sizes. A good well. A big, outdoor, clay oven! A level site for a large RV with a 30 amp hookup and water. The acreage is completely fenced and gated. A covered carport - two, I think. Good horse riding in the area – John and Brenda took their horses over to Council Rocks in the Dragoons a couple of weeks ago”. Unquote:  Depending on our travel plans we may end up at Paws and Hooves in the new year sometime to possibly help the folks out a bit. 

RECENT RAINS HAVE REALLY GREENED UP THE OCOTILLO PLANTS 
Later in the afternoon after realizing the Verizon power cord we bought today wasn’t going to solve our problems we decided to check out the area Mike had told us about.  Hopped into the Jeep and found the dirt road off the nearby highway OK.  Headed out into the desert but after going about a mile on a bumpy, uneven road and fording a few small muddy water bogs we decided it was not suitable to bring the Motor Home out there.  Turned back and headed for the rig.  Ok, option B.

Another outside BBQ under a setting desert sun.  Kelly noticed how pretty the moon and planet Venus looked in the west and I was able to crack off a photo before the light was gone.  Tried taking a few hand held photos later but the shutter speeds were too low.  Took advantage of that and created a few moon and planet abstracts.  Tomorrow night I will set up my tripod and try for some nice clear crisp photos of the Moon and Venus.

LOOK CAREFULLY TO TOP CENTER FOR THE NEW MOON THEN LOOK LEFT FOR THE HARD TO SEE PLANET VENUS
Blog is going to be late again tonight because I cannot get a connection….:((

IN THESE MOON ABSTRACTS THE SMALL BRIGHTER LINES ARE VENUS TO THE LEFT WHILE THE LARGER YELLOW ON RIGHT IS THE MOON:))
GROANER’S CORNER:((  A tourist is sport-fishing off the Florida coast when his boat capsizes. He can swim, but he is so afraid of alligators that he clings to the overturned craft.  Spotting an old beachcomber standing on the shore, the tourist shouts, Are there any gators around here? Naw, the man hollers back, they ain’t been around for years.  The tourist breathes a sigh of relief and starts swimming leisurely toward the shore. As he nears the beach, he yells to the man, How did you get rid of the gators?
We didn’t do nothin, the beachcomber says…………….the sharks got em.

YABBA DABBA DOOOOOOOO:))

WE ARE ON THE STARTING LINE & READY TO RUMBLE........ARIZONA HERE WE COME:))

The day before we headed south last year it was a miserable wet, windy, & cold rain soaked day.  To-day was a repeat performance as I hooked the car up to the motorhome in the rain.  The last time I hitched the car up was around March 23rd of this year when we left the ranch near Douglas, Arizona.  I surprised myself by remembering how to do it without having to get in a big snit with my myself.  We have the rig parked on the road in front of our driveway now & plan to roll out as early as we can in the morning.  Probably won't sleep good to-night so I have a feeling it will be an early start.  There will be no excitement or smiles on our faces until we clear the border!!!!

KELLY PACKING AWAY SOME KITCHEN THINGS

Wow, sure is a big stampede going on in the blogging world with the release of Windows 7 this week.  Blog after blog I'm reading are talking about it.  Some folks have Win 7 on order while others are going the upgrade route.  A friend of mine (Gary) in Bayfield emailed the other night saying he just got a new laptop with Win 7 installed.  From the early reports it looks like it's going to be a great program.  We had talked about it a few months ago but will wait until next year before deciding on a new puter.  Our AMD desktop running XP is about 4 years old while our Toshiba, also with XP is a little over 3 years old.  So far they are both performing fine & we'd like to get a few more miles out of them.  One of the big mistakes I made when we went from Windows 98 to XP was in trying to turn XP back into Win 98.  I think we have a habit of routines & sometimes we try to resist the change by clinging to old habits.  I did manage to mess it up pretty good & a techie guy had to straighten it out for me.  Kelly then straightened me out right quick & we've all been one big happy family ever since.

In a matter of hours our sticks & bricks life of the past 7 months will literally change overnight to our five & a half month life on the road with over half that time boondocking somewhere in the deserts of Arizona & California.  And with this overnight change to-night comes the re-learning curve.  Everything is different.  Gotta figure out the rig's TV remote again plus this year we'll have Star Choice.  Haven't driven anything 53' long since last March.  That length includes the car. 

Water will take on new importance as will gasoline & propane,  Solar panels, inverters, & batteries will once again enter our daily vocabulary.  My nightly sleeping arrangement will go from a spacious double bed in my very own room here at home to a single bed in the front of the coach with 3 dogs all piled up around me.  Kelly has the spacious & quiet luxury of the big bedroom in the back of the coach.  So, am I complaining....no sireeeeeee.  Us old dogs gotta stick to-gether!! 

I'm going to miss my hot lobster showers every single morning after we leave too.  I am already missing my big recliner, stereo, big TV, double bed, comfy cozy computer room with stereo sub woofer computer sound, & bigger kitchen conveniences.  Is this stuff enough to stay home for??  No way Jose but I'm going to miss them all anyway & even though I love traveling I'm already looking forward to coming home at the end of the long dusty journey & ka-flopping into my big old comfy chair again:))

LOADING SOME FINAL THINGS

Noticed TIOGA GEORGE  stopped in to see WANDERWOLF in Ajo, Arizona to-day.  We popped into to see Mike, his rig Wanderwolf, & his dog, Little Bit, last December when we were passing through the neighborhood as well.  You can read our blog about that meeting HERE.  Tioga George is on his way from Mexico to California at the moment to get his Datastorm system fixed.  I blogged about Tioga George about a month or so ago.  Wished I had some kind of quick reference system here for finding things in previous posts.  Tioga George just past the 4 million visitors to his site mark about a week ago.  I think he has the largest following of all RV folks on the road to-day.  Maybe one day the Bayfield Bunch will get to meet Tioga George:))  WANDERING WILLY once met him.

  I THINK THE DOGGY GUYS KNOW SOMETHING IS UP

Well, time to call it day & this will be the last post from this computer here at home for awhile.  Hopefully I'll be back to-morrow night from somewhere north of Indianapolis.  Wish us luck at the border & when you hear that whoosh of air go over your head sometime in the morning it's just the Bayfield Bunch letting out a big huge sigh of relief as we finally clear the border.   And if you see something sparkle in the sky it's just the sun's reflection off our big toothy Cheshire grins as we point our faces into the wind, put the hammer down, & head off for the sunny southwest...............10-4:))

And Sandra & Gordon.....hope you can still get things worked out & are not too far behind us.................

GROANER'S CORNER:((  What lies at the bottom of the ocean and twitches?   A nervous wreck.

FACEBOOK READERS GO HERE FOR OUR ACTUAL BLOGGER WEBSITE WITH PHOTOS & MORE INFO:)) 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.

TO-DAY WE MET THE WANDERWOLF & LITTLE BIT

DESERT MOONRISE AT PAINTED ROCK, ARIZONA

Neither Kelly or I are very good at good-byes & this morning (Thursday) was no exception as we quietly slipped out of the Hickiwan Trails RV Park & headed west. Good-byes always seem so final or something. I have always tried to avoid that good-bye syndrome simply by kind of vanishing into the woodwork, disappearing around a corner, or just quietly slipping on down the road, so for the friends we left behind at Hickiwan Trails this morning, let me just say........see ya later guys, & thanks for your hospitality:)) IT'S AL UPLOADING THE BLOG THURSDAY MORNING AT HICKIWAN TRAILS

We spend a fair amount of time with our computer both at home & here, keeping in touch with fellow travelers & reading RV forums & blogs. Every once & awhile we are actually able to meet some of the people we have been in contact with over the past months or years. And so, as we rolled into Ajo Arizona this morning on our way to Gila Bend we were able to hook-up with & meet a fellow RV'er & blogger who goes by the name of Wanderwolf. Wanderwolf's name is Mike & Mike's rig is called, Wanderwolf. And Mike's tiny dog is called, Little Bit. Mike & Little Bit live in Wanderwolf. Mike is a superb artist working in oils & acrylics. His beautiful works hang in an Artist's Studio Gallery in downtown Ajo & he has just lucked into a great little studio deal of his own & is busy renovating & re-doing an older building on Racolla Street. Mike took some time out of his day to proudly show us his Wanderwolf rig which is also a complete work of art in itself. Nice fellow & I will put some more photos in the next photo album of Little Bit, Mike, & the Wanderwolf. Mike's website....http://wanderwolfandi.blogspot.com/2008/12/original-virsus-copies.html THIS IS THE WANDERWOLF

INSIDE THE WANDERWOLF IS WHERE MIKE LIVES & DOES HIS PAINTINGS

Some fellow RV'ers at Hickiwan Trails had told us of a place northwest of Gila Bend called, Painted Rock. No electricity or water so we knew that also meant, basically no people. Our kind of spot for sure & as we rolled west of Gila Bend & then 12 miles north up to Painted Rock, we weren't disappointed. Probably 30 or 40 sites here but only about 8 rigs scattered over a wide area. No problem for us to find a nice level spot with our nearest neighbor about a quarter mile away. It was about 2 in the afternoon & the temperature was sitting at 80F with a light breeze. Didn't take us long to get the lawn chairs out & for the first time since leaving home in Bayfield, we both felt at ease & comfortable with our surroundings. Didn't have to worry about the dogs bothering or upsetting people or people bothering or upsetting us. Not a human sound anywhere, just the breeze in the creosote shrubs. The dogs were free to run & play. And, so were we.....at last. MIKE IS HOLDING HIS DOG....LITTLE BIT

We had picked up a Verizon internet signal about 20 miles north of Ajo to-day & had the computer logged on almost all the way to our destination of Painted Rock. But, just about a mile short of the campsite we lost the signal. So near, yet so far. Had that signal hung on for us we would probably have stayed here for another 2 or 3 days but we'll be leaving to-morrow & heading for some more BLM lands just north of Yuma that we have heard about & hopefully we'll find us a Verizon signal there. When we leave in the morning & re-gain our Verizon internet signal we'll pull over somewhere & I'll update the blog with this post. I have another photo album ready to go as well but that will depend on how good a connection we can get before I try the photo upload. CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AJO, ARIZONA

Anyway, it was a good day, ending with a nice moonrise, a campfire, & a nice sunset........................ And the doggy guys loved it too:))

OUR FIRST DESERT CAMPFIRE

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

UPDATE...FRIDAY MORNING DEC. 12

About 4 miles south of painted rock where we have regained our Verizon signal so have pulled over & are checking email, updating the blog & putting up another photo album. It's a cloudy cool morning. Will include this mornings petroglyph photos to to-day's album later to-day if we find a Verizon connection somewhere northeast of Yuma around Mitry Lake.