COTTONWOOD, JEROME, & MINGUS MOUNTAIN, YEP WE DID EM ALL TODAY

Took ourselves (Pheebs too) for a daytrip back to Cottonwood today for a looky-see at a few things, lunch at Randall’s, a purse swap for Kelly (orange to blue) in one of the groovy shops she was in a few days ago & a stop in mountainside Jerome for Kelly to pick up a colorful South West stylish long shirt.  I’ll see if I can get a few pics of all that tomorrow along with my Jammie Bears:))  And Chinle…..this is the link to my JAMS.

MOST PHOTOS TAKEN FROM THE DRIVER’S SEAT ROLLING THROUGH JEROME AZ TODAY

 

NOTICE THE SKULL TAIL LIGHT EYES ARE LIT IN LEFT SHADOWED PHOTO OF TRI-WHEELED MOTORCYCLE

DON’T KNOW IF THIS IS A CAR OR A MOTORCYCLE…MAYBE A CAR-O-CYCLE

 

GLAD WE HAD THE JEEP TODAY & NOT A MOTORHOME

Been a few years since we ACCIDENTALLY brought our 33’ Damon Motorhome over Mingus Mountain & through the narrow streets of Jerome & I’ve always wanted to do that drive again but from the other way heading west out of Jerome.   Today we did that.  Enjoyed the scenery unlike back in late 07 when my full concentration was concentrated on getting our rig around the tight mountain curves & hair pin turns.  That is quite an amazing drive & I have always held that one as my personal benchmark to measure other tough Motorhome mountain drives by.  Have always figured if I made it over that Mingus Mountain Jerome drive I should be able to handle most other tricky drives as well.  And that was only our second month on the road with our 33’ Damon Challenger Class A.

  

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SPOTTED THIS COUPLE A FEW DAYS AGO AT THE ‘OAK CREEK VISTA’ DOING A SELFIE

An update on what is happening in SLAB CITY at the moment can be read here at ‘LAST FREE PLACE’.  Thanks to COZYGIRL for the update:))

TRYING TO TAKE A PHOTO WITH AN IPAD….WHY WOULDN’T YA JUST USE A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT DESIGNED SPECIFICALLY FOR TAKING PICTURES….LIKE MAYBE A CAMERA!!!!

I stayed up past 10 a couple nights ago to watch Jimmy Fallons monologue.  He’s the new host of the The Tonight Show recently vacated by Jay Leno.  I lasted about 5 minutes & shut the TV off.  That ends a long running tradition for me of watching both Johnny Carson & Jay Leno’s monologues since way back in the 60’s.  It’s not that I don’t like Jimmy Fallon.  It’s just that I do not find the guy’s sense of humor…………funny.

And a surprise at the Post Office today.  Thank you so much DONNA & RUSS for what you sent us.  Beautiful, & tomorrow I am going to see if I can creatively photograph some of them & include the pics in Saturday’s post.  We will find a special place here in our South West setting to give them a home.  Thank you for thinking of us:))

I DON’T KNOW WHY I TAKE PHOTOS OF THINGS FLYING OVERHEAD LIKE PLANES, BIRDS, BALLOONS, BUGS, & HELICOPTERS, ETC BUT I JUST DO………………..

GROANER’S CORNER:(( Thanks for the Hockey pics Alice:))

WE ARE BACK TO OUR CONGRESS HOME BASE AGAIN FOR SOME R & R:))

PHEEBS WAS ANXIOUS TO GET ON THE ROAD THIS MORNING

I had a long last look across Arizona’s darkened Verde Valley early this morning.  Jerome’s twinkling diamond studded treasure chest sparkled against the blackness of Mingus Mountain.  Thanks for that Jerome & next time we’re here we are planning to come over to see you again.  It’s been awhile…………………

Well I sure got spoiled this morning.  I drove a brand spanking new Honda CRV & it floated over the bumpy roads like a Cadillac.  Make me wonder now if maybe our Jeep could use some new shocks.  No I didn’t have the Honda out for a test drive, I was actually moving it from one campsite to another campsite for someone.  Annie decided a couple days ago she would still like the site we were vacating so we were able to help her with that move this morning.  Her own Honda was in for servicing so she had a new one for a couple days.  She drove over to our site, picked me up & we went back to her site.  She fired up the big Bounder & drove it over to our site a couple miles to the north.  I followed in the smoooooth Honda CRV.   Pheebs & Jake got to race around again for a bit.  It was a few minutes before 9 when we said goodbye to Annie, wished her the best & pulled out headed for home.

ANNIE HEADS FOR HER NEW SITE

PULLING IN

   

JAKE & PHEEBS KIBBITZING

One stop for gas & coffee at McDonalds at the #17 & 260 interchange & we were on our way.  Traffic was lite.  Little bit of construction on southbound 17 & we were soon on 169 heading west through the Prescott Valley.  Nice scenic & relaxing drive around the Prescott by-pass soon had us on Iron Springs Road southbound for Skull Valley, Kirkland Junction, Peeples Valley, Yarnell, & down the Hill to our home base in Congress.  We rolled into our yard as the bell tolled high noon.

89A HEADING TOWARDS COTTONWOOD AZ

Nice to be back to our sticks & bricks & holy ker-smokes was it ever warm.  Reminded me of a nice pleasant Summer’s day back in Ontario.  As always we hit the ground running & had the rig completely emptied & everything put away in under an hour.  Couple loads of laundry, bird feeders filled, a long hot shower, & I even managed to catch my favorite Canadian half hour sit-com ‘Corner Gas’ at 2.  A bonus day & hey, no complaining from me for a change:))

 

DEFLATING THE BIG BALLOON MONDAY MORNING

We noticed right away how well our Aloe Vera plants are already growing.  Found them in a ditch a few weeks ago.  About a dozen or so.  Tall stocks with flower pods.  Hope all my Cactus plants will soon start showing signs of Spring growth as well. 

 

Saw a package leaning against the fence inside our gate.  UPS had left it there whenever & it was my new PJ’s.  I’m happy for that because my old ‘jammies’ were well beyond wearable.  But wear them anyway I did.  One set of new ‘jams’ are blue with gold teddy bears on them.  Second set are camouflage colors which I could wear to Walmart & people would think I was one of the local hunters.

 

I’LL WEAR MY ‘CAMO JAMS’ FOR STEALTHY NIGHT MANEUVERS

I usually dump the black & gray tanks soon as we get home along with checking the Jeep, Winnie’s, & generator’s oil but will do all that in the morning.  Just a little too warm for me outside today. 

SHARING A BEDTIME STORY WITH MY LITTLE PAL

Had a little chuckle at NAN'S comment on my Tuesday post when she said, “Three years ago, we were climbing up to a vista in Death Valley. A tour bus came in and a gaggle of oriental tourists got off, rapidly walked past us to the vista, snapped their photos and left without appreciating the beauty. They just wanted their photos”.  If you go back to my ‘bus photo’ in Tuesday’s post & look closely at the people you will indeed see that was an Oriental tour bus as well with folks doing just as Nan said……:))

THERE IS MORE THAN JUST ONE JEEP COMPANY DOING TOURS IN SEDONA

Slight correction to Tuesday night’s post.  Ranger at Montezuma Well said that big Sycamore Tree was the oldest tree in Arizona not the largest.  Kelly thought he said 150 years old & I thought he said 300 years old.  When we have a difference of hearing like that I have learned to defer to Kelly’s audio.  And about that green pepper Pheebs had……just about the time I snapped the photo of her laying down to eat it I thought ‘oh-oh’ could be a HOT pepper so walked over & took it away from her.  And no after effects for Pheebs after eating those 8 chocolate chip cookies a few days ago.  We kept an eye on her & she was fine.  Thanks for your concern Chinle.

And as much as we both enjoy getting away on our little adventures every 3 weeks or so we also enjoy returning to our sticks & bricks home base each time as well.  It’s almost like we have to come home for a rest & a re-charge.  When on the road we go at our day trips pretty hard sometimes & it is not unusual for me to take a couple hundred photos a day.  Soon as we get back to the rig I start right away writing my nightly post.  Then comes the editing of all my photos.  Each & every photo has to be looked at, assessed, & edited accordingly.  I enjoy this process but it takes time & it can be very tiring.  Once the post is written & the photos edited I have to put it all together in some semblance of reasonable readability.  Usually by this stage I am so tired some times the printing gets blurry, I make time wasting mistakes, & what little patience I have with myself just drains out through the bottom of my feet.  Final proof reading of the post is a chore.  By the time I hit the ‘Publish’ button it could be around 10 p.m.  Publishing times on the road can very from maybe 20 minutes to over an hour sometimes.  I have to stay awake for this because sometimes it times out & I have to re-start the post by hitting the Publish button again.  Not unusual for me to finally turn the lights out sometime after 11 & crawl up my bunk ladder to bed.  Add to this the fact I do not have a comfortable work station in the rig & you can begin to see why I sometimes look forward to coming home after just a week on the road.  I need that comfortable home time to get rested up for a few weeks before we hit the road again.  Am I complaining?  No Sireeeeee, despite the obvious & occasional difficulties I do love sharing my hobbies with everyone.  Thanks again for stopping by & making this Blog possible folks………………….:))  

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An Asian fellow has moved in next door. He has travelled the world, tried swimming with sharks, wrestled bears and climbed the highest mountains. It came as no surprise to learn his name was Bindair Dundat.

- An auto club tow truck stopped beside me at a street light today and the driver was sobbing uncontrollably. I thought to myself, "that guy's headed for a breakdown!"

- My dad worked repairing roads for the city for twenty years before he got fired for stealing! At first I didn't believe it...but when I got home all the signs were there!

- What do you call a Pope who has already resigned?
Ex-Benedict!

AFTER A RATHER EXCITING MOVE THIS MORNING WE HAD US A RATHER RELAXING AFTERNOON

(THIS IS FRIDAY’S POST)

PHEEBS NEEDED A BIG REST AFTER HER & MOM HAD TO HOLD THE FORT DOWN ALL BY THEMSELVES FOR AN HOUR THIS MORNING

Soon as the sky lightened this morning I was out looking for balloons.  No not Valentine Day balloons but big colorful hot air balloons.  And by golly I saw some.  We are kind of located in a hot air balloon alley.  The big balloons lift off in Sedona & drift lazily in the early morning’s calm air currents to the southwest.  We are actually in the hot air balloon’s landing area.  Saw 4 of them this morning with one being very close.  Hoping to have one land in our front yard while we are here.

SPOTTED THIS ONE FLOATING WEST OF US OVER NEAR CLARKDALE & COTTONWOOD

  

   

 

THREE MORE BALLOONS EAST OF US WITH 2 VERY CLOSE

  

  

I have sometimes blogged about the ‘WOW’ factor when buying an RV.  But another kind of WOW factor known to many if not all RV’ers is that special feeling one has when they reach a destination & just go ‘WOW’ is this site ever great.  Well, our spot we had wiggled in the night before did not have that WOW factor & we knew it.  And we were both a little grumpy about it so figured we had better get out & find another spot first thing this morning.  A car had rolled in late Thursday night & parked within earshot & eyesight & for us that is unacceptable.  Plus 2 vans had moved into another spot just above & there appeared what might have been some young homeless people in a tent about a hundred yards away.  No doubt about it, we had to get out of there!!!!

CATHEDRAL ROCK IN MORNINGS EARLY LIGHT

JEROME ON THE FAR SIDE OF THE VALLEY

We all 3 piled in the Jeep & headed further inland from the highway because we had heard of a couple more spots further down the road.  We did find them but one had a truck camper in it & the other was nice but too big.  Problem with big sites is other people will move in on the same spot.  I don’t think city folks are bothered about crowding like us country bumpkins are.  The road ended at what looked like a beautiful retreat or resort of some kind.  Posted as private property so we didn’t go any further.  Kelly later looked this place up on the internet & it is the Angel Valley Spiritual Retreat Center.  This is the same place 4 people died in a sweat lodge back in 2009.

 

We decided to head back across the highway & out the other way where we had been scouting around the day before.  Maybe we had missed a good spot.  We hadn’t.  Too many Goathead stickers everywhere.  We were getting a little discouraged because we didn’t know where else to search for a suitable boondocking site but we certainly did not want to stay where we were.  And then we caught ourselves a ‘big break’.   

 

We were just about back to the highway when I saw a pick-up towing a large silver horse trailer also heading for the highway.  We had just seen that same trailer parked in a really nice spot the day before.  Could this fellow be leaving?  Could the nice spot this horse trailer was in now be empty?  We quickly raced down the dusty road to the spot where we remembered seeing that horse trailer & sure enough the spot was empty.  Enter the ‘WOW’ factor.  We recognized this prime spot as one of only a scarce few along this road.  We had just caught ourselves a big break but now our problem immediately became how to hold this valued piece of dirt.  Our rig was probably a good 2 miles to the south & we knew if we left this spot to go get it somebody else could quickly grab this site.  Oh Dear what to do.  And then a solution…..sort of.

WE QUICKLY BEGIN LAYING SOME STUFF OUT

It is common practice & an unwritten understanding among Campers & RV’ers alike that if one find’s a site & leaves something on that site like a chair to reserve it until they get back, that is Okay.  However we didn’t have any chairs or coolers, etc in the Jeep.  But we did have blankets, a couple towels, a raincoat, my old shirt, a jug of water, & my Bayfield Bunch baseball cap.  We layed out the blankets & hung some stuff on a tree.  Kelly even left a note warning would be site poachers to back off or else mighty big trouble.  But in reality & being Canadians we probably would have apologized for being there first & graciously handed the site over to the invaders with a pleasant, ‘have a good day eh.’  However in the meantime we had to get back to our rig as quickly as we could to get it back out here to this great site.  Plan was for Kelly to drop me off at the rig & then high tail it back to the WOW spot with the Jeep.  I would pack up the rig & follow a bit later.  We were almost back to the highway when…..Oh Oh!!

THIS WAS WHEN WE SPOTTED THE BALLOON RETRIEVAL CREW PACKING UP 2 LANDED BALLOONS

There coming towards was big Class A with a tow car in behind & we knew instantly they were looking for a site.  I stopped the Jeep dead in her tracks.  We had to make a fast decision.  Could we trust these incoming RV folks not to grab our site despite the stuff we left on it.  Our site was like a Gold nugget lying on the desert floor & here was coming some likely Prospector hungry for a Gold find.  I quickly burned a U-turn right there on the narrow gravel road (you can do that with a 2 door Wrangler) & we headed lickity-split back towards our flat piece of dirt with the Class A for all intents & purposes hot on our tail.  We couldn’t see him for the cloud of dust we kicked up though.

WASN’T COMFORTABLE WITH THAT SHINY JEEP WE HAD LAST WEEK SO TRADED IT IN FOR THIS OLD LOOKING DUSTY ONE:))

Now here’s where a Senior moment kicked in & dominated our thought patterns all the way back to our new & precariously held patch of dirt.  How were we going to get the rig to the new site.  Figured Kelly & Pheebs would have to hold down Fort WOW while I took the Jeep back, parked it, quickly packed up Winnie & brought her right back to the new site quick as I could.  But how to get back then to pick up the Jeep.  Maybe Annie could come out & pick one of us up to return for the Jeep.  Can you see our Senior moment thinking pattern going on here?  We were both working hard to solve this seemingly unsolvable problem when all of a sudden a light bulb came on.  Thought to myself….’hey wait a minute Dummy why not just hook the Jeep back up to the rig & bring both vehicles back at the same time.  After all, you have towed the Jeep before…..right!!   Duuuuhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.  Some days I just downright scare myself.

I LEAVE TROOPERS KELLY & PHEEBS AT FORT WOW & HEAD OUT TO RETRIEVE THE RIG

I left Kelly & Pheebs at Fort WOW & headed back to our overnight campsite.  I wasn’t long in getting the rig stowed away & the Jeep hooked on.  Slipped over to Annie’s to tell her we were moving & for her to come on out & have a look at the site because I figured it was a site she might be interested in after we leave sometime next week.  I wasn’t long in getting back to the 2 intrepid Fort defenders.  Even before I got there I gave the 2 troops a couple horn blasts to let them know help was riding in over the hill.  A minute later I had the rig securely parked at Fort WOW.  Yaaaaaaay team:))

  

WHILE KELLY WAITED FOR ME TO RETURN WITH THE RIG & JEEP SHE BUILT THESE TWO GREAT LOOKING INUKSHUKS

We have ourselves a great site now with a clear field of view all around us.  And we have a tree right beside us too.  A tree is always a big contributing factor to the WOW.  We know we have a good site simply from the good feeling we get inside about it.  If it is not an ideal site we have a tendency not to put the mat & chairs out.  In fact we just don’t set up anything.  If we arrive at a new boondocking site we like we are immediately hauling out all our stuff.  Chairs, tables, mats, my camera tri-pods, me, etc. etc.  And if we put the awning out that means for sure we are really pleased with where we are & are likely to stay happily put for a bit.

While setting up we did have one short ‘OH OH’ moment though when a white car suddenly appeared turning in off the road.  I always figure the worse in these situations.  Farmer Brown coming to throw us off his land, Park Ranger saying we can’t stay here, or the FBI wanting to know why we have a black dog or something.  Turns out it was Annie & Jake.  Yaaaay team:))

ANNIE, JAKE, KELLY, & PHEEBS

 

Pheebs & Jake were happy to see each other again & we were glad Annie dropped by.  Had a little tour of Winnie The Bago & a chance to get to know Annie & Jake better.  Annie is one of those calming natural soft spoken people one takes a liking to immediately.  We all had ourselves a nice visit & Annie said she would be interested in this site when we leave.  So we’ll do that next week sometime…..

 

THAT JAKE IS A HANDSOME BOY

We have a very pleasant horse smell at our camp left by the sites previous occupier.  It is a smell we like & it takes my memory back many, many, years to when I was a small boy. 

And how nice to hear the sounds of Robins chirping in the nearby Juniper bushes & trees.  Growing up in southwestern Ontario it was always the sounds of Robins we strained to hear in early Spring.  And who would be the one lucky enough to spot the first Robin of the year.  Yes those were good old days all right……………..

Interesting post this morning from long time full-timers JO & FRED WISHNIE.  They are at a stage in their RV lives where issues have to addressed & changes have to be made.  Not an easy time as decisions do not always meet with mutual agreement.  They are in a phase all RV’ers will one day find themselves in.  Unlike much blogged about early RV dreams & travels the thoughts of winding down the lifestyle one day remains a topic often left in the closet.   Some Bloggers talk about their days coming in off the road while others just sort of disappear from the Blogging world without a murmur.  Good for you Jo & Fred in casting some thoughts & opinions on a topic important to all of us whether we like it or not.

And I see we have a couple new Blog Followers in our ‘Friends’ box. A big welcome goes out first to Pete & Maura from BUCKET LIST OR BUST TRAVELS.  Here’s a couple folks who with their dog Mutton Chops are riding out the big Atlanta storm at the moment. Welcome to our travels & it was a good time to climb aboard while we are out & about in Winnie The Bago.  Also a big Bunch welcome to Jodee from LET'S GO.  Thanks for the emails last week Jodee & am hoping you got that subscription problem ironed out.  Welcome aboard & thanks for dropping by.

Finished our day with a setting sun over Mingus Mountain casting it’s long fingers of evening light across a red rock mountain face off to our north.  In the morning we will head into Sedona & pick up some Jeep & hiking trail maps for the area & head out to see what we can see:))   

Annie sent an email tonight saying we got out of last night’s spot just in time.  A group of young tenters moved in today.  It’s the week-end so it will probably be party central there now.  We were soooooooooo lucky to catch that big break this morning…………………..

BEST I COULD CATCH WITH TONIGHT’S FULL MOON RISING BEHIND A VEIL OF CLOUDS

GROANER’S CORNER:((  You are driving in a car at a constant speed. On your left hand side there is a valley and on your right hand side there is a fire engine travelling at the same speed as you.  In front of you there is a galloping pig which is the same size as your car and you cannot overtake it. Behind you there is a helicopter flying at ground level. Both the giant pig and the helicopter are travelling at the same speed as you. What must you do to safely get out of this highly dangerous situation? ……… ‘Get off the merry-go-round Dummy’!!