LED ASTRAY IN TUCSON BY OUR GPS SYSTEM

Max had me up twice in the night & the big bad gusting winds finished me off again about 5 a.m. Repeat performance of the night before complete with black skies & rain. Temps really dropped as a cold front rolled into the area & I froze my fingers off hooking up the car. Had decided the day before to head for Hickiwan Trails RV Park this morning so by 9 o'clock we were all packed up & on the road heading west. Rains had stopped, sun came out & the winds from the northeast worked in our favor pushing us westward. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/

East of Tucson we decided to program our GPS system (Garmin Gertie) to put us on track for highway 86 leading to Why & Ajo Arizona. The road, commonly known as the Ajo Way is a quiet little 75 mile highway heading due west out of Tucson's south end. As we approached Tucson from the southeast I had a pretty good idea where the highway was but as we got into Tucson Garmin Gertie directed me into the left lane of a 6 lane highway. Too late, I saw an overhead sign saying Ajo Way....right lane!! No way I could get over because it was a heavy traffic morning. Ok, I thought, no problem, I'll just get off at the next exit & double back. Garmin Gertie in the meantime was hollering at me & calling me names for not following her directions & I was yelling back at her with even blacker names & allegations. Then, the situation got worse!! I-10 heading into Tucson suddenly turned into one big huge construction zone. ALL exits were blocked off for miles & miles, lanes narrowed to Volkswagon width with heavy construction machines everywhere. We were swept right through Tucson from the southend all the way up to the north end on the way to Phoenix. Don't know how many miles we were carried along in the narrow two lane traffic but we were finally spit out of it somewhere northbound at an unblocked exit. Think I saw a sign that said Chicago 25 miles!! Swooped off to the right & then doubled back underneath I-10, grabbed a left turn ramp & swung back up onto I-10 heading south. Figured we'd head back down to the south end of Tucson & watch for the Ajo Way sign but we didn't even get 2 miles when we got siphoned off by heavy traffic into a right hand lane onto the southbound service lanes. This was a 3 lane road with traffic lights every mile or so but at least we were still pointed in the direction of the south pole. At one of those lights I spotted an oasis ahead in the traffic chaos. Bulled our way into the right hand lane & at the next light hung a right hand turn & swooped our 53 foot length in another tight right hand turn into the back parking lot of a Dennys. It was 10:30 in the morning & I was already a half hour behind on my 10 o'clock coffee.....so just get everybody out of my way!!!!!!!!

We got ourselves some breakfast, a couple dozen cups of coffee to steel our nerves, & we were back on the road again doing battle with the Tucson morning madness. Took us another 20 minutes of hollering & hooting before we finally spotted the Ajo Way sign pointing westward. What a relief to finally see Tucson disappearing in the rear view mirrors.

And Garmin Gertie?? Well, if she survives her upcoming lobotomy & apologizes profusely 35 times in a row while plugged directly into the cigarette lighter........... I might consider mercy & a conditional pardon!!

The drive from Tucson to Hickiwan Trails in Why, Arizona is one of my favorites. It's a narrow highway but hardly any traffic & I love the desert & mountain scenery along the whole way. Kitt Peak is a high mountain to the left with it's many telescopes & observatories. I was up there one day two winters ago & spent a couple of hours walking all over the place looking at the telescopes. Like I said, this is a nice drive.

Stopped at a gas station & filled up our gas & propane tanks in preparation for boondocking in the Ajo area shortly. Kelly tried out our new Verizon air card while we were driving & we had service for about 30 miles west of Tucson but then we lost the signal & that was it. The closer we got to Hickiwan the more familiar things became as I recognized the Ajo Mountain Range & the Darby Wells peaks way off on the horizon. So many pleasant memories from the past in those areas............ & more to come.

Rolled into Hickiwan Trails around 2 P.M & it felt good to be back once again to a little piece of Arizona that we had stumbled on 3 years ago one day while wandering aimlessly westward. To-day it sort of felt like coming home to our little piece of Arizona. We were at Hickiwan Trails RV Park twice last year & the second time we were here on our way back from California we were able to set up a website for the campground. http://hickiwantrailsrvpark.com/

We always try to park our rig away from other RV's because with 3 dogs it doesn't take long for people to start complaining & throwing things at us so we found us a place on an outer corner facing our side door to the desert. The Park's Wifi signal won't reach us so I'll have to take the computer & walk over closer to the office to send the blog later to-night. Only one fuzzy television channel too but as I said, it's a remote part of the State so we just have to expect some limitations. Just happy to be here & looking forward to our morning walks in one my very much most favorite little pieces of Arizona desert:))

No photos for the web album to-day.

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

TUESDAY DEC. 10....UPDATE

We will be heading for Hickiwan Trails RV Park in Why, Arizona to-day. There is a good chance we will not be able to get a Verizon signal there because of the remote location so it may be a few days before we figure out how to get back on-line again................. A

INTO THE CAVERN & OFF TO A MONASTERY

Max got me up at 1 a.m. for a doggy wee wee & the weather had me up again around 5:30. Wind gusts were rocking the rig from side to side & at dawn's first light we could see how black the sky's were over the mountain ridge to our north. The thunder, lightning, & rain started coming down hard & then became louder as the hail began hitting the roof. I figured right away that what I was really hearing was the end of our solar panels as they were being shattered into thousands of pieces. I rushed outside & immediately noticed the hail was not the large & rock hard stuff we get in Ontario sometimes so our solar panels we're going to be ok. The storm didn't last long & the winds began to subside as the sun began breaking through the parting clouds. A rainbow appeared over to-ward the northern mountain range. All was well in paradise again:)) A RAINBOW AFTER THE STORM

By 8:30 we were scurrying quickly through the campground & across the parking lots heading for the Discovery Center & hopefully the first cave tour of the day. We made it with minutes to spare as the park ranger tour guide & his assistant were just loading 3 other people onto some little tractor pulled carts. Because no cameras are allowed in the caverns I felt I had left a part of me back in the motorhome. We were very fortunate to be part of such a small group because tour groups usually consist of 20 people. And the biggest bonus..... no screaming & hollering school bus tours. A short 3 minute uphill drive had us at the outside entrance point of Kartchner Cavern's Rotunda & Throne room. http://azstateparks.com/Parks/KACA/index.html We were given very detailed instructions on the do's & don'ts of our impending tour. They are EXTREMELY sensitive about protecting these caves from any harm or contamination of any kind. We were even instructed on how to properly carry our coats if we should decide to remove them once inside the cavern. Four heavy duty steel doors made sure outside air would never enter inside. Temperature in the area this morning was about 50F & as we entered through the last steel door the cavern temperature was 70F. Between two sets of doors we were actually sprayed with a fine mist as we walked through a section of man made tunnel. The water spray is to prevent any lint or skin particles from falling off people in the cave & contaminating the cavern. You now understand why I capitalized the word......... EXTREMELY!!

Our tour guide was an older man who has been a ranger here at the Kartchner Caverns for the past 10 years. It was very obvious he loves his job & his primary focus has been to protect these caverns. An excellent guide who explained everything with enthusiasm & dedication. The caves are beautiful & mind boggling. It was the same overwhelming feeling we experienced when we toured the Carlsbad Caverns a couple of years ago. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/THURSDAYDEC21 The Kartchner tour lasted 50 minutes & culminated in the Throne Room with the majestic 58 foot Kubla Khan column. A 5 minute light show with accompanying music rounded out the very well conducted tour. Sure wished I could have taken my camera in there................................ A PAINTING OF KUBLA KHAN

A year ago at this time while staying at Hickiwan Trails over near Why, Arizona we met another RVing couple, Bea & Herb. We met them again up in Quartzite the following month & since then have kept in touch via email & Facebook. Bea & Herb hail from Aberta , Canada & like to spend their winters traveling in the American Southwest. Our paths crossed again when we rolled into this area yesterday. Bea & Herb had stumbled across a quiet little place a few years ago that just happens to be a Monastery with full RV hook up sites. Anyone can come here regardless of religion & there is no pressure from the people living here to change anyone's religious views . The Holy Trinity Monastery is located just south of St. David, Arizona which was just a 20 minute drive from our campground at Kartchner. St. David is about 8 miles south of Benson Az. LADY OF GUADALUPE CHURCH

Nice to see Bea & Herb again & we all set off on a mile walk around the back property of the Monastery which leads through a woods alongside the San Pedro river. Stopped to look at some machinery that shakes the husks off the pecans. Pecans are a big industry in this area. Pecan orchards everywhere. The path led through some heavy thickets & open fields bringing us in a large circle back to the main part of the Monastery. Walked through the cemetery & stations of the cross area to the Lady of Guadalupe church. Always so nice to see this southwestern architecture with it's heavy use of adobe & wood. Church & grounds were very nice & we even got to fill our pockets with pecans in the pecan orchard. Didn't see many people though so I guess they were all inside somewhere. Our walk took us about an hour & a half & it was good exercise for our legs. Back to Bea & Herb's rig for some pecan pie & egg nog ice cream. All & all, a pleasant way to spend an afternoon with some nice fellow RVing folks. After a short stop in Benson for some gas & groceries we were back to our rig by 4:30 & that was about it for our day. Thought I would take a chance & try out the Park's shower facilities & see if they were scrimping on their hot water here too. Well, was I pleasantly surprised when turning on the shower tap to see steaming hot water coming out. Within seconds I had the water so hot in there I melted all the shower tiles!! Stayed in there so long 112 shouting people lined up beating on the door!! Had it been a coin operated shower I would have had to go to a bank for a loan!! And, if I don't end this blog right now I'm going to fall asleep at the keyboard again & fall right off the chair onto the floor!! zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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SILVER CITY TO KARTCHNER CAVERNS STATE PARK

A WALL PAINTING IN THE DISCOVERY CENTER

A co-worker in Clinton, Ontario once told me he gets up a 4 a.m. every morning & starts his day by reading our blog when we are traveling. Well Bruce, I'm here to tell you that I'm sometimes up at 2 a.m. just writing the darn thing. And so it was last night again. Don't know what wakes me up occasionally but when it does I'm usually beat for going back to sleep for an hour or so. It's either watch some TV or hop aboard the computer & catch up on some email, edit some photos, or start on the next day's blog.

Another cold morning so we cut our doggy walk a bit short & started packing up the rig. Had to kind of wiggle the motorhome around to clear the tight campsite & slightly re-arranged a wooden post in the process. I exited the motorhome & re-re-arranged the post back to it's original position & I was off. Kelly followed in the car & we met up at the Wal-Mart store just down the road to hook up the car. Probably the first time we were ever in a Wal-Mart parking lot without actually going into the Wal-Mart store itself. BARREL CACTUS FLOWERS

The drive heading southwest to Lordsburg on highway 90 was very scenic with hardly any traffic. Just a nice sunny quiet Sunday morning drive all the way on a gentley winding road. Picked up interstate 10 & swung our nose westward. Crossed the Arizona State line at 10:30, or 12:30 Ontario time. Most of the traffic was trucks but did notice more RV's on the road than a few weeks ago. Watched a big widespread dark cloud cover rolling in from the southwest. It's the stormfront that is expected to bring snow to northeast New Mexico to-morrow.HEADING DOWN HIGHWAY 90 INTO LORDSBURG, NEW MEXICO

We reached Kartchner Caverns State Park about 1:15 p.m. Very nice campsite & very few people here. That is always a bonus!! State Parks in New Mexico are $14 a night with electricity & water but Arizona is $22 a night. You don't want to even know what California is:((

Didn't take us long to get things set up & within one minute of turning our computer on & slipping in our Verizon air card..........WE WERE ON-LINE:))))))) If we were still using the tri-pod system I wouldn't even have had the maddening jumble of wires out of the car yet. And who knows if we would have got a good signal from the satellite because we had a heavy cloud cover over us. We know this air card isn't going to work everywhere but so far it sure beats all the hassle of physically setting up that tri-pod, dish, & arm plus all the computer stuff we had to go through to get on-line. And then you had better hope the wind didn't come up & move the dish off the satellite!! Got your note in the Shoutbox Don & we have been looking into that....thanks for the link. The only disappointment is that we can only get one channel on the television & being this close to Tucson, that has surprised us. Looks like it is a boring sports channel too:(( After a little afternoon siesta we walked over to the main visitors building here called the Discovery Center. Beautiful desert hummingbird gardens surround this superb building. A lot of money has been spent here. Very spacious & modern with lots of exhibits & a large screen theater showing a 15 minute movie explaining the caves. HOWEVER, there are two main drawbacks. First of all it is very expensive to see the caves compared to Carlsbad over in New Mexico. (to see our tour of the Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico, go here..... http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/THURSDAYDEC21
$18.95 a person to see the Rotunda/Throne room & $22 to see the Big Room here at Kartchner. Needless to say we'll be doing the Rotunda/Throne tour. The second bug-a-boo for me is....NO CAMERA'S ALLOWED IN THE CAVES!! !^**#!!(*>+**%# Couldn't believe it when I heard that!!!!!!!!! So, the only thing I can do is take a few pics around the Discovery Center.......... which I did. But, no photos of the caves themselves. I'm so mad about that I could almost go outside & spit....maybe even spit twice!!

Well, at least we've got a nice campsite. We are ringed by high hills & mountains all around & this is a really picturesque place. Another well thought out & beautiful State Park. We were really lucky to catch a beautiful sunset going down so I grabbed my camera & scrambled up on top of the motorhome to crack off a few shots. They are at the end of to-day's photo album. To-morrow morning we will take the Kartchner Cavern tour of the Throne room & then decide where we feel like going next. There is a free campground over near Benson so we might slip over there to-morrow night but not sure. Some RV friends from British Columbia that we met last year are in the area so we may get to-gether for a coffee with them to-morrow too. We'll wait & see which way the wind is blowing in the morning:))

SHE'S A GREAT LITTLE PICTURE TAKER:))

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

TIME TO SADDLE UP & HEAD FURTHER WEST

THANKS CAMILLE.....YES, IT LOOKS LIKE A STAGHORN CHOLLA FRUIT ALRIGHT

We got off to a lazy start again this morning & I guess I'll just have to blame it on the colder weather. Thirty two degrees just doesn't turn our crank so we've decided to put on our Arizona hats, saddle up, & get out of Dodge in the morning.

We had originally kind of figured on going over to Roper Lake State Park near Safford, Az. for a few days & then working our way up highway 70 to Apache Junction & the Superstition Mountain area but on our walk this morning we decided to head down to Lordsburg, pick I-10 & slip west to the Kartchner Caverns State Park, just past Benson. Probably stay a couple days & then head west of Tucson for one of our favorite little RV Parks & BLM areas near Why & Ajo, Arizona. From there we'll likely head into California to Borrego Springs & the Anza Borrego State Park & BLM lands. We will do the Superstition Mountain area on our way back east in March.IT'S KELLY FIELDING A WORK CALL FROM CANADA WHILE ON OUR DOG WALK THIS MORNING

We have really enjoyed our week here in Silver City. It's a nice area & the kind of place that makes you just want to stay put, but even before the week was up I was feeling that gypsy urge to move on. And yes, I have recently been told by an Aunt in Florida that there may well have been some gypsy ancestry in our background. That was kind of good to hear because it sort of explains the restlessness I have had all my life.

Temperatures finally began warming up about mid morning & The Bayfield Bunch began warming up shortly after. Turned out to be a good day for house cleaning. Car windows needed cleaning, some motorhome bins needed re-organizing, & some doggy tummies needed rubbing. Just another nice day around the old plantation.
STILL TALKING:))

When we get to the Kartchner Caverns to-morrow it's not likely they will have a WiFi internet system so we have our fingers crossed that our new Verizon Air Card is going to come through for us & have us back on line in no time. If you don't see a blog to-morrow night it will mean our Verizon card didn't work & I'm out in the desert trying to find where I threw it!!

No photos for the album to-day.

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

RADIO STATION CORRECTION TO YESTERDAY'S BLOG

I incorrectly identified Silver City's 105.5 radio station in yesterday's blog. The station I like so well is actually KSIL... "High Lonesome." http://www.ksilradio.com/about.php
I have corrected it in the blog. Thanks to eagle eye Kelly for noticing the mistake & getting me back on the straight & narrow:)) Women....don't ya just love em guys!!

A WHOLE LOT OF NOTHING & SOME WESTERN BLUES

IT WAS A FROSTY START TO THE MORNING

By the time we stuck our heads out of the chilly motorhome this morning, the clouds were gone & the sun was beginning to make it's daily appearance over the eastern horizon. Heavy frost again so I think it's time to start thinking about heading over to Arizona soon for some higher temps & lower altitudes.

SOME WORKERS DOING REPAIRS ON A WALL NEAR US THIS AFTERNOON

Not a whole lot to put in the blog to-day because we just kind of ended up doing the square root of totally nothing. Kelly went into town in the morning for some browsing while I just kind of puttered around with some motorhome chores. Windows to be cleaned, dogs to be played with & sunshine to be soaked up. Updated some programs on the computer because it's better to do that while we have a free internet connection & not using up our Verizon bytes while out boondocking later. HEY, WAS THAT A CAMERA SHUTTER I HEARD

Boy, have they ever got a great radio station in this area. I gave up on commercial radio about 3 years ago when I got fed up with the ram jam announcers, hokey local commercials, phony happy gang morning shows, gross immature stupidity, moaning & whining be-bop little girl singers with absolutely no talent, & repetitive music....over & over & over. Switched to Satellite radio & love it. My music of choice now is ambient/new age. Sirius channel 073. Haven't listened to much of anything else ever since, until a few days ago.............

Earlier this week while staying at City of Rocks State Park we headed out in the car one day heading for Silver City. Kelly turned on the radio, hit the seek button, & we stumbled headlong into a pile of toe stompin, foot bangin, bluesy western music at 105.5 on the dial. KSIL High Lonesome.... http://www.ksilradio.com/about.php This station immediately caught my attention. The fact that it is practically commercial free & without some ego infested jabbering DJ goes a long ways in my book. This station has a western flavor that is totally refreshing because it's not all the over & over standard glitzy western pop singers of to-day's age. I have never heard any of these songs before & haven't a clue who even sings them but what a treat to hear music I haven't heard ten thousand dozen times before. Bravo for this station not going with the old standard fare & format. Thank-you 105.5 for re-kindling my interest in this dusty old western music with a generous smattering of good old blues mushed right into the very sagebrush songs themselves:)) Refreshing!!

Decided to give the cameras a day off so only took a few pics around the campsite. I'll put them in the blog instead of starting a new photo album.

KELLY & THE LITTLE MOTORMOUSE SOAKING UP SOME SUN ON THE WALL

And, did you know..."the only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now." And, that's an original by myself..................... :))

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

HISTORIC FORT BAYARD & FORT BAYARD NATIONAL CEMETERY

It's a good thing we weren't in a hurry to go anywhere early this morning because it would have taken us awhile to scrape the heavy frost & ice off the windshield. It was a cold night & it sure took it's time to warm up!! A high thin cloud cover rolled in early & remained for the rest of the day.

A couple of miles east of us is the historic & still partially functioning Fort Bayard with the adjoining Fort Bayard National Cemetery. It was a territorial post dating back to 1863. "Buffalo Soldiers" protected miners & settlers against Apache raids. In later years it held German prisoners of war & became the center for the fight against tuberculosis. To-day it is a waning veteran's treatment center for geriatric & substance abuse patients. The facilities are old, crumbling & out dated now. The majority of buildings are dilapidated & empty. Only recently, 250 patients were moved out to another facility. Work is currently underway nearby to build a whole new living & hospital complex & we saw bulldozers & earthmovers at work preparing the ground work for the new facility. What will become of Fort Bayard itself is anybody's guess. Unless the Government steps in to restore & preserve it, the buildings will crumble to dust just as the old soldiers who were once the life blood of the old & nearly forgotten army post of the mid 1800's. FORT BAYARD
http://www.zianet.com/whisperingcanyon/fort_bayard.html THE BUFFALO SOLDIERS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_Soldiers We first drove through the cemetery stopping in a few places for pictures. The Buffalo Soldiers graves are scattered amongst all the other stones marking America's veterans from all the wars & conflicts. They can be hard to find. It's a peaceful place ringed with far away hills & mountains. The very hills the Apache Indians came down from to do battle with the miners, townspeople, & soldiers. To-day, only the sound of a single raven could be heard as it circled & dipped amongst the tombstones. FORT BAYARD NATIONAL CEMETERY
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bayard,_New_Mexico

A grocery stop at Wal-Mart on our way back & that was about if for another day in the life & times of......... The Bayfield Bunch:))

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

LETS HAVE US A LOOK AT PINOS ALTOS

On our way to the Gila Cliff Dwellings on Monday we kind of blew right through the old mining town of Pinos Altos before we even new we were in the town. The small highway skirts by it before the few houses you see actually registers in your mind they are part of the town. To-day we drove the short distance from Silver City back to little Pinos Altos. http://www.pinosaltos.org/histsites.html

In 1859 a group of forty niner miners heading home to California discovered gold in Pinos Altos. A rough & tumble town sprang up & was soon the center of a gold bonanza, and ................Apache Indian raids. One of those raids occurred on Sept 22, 1861 when 400 Apaches attacked the town. Capt. Thomas Mastin, nine Arizona scouts, & a number of miners defended the town's mining camp. The Indians finally withdrew but not until Capt. Mastin & his brother Virgil had been fatally wounded.

Pino Altos is not a town in the way we think of a town. It does have a main street with some pavement at one end & dirt at the other end about 2 blocks away. That is basically Pino Altos except for a smattering of buildings in various states of livability scattered about for maybe a quarter mile in each direction. And yet, as the owner of the general store & post office told us, "this is paradise." And, you know what.....I am inclined to agree with him.We spent maybe three quarters of an hour in Pino Altos, taking photos, walking around looking at things, & talking to a total of 2 people. The General store/post office/restaurant/gift shop/ is the hub of activity as we noticed people driving in to pick up their mail. Check to-day's photo album for the pictures I took inside the general store & Kelly's "special friend" sitting at the lunch counter.

Many of the houses & buildings here are well beyond repair but it is this very fact that gives this town it's special ambience & authentic western feel. I could have taken pictures of houses that we are used to seeing but decided to focus my attention on the decaying history that makes this little place....paradise. My kind of town:))Nice scenic drive back to Silver City & our little home away from home. It was 1 o'clock & we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing & soaking up the warm New Mexico sun. Well, at least I did. Kelly slipped into town for a bit of browsing at some stores she had noticed earlier.

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I have added a few more pictures of the RV Park we are staying at to a previous web album.......
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/MANZANOSRVPARK

THE GILA CLIFF DWELLINGS

Our Blue Flame heater performed flawlessly all night & I think it's because we cracked open a second window creating some cross ventilation bringing in more oxygen. RV furnaces are generally not very fuel efficient so we don't like to use it a lot. The Blue Flame heater is rated as 99.9% efficient & is used by a lot of RV people. They are made in Mississauga, Ontario but you can't buy them in Canada. Have to get them in the States. Don't figure, do it!!

We were on the road & headed for the Gila Cliff Dwellings by 9:30 under sunny skies & warming temperatures. Highway 15 snakes it's way upwards through the beautiful pine woods of the Gila National Forest. It's a narrow road & one of the most challenging drives I've ever been on. There is no let up in the tight curves as we constantly wheeled through hairpin turns. The drive from Silver City to the Dwellings is only about 45 miles but it's a 2 hour drive because of the twists. We were warned to watch out for deer & ice in the corners. Didn't see any deer but a Javelina ran across in front of us at one point. No black ice but as we gained altitude we seen small frozen water puddles alongside the road. This would be a very bad place to be in the winter snows they have here.

I remembered at one point that my smaller Canon camera had a video setting on it so I handed the camera to Kelly & she took a 90 second video out the windshield of the winding road. We had already been through the toughest part of the route & this section wasn't too bad. It's nothing special but it gives one an idea of the road. If we do it again I'll remember to turn off the radio. (if you don't see the video here you will know I'm having trouble getting it upoaded)

Finally, after what seemed like forever we arrived at the Visitor Center for the Dwellings. Walked around, looked at a few things, & then drove the short distance to the trailhead where a guided tour was going to begin at noon. It was a rather brisk walk through a very steep, narrow, & freezing cold canyon, crisscrossing a half dozen little bridges that spanned a rocky creek bed. The path became very steep the higher we got & because we were hurrying to catch the tour we were doing a lot of huffing & puffing, especially me. I would have to say that it was the most winded I have ever become on a hike but we pushed onwards until we finally had the cliff dwellings & the tour guide group in sight. http://www.nps.gov/gicl/ It's always hard to imagine how people lived centuries ago & this place was no exception. As the guide walked us to each cavelike dwelling she explained that a lot of what she was saying was speculation because the Mogollon (pro-nounced Muggy-own) people who built these dwellings inside these caves were a mysterious people & there is still much to be learned about them. Their houses were built of stone & held to-gether with some kind of mortar. They had roofs, doors & some openings for windows. They were a small people with men being about 5' tall & the women around 4 feet. The few doorways & openings between rooms are small. Fire hearths in the dirt floors & blackened cave roofs from many cooking fires. There are hard to spot pictographs on the walls & rocks. Our guide was very informative, answering the many questions from the group as best she could. I found it difficult taking pictures because of the harsh lighting conditions between the darkness of the caves & rooms, & the harshness of the bright sunny day going on outside just a few feet away but I did manage to get a few pics for the album. I don't normally include a lot of people in my photos but in this case it was important to include them to give one a sense of depth & size in proportion to the cliff dwellings.

Our tour lasted about an hour as we scrambled over well worn rocks & stone steps. Up & down ranger made ladders & wooden stairs. We walked on dirt floors between ancient stoned walls that no longer echoed with the laughter of Indian children or the voices of a people long lost to the wisps of time. A very special place & we were very fortunate to have been there to-day.

The trail back down to the trailhead took a different route & was not as steep as the one we had come up. Nice to get back to the car & sit down for a bit. We drove a short distance to the Lower Scorpion campground where the ranger had told us we could see a bunch of pictographs. I had asked the ranger earlier what the difference was between a pictograph & a petroglyph. Pictographs are painted on rock & petroglyphs are carved into the rock. A short walk brought us to a large rockface where we saw many pictographs & I was able to take some pictures. We followed another short path to a Mongollon dwelling made of stones & set into a cavelike rock overhang near a dry creek bed. It is still mainly intact & it's always hard trying to imagine how people lived centuries ago. A SMALL MOGOLLON DWELLING AT THE END OF A SHORT PATH

The drive back to Silver City was longer in miles but easier on the Santa Fe's gearbox because we took a different return route. There are actually 2 ways to reach the dwellings. We returned via the Roberts Lake & Mimbres route with it's gentler curves & long flat straightaways. Glad to reach highway 180 & do the short homestretch to our little RV Park. .Glad to get back to the rig & flop into one of our comfy red Poang chairs. It was one of my favorite kinds of day. A challenging drive, new scenery never before seen, some good old rock scrambling, some photo opportunities, & a whole lot of good old exercise. And having someone as great as Kelly to do it all with just puts that special bit of icing on the cake..........................:)) OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

IT'S MONDAY MORNING & WE'RE TAKING CARE OF GREMLINS

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU TRY TO TAKE A PICTURE OF THE MOON & 2 PLANETS WITHOUT USING A TRI-POD:((
Most unusual to look out the window & see a streetlight, but there it was, an actual street light. At City of Rocks the brightest thing outside was the planet Venus in the southwest sky. We have a decorative little light right on top of our utility post beside the rig too. Like I said in the previous post, this is a nice little well kept RV Park. Twenty dollars a night & that includes full hook-ups, a warm friendly clubhouse with spacious washrooms including tubs & showers. Laundry room, exercise room, free hi-speed wireless, DVD & book exchange. Big porch with rocking chairs, full size kitchen & living room.

Didn't take Kelly long to get on our Skype phone this morning & begin taking care of business. Phone calls went out to cancel our Hughesnet & Starchoice accounts but of course as we all know when dealing with these large type companies things never end up as hoped. They sure know how to throw roadblocks in your way to keep their bottom lines profitable. Hats off to Skype though for making their superb & free computer-phone capabilities free. (ok, $32 yearly) http://www.skype.com/welcomeback/

Checked the oil levels in rig, car, & generator. Holding tank problem solved. Fresh water replenished, tanks dumped & a few other small problems cleared up. It was Monday morning & we were on the offensive getting ourselves re-organized from our on-set of Gremlins in the past few days. One by one, down they went until I began to get a little paranoid about not having enough to worry about so it didn't take me long to convince myself that the fan motor in the laptop was not working. Couldn't hear anything & couldn't feel any air moving out the side of the computer. So, shut it down, closed it up, popped into it's Samsonite carrying case, put it into the car & headed out to find a computer repair place that was going to have a Toshiba fan motor. Oops, car's gas tank bouncing off empty so filled that up for a whopping $22. Spotted a computer store right on highway 180 not far from the park so in we went. Nice fellow who thought he just might have some Toshiba parts around, but first suggested a little compressed air blown in around the fan motor after noticing it looked a little congested in there. Into the back room went the computer, a big whooooooosh of air & out the door came flying enough dog fur to knit a couple new sweaters. "There," he said, "should be OK now," And so it was & so away we went.

ABOUT A MILE & HALF THAT-A-WAY IS DOWNTOWN SILVER CITY

Next stop was the propane facility we had also spotted from the road. In we went with the Blue Flame heater. Lady said the repair fellow would be back later & to just leave it with them. And so it was & so away we went.
(Picked it up later in the afternoon & they said it checked out ok but to make sure the unit has a better oxygen supply because it has a sensor that shuts it down if the air's oxygen level drops. That's probably what has been happening. Also noticed our furnace has been running fine since being plugged into electricity so that stopping & starting problem probably had something to do with the coaches battery. Not a big problem.)

Next stop was a second Verizon store in town for more information. It's a complicated business when you get into all these cell phone plans, Sim cards, air cards, roaming charges, Wilson antennas, amplifiers, boosters, wireless weasels & butterscotch milkshakes. And so it was & so away we went. Quick stop at McDonalds for 2 Seniors coffees. And so it was........awww, you know the saying.

Last stop was Wal-Mart (of course) for a few groceries & then back to the rig for some much needed rest & relaxation.........that just somehow seemed to last for the rest of the afternoon. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

When we checked into Manzano's RV Park yesterday we were pleasantly surprised to find out they had free high speed internet so we have been using that service since then & saving our Verizon bytes for later when we are either on the road, in State Parks, or out in the desert boondocking.

To-morrow we are planning on heading to the Gila cliff dwellings north of Silver City. The old mining town of Pinos Altos is on the way so we'll have us a look around there as well. Nice area here so we just might stay longer than planned.......................

7:30 P.M.......Just walked over to the park's clubhouse & took some photos inside. I will upload them to a photo album to-night & then add some outside daylight photos around the park to the same album to-morrow night.

THE CLUBHOUSE

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

A PETROGLYPH, EMORY PASS, & A MOVE TO SILVER CITY

Noticed right away this morning the condensation wasn't as bad on the windows so knew the outside temperatures were finally on their way up. Not a cloud in the sky as the sun rose over Cooke's Peak to the east. It was the beginning of our last day at City of Rocks.

Disassembled the satellite dish for the last time & stowed it away in the hatchback of the car. The tri-pod, dish, & satellite arm with an additional Starchoice LMB are all in good shape so we'll try to sell it. Modem is no good but can be replaced. Never thought, but I should have taken a picture of the set up before taking it down.

There are a few petroglyphs here in the rocks so with a sketchy little map, we set out this morning to find some of them. Clambered here & there, & scrambled through some rocky cavelike overhangs but to no avail, we couldn't find them. It wasn't until later in the afternoon while returning from our daytrip that were able to stop at an empty campsite where we knew of one near the sites garbage can. I've included a picture of that one in to-day's web album. SEARCHING FOR PETROGLYPHS
We headed off in the car for the Emory Pass around 10:15. While staying in the town of Truth or Consequences for a week late last February we had taken a day trip with the car through Hillsboro, Kingston, & on up through the Gila Forest to the Emory Pass, whereupon we threw some snowballs around & then headed back to Truth or Consequences. Someone later told us we should have continued that drive through to Silver City because that was the nicest part. So, to-day, 9 months later we made that drive from the western end. A great winding road complete with hairpin turns, 10MPH corners, steep drop offs, rock walls, tight curves, & steep grades. Always fun to be jammin gears in tight turns & our little 5 speed Hyundai Santa Fe handled the roads with no problem at all. It has been a great car for us. THE VIEW EAST FROM EMORY PASS
Made it back to City of Rocks around 2 in the afternoon & immediately set about packing up our campsite & readying the motorhome for our move to Silver City some 35 minutes to the north. In the meantime couple of older fellows driving by noticed the Canadian flag decals on our rig so pulled in to say hello. Fellow Canadians out on a daytrip. One fellow had been stationed in Clinton during the war & the other fellow knew some people living in St. Joseph just south of Bayfield. Couple of nice guys.

Always sad to leave a place where nice memories have been created, & so it was as we said good-bye to our little campsite beside the big rocks. We will remember City of Rocks as one of the nicest State Parks we have ever been in & I would highly recommend it to anyone traveling in the area.
http://www.gilawilderness.com/travel/cityofrocks.htm

Didn't bother hooking the car up because Silver City wasn't that far so I lead the way in the motorhome & before long we were pulling into Manzano's RV Park right on highway 180 on the southern outskirts of Silver City. Found us a cozy little spot & got ourselves settled in. I'm not big on RV Parks but we had scouted this one out yesterday & found it to our liking. Units are not ram jammed in plus there is lots of greenery & it's obvious that this is a very well maintained RV Park. Kelly met the owners & was very impressed with their friendly manner. A hard working couple who have developed this park from scratch beginning back in 1999. http://www.manzanosrvpark.com/manzano6_002.htm No idea how long we'll stay but as long as the doggy guys don't get us kicked out we might be here for a few days. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

AN INTERNET DECISION IN SILVER CITY

SATURDAY AFTERNOON IN THE JAVA INTERNET CAFE...SILVER CITY, NEW MEXICO

Well, it's been quite a day & we're finally back from Silver City. Before dropping into that Internet Cafe where I sent the earlier blog from this afternoon we had gone to a Verizon Cellular place to check out prices & programs for a Verizon air card. Because of our problematic satellite internet system from time to time & then the break down this morning, we knew it was time to make some decisions. The technology in cellular air cards has advanced in leaps & bounds the last couple of years & it just made sense for us to get on the cellular wagon.AND THEY HAVE GOOD COFFEE HERE TOO

While at the internet cafe Kelly looked up additional info on Verizon & then we made the decision to go with it. The monthly cost is the same as what we were paying for the Hughes-Net satellite program so that cancelled itself out. Because of the great TV reception we've been getting with our antennae this year we will probably discontinue our Star Choice program as well & that will save us another bundle of monthly money. INKING THE DEAL ON OUR NEW VERIZON AIR CARD PROGRAM

We had a young fellow at the Verizon store load the software into our laptop & get everything up & running. Within minutes we were on-line right there in the store. We stayed on line as we carried the computer out to the car & Kelly was on-line all the way back to the park getting caught up on all her Deerpark correspondence. For us, this was truly amazing. There we were, driving down the road while still connected to the internet. We thought to ourselves, why didn't we do this in the first place but after a little thought we realized that when we bought the satellite system a couple of years ago, all this new cellular stuff was just beginning to come into it's own. Anyway, so far so good. We've been on line with the air card for about 4 hours now & it's working flawlessly. Next test will be in a few minutes when I attempt to upload this blog with some pictures. AND WE HAD INTERNET ALL THE WAY HOME:))

To-morrow we plan to move the motorhome to a park in Silver City for a day or two. After that.....who knows:)) Didn't upload any photos to the web album to-day.

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

GREMLINS ARE AT WORK

The Gremlins began their dirty work in the wee hours of the night. It was 2:30 a.m. when the cold woke me up. One glance over at our propane powered Blue Flame heater told me it was not working. Temperature was down to 52F but I managed to re-ignite the heater. Back to bed, but of course couldn't sleep. Figured I'd fire up the computer & check the emails, but like I said, the Gremlins were up early to-day. Computer was fine but our Hughes-Net satellite system modem would not connect. Power light was on but the other 4 lights refused to light indicating the system was dead in the water. Then, the Blue Flame heater quit again & I couldn't get it re-started. Ok, time to fire up the RV's furnace. Hadn't used the furnace since last winter before getting our Blue Flame heater hooked up in Quartzite, Arizona. Remember the Gremlins.......yup, the furnace wouldn't light. Blower worked fine, furnace finally fired up but only for a few seconds & then would go out. We had just filled our propane tank back in Deming a few days ago but I went outside & checked the tank anyway & we had lots of propane. By this time Kelly was up working on the computer modem problem but it was still a no-go:(( She managed to get the Blue Flame fired up but it only ran for about 20 minutes before going out again. The furnace finally got itself going sort of OK so at least we've got some heat. It is now 5:30 in the morning & Kelly is reading the Blue Flame manual trying to troubleshoot our problem. And me, well I'm just sitting here with all my winter clothes on banging away on the keys as fast as I can trying to stay warm. RVing.....yep, ya just gotta love it!!

UPDATE!!.......12:50 P.M. Saturday
Sometimes the best laid plans of mice & men sometimes go astray.... & so it is with us to-day. Our Emery Pass & Gila Cliff Dwellings day trip is on hold. Right now we are in Silver City at an internet cafe because our satellite system is ka-put. Kelly phoned Hughes-Net this morning describing the problems were having & they said our modem is shot & we would have to get a new one. We do not want to do that because they are not cheap & combined with some of the other problems we've had with the satellite system we are right now looking at alternatives!!!! Also still working on our heater problem & another gremlin has popped up with one of our holding tanks.
Will stay at City of Rocks to-night & then move to an RV Park here in Silver City to-morrow to work on the ongoing problems. This little blurb will have to do for to-day.
Oh by the way, if any of you folks out there have any extra problems, just send them along to the Bayfield Bunch just in case we run out of all ours forcing our stress levels to drop!!!! Don't want to be caught with low stress levels you know. Geeeeeezzzzzzzzz!!
Will be back on-line as soon as we can........... AL

A COLD & RAINY DAY IN SILVER CITY

MORNING DIP
The nearby coyotes were sure kicking up a storm about 5 a.m. this morning & that got Checkers to growling, which in turn got Al to waking up, so figured it was time to get myself vertical for another day. We have always been early risers no matter what time we go to bed. The smarter folks in these parts sleep in till 10 & wait for the morning sun to warm things up first. Outside thermometer says it's 43F & that's a lot better than back home where it could be 33 or 23 or...

While in Las Cruces a few days ago I used a pair of scissors & some black electrical tape to tape up a couple rope ends I had just cut. Laid the scissors & tape on the hood of the tow car, proceeded to hook the car to the rig & then promptly drove the scissors & tape all the way to Deming & then up here to City Of Rocks State Park. The scissors & tape were pretty much where I had left them when we got here & the bra on the front of the car had prevented them from sliding off. I imagine the truck drivers got a kick out seeing that stuff riding on the hood as they went by in the passing lane. Maybe that's why they always shake their heads at me with big grins on their faces.

Lots of sunshine this morning but it sure was cold. The higher you go in these parts, the colder it gets. Really nice morning walk among the big rocks. The dogs loved it too as they clambered to & fro. Noticed that this State Park has a theme and all the campsites are named after constellations & stars. Because Astronomy is a hobby of mine I'm able to look at each site & know exactly where it's namesake is in the night sky. And speaking of the night sky, the cooler air here is soooo crystal clear. Stars from horizon to horizon. And, those two really bright ones in the early southwest sky right now are not stars, but actually Planets. Jupiter & Venus are drawing ever closer to each other. Venus is the brighter one & right now is below Jupiter.

HORSES ON THE MAIN STREET OF SILVER CITY

We headed off for Silver City about 9:30 with a load of laundry & a couple of addresses to look up. The closer we got the blacker the sky became & by the time we rolled into Silver City it had started raining. And, it was COLD!! Some RV friends had told us of a good place to eat on Bullard Street so that's where we headed. Nice little place with lots of ambience. Food was good too. Another recommended place was the Curious Kumquat so I busied myself with taking a few photos while Kelly browsed around in the Kumquat. From there it was a few more blocks to a local Laundromat & while the grungy clothes were doing their tumbly tumbly, swishy swishy thing, we walked over a neat little bridge to the downtown section. Kelly went her way through the shops while I hung out on the main street snapping photos here & there. It's a nice looking town with shades of Mexico & the type of place a person could get used to. Reminded us a bit of Jerome, Arizona & Palomas, Mexico. Narrow little side streets with colorful shops & quaint little restaurants. An eclectic mixture of people with Jaguars parked on the main street to homeless people rummaging garbage cans & dumpsters. One cowboy looking guy asked me where I was from & said, he "always wanted to get up to Canada someday," while another snappy dresser guy tweaked my arm going by saying, "sneakin some pictures are ya." Guess he saw me pick him off with my telephoto lens when he was across the street. He's in to-day's photo album:)) BRIDGE OVER "THE BIG DITCH" TO DOWNTOWN

Headed back to the Laundromat & scooped up all the nice smelling threads, picked up some bananas & milk at a grocery store & then headed off to find the first of two addresses we had. Last winter while in California we had heard about a man & his family who lived for years on a mountaintop with no accessible water or electricity. His name was Marshal South & we drove west of Boreggo Springs to Blair Valley where his homestead was located on Ghost Mountain. We hiked the 700 foot rocky path up to what was left of Yaquitepec & spent awhile looking around at things. I found it a very serene & special place despite not knowing anything about the man & his family. There was uncanny peacefulness to this place & it has had a lasting affect on me. A week after being there Kelly bought the book entitled, Marshal South & The Ghost Mountain Chronicles. It was to be the first book I would read from cover to cover in the last 30 years. Marshal South's oldest son, Rider, is still alive to-day & lives in Silver City. I had looked up his name & address on the internet awhile ago & just wanted to drive down the street & see where he lives. So, that's what we did. If I wasn't so sensitive about bothering people I would have went & knocked on his door to say, hello. THE CURIOUS KUMQUAT

Our next look-up was a fellow RVer. We have been reading his blog for awhile & communicated back & forth via emails a few times. When he knew we were coming through this part of the country he said for us to drop in & say hello. We found him in a nice RV Park on the edge of Silver City. Nice fellow, just like most RVers we have met in our travelers. Didn't overstay our welcome & we were soon headed back to our little temporary home on wheels in one of the nicest State Parks we've ever been in. So nice to drive out of the dark, rainy & cold sky's of Silver City into the sunlight of the lower altitude & City of Rocks State Park. SOUTH OF SIVER CITY

Lots of wagging tails when we got back but I think the cold air had followed so it wasn't long & we had our Blue Flame heater going full tilt. Nachos for supper & another nice relaxing night ahead. To-morrow we're hoping to head east over to the Emory Pass & then backtrack up to the Gila Cliff Dwellings north of Silver City............................. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/