LAND OF STANDING ROCKS....THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS

A WESTWARD VIEW FROM MASSAI POINT

Knee was feeling a bit better this morning so I was optimistic we could head out to do a little sightseeing to-day. Jeanie had recommended the Chiricahua National Monument as a good day trip so after clearing the idea with Big Chief Little Boss I threw the cameras into the car & we headed off to the place the Apache Indians called, Land of Standing Rocks. EASY TO SEE WHY THE APACHE INDIANS CALLED THIS, LAND OF STANDING ROCKS

Beautiful sunny morning as we headed north up the Sulphur Springs Valley. Scenic mountains on both sides reminded me once again how fortunate we are to be where we are. The thought also occurred to me that I was probably born in the wrong place 64 years ago. This land of mountains & deserts feels more like home to me than home does. HARRIS MOUNTAIN....SCENE OF AN APACHE MASSACRE

Took us a little more than an hour to reach the main gate of the Chiricahua National Monument at the foot of the legendary Chiricahua mountain range. (Chiricahua is pronounced...Chair-a-cowa)
http://www.nps.gov/chir/
http://www.desertusa.com/chi/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiricahua_National_Monument
The flatter valley scenery immediately began to change as we began the 8 mile climb on Bonita Canyon Drive to Massai Point at the summit. Oak, Pine, & Cypress trees lined the winding road. A stop at the visitor center along the way netted us a National Audubon Southwestern Field Guide. Next stop was a look at a campground in Bonita Canyon. No trailers over 26 feet & no RV's over 29 feet in this cozy little tree clustered campground though. It's open year round & has 24 sites. Continuing upwards we could see why the Apache Indians called this place, Land of Standing Rocks. Tall massive columns of rocks were visible through the trees towering hundreds of feet into the air on both sides of the roads. The rocks took on many shapes challenging the imagination as we climbed higher through Fir, Sycamore, & Juniper trees. A stop at Echo Canyon quickly had us scrambling into our coats. We were at the snow line at 6,780 feet & the warm temperatures of the valley floor had given way to a driving & frigid wind. My hat blew off 3 times in a row before I got myself smartened up & hooked it on my belt. A short walk along a snowy patch of trail for some pictures & then it was back into the warm car. The views from here were beautiful. Just up the road was the Sugarloaf Mountain view & trailhead at 6,840 feet. More pictures, more wind, & more cold temperatures. But, totally magnificent views. We could see clear across the valley to the Dragoon mountains to the west & Cochise's stronghold there. We'll be doing a day trip to that stronghold sometime in the next week or so. A short drive took us up the final half mile to the summit at Massai Point. We were now at the 6,870 foot level & the wind up here was doing every thing possible to blow us right off the top of the mountain & back out across the Sulphur Spring Valley about 10 miles to the west. Just taking photos in this wind presented some stability problems along the trail as the wind could suddenly whip through narrow rock openings & buffet an unsuspecting hiker. What a beautiful place this Chiricahua Monument is & what a beautiful land this is. And we've only seen a mere fraction of it. Just so much to see & do & so little time left to see & do it all.

We left the summit around 1:25 & headed back down to the mouth of Bonita Canyon where the Faraway Ranch is located. We knew a tour of the ranch house started at 2 & didn't want to miss it. There is quite a family history here. A workamping couple led the tour of the house for about 10 of us who had gathered there. This is a link to the Faraway Ranch http://www.discoverseaz.com/History/FarawayRanch.html It is also well worth noting that it was the Civilian Conservation Corp who constructed all the roads & trails in this National Park as well.

HARRIS RANCH HOUSE & GROUNDS

After stopping at the gravesites of the Faraway Ranch's Erickson's, we headed back down the valley to the ranch & our rig. We had lots of wagging tails when we got back. All & all, it was a great day & it just felt good to be out seeing something we had never seen before & doing something we both enjoy so much.................
OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

MEGAPIXELS SCHMEGAPIXELS

Turned out to be another quiet day around the ranch. Just as well because the wind gusts were so bad to-day they blew all the feathers right off the chickens. Kelly had to quickly knit up some tiny sweaters for the girls. Right knee is still sore so tried to give it another day of rest. The key word there was....tried!! Had hoped to get out & do a little sightseeing to-day. Maybe to-morrow. Realized late this afternoon that I hadn't taken any photos to-day so grabbed the camera & took a quick picture of our happy face garbage can sitting beside me on the floor. A herd of Cranes went by so I hammered out a few fast photos of them as well. Thanks birds. Spent some time looking at my camera manuals to-day. I'm not very technically minded & my short term memory embarrasses me when people sometimes ask me about my cameras. I know two of them are Nikons & my smaller one is a Canon. Nikon D-40 & D-50. The Canon is an A720iS & I just had to go get the Canon to tell me that. A fellow asked awhile back what millimeter lens I was using. I couldn't remember so had to tip the camera back & look down the barrel. Megapixels is a common question. Nope, can't ever remember that one either. Maybe I should get all this info tattooed on the back of my hand. How about ISO settings?? What!! Image quality settings?? Who!! Do you prefer shutter priority over aperture in low light?? I prefer ice cream with my apple pie, thank you very much!! Do you bracket your photos?? No, I hang them up on a clothes line to dry!! Does your Canon have image stabilization. No, it has me....why would it need image stabilization!! Geeeezzzzz, questions, questions, questions!! I just point the camera in the general direction of something I see, press the button & hope I hit something. Sometimes I do & sometimes I don't. So, ask me something technical about my cameras & as often as not, I'm gonna end up feeling dumb because I probably don't have the answer for ya. Hope some of you animal folks out there caught the PBS special last night entitled, Why We Love Our Cats & Dogs. I'm sure it will be on again so keep an eye out for it or if you go to Rene & Jim's website there is a link to view it on-line. http://www.liveworkdream.com/
Rene & Jim dropped into the Ranch a couple of days ago & spent the night before moving on to New Mexico & Texas. First time we had met them but had been in touch via emails for nearly a year. They lost their dog, Jerry, to cancer this year & I could sense the loss is still very much a part of them. I especially felt it watching Jim interact with our dogs here at the ranch. It was a sense of love.....and loss. Sometimes with our Bayfield Bunch name there is a little mis-conception. Bayfield isn't our last name, it's the picturesque little village we come from on the shores of Lake Huron in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The Bayfield part is the town & the Bunch part is us. Kelly, myself & our 3 super precious dogs, Max, Checkers, & Cora. (Motormouse) I took some photos around our little village last August. You will see that Bayfield is a very unique place:))
http://stargeezer.smugmug.com/gallery/5845016_7pESE#362675509_zZfh9 No idea what we are up to to-morrow but I'm kind of hoping we'll be able to go somewhere we've never been & see something we've never seen. SURE WISHED I HAD ME A BETTER BIRD LENS.....OR A GOOD SET OF WINGS THAT I COULD FLY UP CLOSER TO THEM

Oh, & by the way, if you happen to see me out somewhere flopping around with my cameras, please don't ask me what kind of a camera I'm using because I'll probably have to stop & turn the camera around to read the name. Now, that is embarrassing!!!!!!!!

No photos for the web album to-day.

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

A TIME FOR MUSIC, A TIME FOR MEMORIES

SUNRISE OVER THE SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS


It was a cloudy & quiet Sunday on the ranch to-day. One of those rare days when it was necessary to kind of just sit & do nothing. Time to heal some minor sprains, strains, & tired old brains. It was a good day for reflection too. And it was a good day for music & old memories.

I have a habit of leaving the same station on the satellite radio all the time & earlier this morning while puttering around outside, Kelly decided to switch channels & put on some good old 60's music. It's been awhile since I've taken the time to listen to an age of music that was so influential to so many people. I am a person who loves music & has grown up surrounded by it for most of my life. I was born in 1944 right into the big band era. What a great beginning it was & what a great age for music. The 40's gave way to the be-boppin 50's & the great music machine just kept right on a rockin & rollin right through to the late 80's & early 90's. It was an era of music like no other, & we are not likely to ever see that wide range of superb talent, creativity, & simply feeling good music ever happen again.......ever!! The great music has truly died.

SAND HILL CRANES FILING THROUGH THE SUNRISE

To-day as I put my head back & relaxed in my chair I let the 60's music take me back to a decade of tumultuous changes, a time of good & a time of bad. A time of happy & a time of sad. The 60's meant The Beatles , The Stones, The Beach Boys. Memories of friends who are gone now. Special friends, best friends, girlfriends. With each song on the radio to-day came faint whispers out of the mists so long ago. Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Duane Eddy. The many cars, the many jobs, & the many moves. The relationships & break-ups. It was a decade of excitement, & unlike to-day, the music was the driving force for a generation of us trying to catch onto the coat tails of something moving so fast, none of us understood which way it was moving in the first place. Marty Robbins, Johnny Cash, Jim Reeves. It was a time of growing up, making mistakes, & occasionally getting something right. The music was happier, people were kinder, cars went slower. AND ANOTHER DAY BEGINS IN THE MULE MOUNTAINS

Songs on the radio to-day like Homeward Bound by Simon & Garfunkel & Spooky by the Classics 4 take me back to a time I lived in Toronto for a short time. Johnny Rivers, The Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison. Jimi Hendrix, The Moody Blues, & Santana take me to a another place & another time, & another relationship. "What A Day for a Daydream" by the Lovin Spoonful take me back to my Navy days & "The Mountains High" by Dick & Deedee take me even further back to my high school days. And so it goes as the tunes pour out of the radio. Another car, another job, another town, another era. Another set of memories to file away in the recesses of the mind. SUNRISE ON THE RANCH

Best friends have come & gone. The Bob Dylans are gone. Best high school buddies have long been lost over the years and in the RV world, new friends become memories before you even get to know their last names. Sing to me, Stevie Wonder, Dianna Ross, & Ray Charles. Memories flood in & fill me with many regrets, a few chuckles, some embarrassment, & an overall sadness. There is no turning the clock back at this stage. To late to make the apologies, to soon to make the promises, & just to crazy to say the hell with it all & let the Troggs sing "Wild Thing" one more time . And the songs keep coming. Crystal Blue Persuasion, Wolverton Mountain, Sea of Heartbreak, All Along the Watchtower, Dock of the Bay, A Whiter Shade of Pale, House of the Rising Sun, The Sounds of Silence, Honky Tonk Man, California Dreamin, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Yesterday, El Paso, & Skeeter Davis singing, The End of the World.

And the end of the world it is for the decade of wondrous music, imagination & timeless energy. The days of feeling alive & being inspired by the music are gone & there is no new music out there good enough or great enough to take it's place. But, all is not lost. We have our memories. Sing "Crazy" to me Patsy Cline, play "Black Magic Woman" for me Santana, & "Light My Fire" Jim Morrison........................... No photos for the web album to-day.

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

TO-DAY WE RAMBLED AROUND IN THE GHOST TOWN OF GLEESON ARIZONA

GLEESON'S SALOON WHERE TOMBSTONE'S JOHNNY RINGO WAS LAST SEEN ALIVE

I think it had to be one of the coldest nights we've had so far. Left a hose nozzle & sponge in a bucket overnight by mistake & this morning they were froze solid in the ice. Strangely enough the plastic nozzle didn't break & has survived to squirt another day. Cloudy to-night so maybe we'll get a little break from the frosty temperatures.

Rene & Jim rolled out this morning around 9 a.m. headed for New Mexico & Texas. They are booked into an RV park to-morrow somewhere near the Arizona & New Mexico border. They don't travel with a television in their rig so they wanted to be at the park to watch their appearance on television Sunday night Feb. 15th. The program will air on PBS & is called, Why We Love Our Cats & Dogs. Their dog Jerry, who they lost to cancer last year will be part of that show. Rene & Jim's website is http://www.liveworkdream.com/

INSIDE THE CRUMBLING SALOON

We had some DVD's to take back to the Elfrida Library this morning so we figured we would do that & head out northwest of Elfrida to the old mining & ghost town of Gleeson. It's one of those places that you could drive through & never know it was there if you weren't specifically looking for it. Spotted a few old tumbledown houses first & then the cemetery. No ghost town is complete without it's past inhabitants buried somewhere near by. The cemetery is on a slight hill at Gleeson's west end & overlooks what was once a bustling mining town of 500 people.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gleeson,_Arizona
The cemetery is mainly overgrown now but part of it is still being used. Small piles of rocks mark some of the gravesites while others have old iron gates surrounding them. The weather has worn names off some stones while some have crumbled into the dust. I'm sure there are many more people buried here than time remembers.

GLEESON'S CEMETERY

From the cemetery we stopped at the ruins of an old house where I took more photos. If only those old crumbling walls could talk. We saw a long white building on the north side of the road with some people standing behind it so headed over that way. It was a Jeep tour guide giving a couple of people a driving tour of the area. He was very friendly & gave us some history on Gleeson. Not sure if the gun & holster he was wearing was real or just a prop. We don't see things like that in Canada!! The long white & deteriorating building we were standing beside was once Gleeson's lively saloon. It was here that Tombstone's Johnny Ringo was last seen alive.
The building is locked up because it is crumbling & not safe to enter but we did find a small space in a front window that I was able to get my camera up against & take some photos of the interior. It wasn't until we got home & I could look at the photos that we knew what the inside looked like. Appears to have been a stage at the far end & there is a large mural clearly visible on the north wall. I'm sure this was probably a very lively & rowdy old west place in it's heyday. Afterall, it was a mining town. Part of the roof has caved in & I think the building is beyond repair which seems too bad because I'm sure it probably has some historical significance to the late 1800's. I did manage to scramble my way through the brush & have a peek into the rear of the basement but it was pretty deteriorated in there with parts of the floor coming down. If there are such things as ghosts, I think this old crumbling saloon probably has it's fair share of them.

ONLY THIS OLD JAIL HAS BEEN RESTORED

From the saloon we went a short distance up the road to the old jail which is in the process of being restored by a private party. Managed to take a few pictures of the interior through a small window in the door. All these photos I'm mentioning will be in to-days web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ Across the road & up a bit is the ruins of a large building that once housed Gleeson's school in the basement & a large dance hall upstairs. This was a very solidly built building with a lot of concrete in it. Probably the center of a lot of Saturday night dances years ago. One can only imagine the outcome of those nights where guns & alcohol to-gether were commonplace. FORMER SCHOOL & DANCE HALL

Our last stop before leaving Gleeson was the old adobe ruins of the hospital. Just some sections of walls standing with long gaunt windows in them. Couldn't help but think of all the pain & suffering that must have taken place inside these walls many years ago. There appeared to be a large round well on the south side of the hospital as well. In the distance I could see where the mining operations had taken place & wondered how many mine accident victims would have been brought down out of those hills by cart or horseback to this very hospital. GLEESON'S HOSPITAL

It is so hard to comprehend how people lived & died years ago in these small mining towns scattered throughout the southwest. But, at least some of that history is still here for people to see if they are interested. And it is what's left of these small towns that is the true history of the west. A lot of people come to see Tombstone Arizona thinking that is the original old west but Tombstone has become so commercialized that it is nearly impossible to separate fact from fiction there. If there is any originality left, it is lost in all the glitz & Hollywood glamour. If you want to see the true old west as it once was you have to get out & hunt down these little ghost towns scattered over the desert sands. But, be prepared to be disappointed if your expecting to see what you have so long been watching in Hollywood movies. You will come face to face with the reality of time & it's effects on man's history. So, bottom line......if you want to see a Hollywood ghost town, go to Tombstone. If you want to see the real McCoys, get your driving map out, get your hiking boots on & search out places like, Gleeson, Pearce, Fairbanks, Charleston, Millville, & countless others in this area. Last year in New Mexico we found places like Chloride & Hillsboro just to mention a couple. In California last December it was the mining town of Tumco.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/83THELITTLEWESTERNTOWNATTHEENDOFTHEROAD
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/82THROWINGSNOWBALLSINTHEEMORYPASS
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/THEOLDTUMCOMININGSITE

We were back to the ranch by 1 & spent the rest of the afternoon resting up from our ghost town venture in the morning. Next week we'll go have us a look at what's left of the town of Pearce. More old ruins, more old cemeteries & more old ghosts.......................

THEY SAY THERE ARE MANY GHOSTS HERE

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TO-DAY WE MET RENE & JIM.....FROM, LIVEWORKDREAM.COM

VISITING WITH JIM & RENE

Heavy frost on the car this morning as we started our first full day by ourselves on the ranch. Morning chores went off without a hitch & it was nice to see all 5 dogs running around playing. Even Gleason the shy one was bouncing around me like a little puppy dog. It always gives me a warm feeling to be accepted........especially by animals:))

Worked away on a little garden project before lunch over at the house & it felt good to be on the end of my old shovel & rake again. I have always found gardening very relaxing & a great way to get some good old exercise & dirt under the fingernails. While I was working away I became aware of cars going by slowly out on the road. At one point 5 vehicles were stopped out in front of the driveway. Wasn't sure what they were looking at but Jeanie had said sometimes people stop to look at the donkeys.....but the donkeys were out of sight back behind the hay barn. I still don't know what they were all looking at but I did walk over to the rig & trade my baseball hat for my cowboy hat. Figured maybe they were all from back east somewhere & wanted to see a western ranch & if that was the case, they would get a bigger bang for their buck if they could see a real live person with a cowboy hat on. Well, that's how I figured it anyway. ME & BANSHI ARE BIG PALS NOW

SHE LIKES WHEN I TICKLE HER NOSE WITH MY BEARD

Yesterday we received an email from fellow RV blog travelers Rene & Jim. http://www.liveworkdream.com/. We had corresponded with Rene & Jim over the past year ever since they had met Kelly's sister & husband, Becky & Norm, over in Truth or Consequences New Mexico at the Riverbend Hot Springs Spa. Rene & Jim are on their way from California over to Rodeo New Mexico & Terilingua Texas to have a look at some property. Because we have 3 dogs & are animal lovers, we were first attracted to Rene & Jim's site because of their 3 legged dog Jerry. Jerry had lost his leg to cancer & unfortunately he later lost his life to the same disease last year. This coming Sunday night Feb 15th, Rene, Jim, & Jerry are going to be on the PBS channel in a show entitled, Why We Love Our Cats & Dogs. The show will be on at different times across the country so check your local listings for the correct time. RENE & I HAD A SHOOT OUT WITH OUR DUELING CANONS

Rene & Jim are here at the ranch to-night. They had spent last night in a noisy parking lot area in Benson so we suggested they slip down to the ranch for the night. Ray had put in two extra RV sites here so there were extra RV hook-ups. Kelly phoned Jeanie this morning to OK the deal & Jeanie being a true animal lover herself said yes, by all means, have them come & stay. So, this afternoon we met Rene & Jim. It's not often in this lifestyle that we meet people younger than ourselves but Rene & Jim are two vibrant younger people full of life with a zest & zeal for adventure. They are fulltimers & have been on the road for about a year & a half working here & there & enjoying life. Check out their website. http://www.liveworkdream.com/. These are two very genuinely nice people with many interests. They came with us on our chores this afternoon & we all later got to-gether for supper in our rig. Chatted away until well after sundown. We have met so many really nice people in our travels & we're happy to say that to-day we have just met two more.................................

KELLY'S CONDUCTING A RANCH TOUR

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US COWPOKES ARE ON OUR OWN

WE'RE ON OUR OWN

Another mighty fine Arizona morning. Not a whole lot to write about to-day because we just spent a quiet day around the rig cleaning, etc. Ray & I cleaned up the corral & pens this morning & that was about it. Lots of little horsey & donkey do-do's. Actually this is pretty good stuff to work with compared to cow manure. Not smooshy or smelly. Rakes & shovels up easy & doesn't even stick to yer boots.

Jeanie & Ray packed the final things in their truck & fifth wheel this afternoon & by mid afternoon they were heading out the driveway on their long overdo holiday. We are now officially on our own here at the ranch until next month sometime. We are very fortunate that our duties here are light & mainly involve taking care of the animals. That's right up our alley & it's the perfect setting for us. We would never make good camp hosts or anything like that because of all the people involvement, but looking after some critters & acting as security on a quiet ranch in beautiful Cochise County in southeastern Arizona is just about as good as it gets for The Bayfield Bunch:)) We are happy campers.

JEANIE & RAY DOING A FINAL BRAKES, LIGHTS, & TURN SIGNAL CHECK

Sometime next week we are going to go back to Bisbee & take the Queen Mine Tour. I hadn't mentioned a lot about Bisbee's mining history in yesterday's blog so when we do the mine tour I will focus more on Bisbee's history of mining. Afterall, if it wasn't for the massive mining operations there over the last century & a half, Bisbee just wouldn't have been Bisbee.A BIG WAVE GOOD-BYE

It was a year ago on Feb 13th that we took our third drive on the 25 mile Ajo loop in Organ Pipe National Monument. We were boondocking just south of Why Arizona at the time. I remember it as a beautiful day because some of the Mexican poppies were blooming & it was nice to see the patches of yellow in the mountains. You can see the photo album for that day here..........
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/FLOWERSINTHEMOUNTAINS

Well, better hit the hay. A cowpokes day starts pretty early in these here parts. What with 9 chickens, 5 dogs, 2 cats, 2 horses, & 3 donkeys to look after it sounds like were gonna be on the go from sun up to sundown. Yessir pardner.........................we're havin us one real good fine time here:)) Ye-hawwwww!!

TAKE CARE FOLKS & HAVE YOURSELVES A GOOD TRIP

No photos for the web album to-day.

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

THIS MORNING I SMOOCHED A HORSE.....AND THEN WE WENT TO BISBEE

COFFEE & PIZZA AT THE HIGH DESERT CAFE IN BISBEE


Frost covered everything this morning but it was better than the day before when we woke up to the ground all covered with snow. Had forgot to un-hook the water hose so it was froze up real darn good but we had lots of onboard water in our freshwater tank so no problem.

We generally head out to do the chores shortly after 8 in the morning & by that time the sun is over the mountains & the warming process has begun. The chickens were happy to see us as were Gleeson & Pearce, the two rootin tootin ranch dogs. Weatherman said we were in for some good weather over the next bunch of days so decided to open the corral gate & let the horses & donkeys out to pasture. As I walked across the corral, the two horses, Sporty & Banshi closed right up behind me, one on either side. They were pretty happy because they knew they are heading out to the fields. As I reached down to undo the chain at the gate, Banshi put her dead down right over my shoulder beside my face. I turned my head & put a little smooch on her nose. First time I ever smooched a horse. Swung the gate open & away went the donkeys & horses went kicking up their heels in jubilation to be out of the corral at last.
BISBEE MINING MUSEUM

Jeanie had recommended a really great hot dog place in the San Jose area of Bisbee so this morning we figured we'd head on over there & check it out. Nice drive on Frontier & Double Adobe roads to catch highway 80 into Bisbee. We found Jimmy's Hot Dog Company without any problem. Pretty hard to miss because it's painted bright yellow & trimmed in red. This is a really nice clean little diner done up in the old Chicago style diners of yesteryear. Friendly staff with great hot dogs & home cut fries. Loved the music they were playing on a quality sound system. You don't often find that in eating places. Jimmy himself came over to talk to us. Nice fellow. We'll definitely be back there sometime in the next few weeks. From Jimmy's we slipped across the street to a Safeway grocery store for a few groceries. This was probably the nicest grocery store I've been in simply because of the way they have used creative lighting to highlight their products. Makes for a nice homey feeling. Not just that usual bland fluorescent lighting glare from above like in other stores. From there we headed over to the main part of Bisbee. We had been there once before but it was a brief encounter. We passed through this area 2 years ago with our truck & fifth wheel one day. Bisbee is a mile high in the mountains & by the time we got there it was snowing. We got lost in the town somehow & without ever even stopping we somehow got spit back up onto the highway heading west. We were tired & confused so just kept on going but I do remember thinking at the time, this looks like a really neat place, hope we can come back here some day. Well, to-day was that day. A TOWN BUILT ON MANY HILLS

Bisbee is a town like no other. http://www.discoverbisbee.com/ It is in an alpine like setting high up in the Mule mountain range of southeastern Arizona. It's multi-colored buildings, fascinating old west architecture, narrow streets, & collection of artsy type shops & characters make it a totally unique experience. We spent a couple of hours walking the town & taking photos. Bisbee is a real mosh of narrow streets, alleys, & hidden stairways. We only saw part of it so will be returning there again sometime over the next few weeks for sure. From the ranch to Bisbee is only about a 25 minute drive. Lots of local characters in Bisbee & it's plain to see where all the aging hippies vanished to years ago. They are all in Bisbee with their folk art, music, trendy little shoppes, cafe's & eateries. Bisbee is much like another little Arizona town we came across last year....Jerome, over on Mingus mountain near Cottonwood, but I think Bisbee is even trendier than Jerome. This is a place you have to see for yourself. My photos just don't do it justice I'm afraid. THE OLD ARCHITECTURE IN BISBEE IS TOTALLY AWESOME

Just one of the fascinating places we came across to-day was, The Shady Dell. Jeanie had said not to miss this.
Nine lovely fully restored vintage aluminum travel trailers are here in a cozy park like setting & are available for overnight or weekly rental. Their brochure says, "For once, experience the 1950's in full Technicolor. Met a friendly lady there who showed us inside one of the trailers. The old television was black & white & the 50's radio plays only that genre of music. It is truly like stepping back in time to the 1950's. There is even an old wooden yacht that can be rented for a stay. This is really a neat-0 place & I did take a bunch of photos here. http://www.theshadydell.com/ Also on the property is Dot's Diner. This little diner originally sat on the corners of Ventura & Topanga Canyon Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. It was closed to-day but we are definitely going to go back for some eats at Dots. http://offbeateats.blogspot.com/2008/01/dot-diner-bisbee-arizona.html VINTAGE TRAILERS OR THIS OLD BUS ARE AVAILABLE FOR OVERNIGHT OR WEEKLY RENTALS THE ORIGINAL DOT'S DINER FROM LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA

We were back to the ranch by 3:45. Jeanie & Ray were just putting the final touches on their upcoming travel plans. Their fifth wheel is all loaded up & they're just about ready to hit the road for a long overdo little holiday somewhere. While we were standing outside talking, Ray spotted an illegal alien walking across one of the fields about a half a mile away. He said that's not unusual in this area. JIMMY'S HOT DOG COMPANY....GREAT EATS

Nice moonrise over the Swisshelm mountains to-night........................

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WE GOT SNOWED ON!!!!

YES, WE KNOW WE'RE CUTE

Wished they could pass some kind of legislation to make Arizona turn off it's big wind machine at night. We have been punched & buffeted by heavy wind gusts for 4 nights in a row now making for some very poor sleeping on my part. Kelly could probably sleep through a double hurricane. People living in stick houses are probably not aware of the wind but for RV folks it can make for some real nail biting nights. Especially if you have awnings over your slides, satellite dishes set up outside, or solar panels up. Wind in the air conditioning vents can set up howls & vibrations. The wind catches every little square corner imaginable & sets up a racket which telescopes the sound inside. And then there's the rocking & swaying. And then there's Al's hollering & swearing at the wind!! NOT OFTEN JEANIE & RAY SEE THEIR HOUSE IN THIS KIND OF SETTING

We opened the door this morning & our world outside had turned white. Snow!! There was about an inch of snow covering the ground for as far as we could see. The mountains all around were hidden in a pall of gray clouds. Jeanie & Ray were already up walking around having a look at everything. It's extremely rare for this to happen in these here parts. We didn't tell them about our reputation for bringing snow to places we travel to. We all walked around to-gether & did the chickens, dogs, horses, & donkeys. Came back, grabbed my cameras & took some photos. EVEN THE BIRDS ARE A BIT CONFUSED BY ALL THE WHITE STUFF

The clouds began to lift around 9 revealing snow on the mountains. Patches of blue began appearing in the sky around 10 & by noon most of the snow was gone. But of course the wind wasn't gone!! Oh no, not the wind!! It just kept right on howling for the rest of the day driving down the wind chill factor from our 45F high. We basically stayed in & caught up on some computer stuff & I of course had about a half dozen siestas trying to catch up on my sleep. I did help Ray later move 16 bales of straw over to where 2 large above ground water tanks stood. We packed the bales around the tanks & pump because the weatherman says it's going to get so cold to-night that even the brass monkey isn't taking any chances. He flew out of Tucson late this afternoon heading for the warm beaches of Hawaii. EVEN THE BAYFIELD BUNCH IS A BIT CONFUSED BY ALL THE WHITE STUFF

To-night's DVD movie was, Little Miss Sunshine. No, it's not a Shirley Temple movie. Nice light hearted comedy & one of my favorite actors from years ago was in it......Alan Arkin. This movie even got a few chuckles out of me:)) SUNSET OVER THE MULE MOUNTAINS

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A GREAT CHATTERING FROM THE SKY

FULL MOON SETTING THIS MORNING

The frost encrusted car told us we had a cold morning going on outside so right from the get go we jumped into our warm winter Canadian clothes. No snow on the mountains this morning but it felt like we were parked right next to a big iceberg somewhere.

We didn't waste anytime getting our rounds down stopping only briefly to talk to Jeanie & Ray who were likewise dressed in warm clothes. The chickens had their toques on & the big four legged guys were wearing heavy woolen scarves, furry ear muffs, & matching hooves mittens. All the dogs refused to suit up saying they thought the donkeys looked ridiculous in their matching attire.

THE RANCH

Jeanie & Ray headed off to Sierra Vista later to find some extra parts for a new water heater they were putting in. We hung around the rig mainly staying in out of the cold wind. It was around noon when I noticed there was a steady sound in the air outside. This sound continued steadily until around 3 in the afternoon & never let up. It was the thousands & thousands of Sand Hill Cranes returning from their morning feeding grounds. There must have been a lot of gossip going on to-day because there was an awful lot of chatter coming out of the sky. Noticed that they were flying much higher than in previous days & the flocks seemed a lot larger. They seemed like mere specks against the blue sky. Sat in one of the lounge chairs for awhile with my binoculars watching wave after wave go over. I could tell there were many small groups within the larger groups. Sometimes only 3 or 4 birds in a single group. Sometimes single birds moving around in the flock. And the flocks weren't always going in the same direction. Sometimes they would circle around & merge with another flock. Sometimes small groups would break away going in the opposite direction. And all the time was the constant chatter. It's more of a weeble than a honk. HIGH FLYING CRANES TO-DAY

In the coming weeks we hope to check out some very interesting places in the area. The Texas John Slaughter Ranch east of Douglas, the alpine like village of Bisbee in the Mule mountains. Cochise's stronghold in the Dragoon mountains, Geronimo's surrender point in Skeleton Canyon, ghost towns Gleeson & Pearce, just to mention a few. Was feeling a little under the weather to-day so hope I'm not coming down with a nasty case of chickenpecks!! YEP, WE'RE ON A RANCH ALRIGHT

To-night's DVD was, Amazing Grace. Based on the true story of Wiliam Wilberforce & his quest to end the British slave trade. An inspiring movie & well done. Liked this one:))

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