TEXAS JOHN SLAUGHTER......THE RANCH

THE RESTORED RANCH HOUSE

We were up in good time, organized, & had the Santa Fe wheels rolling by 9:30 for Douglas Arizona & beyond. The Texas John Slaughter Ranch is 15 miles east of Douglas right on the Mexican American border. Road is paved for a few miles but then turns into dusty gravel. John Slaughter's ranch seemed a long way & it was hard to imagine people having to travel by horse & cart through the rough & tumble desert all the way to Bisbee for supplies. They sure were enduring people back in those days. THE ARTESIAN SPRING WAS DAMED TO MAKE THIS POND

Texas John Slaughter
http://www.desertusa.com/mag00/jun/papr/slath.html
http://www.thewildwest.org/cowboys-western/287/Outlaws-Lawmen-of-the-Wild-West.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Horton_Slaughter

The very first thing that impressed me as we approached the ranch was the greenery. The cottonwoods were fully dressed in their shimmering green spring leaves & I couldn't get over the acres of lush green grass. This was a true emerald green oasis in the harsh dry & sometimes bleak looking desert. John Slaughter had chosen this site to build the ranch because of the artesian wells here. He dammed up the springs & made a large pond which is now the water source for all the grass & trees. It has been so long since we have walked on green grass under big green trees & it was that which impressed me more than anything else to-day except for the farm fresh smell coming from the barn. Took me right back to my childhood with memories of barns & cattle.

BUILDING WAS ORIGINALLY THE GRAINERY BUT IS NOW A MUSEUM

We were very fortunate to be the only ones there for awhile & it made touring the quiet old ranch house a nicer experience. There are many photographs on all the walls from the life & times of the folks who lived there. The buildings & grounds have been completely & lovingly restored. From the house we walked out around the big pond, under the large cottonwoods to a series of steps leading up to Mesa de la Avanzada. This was the site of the old cavalry encampment just east of the ranch where soldiers watched as Pancho Villa's army made camp before turning to attack Agua Prieta south of Douglas Arizona. This army camp was strategically positioned on this mesa with a clear view to the south for many miles into Mexico. Not much left of the fort anymore except piles of old stone walls. Geronimo, years earlier had used this same valley to travel from the Sierra Madre mountains up into the United States on his raiding parties. THE LAST OLD ORIGINAL BORDER MARKER BETWEEN MEXICO & THE UNITED STATES

Back in December a rare Blue Mockingbird was sighted at the Slaughter ranch & since then thousands of birdwatchers have been pouring into area for a glimpse of the bird. I think we were the only people on the property to-day who were not bird watchers. I saw some pretty fancy cameras & long powerful lenses as people ambled around the grounds searching for the Mockingbird. And then we heard shouts of, "there it is, there it is!!" Walked over to a group of people with binoculars & cameras snapping away at a grove of bare trees & had us a look. Could hardly see the dark colored bird in the branches of the dark colored tree but I finally saw some movement & started firing away with my little 200mm lens. It wasn't until I got home & severally cropped the pictures that I was actually able to pull something resembling a bird out of the photo. You can see my poor results in to-day's web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ The bird people were sure excited though. From there we strolled around the grounds & I stopped to have a nice little chat with some horses. They sure were friendly. In the meantime Kelly got a ride in the staff golf cart to where our car was parked up the hill from the ranch because by this time my hip & right leg were so painful I couldn't make it any further. She brought the car down & picked me up. LOOKING EAST ALONG THE THE BORDER BARRIER

From the ranch we traveled a short distance to a spot one of the staff had told us about where the last old original border marker between the countries of Mexico & the United States was located. Those markers used to be placed a mile apart. A sign said to keep out of the area but Kelly made me drive down the road to the border wall anyway. Those photos are also in the web album. It is mind boggling to think how these Mexican people come through these fences & over these walls & then have hundreds of treacherous & unknown miles & dangers ahead of them. And all they have are what they can carry on their backs. We recently found two backpacks alongside the road near McNeal fully loaded with food & I could hardly lift the one pack because it was so heavy. Can't imagine carrying that on your back in the dead of night through endless miles of unknown desert. The determination of these people is nothing short of totally incredible.AL IS IN NO MAN'S LAND BETWEEN MEXICO ON THE LEFT & AMERICA ON THE RIGHT

We were back in Douglas by 2 & Kelly picked up a few groceries at Wally-World. The pain in my lower back, hip & leg was too much & I didn't get too far in the store. Made it back to the ranch OK so guess I'll have to just back off the hiking & traveling for a few days until this problem corrects itself. Feels like it's probably a pinched nerve because I can feel numbness down my thigh to my knee sometimes. Guess it's just the price you pay for pushing the aging body a little too hard sometimes. But hey, that's what life is all about & I wouldn't want it any other way.............................:)) ANOTHER FINE END TO ANOTHER FINE DAY

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A WEE HIKE UP TO CORONADO PEAK

Weatherman says we're going to be up in the 80's again before too long so figured we'd better get a few more good day trips & hikes under our belts before it gets too hot. Had heard there were some pretty spectacular views from Coronado Peak at the Coronado National Memorial in the southernmost part of the Huachuca Mountains.
http://www.nps.gov/coro/
http://www.desertusa.com/cor/
http://usparks.about.com/library/miniplanner/blcoronadonmemTHE SAN PEDRO VALLEY BELOW

Fired up the car & headed southwest about 9:30. Rolled up & out of the Sulphur Springs Valley, over the Mule Mountains, through Bisbee & down into the San Pedro Valley on the other side. Ahead of us in the morning sun lay the mighty Huachuca Mountain Range. We were surprised at how green & full the cottonwood trees along the San Pedro River looked. Just last week we had crossed the San Pedro west of Tombstone & they were still stark & bare of leaves. Large puffy white clouds cast moving shadow patterns on the mountains as we drew closer. Morning is my favorite time of day because it is when I have the most energy. I like to do the day trips or the hiking in the cooler morning hours, cruise through the afternoons, & crash onto my bed in a crumpled heap about mid evening. How can ya tell I'm over 64 huh. LOOKING SOUTHWEST FROM CORONADO PEAK

We always like to stop at visitor centers first when visiting parks because they have maps & advice on where to go & what to see. Talked to a park ranger outside for awhile & he was full of ideas for us about the surrounding area. Told us where to find Fort Rucker's ruins so looks like we'll be heading back to Rucker Canyon again shortly. That's the road where we picked up about 45 pounds of dust inside the car & unfortunately, inside my cameras too.

The drive from the visitor's center up to the parking lot at Coronado Peak is a graveled road with twisting winding switchbacks wide enough for only one vehicle in many spots. It's not a drive you want to make in a hurry. There are no guardrails & the drop offs are sudden & dramatic. Kelly refused to look over the edge as we made our way up. Big parking lot at the top as the road continues on by & down the other side of the mountain into Mexico. The views were spectacular from the parking lot & we noticed a trail heading higher in the direction of a peak to the south. This was Coronado Peak. Kelly went about half way & I continued on up to the peak despite an increasing pain the last few days in my right hip. Pain doesn't count when your doing something you really enjoy though.

THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAIN RANGE

The view from the peak was totally awesome & I was so happy that there were no people there to destroy the quiet tranquility of the moment. The view into Mexico extended maybe a hundred miles. I could see the wall between Mexico & the United States extending from the foot of the mountain east to the horizon over near Bisbee. To the west was a vast flat plain ending in mountain ranges in all directions. Same thing looking south into the heart of Mexico. Once again as I stood there in the morning sun with the big fluffy white clouds overhead & the blue hazy mountains on the horizon I thought to myself how lucky I was to be there seeing all this beauty before me. There were no human sounds up there, just the wind in the grasses & the tiny flitting birds in the cactus. But my time alone on the peak was precious as I scurried around taking photos here & there. I knew I didn't have much time because I could already hear the clatter & clamor of people approaching on the trail below. Nothing like a bunch of chattering people to destroy one's quiet thoughts & reflections. I bid a final adieu to a place I will not likely see again & began the descent down the scenic stone step pathway, all the time snapping pictures to my left & right of the valleys & mountains on both sides of the ridge. The group of people coming up the trail were all busy twittering away as they went by & I was reminded once again of why I avoid groups of people. There is a feeling of peace to be had in the outdoors but it's not possible to attain when surrounded with domestic blusterings of politics, economic issues, health concerns, bitching & complaining & just downright dumb stuff. Heavens knows I can do all that by myself without having to have people around to add more bull to my own blusters!! LOOKING SOUTH INTO THE HEART OF MEXICO

Kelly was seated on a bench in the parking lot enjoying the views when I got back. We rustled up the binoculars & had us a good look down into the sweeping countryside of Mexico far below to the southwest. Chatted with a fellow from Michigan & watched a young border patrol officer scanning the roads below with his binoculars as well. This is a very busy area with a lot of illegal aliens moving across the border below. THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAIN RANGELOOKING EAST TO BISBEE & THE DISTANT MULE MOUNTAINS ON THE LEFT HORIZON

The drive down the mountain was just as hairy as the drive up but before long we were out of the mountains & heading back across the San Pedro Valley for the little Alpine town of Bisbee. First stop was Jimmy's Hot Dog Company & then across the road for groceries at Safeway. Grabbed a cup of expensive burnt tasting coffee at Charbucks again & then it was off to the Bisbee Library to return some DVD's & pick up a few more. We were back to the ranch by 3 & cruised through the rest of the afternoon rather quietly. Kelly got a campfire going later on & I slipped out to watch the full moon pull itself out of a heavy cloud bank over the Swisshelm Mountains. All our dogs are fine, the ranch animals are in good shape & aside from 7 donkey eggs to-day it was another fine day for the Bayfield Bunch.....................:)) THIS MORNINGS SETTING MOON OVER THE MULE MOUNTAINS

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THROUGH THE APACHE PASS TO HISTORIC FORT BOWIE

FORT BOWIE'S HORSE & STABLE AREA

A bit of cloud cover this morning but by 9 a.m. it had given way to a big bright sun filled Arizona day. Kelly had a Yoga class this morning scheduled for 10:30 but decided to cancel it because I was whining so much about having to sit around doing nothing for another day. By 9:30 I was happily in the car & we were headed north up Sulphur Springs Valley to Apache Pass & Fort Bowie. Ya know guys, sometimes whining really helps:))FORT BOWIE'S CEMETRY

Fort Bowie http://www.nps.gov/fobo/
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/AZ-FortBowie.html
http://www.desertusa.com/bow/
http://www.desertusa.com/magfeb98/bowie/feb_bowiehike.html
http://www.roadtripamerica.com/GettingOutThere/Fort-Bowie.htm

It's about an hours drive from Elfrida & after we turned east off highway 181 the road changed to a red clay made soft by the rain a couple days ago. Hadn't been graded yet & a bit rough in spots but no problem for the Santa Fe. To reach Fort Bowie we had to go through the historic Apache Pass. What a beautiful place this is. Stopped at the spot where a massacre had taken place when a band of Apache Indians had ambushed a wagon train on the old Butterfield Stage route. Check our web album for details & pictures.
http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ The Pass led down a winding dirt road to a parking lot trail head & it was from here that we began our scenic hike along an easy trail for one & a half miles to Fort Bowie. This is a totally beautiful area of hills, canyons, plains, grasslands, & towering mountain ranges. Arizona is a fascinating place & around every corner is a new adventure.

KELLY LOOKS DOWN AT THE APACHE SPRINGS

We left the parking lot on foot & hit the trail about 11. It would be about 5 hours before we would made it back to the car again. The trail to the fort is rich in history. The Fort Bowie Cemetery, the ruins of the Apache Pass Stage Station, site of the Battle of Apache Pass, & Apache Springs which was the focal point for hundreds of years for people moving through the area needing water. It is this very spot where the whole history of the area revolves. Cochise drank water here, Geronimo drank water here. The spring is alive with the ghosts of countless parched & dusty travelers. All these points are along the trail & at the Apache Pass Stage Station you can see where Cochise met with the American Calvary's 2nd Lt George Bascom & where an ensuing battle took place. Further up the trail is the site where the Apache's attacked the rear of a wagon train & another major battle took place. All these historic sites are clearly marked with reader boards so I photographed each reader board & then took a picture beside it of the area the reader board was describing. This is one of the things that made this hike the best one we've been on so far because everything is so clearly marked. I hesitate to tell you how many photos I took to-day but if you go to our web albums you will see all the things I have described. This is truly a great hike & if your into old west history I recommend you walk this trail from the parking lot north of the fort.

STONE WALL RUINS OF THE ORIGINAL FORT BOWIE

After Apache Springs it's a short distance to the ruins of the first Fort Bowie so we took a side trail & hiked up the hill. Many old stone foundations & the 2nd Fort Bowie is about three quarters of a mile beyond. The photos of the reader boards tell the stories of why the Fort was first built here & why it was later decided to move it's location. We moved on from the old ruins & ghosts to the 2nd Fort Bowie. It was far bigger than I had imagined & we spent an hour just walking around looking at what's left of the Fort. Foundations & sections of walls that have been sealed to prevent further deterioration. All the ruins are clearly marked so you don't have to guess what things are. The surrounding hillsides & mountains form a perfect backdrop to the old legendary ruins. Geronimo once walked these grounds. He was brought here after his surrender in Skeleton Canyon to the south & there is a photograph of him on the parade ground talking to his people. Many soldiers were stationed here & I'm sure their ghosts still roam the ruins. A DOOR LEADS INTO THE CALVARY'S BARRACKS AT THE SECOND FORT BOWIE

We stopped into the visitor's center/ranger station for a brief rest before starting the long trek back to the car on a different trail. The return path starts behind the visitors center & is a steep rocky climb up to a summit point that overlooks the Fort below. Beautiful views in all directions from up there. We stopped at a bench beside a bronze plaque & had our last look back on the Fort far below. I always feel sad at times like that because I know it's not likely I will ever pass that way again. From this point we stayed on the ridge trail & headed down from the summit via a bunch of switch backs. We were beginning to tire by this point because we had been on the trail for over 4 hours. Took us about 40 minutes to finally reach the parking lot & our car. As usual the last 2 or 3 hundred yards were the toughest. Flopped into the soft Santa Fe seats, unwrapped our peanut butter sandwiches, poured the thermos coffee, cranked up the car & headed for home.

ALL THAT'S LEFT OF THE COMMANDING OFFICERS STATELY HOUSE

What a great day this turned out to be & I think it was the best hike we have had so far on our trip. The scenery was spectacular & the history just reaches out & grabs you every step of the way. This was my favorite kind of day & to-night as I sit here typing this my legs are so sore I just might have to trade them in for new ones, but no matter, what a great day, what a great day. And it all started out with a little whining..................................:)) A LAST LOOK BACK AT FORT BOWIE BELOW

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A GRAY SUNRISE & A FIERY SUNSET

A gentle rain stayed with us all night before petering out around 8 this morning. Heavy overcast clouds remained & the surrounding mountains were shrouded in cloaks of heavy graying mists making for a very moody morning. Lots of mud but new spring plant life is happy. We have noticed a gentle greening of the yellow grass over the past week & some small trees are showing a lime green tinge of early leaves. Didn't take long for our shoes to become clogged with mud on our morning walk out on the road this morning. Forecast for to-day was for clearing skies & sunshine so headed down to the corral to let the horses & donkeys out into the fields. Was glad we made the decision to bring them in last night where they had shelter from the rain. Had hoped to maybe go to Fort Bowie to-day but figured with all the rain it might be better to wait a few days until the ground & backroads had dried up a bit. With the cloud cover & cool breeze we figured it was a good morning for a DVD. Martin Scorsese's, "The Last Waltz" has been defined as the finest of all rock movies. It is the farewell performance of, The Band. Great movie with appearances on stage by Bob Dylan, Eric Clapton, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Neil Diamond, Emmylou Harris, Muddy Waters, The Staples, Ringo Star, Ron Wood, Dr. John, Paul Butterfield, & Ronnie Hawkins. Enjoyed this DVD & once again I say, where is that range of talent to-day!! Old Sol finally made his grand entrance competing for space with large fluffy white clouds for the rest of the day. Wind picked up so had to keep an eye on the flags. Spent some time tipped back in a lawn chair with the binoculars watching waves of Sand Hill Cranes thousands of feet in the air returning to their Whitewater Draw pond about a mile & a half west of us. Some of the formations were so high I could only see them with binoculars. You would think they were formations of aircraft with their outstretched, stable wings unmoving in the air currents. Waves of Cranes gliding on westerly winds. Other than previously mentioned, it was a quiet day......again!! I don't mind some relaxing days now & then but this is about 4 in a row & that is about enough!! Time to get out & do something, go somewhere, see something. I'm afraid if we don't do this now while we're here we may not get another chance. The economy seems to be slipping ever faster into chaos & ruin & with each passing day it is becoming more clear to me that our chances of ever making it back to our beloved southwest again are fast fading. Thoughts of having to remain in Canada again for unending miserable winters is extremely depressing but guess we should be thankful that we did get to spend as much time here in the past 5 years that we did. We managed to live out part of our dream & there are a lot of unfortunate people out there who never will have the chances we had..................................... So, stop your complaining AL!!

No photos for the web album to-day.

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

A TELEVISION DAY & A RANT

KELLY READS BY AN AFTERNOON CAMPFIRE

It probably wouldn't be as cold in the motorhome some mornings if I could only remember to close the windows at night. No big deal to remember to close the windows, right!! Well, maybe for some people:(( WORK BEGINS ON AN INUKSHUK STONE MAN

Noticed right off the bat this morning that my energy levels were back up to speed so I was able to do a little more puttering in the little flowerbed project I've been working on. Had extra help to-day because Ingrid & Tom dropped Corky off in the morning. Kelly built an Inukshuk with the rocks we picked up in Rucker Canyon a few days ago & I was also able to get some more trees watered. OOPS, THE ROCKS BEGIN TO TUMBLE

Kelly had noticed on the ranch house TV programming schedule a program beginning at 10:30 about the history of the American southwest. That was something of interest for me so I watched the show which ran an hour & a half. Great documentary hosted by Harry Carrey Jr. It was about the real west & not the Hollywood west, & I liked the program's approach on explaining the difference between the two. I heard a line that made a whole lot of sense to me & added a "right on" stamp to my way of thinking. "Hollywood movies are basically meant to entertain & not to educate!!" Personally, I prefer the education to the entertainment. If I want to be entertained I'll go see a Harry Potter movie or some clear cut fictionalized tale that is clearly marketed as that. Fiction is entertainment & fact is education. Hollywood, & that includes the usual line-up of night time garbage television shows is notorious for it's junking of the North American mind. I remember as a kid watching all the Cowboy & Indian movies for example. Cowboys were good guys & Indians were bad guys. That's what we grew up believing because that's what Hollywood told us. It has taken me a lot of years to finally understand that Hollywood's take on history has nothing to do with reality. And so it goes, & so it goes. So many things we have been told as truth in our young lives has turned out to be false & so much precious time & effort has been lost in trying to determine fact from fiction. If only we would have been told the truth in the first place. Sometimes I get down on myself for being too critical of things but I have an inquisitive mind that is always asking questions. It asks, why is that, how did that happen, & why did that happen?? Who, What, Where, When, & Why!! It's a logical mind that tries to tie up loose ends. Tries to make sense out of non-sensical things. It's not a mind that blindly accepts commonly held beliefs just because others have not stopped long enough in their thought processes over the ages to ask questions. It's so unfortunate that the lies & deceptions in our society have become so commonplace. Yes, they have always been there but I fear the pace is quickening at an alarming pace now. The tip of the black iceberg is beginning to roll over!!

KELLY'S INUKSHUK MAN IS FINISHED

Temperatures dropped this afternoon & we could feel some rain in the air. Slipped back into the house & popped in a DVD. "Festival Express" is a documentary made in 1970 about a (quote) "multi-band, multi-day, extravaganza that captured the spirit & imagination of a generation & a nation. For 5 days bands & performers, (Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Ian & Sylvia & The Great Speckled Bird, The Buddy Guy Blues Band, Mashmakhan, The Band, Delaney & Bonnie & Friends, Sh-na-na, The Flying Burrito Brothers) lived, slept, rehearsed, & did countless unmentionable things aboard a customized train that traveled from Toronto to Winnipeg to Calgary with each stop culminating in a mega-concert. The entire experience was filmed both offstage & on, but the extensive footage remained locked away for 35 years." Enjoyed the DVD & it's always interesting to see the different lifestyles & changes that have taken place in people's lives since then in. Also a good trip down memory lane. Where were you in 1970:)) I HAVE ENJOYED PUTTING THESE GARDENS TO-GETHER

Raining here in southeastern Arizona to-night as I sit in the motorhome typing the blog in the subdued light of a dim lamp. Kelly's in the house watching 60 Minutes. I've got my ever present soothing ambient music on (Sirius Satellite Radio channel 073-The Spa) & the pitter patter of a soft rain on the roof makes for a sultry Sunday night. And that just seems to make everything A-OK in Al's little world..............................

No photos for the web album to-night.

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A TIRED KIND OF DAY

It was not a good night. The big wind hit us again just after midnight & kept up it's relentless howl all night. We had to put both slides in because of the noise & threat of having the slide awnings ripped off. The little Motormouse was scared of all the noisy rocking back & forth so snuggled under the covers as close as she could get. Don't know how many times I was awakened but it seemed like a looooong night. We have been told that March is a very bad month for high winds here in southeastern Arizona:(( It was nice to see clear skies this morning as the sun slipped up & over the Swisshelm mountains. The warming rays felt comforting coming through the motorhome windows & what a relief if was not to feel that relentless battering wind. Slipped over & took the rocks off the chickens, gave the rooster a pep talk, & we were off like a herd of turtles in a cloud of heifer dust on a brand new day. We had discussed heading over east of Douglas to the Texas John Slaughter ranch to-day but as the morning progressed we felt it was probably better to just hang around the ranch & try to get the energy levels back up to speed after last night's wind fiasco. I spent most of the morning & early afternoon reading & snoozing. Read 4 paragraphs & wake up a half hour later. Read some more, wake up some more just seemed to be the order of the day. Kelly was in better shape buzzing around doing this & that & taking care of Deerpark Lodge business on the phone. Around 2 we walked over to the ranch house & popped a DVD into the big TV. La Vie En Rose starring Marion Cotillard is a powerful movie about the extraordinary life of French singer, Edith Piaf. The DVD jacket describes the movie as, "She came from the streets of Paris & survived using the only gift she had...her voice." Seems like we have been having our share of real tear jerker movies lately. Realized as the sun was going down that I hadn't taken any photos for the blog so slipped out beside the rig where I had seen some blossoms earlier on a few fruit trees. Apple blossoms I think. Thought it make a nice touch of early spring for our weather weary friends & family back home. Sure hope the winds don't return in the night......................!!!! No photos for the web album to-night. OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

A DAY OF BIG WINDS

BIG WINDY SKIES

First email in this morning was from Rosanna at Paws & Hooves Ranch with a warning about the impending wind forecast for to-day. Said she had a red flag weather warning on her computer. Checked the Tucson weather channel & yep, we had some mighty big winds coming our way alright. Figured I'd better get outside & get a lot of loose stuff picked up before it becomes somebody else's loose stuff. SOMEBODY IS SLEEPING IN MY BED AGAIN!!

Kelly headed off to Elfrida for her Friday morning Yoga class while I battened down the hatches around the rig & waited for the blow. And, just as the weatherman predicted, the first big wind gusts hit us at 11 a.m. exactly. Luckily I had gathered up 9 large rocks & set them on top of the chickens so they wouldn't blow away. The rooster assured me he could take care of himself as he proudly strutted around his compound. I later saw him airborne, going by the window about 60 MPH.....backwards!! I'm sure he will be proudly back. The wind gusts battered us all afternoon without let up. The rig rocked back & forth as each gust did it's business on us. Reminded me of my old navy days aboard the H.M.C.S. Saguenay when we were out a few times in the North Atlantic & had the wind & waves battering the destroyer. THE SWISSHELM MOUNTAINS ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE RANCH

Earlier before the wind got too bad Kelly took the car & headed off to Bisbee. Wanted to browse around a bit, pick up a few things & stop into the Bisbee Library for some DVDs. She'll have a tail wind coming home so hope she can get the car stopped before reaching the New Mexico State Line. Ingrid & Tom dropped Corky off for a few hours late this morning while they went over to Sierra Vista so I enjoyed getting down on the ground & playing with all the dogs. Occasionally I would have to hang onto a doggy tail as the wind gusts would swoop in suddenly trying to make birds out of us all. Had to keep the little motormouse inside though or she would have been blown clear across the lower 48 States. AND THIS IS CORKY.....THE BIG ENERGY GUY

Kelly made it back from Bisbee around 3 & said it wasn't windy there at all. Bisbee is sheltered in the Mule mountains. We did the chores a little bit on the early side to-day because Jackie & Sergeant John in Elfrida wanted to take us up to the Apache Lair for all you can eat fish n chips. We scooted around & got things squared away before heading to Elfrida about four thirty. THE GLEESON MOUNTAINS NORTHEAST OF THE RANCH

John was home but Jackie had left Wednesday on a family medical emergency up in Phoenix so Kelly, John, I headed north up near Sunizona to the restaurant. Can't even remember the last time we had fish & chips but it would probably have been at Madelyn's Diner in Stratford Ontario a couple of years ago. Fish n Chips were good & of course we did eat all we could eat too. Thanks for the great supper Sarge. Headed back to Elfrida & John had us come in to see an old 50's classic RV movie staring Lucille Ball & Dezi Arnaz called, The Long, Long, Trailer. About a honeymoon couple buying & towing a 40' house trailer on a trip from California to Colorado in the mountains. Although the movie is probably around 50 years old, to-day's modern RV folks can still identify with all the problems & situations that arise from their life on the road. Same problems still apply to-day. A good movie in it's time & still holds up for RV folks needing to touch base with their humorous side of the RV lifestyle. APACHE LAIR STEAK HOUSE WHERE SERGEANT JOHN TOOK US FOR SUPPER

Said good-bye to John about 7:30 & headed for the ranch. Noticed that the wind had finally subsided. Probably won't get over that way again before we leave but it was nice to have met John & his wife Jackie. Sergeant John is the fellow with 2 Hudson Hornet cars that I blogged about last Sunday. Nice folks for sure & maybe see you again in November. Safe RV travels to California next month. THE MOTORMOUSE

Driving home was like being on another planet for us because the sun had gone down & we were surrounded by darkness. It is rare for us to be out after dark anymore. Guess it's just one of those older folks routines we have unfortunately slipped into, but I do miss it. Have always enjoyed night time driving because you get to see the world in a whole new perspective. Stars, moon, farm lights, little towns & neon signs, etc. Years ago when I drove for an Airport shuttle service between Stratford & Toronto Ontario I was on the road a lot in the early to late evening hours. Always looked forward to the later night drives up to the Goderich & Bayfield areas. I miss that part of the job now but I don't miss the heavy stress filled mad traffic chaos in the Toronto area. I still avoid large cities to this day. Been there, done that & don't need to do that no more.................................................

No photos for the web album to-night.

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