NO PAIN, YUMMY RESULTS, THOUGHT PATTERNS, & A GOOD LOOKER:))

AN EXAMPLE OF PROGRESSIVE THOUGHT PATTERNED TEAM WORK

The pain in my leg had me out of bed at 4:30 a.m. but by 9 it was all over. That little pinched nerve guy finally packed his bag & got out of my body. Noticed I wasn't getting the shooting pain in the leg & back when I walked. A little soreness & some numbing but that was all. Figured it would be best to remain in an upright position & keep the leg moving for the rest of the morning so went down & cleaned out the corral, did a bunch of watering around the ranch house, & did a little work on my garden project. The day went well & except for one time climbing off the ATV I was basically pain free finally. If to-night & to-morrow go well I will consider the problem over. And how did the problem occur?? My theory is that it happened while lifting a hay bale into a cart last week. I had been putting bales into the cart & pivoting to the right while doing so & I think that may have caused it. Just a theory. Kelly thinks it happened when I put too much peanut butter on a slice of bread & hurt myself when I had to use both hands to lift it up to my mouth. MAX SMELLS SOMETHING YUMMY COOKING

One Sunday morning about a month ago an infomercial appeared on television. I am usually quick to change the channel on those things right away but for some reason this one caught my attention & I actually sat there & watched. The product being demonstrated made logical sense to me so I watched the same commercial at the same time the following week just to be sure. Told Kelly this was the greatest invention since sliced bread so she trusted my word & ordered it on line. Well, we picked up our little gem this week at the McNeal Post Office & when I unpackaged it I could see that it was well made & not some cheapo little pile of junk. Looked to be of good quality & to-night we tried it out for the first time. A whopping yummy personal pizza success!! Pizza's are only one of many things you can make. Only took the cooker 7 minutes to cook it & Al 7 seconds to eat it. I think it will be something we will use a lot. It's called, "Xpress Redi Set Go" & it's a compact fast little cooker. No, we're not selling them or in ca-hoots with the company. I'm just passing this along because I think (so far) this is a good product. The compact size is good for RV'ers. I'll put the website link in plus a few pics I took at suppertime to-night. And, not to worry, if the cooker turns out to be bogus, I will tell you that too. http://www.redisetgo.com/?gcid=S12579x066&keyword=xpress%20redi-set-go_1 Now, a word of caution because after all it was an infomercial & those types of ads have a way of extracting a few extra dollars out of your pocket. The ad said something about free recipes but when Kelly checked the billing after ordering there was an extra charge of nearly $9.95 for the recipe club or something. After a number of phone calls we found out that we had automatically joined a recipe club & new recipes were now going to be coming to our house at $9.95 a pop every month for the rest of our lives or longer. Kelly got right after them & they finally canceled that little extra ditty. We feel the product is fine but be careful of the small print or the boxes you put check marks in & be careful about how "free recipes" is presented. However, if you are a recipe collector this just might be your cup of tea so just dis-regard my little flap. OUR FIRST RESULTS

The picture at the top of the blog to-day is an example of teamwork & progressive thought patterns. We were ensconced in our lawn chairs enjoying the day when I glanced over to Ingrid & Tom's white pick-up truck. (I blogged about Ingrid & Tom & their big dog Corky a few weeks ago) It was parked beside a white flag pole complete with flapping American flag. I said to Kelly, "wished I knew how to use our photoshop program because I would take a picture of the truck beside the pole & then digitally remove the bottom half of the pole to make it look like the truck was actually flying a large flag from it's roof." Thought it was a pretty good idea but I was about to be upstaged. Kelly calmly said, " why not just turn the truck around." (Geeeeezzzz, how come women are always so smart) But then I came back with, "why don't I just walk around & take the picture from the other side of the truck." Well, that's what I did but I got to thinking later what a good example of teamwork that was & how within about 6 seconds we had taken an unsolvable problem to a finished solution. Aw yes, teamwork:)) KELLY MADE THE PIZZA & THE COOKER COOKED IT TO PERFECTION IN 7 MINUTES

We put a fresh pot of travel plans on the back burner this morning & it looks like we'll be heading back to Canada around the 22nd, 23rd or 24th of this month. Talked to Jeannie this morning & they are up in Dead Horse State Park near Cottonwood Az. Said they have been fishing in the stocked pond there but have been drowning more worms than catching fish. Gee, have they never heard of Captain Hi-liner's fish sticks!! Worms lives could have been spared:)) Jeannie & Ray will be heading back to the ranch sometime next week. Good thing we have saved the feeding instructions for all the animals. They're gonna need them.

COMPACT WELL BUILT MACHINE

Watched the first part of a two part DVD to-day called, No Direction Home. It's about the life & times of singer/songwriter Bob Dylan. Let me tell you first that I was never a fan of Bob Dylan's early music. Just didn't care for his voice or style. But even more than that, I was jealous of him. In 1964 I was going with an exciting, good looking foxy blonde from Stratford Ontario. Only problem was......she was a big Bob Dylan fan. Ate, slept, & breathed Bob Dylan. Thought he was number 1 & the greatest thing of ever. Thought I was supposed to be number 1 in her life!! Well, needless to say me & Bob just never got off on the right foot somehow & after a year the good looker was gone her own way anyway. Probably a Bob Dylan roadie by now. It wasn't until Dylan did Nashville Skyline with Johnny Cash that I forgave him & took a liking to his music. But, back to the DVD. Thought director Martin Scorsese did a better job on this one than the other music bio he did about The Band called, The Last Waltz . Last Waltz was good but this one is better. Much more professionally done. I'm looking forward to seeing the second half. I keep looking in the audience of his concerts to see if there's a good looking foxy blonde (slightly aged) from Stratford jumping up & down in the front row....................

No photos for the web album to-night.

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

IN SEARCH OF OLD FORT RUCKER

RUINS OF OLD FORT RUCKER


No improvement in the back & leg this morning but it was a nice day & I didn't want to sit around again. Kelly picked up a cane at the Thrift Store awhile back so I threw that in the car & we headed off for Rucker Canyon in search of old Fort Rucker. THIS WAS THE COMMISSARY


While at the Coronado National Park a few days I got to talking with a ranger who told me where the ruins of old Fort Rucker (formally Camp Supply) were in the Rucker Canyon. We had been through that area a week ago but didn't know about the Fort then. From the ranch we headed east about 9:30 through McNeal to Leslie Canyon. Skirted around the south end of the Swisshelm mountains into the sweeping picturesque hills of Leslie Canyon. The flat dirt road led us north until we intersected with Rucker Canyon road. We swung northeast into the Chiricahua mountains & drove until we reached the junction with Tex Canyon road. This is where we began our search. Parked the car beside a rock & boulder strewn creek bed & headed up the creek for a hundred yards or so then headed left through an area of trees & shrubs. I was glad I had the cane with me. Continued through the brush until we came to a road but still no sign of the fort. Kelly walked back to the car & brought it around to the road. We drove up a rocky narrow path into a grassy tree lined area but still no Fort. Drove back down to theTex Canyon road junction & headed south for a bit when I spotted what looked like an old adobe wall through a bunch of trees on the east side of a dry creek bed. Saw a clearing ahead & pulled over. There on a barbed wire fence hung a small faded sign that said, Camp Rucker U.S. Army 1872-1880. We had found the Fort!!

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jarucker.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Camp_Rucker
http://forums.ghosttowns.com/showthread.php?t=16136
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/camprucker.html
FORT RUCKER'S BAKERY

It was about a quarter mile walk from the road to the first building. An old log pole barn....with a new roof. There were cattle here as well. We could see some old adobe ruins farther on so we headed in that direction. I was surprised when we came across our first reader board. It was obvious no one had been here for a long time but I remembered the Ranger telling me there are plans afoot to restore this old Fort so I am assuming the reader boards are maybe the first step. Noticed later that a couple old buildings had new roofs on them to protect against further weather deterioration. Fort Rucker is actually in better shape than Fort Bowie because it has some buildings with actual walls still standing. One building like the officer's quarters still has glass in the windows & wooden doors . When Fort Bowie was decommissioned people came in & basically ripped the Fort to pieces for it's lumber, etc. That didn't happen here at Fort Rucker but Fort Rucker is only about a quarter the size of Fort Bowie. A much smaller outpost.

REAR ENTRANCE OF THE OFFICER'S QUARTERS

We spent the best part of a couple hours wandering around the grounds looking at the ruins. Once again, with the help of the reader boards I was able to take a lot of photos & you can follow the story of Fort Rucker through the story boards & my pictures in the web album. http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/ Standing there on the grounds it's hard to imagine what the day in a life of a trooper was like 135 years ago. There is an old water tank still standing, a bake shop, & officer's quarters still intact. Looking at the open door of the bakeshop I tried to imagine the soldiers coming & going through there. The smell of fresh bread baking in what's left of the large oven at one end of the old adobe building. Ruins of the original commissary are there & another adobe building with two rooms but no roof. No idea what that building was. The officer's quarters building is still in remarkably good shape & a person could move right in there. The tin roof has saved it from decay & the floor felt solid. A couple closet doors hung open where officer's uniforms once hung. A raised platform for the wood stove looked like it was waiting for another stove to be placed on it. It was as if the officer's had just stepped out for a moment. CATTLE BARN & CORRAL

But, the strangest building of all was the house. You will have to go to the web album & see the pictures because it's a bit hard to describe. It's an old adobe house but the interior looks like it's from about the 1930's or earlier. No reader board anywhere to tell anything about it. Might have been part of Fort Rucker & then renovated in the early 1900's or something. After the Fort was decommissioned the land was used for ranching so maybe it was built as a ranch house. Many small rooms inside & on different levels. Best have a look at the pictures. STRANGE OLD HOUSE

The temperature had dropped while we were there & a cloud cover moved in as we departed old Fort Rucker & headed back down the long dusty road through Rucker Canyon to civilization. I took a few pictures from the car window as the dark clouds moved in & before long it was raining. It was good to get back to the rig, crack on some heat, & grab ourselves a bite to eat. It had been another good day....sort of.
My leg had given me a lot of trouble for about the first 40 minutes of our hike but then the pain went away while we were walking around the old Fort's grounds. Felt so good I was bouncing around like a ping pong ball but by the time we got home & I tried to get out of the car, the pain was back full force on the outside thigh of my right leg. Seems that sitting bothers it the most. Oh well, not much I can do about it until that nerve decides to unpinch itself I guess. Maybe to-morrow I'll take Roger Miller's advice & try rollerskating in a Buffalo herd................................

RAIN MOVING IN

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

OH OH, IT TURNED INTO A LOOOOONG BLOG:((

Figured it would be best to slow things down a bit to-day & take time to rest a troublesome lower back & sore leg. It's a warm sunny afternoon in southeastern Arizona making it a perfect day for wiling away the hours quietly reading my Walter Cronkite biography.

Kelly had a Yoga class this morning so it was a good time for me to empty some tanks, get the dishes done, do a little vacuuming & get some puttering out of the way before cruising into a relaxing afternoon.

Also might be a good time to answer questions from some blog followers.

-Someone asked a question about our fulltiming RV life.
At this stage of RVing we are still just winter snowbirds heading to the southwest for the winter. Fulltiming may very well be in our future at some point but for right now we are just seasonal.

-A question about when we will be heading home this year.
We really don't know yet when we are leaving but we're guessing it will maybe be sometime around the end of the month. We will have to get the wheels rolling on some travel plans very shortly. Is the snow all gone up there yet??

-Randy & Pam inquired, how do I get sharp looking pictures & what kind of camera do I use??
I have 2 DSLR Nikons....A D40 & a D50 & a Canon Power Shot A720IS fixed lens cam. The Canon has 8.0 pixels & the Nikons are probably the same or higher. I use a Nikkor 18-55mm zoom lens on the D-50 & a Nikkor 55-200 zoom lens on the D-40. I generally shoot on the automatic setting & let the camera do the technical work for me. I also have the camera's image quality settings set at normal or higher. I also use a great web based photo program called Picasa 3 by Google. It's a free download & I highly recommend it for people like myself who like to keep things simple. I don't use the Nikon or Canon photo programs that came with the cameras. I do have Photoshop installed on my lap top but just haven't gathered up enough patience yet to figure it out. I may consider taking some kind of Photoshop course this summer. Picasa 3 is a scaled down & simpler version of Photoshop. No, you can't change backgrounds, edit people out, put snow on mountains or smiles on grumpy old faces. But, you can sharpen up your photos, add contrast where needed, crop, straighten, enhance colors, plus a host of other things. I have been using Picasa for about 5 years now. You can find it here... http://picasa.google.com/ It also goes hand in hand with Google's Picasa Web Album program for uploading photos to the web. The photo album program can be downloaded from the Picasa 3 site.

-Someone about a month ago wondered about the availability of our ranch sitting job. I was unable to contact that person because they had not included a return addy in their comment.
There is a ranch sitting job open right now for 3 weeks this coming November in Sunizona Arizona. The ranch is called Paws & Hooves & I blogged about it on Feb 28th I think. If interested, check out my post & then email us & we can forward the email to the ranch. Also, for anyone emailing us, please put "Hello to the Bayfield Bunch" in the subject line & that way I'll know it's not spam. Well, at least until some spammer lowlife reads this that is. Also on this subject, I'm sorry if I've missed some emails out there that people have sent to our Hotmail account. It's hard knowing which emails to open or not & I've probably deleted some that were meant for us. So, if I haven't answered your email, please send it again & hopefully I'll catch it.

-Another reader asked, "how long does it take you to do your blog everyday??"
That's a hard question to answer because it depends on how many pictures I have taken. To just sit down & write the blog maybe takes me an average of 30 or 40 minutes. To add photos to the blog tacks on another 20 minutes maybe. But, if I have fifty photos for the Picasa Web Album it can take considerably longer. At the end of each day I upload all the photos from the cameras into my Picasa 3 photo program. I then have to sort the pics from all 3 cameras into some kind of story order & into one single folder. Then I start from the beginning photo of the day & look at each & every one making changes to them as I go along such as cropping, straightening, color adjustment, contrast, & image sharpening. When I am satisfied with all that I add the captions to the bottoms of the photos. Next comes the photo upload onto the net into my Google Web Albums. Fifty photos could take10 or 15 minutes sometimes. From those fifty photos I generally pick 5 or 6 to insert into the blog itself & that can take about 15 minutes. Sooooo, all & all I would say to do an average blog plus edit fifty or a hundred pictures & upload them all to the web album we are probably looking at maybe 4 hours all to-gether. Maybe 5 if I'm tired & making a lot of mistakes. It's not unusual for me to be still at the computer at midnight putting it altogether. So, bottom line............I enjoy it & that's why I do it.....flaws & all:))-Someone suggested I maybe take too many pictures.
Well, yes & no. I don't think I take too many pictures but I do agree that I put too many of them in the web albums. I generally send about 20% of the days pictures to the trash bin but I know it should probably be higher than that. I'm just not the kind of perfectionist to whittle them down to maybe 10 or 20.

-And I ask myself......why do I do this??
Ever since learning to type in High School back in the early 60's I had always enjoyed sitting at a typewriter tapping out letters, poetry, little stories, etc. Hadn't typed a word in maybe 20 years & then along came the computer age & I fell right into it. The written word is my favorite way of communication so it was a natural happening for me to take an interest in computers. The photography bug bit me back in 1965 when I was in naval boot camp up in Canada. Bought a little 35mm camera at the commissary & ran around taking lots of pictures of all the guys. In 1993 I lost interest in the photography world & rarely picked up a camera for the next 12 years. And then along came digital photography. We already had a computer by then so the digital photography interest fell right into my lap. My first camera was bought at a Staple store & was a 1 megapixel job. I literally wore that camera out in 2 years but it was instrumental in re-igniting my interest in photography. And then about 3 years ago, along came the blogging craze. Well, with my interest in typing, plus my love of writing & photography it all began to come to-gether. Add a couple more ingredients to the mix in the form of traveling & a wonderful RV lifestyle & it all leads to this moment with Mr. Blabberfingers sitting here at the computer on a sunny warm day in the middle of March somewhere between the Mule & Swisshelm Mountains in southeastern Arizona.

And, I would like add a few extra thoughts here about blogs & blogging. I try not to make the blog sound like a newspaper article with just a bunch of facts or events tied to-gether. And it's not a cook book of everything I eat every day. I try to put some thoughts & feelings into it & I try to make each blog different than the one before it. There are times in the middle of the night when I'll be bothered by something I've written, get up, turn the computer on & go back to the blog to either edit it out or re-write it. I am an opinionated person & that sometimes ends up in the blog as well & it's usually those blogs that wake me up at night. I am neither a hardened optimist or pessimist, but as a logically thinking realist I see things for the way they are & not for the way they are supposed to be. Sometimes those observations end up in the blog. And sometimes there is criticism, but as fellow blogger Rod commented once, it's your blog & you can say what you want.
Occasionally you will see flashes of anger if I get a rant going about something that upsets me. You will also find humor & that is my favorite side. When I sometimes read other people's blogs I look for the feelings behind the lines. I look for the person. I am not only interested in what they are seeing or doing but I like to know how they feel about what they are seeing & doing. I like Gypsy97's On The Road Again blog for example because she is someone who expresses her thoughts & feelings as she comes to grips with everyday RV life. It's the trials & tribulations of an older woman on the road by herself. I like her well rounded & honest writing style. Her blog comes from the heart. It tells you who she is.

Ok, it's about time I get myself outside & parked in the sun for awhile. I had no intention of getting into all of the above stuff but when your a true blue blabberfingers like me it's kinda hard to get your boots dug in good enough to get yourself stopped sometimes!!

Heard a great line to-day from the song Evil Woman by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO)
"Got a hole in my head that the rain comes in." Now, how's that for some good old 70's song writing eh!! No photos for the web album to-night.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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