THE RAINS HAVE ENDED…..AND NOW THE MUD!!

SNOW COVERED SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS EAST OF ELFRIDA, ARIZONA

It was still dark this morning around 5 when Max wanted to go out to do his business.  I opened the door & put my foot into something soft & cold on our bottom step.  Snow!!!!  Too dark to see how much snow but later as dawn broke I could see there was a small amount on our car but nothing on the ground.  A second look told me all the surrounding mountains had snow on them as well.  Brrrrrrrrr!!

 

A DUSTING OF ICY SNOW

Broken clouds today but lots of warming sunshine despite the cold wind that increased as the day went on.  Last year while boondocking on the banks of the San Pedro River near Sierra Vista we met a fellow working at Fort Huachuca who we named Sergeant John.  The Sarge lived in Elfrida with his wife Jackie & we visited with them at that time.  I did a post about the Sarge & his HUDSON HORNETS.  Today we dropped over for a visit with John & Jackie.  Always nice to touch base with folks you haven't seen for awhile. 

PLENTY OF SNOW ON THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS

Rest of the day was spent around the rig.  Sometimes I jest & pooh pooh the high enders with their spotless cement slabs, acres of polished pavement, & swatches of manicured grass.  Today I was wishing we had all of the above!!  With all the rain recently we had so much mud tracked into the motorhome I was considering calling in a front end loader to haul it all away.  Luckily we travel with a good vacuum cleaner.  The first trip we made to the southwest we never thought to bring one.  Lesson learned!!

  

AND NOW WE HAVE THE MUD

I wasn't able to make much headway with the new Delorme GPS unit this afternoon but Kelly was able to plow through some early instructions & we did get a map of southern California uploaded.  Tomorrow we'll get a little smarter & put a correct map in for the actual area where we are.......southern Arizona!!  I have a feeling this GPS stuff is going to be quite a challenge for us.  Well, for me anyway:((

SNOW IN THE MOUNTAINS    (click pics to enlarge)

Tonight we have 5 contented & snoozing doggy guys in the motorhome.  It's probably a good thing we don't have our own ranch or we would probably be overwhelmed with stray critters needing a good home & lots of TLC.  Breaks my heart to see animals neglected or mistreated. 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Some hit songs of the 60s and 70s are being revised with new lyrics to accommodate aging baby boomers. They include:

Herman's Hermits: Mrs. Brown, You've Got a Lovely Walker

The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Hip?

Bobby Darin: Splish, Splash, I Was Havin' a Flash

Ringo Starr: I Get By With a Little Help from Depends

Roberta Flack: The First Time Ever I Forgot Your Face

Johnny Nash: I Can't See Clearly Now

Paul Simon: Fifty Ways to Lose Your Liver

Commodores: Once, Twice, Three Times to the Bathroom

Marvin Gaye: I Heard it Through the GrapeNuts

Procol Harem: A Whiter Shade of Hair

Leo Sayer: You Make Me Feel Like Napping

FACEBOOK READERS GO HERE TO SEE OUR ACTUAL WEBSITE COMPLETE WITH PHOTOS & MORE INFO.

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.

TODAY WE MET MOTTY & PATTI:))

OK, I GOT THE BATTERIES IN……NOW WHAT????

The winds abated about 5 minutes after we put the slides in about 9 P.M. last night.  We left them in though because we knew how wily that old west wind is.  Rained all night & the ranch's rain gauge showed over half an inch this morning.  Half an inch a couple days ago brings the total rainfall here to just over an inch.

  

A solid gray cloud cover greeted the dawn as rain continued it's steady drizzle  Slipped down to the hay shed & grabbed a bale for the donkey guys & almost lost myself & the cart in the Arizona mud.  This stuff just sticks to ya like glue!!  Had put the donkeys into the shelter yesterday again so they were dry, happy, & hungry.  Had also brought ranch dogs Pearce & Gleason into the rig earlier as well so it was one big happy but muddy family in here this morning.  Ya just gotta love it:))))))

SITTING ON THE FLOOR PLAYING WITH GLEASON & PEARCE THE RANCH DOGS.  STILL GOT MY PAJAMAS & HOUSECOAT ON:))

Check out WANDERING WILLY'S BLOG.  He broke an axle on his travel trailer way down in southern Mexico a few days ago & had to leave his unit there while he drove a thousand miles back up to Texas in search of another axle.

RAINBOW IN THE VALLEY TODAY

A few months ago a couple joined our blog follower column & over the ensuing months we received a few emails from them.  About 3 weeks ago an email came in saying they were heading west & would like to meet us & Belle Starr.  They had been following our blogs on Belle & wanted to stop by & see how they could help.  Today at high noon in Bisbee we met MOTTY & PATTI  for lunch at the BBC.  (Bisbee Breakfast Club)  RV'ers always have lots in common to talk about so it wasn't long & we were into rigs, routes & campgrounds.  They were especially interested in how Belle was doing so as soon as we finished lunch & picking up a few groceries we headed southeast out of Bisbee for Belle's Silverado Ranch with Motty & Patti following in their truck.  The rain was beginning to let up & the broken cloud cover was allowing through a bit of sunshine finally.

MOTTY & PATTI  AT THE BBC

Red was just heading out on the gator to feed the critters when we got there & I think he was happy that Patti & I volunteered to do that & let him get back to some of the electrical work he has been doing for Belle in the house.  Kelly took Motty in to meet Belle because Motty is a computer software guru & wanted to have a look at Belle's Dell.  The wind picked up with a bit of rain in the air so it wasn't the nicest weather as Patti & I headed for the alfalfa bale storage area & quickly loaded up the first 3 of 5 bales.  Air felt cold so thought of putting my gloves on but noticed Patti didn't have any so I didn't want to appear to be a wimp.  Wind kept blowing my hat off so had to ditch that at the car as we went by. 

      

PATTI FEEDS THE CRITTERS TODAY  (click pics to enlarge)

With all the rain lately the horse & donkey corrals were pretty muddy.  Not a dry spot anywhere to drop the alfalfa sheaves in but the critters didn't seem to mind & eagerly gobbled everything just about as fast as we threw it in.  Patti had brought a big bag of carrots along so a lot of the guys got some extra treats.  Fed the dogs & all the birds as well.  Patti is very familiar with horses so enjoyed getting back into feeding the critters.  Took us a little over half an hour to make the rounds & then it was back to the house for Patti to meet Belle.  By the time we went in Motty had already straightened out a lot of the minor computer problems Belle had but said he would later re-install Belles operating system & start anew.

   

A FRIDAY AFTERNOON CHAT WITH BELLE, RED, JEANIE, MOTTY, PATTI, KELLY, & AL

Belle was just beaming with all the company & was delighted to meet two more new friends.  I could see there was a connection between all of them & especially Belle & Patti.  Red finished up a few things & then he & Jeanie came into the kitchen for a chat before heading off to Douglas.  Some of Reds tools had got caught in the rain & he was needing a new volt meter.  They headed out & we stayed for another half hour chatting with Belle before leaving.  We did a little walk around outside looking at various things & then Kelly & I headed for home just as another rain cloud began dumping some of that wet stuff on all of us again.  We'll be in email touch with Motty & Patti over the next few days & will probably meet them again either at Belles or maybe here at the ranch.  They definitely want to go back to Belles & help her out & we were so glad they took a concerned interest.  These are truly nice genuine caring people.  Reminded me a lot of Cindy & Dave.

 

A WALK-ABOUT AT BELLE’S SILVERADO RANCH

By the time we got back to the ranch the sun was out again highlighting the surrounding shadowy mountains.  We saw tire tracks in the driveway mud & knew the UPS truck had been here because after checking on our GPS  unit shipping status this morning we knew it was on a UPS truck leaving Sierra Vista.  Sure enough, as we swung around by the house we saw the little package sitting by the door.  Our Dolorme Earthmate PN-40 had arrived.  I later figured out how to put the batteries in it (before falling asleep in the chair) so now it's up to Kelly to do the lions share of figuring it all out.  My brain used to be pretty good at that stuff but these last few years it just seems to seize up at the very thought of tackling anything with a sharp learning curve to it.  Also, morning is the best time for me to take on things like that because the brain seems to be more alert & receptive to learning.  By the end of the day it has usually returned to it's relative state of mush.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Daffynitions:  
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~
     Alarms:  What an octopus is.
     Crick:  The sound that a Japanese camera makes.
     Dockyard:  A physician's garden.
     Incongruous:  Where bills are passed.
     Khakis:  What you need to start the car in Boston.
     Oboe:  An English tramp.
     Pasteurize:  Too far to see.
     Propaganda:  A gentlemanly goose.
     Toboggan:  Why we go to an auction.

FACEBOOK READERS GO HERE TO SEE OUR ACTUAL WEBSITE COMPLETE WITH PHOTOS & MORE INFO.

BLOGGER WEBSITE http://thebayfieldbunch.com/

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

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now....AL.