TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Saturday, February 25, 2012

THE BAYFIELD BUNCH IS ‘ONCE AGAIN’……ESCAPEE RV CLUB MEMBERS:))

PHEEBS STOPS FOR A DOUBLE SMOOCH AT THE WATER TROUGH THIS MORNING

Had us some Week-end Warriors with their RV’s & ATV’s move into the area Friday afternoon. Fortunately they are a fair distance away but their hootin & hollerin could easily be heard last night. So far tonight they are quiet so figure they partied themselves too hard Friday night & are still in recuperation mode. They will probably blow out of here Sunday & we will have our quiet nights back:))

ONE OF PHEEB’S PALS AT THE DOOR WONDERING IF SHE COULD COME OUT TO PLAY THIS MORNING

Been in the back of my mind for the past few years to renew our Escapee Club membership that we let expire about 7 years ago. There are a lot of membership advantages to this club with their great ‘Days End’ guide being one of them. We still have a ‘very old copy’ & it has been our main ‘go to’ book for finding boon docking sites.

LITTLE MOTORMOUSE LIKES THESE SOFT SANDY ROADS

The ESCAPEE CLUB has a resident Park on highway 89 just south of Congress Arizona so we stopped into the office at ‘NORTH RANCH’ today to see about re-newing our membership. Being from Canada, the lady behind the desk said we would be better off going on-line to do that. So, after looking at a few facilities at the Park, that’s what we did. We are now once again rootin tootin members of the Escapee RV Club:))

SOMETHING DOESN’T SEEM RIGHT ABOUT HAVING STEAKS ON THE BBQ WITH ALL OF PHEEBS FRIENDLY PALS IN THE BACKGROUND

Looked at a few more houses & properties for sale in the area & stopped in to have a look at a 4 acre place just off Ghost Town Road near the old Congress Mine. Lady there was good enough to show us around. Thanks Tammy:))

A LOT OF CREATIVE HARD WORK HAS GONE INTO THE DESERT LANDSCAPING ON THIS PROPERTY

NICE SIDE & BACK YARD

WE FORGOT TO ASK TAMMY’S MACAW IT’S NAME BUT IT ACTUALLY SAID ‘BYE’ TO US WHEN WE LEFT

PROPERTY CARETAKER TAMMY WAS GOOD ENOUGH TO SHOW US AROUND

We figure this Wickenburg/Congress area is situated well as a central location for easily reaching other parts of the Southwest. Utah is just up the road:)) Phoenix is a bit of an obstacle to the southeast but there are roads to get around it. Prescott is only about 45 minutes north & is the area we will likely move through & have a look at next. So, we have lots to see, do, and think about while we are tucked quietly away in our little cow pasture near Congress & Wickenburg Arizona.

DIDN’T TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS TODAY SO IT’S MORE COW PICTURES AGAIN…….

OOOOOHHHH, THAT FEELS SO GOOD

Thanks to Mike over there at the Escapee’s NORTH RANCH along with Bev & Jim from the same place, we have received some great info on places to see in the area. We will stay as long as our tanks hold out before moving on to our next stop wherever that may be. For any other boon dockers in the area, be aware that the Mobile gas station dump facilities at highway 93 & Vulture Peak Road are closed for a month (& possibly longer) for repairs or whatever. Don’t know why they decided to locate their dump facility right out front of the store & ahead of the gas pumps!!

PHEEBS & HER TEDDY BEAR PUT ON QUITE A SHOW FOR HER FAN CLUB THIS AFTERNOON

GROANERS CORNER:(( Flying home from France on a recent trip I noticed a rather haggard looking mom walking into the customs area with eight children-- all under age 10. Collecting their many suitcases, the nine of them entered the cramped customs area. A young customs official watched the large entourage in disbelief, ''Ma'am,'' he said, ''do all these children and this luggage belong to you?''
''Yes, sir,'' the lady said with a sigh, ''they're all mine.''
The customs agent began his interrogation: ''Ma'am, do you have any weapons, contraband or drugs in your possession?''
''Sir,'' she calmly answered, ''if I'd had any of those items, I would have used them all by now.''

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The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of
right now...AL.
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

WICKENBURG’S VULTURE PEAK…BEAUTIFUL AREA

THE TRAIL TO VULTURE PEAK

Where once mornings began warming up about 10 a.m. after a chilly night, we’ve noticed it’s getting pretty warm out here by 9 now. And the nights are warmer too. And, we no longer have to put a warm jacket on at 4 in the afternoon.

I THINK DESERT POPPIES ARE BEGINNING TO BLOOM

The night sky was beautiful Thursday night with a crescent Moon low in the west & Planets Venus & Jupiter just above. In the next few nights the Moon will move through Jupiter & Venus making for a rare & beautiful sight just after sunset.

THE COWS BIG IRON WATER TANK NEAR US

We were happy to see a return of horses this morning & counted 8 of them moving through the Mesquite & Desert Brooms near our rig.

We were on the road heading for Vulture Peak about 9:30. Had we known the 200 mile RAGNAR RELAY RACE was being run from Wickenburg to Phoenix today we might have held off on our Vulture Peak drive until Monday. Vulture Mine Road was loaded with runners & countless support vehicles all the way up & beyond Vulture Peak. The driving was slow with so many young marathoners running. Drove out as far as the Vulture Peak Mine site before turning around & heading back to a very crowded parking lot at the Vulture Peak Trailhead. Fortunately the road heading from that parking lot further in to the Vulture Peak Trailhead was free & clear.

What a beautiful area this is & we saw people boon docking with lots of room between them. Because of the higher altitude the vegetation is totally different than the valley floor below. This is the land of giant Saguaros, Ocotillos, Prickly Pear Cactus & Agave plants. It is the true Sonoran Desert at it’s greenest. With Vulture Peak & it’s jagged ridge lines in the background I felt this was some of the finest scenery we have seen in our travels.

We right away thought of bringing the rig up there but then noticed something that quickly changed our minds. There is another beautiful cactus that lives at the altitude, but this one can hurt you & especially hurt your pet. Teddy Bear Cholla!! We were virtually in a Teddy Bear Cholla garden. Beautiful as all get out but we know first hand how terribly painful these Cholla barbs are. We knew this would not be a safe place for Pheebs & Motor. Once those Cholla barbs imbed themselves in a dog’s paw it is a major problem. Dogs will immediately try to pull them out with their teeth & that makes things worse because the barbs then become imbedded in the dog’s mouth. Pliers are about the only tool to get them out. And, you had better be wearing thick gloves. As often as not pets have to be taken to a Vet & sedated before the hooked barbs can be removed.

THESE ARE TEDDY BEAR CHOLLA

We parked at the Vulture Peak Trailhead. Clean pit toilets here by the way. At the trailhead, one has a choice. Either hike the moderate, but very scenic 1.4 mile uphill trail or take the Jeep Road. Kelly had read some literature which described this Jeep road as being exceptionally rough. With that in mind we decided to hike the trail. Besides, we needed the exercise far more than our Jeep did anyway.

KELLY SIGNS THE TRAIL LOG & HEADS ON UP TOWARDS VULTURE PEAK

It’s a beautiful trail which winds you along a sandy & sometimes rocky path through towering Saguaros. The views all around are second to none. Many species of cactus everywhere & it is a truly fine desert landscape. The grades are manageable with a little huffing & puffing here & there. Good hiking boots are a must for some of the rock scrambles & loose gravely stones underfoot. Take your time, take water, & stop to enjoy the views around you. From the lower trailhead to the upper trailhead took us 40 minutes.

CHATTING WITH SOME FELLOW HIKERS

THE PATH SOMETIMES PARALLELS THE JEEP ROAD

The upper trailhead is where the Jeep road ends as well. From this point on the trail takes on a whole different personality & if your not in good shape, we hear it’s not wise to proceed up beyond this point. Standing at the trailhead with Vulture Peak towering over us we could see the difficulties ahead & knew this is as far as we would go…….today. Maybe a few years ago before I began having leg problems I might have thought, “ya, let’s do it.” But, after hiking uphill for 40 minutes, my legs were bothering me & I knew it wasn’t wise to go any further.

WE WENT AS FAR AS THE UPPER TRAIL HEAD…NEXT TIME WE WILL CLIMB TO THAT ‘V’ IN THE MOUNTAIN TOP RIGHT

KELLY STANDS IN THE UPPER TRAIL HEAD JEEP PARKING LOT

Decided next time we return to this area we will Jeep up to this point & then do the next leg of the hike up to what is called, the Saddle. I’m sure I would enjoy that climb. But, what about this bad Jeep road Kelly read about. Well, only one way to find out so we decided to walk the entire road all the way back down the mountainside to the lower trailhead.

WE START BACK DOWN THE ROUGH & TUMBLE JEEP ROAD

MOST OF THE ROAD TURNS OUT TO BE JUST FINE

Aside from a few moderate rock climbs near the upper trailhead & some short steep up & down gully whomps close to the lower trailhead this road is a piece of cake for any high clearance 4 wheel drive vehicle. The Jeep road is also an easier walk for folks either up or down than the trail but not nearly as scenic. I would suggest walking up the Jeep road & hiking back down along the scenic trail. Again, what a beautiful area this is & it is a ‘must see’ if you are in the area.

ONE GULLY WHUMP AREA AT THE BEGINNING OF THE JEEP ROAD

On the way back down Vulture Mine Road to Wickenburg we Jeeped off some side roads to check out some future boon docking sites. And, once you get below a certain altitude there are no longer Teddy Bear Chollas present. Here’s a boon docking area I would suggest…… Coming up Vulture Hill road from Wickenburg, watch for a road off to your left called Vulture Peak Road. This is a wide hard packed dirt road & fine for Motor Homes & Trailers. We drove in a mile before turning around & in that mile we saw about a dozen large & easily accessible fairly flat boon docking sites. And, Vulture Peak itself is easily seen from most of these sites. This would be a great scenic spot to set up camp & explore the surrounding Wickenburg area. We did check out another spot further up the mountain on the right with about 6 rigs in it. This would probably be suitable for most folks but we didn’t care for it. It’s basically just a large dirt parking lot & certainly does not have the ‘WOW’ factor going for it. ‘WOW’ factor is always important for us:))

CAN I GO OVER & PLAY WITH MY PALS, DAD

We were back in the scenic little town of Wickenburg by 12:45 which was just in time to get ourselves into the very popular lunch line at a burger place called, ‘Screamers’. And, what did I have at Screamers…..why a Screamerburger of course. Kelly had one as well with a chocolate milkshake. Good burgs for sure even if we did end up waiting half an hour for them.

PHEEBS & HER PALS WERE AT IT AGAIN TODAY

From there it was back to the rig for a relaxing afternoon of relaxation & resting my legs. I’m afraid my legs are becoming my Achilles Heel:((

GROANER’S CORNER:(( An old television star who's show has been on for years and was recently cancelled runs into a news reporter on the street. "Do you personally answer the hundreds of letters of adoration that have been pouring into the studio everyday demanding that your show be renewed?" asks the reporter. "Goodness No!" replied the actor, "I hardly have time to write them."