FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER…WE HAD 4 PEOPLE IN THE JEEP TODAY

CAN YOU LOCATE ALL 5 DEER IN THIS MORNING’S PHOTO…HARDEST ONE TO FIND IS HALFWAY UP PHOTO AT EXTREME LEFT

Despite 22F outside this morning, Pheebs & I, with 3 heat sources, were toasty warm in the rig.  Not often we run the furnace but I did fire it up to keep the lower water pipes warm.  Our Legacy Blue Flame heater (bought at Granny’s & installed in the desert near QUARTZSITE AZ in 08) is our favorite fuel efficient heat source & I also have a small Sunbeam electric heater as well.  With all 3 heaters going, Pheebs & I were blissfully in the tropics.  Us guys like to be toasty warm.

NO TROUBLE SPOTTING THESE TWO COLD LOOKING DEAR’S IN THIS PHOTO…KELLY & LESLIE

Had planned on Jeeping over to Stanton this morning & taking the old stage coach road up to Yarnell but with another freezing cold night Kelly was concerned about some possible ice patches on the road.  Instead we all jumped into the Jeep & headed out into the desert behind our place.  It was the first time since buying our Jeep Wrangler a few years ago that we ever had human passengers.  Mission & destination this morning was to show Peter & Leslie House Rock plus give them a up close look at the Sonoran Desert.   And, what better way than driving right through it.

PETER HAD JUST MENTIONED ABOUT FEELING SO SMALL IN SUCH A LARGE LAND

Despite a big bright sunny day, we had us a stiff breeze on the go making for a cold day.  We did manage a short walk around House Rock through boulders, cactus, creosote shrubs & mesquite brush.  It is always so nice to hear the great comments people make who have never seen or been in this kind of environment before.  Like we were, most folks are surprised at the many variations of green plant life.  The colors, the hues, the great rock formations & the endless puzzlements of unexplainable geology.

AT THE BASE OF HOUSE ROCK

 

PHOTO OP

 

KELLY POINTS OUT SOME OF THE PLANT LIFE

LESLIE, IN THE SHADOW OF HOUSE ROCK CHECKS OUT SOME INDIAN GRINDING HOLES (MORTEROS)

We didn’t linger at House Rock long because of the cold wind so moved off further west bumping our way along an old rocky road heading for a tall windmill Kelly & I had come across last week.  As we gained altitude, rock formations changed, Saguaro & Teddy Bear Cholla became more abundant.  And, we found a herd of cattle at the Windmill site. 

CURIOUS COWS KEEP AN EYE ON PETER AS HE TAKES A PHOTO OF THE WINDMILL

Instead of returning the way we had come, we swung off on another dusty road heading southwest.  Had never been on this road leading back out onto the desert floor before but I knew sooner or later we would intersect highway 71 or highway 93.  The sandy road was well traveled & we saw the first of a few Joshua trees.  I knew there were many more Joshua’s just north of us but it was time to head ourselves back home.   Wasn’t long before we found our way back to highway 71 leading to Congress.  All & all, a nice little Jeep jaunt across the desert through a pass in the Date Creek Mountains.  And, on some new desert roads too.

We were home by 1 p.m. & I wasn’t long in crashing out in the warm Motorhome for a slight doze or six.  This up at 3 a.m. most mornings usually knocks the stuffing's out of me by mid afternoon of the following day.   

PETER HAD A GOOD TIME WITH HIS CAMERA TODAY

Always lots of RV info, links, & bloggable articles over at Levonne’s site, RVT.COM BLOG.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Little Harold was practicing the violin in the living room while his father was trying to read in the den. The family dog was lying in the den, and as the screeching sounds of little Harold's violin reached his ears, he began to howl loudly.
The father listened to the dog and the violin as long as he could. Finally, when he could take it any longer, he jumped up, and yelled above the noise, "For Pete's sake, Harold, can't you play something the dog doesn't know?!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.

OUR COLDEST DAY SO FAR AS GUESTS ARRIVE FROM THE BALMY NORTHEAST

With our heaters going full blast, it was still quite cool in the house this morning.  It was 20F outside with a wind chill factor of 15.  Not nice!!  Made it into the 40’s today but the wind chill drove temperatures down again.

THE PYRRHULOXIA IS OFTEN REFERRED TO AS THE SILVER JAY

Houses in the southwest, at least older houses, are not really built with any kinds of major heat sources in all rooms.  We have two electricity draining baseboard heaters.  One in the the living room & the other in the dining room.  No internal heat sources in the bathrooms or bedrooms.  Despite our large wood burning fireplace, we found it is hardly worth the effort to build a fire because very little of the heat enters the room.  Probably 80% or more of the heat goes right up the chimney.  And, of course this being our first winter in the house, we are experiencing the longest cold stretch in 50 years.  Of course!!!!!!!!  However, still not as cold as two winters ago when we were in the rig near Elfrida Arizona.  That cold snap killed many age old Cacti, broke underground water mains & countless water pumps in the area.  It was 12F in Elfrida this morning:(( 

 

Well, it was moving day for me as I busied myself this morning setting up the Motorhome for my 5 day stay.  Sirius satellite radio – check.  TV up & running – check.  Pheebs bed – check.  Laptop – check.  Peanut Butter – double check:)) 

AND, THIS IS WHERE PHEEBS & I WILL BE HANGING OUR HATS FOR A FEW DAYS

Kelly was very busy in the kitchen today as well as getting things organized for our guests.  I shook a floor mat out.   Had one of those low motivation lack of energy days where putting one foot in front of the other seemed a challenge.  Icy wind gusts made outside activities out of the question.

KELLY MAKES THINGS NICE FOR OUR ARRIVING GUESTS

Best place for me seemed to be in the Motorhome where I just kind of vegged out soaking up the warm sun beaming through our southern facing big coach windows.  Moved the iPod/Bose system into the rig & filled the warming coach with scented candles & ambient music.  I have always been very comfortable & content in small spaces over the years so I am as bug as snug in a hug.  

Peter & Leslie’s flight was delayed in Cleveland for an hour so it was late afternoon when they pulled into our yard.  They had flown from much warmer weather in Rochester NY to much colder weather in Phoenix Arizona.  And it was January.   Definitely something wrong with the picture here.  With todays icy winds blowing we weren’t long in getting them inside the house.  They had rented a car at the airport & didn’t find the Phoenix traffic too much of a problem today.

AFTER FLYING INTO PHOENIX PETER & LESLIE RENTED A CAR & DROVE ON UP TO CONGRESS

   

 

Kelly did a great job whipping up a big ham & scalloped potato supper.  We were all hungry.  After supper it was a relaxing chat around a fire in the fire place.  Peter & Leslie are nice laid back easy going folks so conversations come easy.  I’m sure we’ll all have a great week.  In the morning we’ll head out for the gold mining town of Stanton & the Lost Dutchman’s Mining Association RV camp.  From there we’ll take the Stage Coach Road up through the Weaver Mountains to Yarnell & see what we can see:))

   

GROANER’S CORNER:(( One day little Johnny was in his back yard digging a hole. His neighbor, seeing him there, decided to investigate. "Whatcha doin?" he asked.
"My budgie bird died and I'm burying him," Johnny replied.
"That's an awful big hole for a little bird, ain't it?" asked the neighbor.
"That's because he's inside your cat!"

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS -https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

OUR BACK YARD IS BEGINNING TO FILL UP WITH BIRDS:))

Yikes!!  Colder than a Witch’s Wit this morning.   Locals in these parts are saying this is the longest cold stretch of freezing weather since back in the 50’s.  Not being here in the 50’s, I’ll take their word for it.  Even the Pheebs didn’t want to say out long about 5 this morning.  I’m itching to splash some paint on our faded front screen door but have to wait until temps get over 50F.  Sounds like that may happen next week.  Rumors & wild speculations have us at 70F by this coming Thursday.   Rumors, wild speculations, & weather forecasters that is…..

THIS SIGN DIDN’T SEEM TO BOTHER THE PHEEBS TOO MUCH THIS MORNING

We have heat on in the Motorhome so no problem there but one of our 3 outside taps at the house here froze up bad enough last night to crack & spring a leak when it thawed out this morning.  In Ontario we can shut the outside water off in the fall but here there is no shut off valve for the outside taps.  I wrapped them in insulation a couple days ago but this old blister of a tap just couldn’t take the cold I guess.  We’ll have to get someone in next week to repair it.   

Had some bird feeders in Bayfield that our birds there didn’t like.  The feeders sat full of seeds but the birds avoided them for some unknown reason.  Brought them with us, picked up some birdseed last week at the Yarnell hardware store, hung the feeders, & now our back yard has turned into Birdsville.  The southwest birds love the feeders & I have put a couple dishes of water out for them as well.  With our property completely fenced now I figured it was time to try out some bird feeders.  And, with warmer weather headed our way next week I’ll set up a longer lens & see if I can get a few bird photos together.  I still have it in the back of my mind to try my hand at building some kind of water garden refuge in the back yard at some point.  Kind of a little birding nature center.

Not a lot happening here today.  Again, I spent most of my enjoyable time on the end of a shovel, rake, & a wheelbarrow.  I have now swapped out about 90% of the 1/2 inch gravel I had put down a couple months ago.  Today, I watered the 3/8 inch stuff & then drove around flattening it with the Jeep’s tires.  Makes for a nice hard flat surface.  But, being Northerners, we sure do miss our soft green grass.

 

Busy day coming up Monday.  Have to get the slides out on the Motorhome & configure it for Pheebs & I moving in until next Saturday.  Lot of last minute things to do around the house before our company arrives sometime mid to late afternoon Monday.  And, we definitely have some Jeeping Safaris lined up for the coming week as well:))

Judy, from TRAVELS WITH EMMA is out of the hospital & already on her feet following hip surgery a few days ago.  There’s no keeping this Gal down & readers stopping by will be encouraged by her determination.

As Ivan just found out, security can be pretty tight in Arizona and had to pass his drivers license over for a scan.  SASSY, also in Arizona, had to pass over her driver’s license for an entirely different reason:((

LOOKING WEST, OUR HOUSE IS AT THE LEFT SIDE OF THAT ROW OF BUILDINGS…DATE CREEK MOUNTAINS IN THE BACKGROUND

LOOKING EAST, OUR HOUSE IS AT THE FOOT OF THAT DARK RIDGE COMING IN FROM THE TOP LEFT…WEAVER MOUNTAINS IN BACKGROUND

Our RVing lifestyle has always been very flexible.  With the exception of our Ranch sitting days in southeast Arizona for a few years we have always kept ourselves footloose & fancy free.  If we didn’t like a campsite or an area, we simply moved on down the road.  If we didn’t like the weather in a particular area it was easy for us to move on to warmer climes or sunnier days.  Sometimes our destination decisions were made on the fly & at the day’s end we were not always at where we set out to be.  Sure takes the boredom out of sitting in one spot for 6 months at a time.  Merikay & Craig from MERIKAY'S DREAM headed out from Death Valley heading for Quartzsite Arizona & ended up sitting on a beach in California.  Now, how did that happen.  I like their spontaneity,  sense of adventure, & ability to willingly roll with the punches:))

CAN YOU FIND THE PHEEBS

Fulltime RVers & motorcycle enthusiasts Steve & Joan from FOSJ are our latest Blog Followers.  Thanks for dropping by folks.

DARK COLORED ROCKS WERE PREFERRED BY INDIANS FOR PETROGLYPH ART

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A Sunday School teacher began her lesson with a question. "Boys and girls, what do we know about God?"
A hand shot up in the air. "He is an artist!" said the kindergarten boy.
"Really?! How do you know?" the teacher asked.
"You know - 'Our Father, who does art in Heaven. . ."

-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS -https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com

IS IT TIME TO DOWNSIZE YET??

CACTUS WREN & A SILVER CARDINAL IN OUR BACK YARD
With our recent spate of cold weather & below freezing nights we have decided to make some changes for next week.  Our company arrives from Rochester Monday & we originally planned for Kelly’s brother Peter & wife Leslie to stay in the Motorhome.  I think we will now have them stay in the warmer house & I will stay in the rig.  I am familiar with how all the systems work.  Furnace, propane heater, etc.  Plus, Pheebs & I will be as snug as a couple bugs in a rug in there & I do like the adventure of camping out.  It will kinda be like boondocking without leaving the driveway.  Besides, every young boy & his dog need a Fort:))

 
NEW ADDITIONS ON OUR BLOCK…THESE 2 LAMBS ARE LESS THAN 24 HOURS OLD
And, speaking of the Motorhome.  Been a little talk going around here at the Bunch again about downsizing our Motorhome to something smaller, easier on gas, & just easier to get around in. Something less costly to transport us between Ontario & Arizona. We have driven our Motorhome to the southwest 5 of the past 6 years & our last trip here a few months ago cost us about a thousand dollars for fuel. Also looking for something Kelly will be more comfortable driving as well. We had briefly considered the truck & trailer route last summer but we’re back to a self contained motorized vehicle again. Something under 24 feet. Been looking online at some of the Class B+ units. Chinooks or one of those Leisure Travel styles. Maybe a small Class C or a Winnebago Rialto. We would either trade in our 2003 33’ Damon Challenger, sell it privately, or maybe find someone with a smaller RV wanting to move up to a larger RV & do some kind of trade. We ‘might’ take a Jeep drive over to Quartzsite in the next couple of weeks just to see what’s out there & give us an idea of what we might be looking for. Some of the bigger RV Dealers will be set up there for ‘the big show.’
TOOK OURSELVES OUT FOR A SHORT JEEP RUN THIS AFTERNOON
Four of Kelly’s five children are located in Cambridge Ontario. When she goes over to see them in the summer she likes to stay for a couple days but would like to have her own quiet place to stay. With a smaller RV she could easily zip over & conveniently park in a driveway.

THIS POOR OLD SAGUARO WAS JUST PLAIN POOPED
Tires, exhaust systems, shocks, brakes, etc are less expensive on a Class B or C chassis as well. No troublesome hydraulic levelers to worry about. Don’t have to worry about ripping the roof off under low bridges or low tree branches, etc. A smaller unit is easier to keep clean. And, we would definitely stay with a gasoline engine rather than diesel. The list goes on. Just something we’re thinking ahead about again.

FOUND SOME PETROGLYPHS ON THOSE DARK ROCKS
Having been in our southwest house now for the past couple months we already know this has been the right time & the right move for us. We have really enjoyed our boondocking travels these past 6 years but we also know that era is likely behind us now. With our home base established in Arizona we no longer need a large Motorhome to live in for half a year at a time. We still intend to travel & boondock but not for long monthly periods of time anymore. When in Bayfield for the summer our Motorhome sits unused for 6 months & now with our Congress house it will be sitting for longer stretches once again. Class A’s are more expensive to maintain than smaller rigs so it doesn’t make a lot of sense for us to have a large aging Motorhome sitting in our driveway anymore if it is only used to travel between Bayfield Ontario & Congress Arizona. And, of course, shorter side trips.

Had us a real icy wind blowing this morning so it was a short walk.  Our coldest morning since arriving back in November.  Figured I’d better wait until the sun got up a good ways before resuming my outside projects.  Meanwhile, it was a good opportunity for catching up a few inside things.  Now that we have a new roof on it was time to repair my bedroom ceiling.  Hauled in my big ladder, did a little scraping, a little painting & the ceiling is looking good as new.  Kelly slipped out to do a little browsing over at the CONGRESS DEPOT where a week-end outdoor flea market was underway.  By 11 a.m. Pheebs & I were dressed warm & back outside working on our crushed stone project for awhile. 

CRESTED SAGUARO
All you 5th wheel drivers out there might be interested in this.  I know I would be if we still had our truck & fifth wheel.  Check out what happened to JIM & SANDY.
<<< WE HAD A FEELING WE WERE BEING WATCHED TODAY
Wickenburg Jim had told us of a spot on the way to Stanton where we could find a couple Petroglyphs, so with a quick stop at the Congress Depot first, we headed off in search of the Petroglyphs.  An old mining road leads off in the direction of the Weaver Mountains & we knew exactly where the road was because we had been up it before & found us a CRESTED SAGUARO CACTUS last February.

 
TWO VIEWS OF A CONGRESS DEPOT WINDOW…LOOKIN IN & LOOKIN OUT:))
Found the Petroglyph’s right where Jim said they were.  It’s a wonder he ever found them in the first place because they are very faint compared to some we have seen.  Had us a little rock scramble & headed for home.  Rock scrambles are better for me in the mornings now.  Legs just aren’t up to the challenge for later day scrambles.

TWO INDIAN PETROGLYPHS
GROANER’S CORNER:((  While enjoying an Early morning breakfast in a northern Arizona truck stop, four elderly ranchers were talking.  One gentleman turned to the fellow on his right and asked, "Roy, aren't you and Bea celebrating your 50th wedding anniversary soon?"
"Yup, we sure are," Roy replied.
"Well, are you gonna do anything special to celebrate?" another man asked.
The old gentleman pondered this for a moment, then replied, "For our 25th anniversary, I took Bea to Mesa. Maybe for our 50th, I'll go down there and bring her back."
-------------------------------------------------------------
- Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.
- Home is where your pet is:))
- "If having a soul means being able to feel
love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals
are better off than a lot of humans."
(James Herriot)
- The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails -William Arthur Ward
- The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...AL.
- It is not so much having nothing to do as it is not having the interest to do something....AL.
- OUR PHOTO ALBUMS -https://picasaweb.google.com/117858411710794543295/
stargeezerguy@gmail.com