THE WINDS OF TRAVEL ARE STIRRING

MOVED TO OUR NEW DIGS THIS MORNING

Late Monday afternoon a truck camper rolled into the desert & parked in our back yard!! Acres & acres of room here but this fellow decided to set up shop about a hundred yards from our rig. Now, in an RV Park a space of a hundred yards between rigs would be pure heaven but out here in the desert, that's not only un-acceptable, it's downright rude & inconsiderate. Well, at least in my books anyway. The people had 2 dogs so that immediately presented a problem with our gang as the bunch ran over barking their tails off. I walked over to fetch our guys & the older couple did not seem friendly. It wasn't long after that I heard the loud radio station inside their camper. Very loud!!!! I have zero tolerance for people like that so the handwriting was on the wall. We were going to have to move. No point in asking them to turn the music down because by then the damage is already done. If someone is that inconsiderate & uncaring in the first place then I have no interest in talking to them at all for any reason. And I don't want to be camped near them!!!!

After a short dog walk this morning Kelly & I put the computer in the car & drove to another area west of us checking for a good Verizon signal. Just off Rockhouse Rd Kelly spotted what looked like a solar oven out in the desert. Doug & JoAnn had told us about an oven some friends of theirs had built out here somewhere so we're thinking this is it. We drove over to the pile of rocks & domed adobe oven & had a closer peek. Looked like a great camping spot plus we were able to pick up a good Verizon signal. The decision was made!! We zipped back to the rig & half an hour later we were all packed up & on the move to our new site.

Ever since setting up in the desert a couple of weeks ago our nearest neighbor was a 5th wheel just to the south of us. We never really got over to meet the people except one time at Butch's four o'clock fire ring. Yesterday morning I walked over & said good morning. As it turns out, Suzanne & Bob are a lot like us. A bit on the shy side when it comes to meeting people & not wanting to bother anyone. That happens a lot with boondockers. People tend to stick to themselves & I'm sure some great friendships are missed that way. Kelly came over & it wasn't long & we had all found some common ground to converse on. And, is so often the case these days, the main topic turned to computers & the cyber problems encountered on the road. Always nice to hear new ideas & learn new things. And meet some likeable people along the way.

Before we pulled out this morning Kelly went over & let Suzanne & Bob know our change of plans. They are heading for Mexico next week so hope we see them again before they leave. Stopped at Butch's for a minute & told him we'd just be down the road a bit.

We like our new spot because the closest rig is about a half or a mile away. No more worrying about the dogs bugging people or someone in the backyard with a loud radio!! And, we have a view of Borrego Springs down in the shallow valley to our southwest. Am looking forward to seeing the lights of Borrego shimmering in the night air to-night.

Kelly slipped into town for some groceries while I reversed the solar panels on the roof because we changed the direction of the coach in our new spot. Our door now opens to the south & we have put the awning out for the first time since putting it up in Truth or Consequences at the end of last February. STEAKS ON THE CHARCOAL COOKER

A month or so ago we had heard from another RV couple (Doug & JoAnn) about a possible ranch sitting job over in Arizona for the month of February. We have been in contact with the ranch people & to-day received an email saying they would like us to come over & take the job, so that's what we are going to do. The winds of travel are stirring & we've been putting to-gether some travel plans this afternoon. Will probably leave here around the end of the week heading over into the Quartzite area for a few days & then eventually working our way southeast through Gila Bend, Casa Grande, Tucson, Benson, & then on down into the Bisbee/Douglas area.

This is a good example of why we love this RV lifestyle so much. Nothing ever remains the same, change is always afoot. New adventures around every corner & over every hill. Hardly ever two days the same. Plans made, plans changed. Sometimes it's the weather that determines the destination & sometimes it's a comment from a fellow RV'er about a great place just over those mountains there. We ended up in Borrego Springs last year because of a chance encounter with another RV'er over in Slab City who said what a great place Borrego was. He was right:)) I like the friendships that are made out on the road as well. They are generally brief encounters with people you may or may not ever see again. And that's what makes the friendships special because there is an unwritten bond formed. We are all fellow travelers living a vagabond lifestyle helping each other along the way. Some full time & some part time. People never really get to know each other well enough to get on each other's nerves over a long period of time & I really like that. It's one of the true beauty's of the internet in how people remain in contact with each other over the years. You may never see them again but you follow their lives as they travel about over the land. Some, like us, have blogs & some can be found on RV Forums, Facebook or My Space. Many varied ways of keeping in touch with each other. You are only an email away from people at any time. It's a special kinship & it is our preferred style of life................................................

THE SOLAR OVEN BUILT BY A PREVIOUS RV PERSON CAMPED HERE

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TRAVELING WITH OUR BEST PALS

CARLSBAD  CAVERNS NEW MEXICO

I know it's hard for a lot of people to wrap their heads around the thought of traveling in a motorhome with 3 dogs. An even harder thought for me is the thought of traveling in a motorhome with 3 kids. Dogs I understand but kids I know absolutely nothing about.  I think they are totally from another planet somewhere. Relatives tell me I was a kid once, but I don't believe them!! Relatives can be wrong you know.

My Mother was an animal lover & fortunately that has been passed on to me. Had 18 hamsters, 2 guinea pigs, a bird & one cat living with me one time plus an aquarium full of guppies. When Kelly & I lived in an old farm house years ago we had 2 house cats, about a dozen barn cats outside at any one time, 3 birds, & another tank of guppies. Oh, & some more guinea pigs in the basement. Then we got Max.
PANCHO VILLA STATE PARK, COLUMBUS NEW MEXICO

Max was about 6 weeks old when we got him for $5 from a farm near Mitchell, Ontario. Just a little ball of puppy fur I could hold in one hand. Wasn't sure what he was but he's looking a lot like a blond border collie/lab now, 11 years later. Max won a 1rst place red ribbon at doggy obedience school when we took him. He was also the only dog in the class to poop on the floor twice too. But, no matter, I was proud of my boy:)) He used to fetch the newspaper from the end of our driveway too back then. His much most favoritist thing of ever to do is playing sticks. He just loves to chase sticks. SOMEWHERE IN THE GREAT AMERICAN SOUTHWEST:))

Cora, our little Motormouse was Kelly's daughter's dog after an original owner didn't have time for her. Her daughter lived in a big city & was busy with a new job as well so one day little Cora came out to our place for a holiday. That was about 4 years ago & she's still here. We're sure glad she is. Max was a little put out at first but they soon became bestest Pals. We think she is a cross between a Chihuahua & a Pug. She has a face like bat so I call her a Chipugamug. Chi for Chihuahua, Pug for a Pug, & boy, what a mug!! Chipugamug. I never cared for the name Cora so I nicknamed her Motormouse & call her Motor for short. She is the big Boss of the other 2 dogs in the house & she is just a little Sweetums.  In later years I called her 'Beans:))'  BORREGO SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

Checkers came to us about 3 years ago. She was having a hard time fitting in at the place she was living. She had fallen on hard times at several points in her life. Kelly first met Checkers in an unusual way. On the beach one day where she worked she heard a dog barking way out in the waters of Lake Huron. It appeared to be in trouble & some boaters were trying to help by getting the big dog in the boat but things were not going well. Without a thought, Kelly, an avid swimmer in those days, went into the lake & swam out to the dog in distress. It was a beautiful black & white Border Collie & Kelly was able to get a hold of her collar & guide her back to the beach. People in the boat were clapping. Checkers went on her way that day but Kelly tried to keep an eye on her from then on.  Checkers would often wander away from her home at the beach & be gone for days. Sometimes people in Bayfield would bring her back. Sometimes the dog catcher would bring her back or lock her up for the night. Kelly worried that someday.......nobody would bring her back:((

And then one sunny summer afternoon I looked up as Kelly pulled in the driveway after work. And there in the front seat of the car was this big beautiful black & white Border Collie named Checkers. Sitting up as proudly as she could because her very best friend Kelly had just brought her home to stay. And Checkers has been with us ever since. Max & the Motor weren't too sure about this new intruder at first but with a lot of TLC on everybody's part, the bond between the 3 furry Musketeers was finally cemented & we all became one big happy family. We became, The Bayfield Bunch:)) The Bayfield part is named after the little town we live near. DEAD HORSE STATE PARK, COTTONWOOD ARIZONA

When we first began putting to-gether our plans for RVing someday we were concerned as to what we would do with the doggy guys if we go away. Didn't figure there was any way to travel with 3 dogs, but we had 2 priorities going for us that had to be worked out & number one on that list was the dogs. They are just an important part of the family as either Kelly or I so we decided wherever we go, the 3 Musketeers were going as well. Our second priority was a suitable RV & after a couple false starts & poor decisions on our part we finally decided on a Motorhome where we would all be to-gether in one big comfortable place while traveling.
DARBY WELL ROAD, AJO ARIZONA

We soon discovered that RV Parks were totally out of the question. No place for the dogs to run free in an RV Park & we do not believe in having them straining & choking on the ends of leashes or tied up to ropes & chains. Dogs are meant to be free, to run, to play, & to just be the fun loving critters they are. It was one of the many things that pointed us in the direction of the Boondocking lifestyle. It's not just the doggy guys who needed to be free of rules & regulations, leashes & chains. It was us too.

It's like a 3 ring circus here in the motorhome sometimes with dogs, rubber balls, & chew toys flying around all over the place. They are a constant source of entertainment for us & I love to watch them all playing to-gether. The personalities (or dogonalities) each one has is so uniquely individual & I just love watching them all interacting with each other. We have our morning routine of playtime that sometimes gets Mom a bit riled up when the barking gets a tad loud & the rubber toys are flying through the air but we somehow manage to get on Mom's good side again until the next time.

Like the old saying goes about a dog being man's best friend. It is true & I sure get a lot of people mad at me sometimes when I tell them I've never met a human being yet that I liked better than my dogs. But, that's the difference between people & animals. No matter what, your bestest pals are just going to love you forever, no matter what you say.........................and you, them:)) QUARTZSITE, ARIZONA


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ROCKHOUSE ROAD & COYOTE CANYON

Noticed the moon going down over Coyote Mountain this morning so started off the day in my pajamas outside the motorhome taking pictures. Another perk that comes with boondocking. No neighbors close by to complain about some guy running around in his PJ's. The area we are boondocking in was once an aerial gunnery range where fighter pilots were trained during & after the second world war. There is a large dry lake bed west of us called Clark Dry Lakebed & that's where the large concrete targets were placed for the pilots to shoot at. There are still bullets & shell casings to be found here in the desert. Last January we found the business end of a 50MM tracer bullet. A gravel road (Rockhouse) leads back to this dry lake bed & continues for miles beyond into what we hear is a beautiful area. To-day we followed that road along the east side of Coyote Mountain as far as we could before having to turn around. Just too rough for our 2 wheel drive car. COYOTE CANYON

On the other side of Coyote Mountain is Coyote Canyon (of course) so we slipped around over there where the road through the desert is all hard packed sand & much gentler for both vehicles & passengers. The road slowly climbs into a valley with an abundance of Ocotillo plants. Most we've ever seen in one place. Indians lived in this sheltered valley a couple of hundred years ago. It later became a main route for people making the trek to the west. Beautiful area surrounded by tall mountains on three sides. Drove in as far as a place called Desert Garden. Not much there except a few picnic tables & a bench but definitely a quiet shelter in the desert to sit & quietly imagine the life & times of the people who once lived here.Borrego Springs is only about 3 miles from Coyote Canyon so we drove back into town & split a fish taco at Jilbertos. I still prefer my hamburger but was told by the Boss we were going to share the taco so button it up. Parked by the library for a few minutes to check out their Wifi signal on our laptop. Kelly's having a few problems accessing her business email account so she was doing some troubleshooting. I took a few photos around the picturesque Borrego mall while she worked on the computer. BORREGO SPRINGS MALL

Back to the rig by 3. Another couple, Ken & Vicki walked over so we did a little tour of our renovated motorhome showing them the Ikea furniture we had put in after ripping out all the cheap RV stuff last year in Quartzite. I think they went back to their rig with a few new ideas:)) JUST OUTSIDE THE LIBRARY

The lack of wind made for a very warm day so we stayed outside & got a campfire going in the later afternoon. We haven't had many campfires so it was nice for a change to hear the crackling fire & get that great wood smell imbedded in our clothes. Watched the full moon slowly rise over the Santa Rosa mountains & enjoyed the sounds of our neighbors well played bongo drums wafting in on the still desert air. A nice way to end another fine day in the Borrego Valley................................................... SUNSET ON THE MOUNTAINS

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