JIM & RENE FROM LIVE-WORK-DREAM POPPED IN TODAY

Stone silence greeted me as I stepped out of the Motorhome this morning.  Not a hint of wind in the air anywhere.  No flapping slide awnings or rattling solar panels.   A lone coyote in the distance let out a few yips at the bright half moon in the southwest sky.  Dawn broke over the south end of the Santa Rosa mountains casting long shadows across the desert floor.   All was peaceful & calm at last.

UNFORTUNATELY I DON'T KNOW ANY OF THE FLOWER NAMES IN TONIGHT'S BLOG

I will call those winds of the past three days, the Arnold winds, because this is California, Arnold is the Governor, & I know......"they'll be back!!!!"

 

ALL FLOWER PHOTOS WERE TAKEN ON MY WALK THIS MORNING

Socky Geepers & I headed off on a hike to Coyote Mountain this morning about 8 o'clock.  Took us about 15 minutes to walk the flat desert floor to the south end of the mountain & begin the gradual footpath to our destination.  The north end of Coyote mountain is quite high but the southern end is only a few hundred feet to the top of the rolling hills.  It was here that I came across a well made Inukshuk a few weeks ago & I had wanted to take Socky up there for a little Geo photo shoot.

 

The early morning desert air was a tad cool but the warmth of the rising sun on my back soon had me sweating & loosening buttons.  Reached little Inukshuk Valley about 45 minutes after we had started out & it wasn't long before I had Socky Geepers posed on the the stocky Stone Man itself.  I left a Bayfield Bunch card under a rock just behind the Inukshuk too.  The co-ordinates are...N33* 18.0340 by W116* 17.5945  Elevation 834' at 8:51A.M Friday March 5th 2010....Coyote Mountain.

SOCKY GEEPERS POSES ON THE INUKSHUK

 

SOCKY READS OFF THE GPS CO-ORDINATES FOR ME

 

SOCKY CLIMBS BACK INTO HIS CARRYING BAG

By the time I got back to the rig Kelly had headed into Borrego's farmer's market for some groceries.  Winds picked up from the south & set the flags a flappin.  Hot in the sun & cool in the shade.  Welcome to the southwest's winter months.

 

(click on pics to enlarge)

The rest of the afternoon was spent doing the final square root of nothing.  Cleaned a couple battery terminals & that was about it.  Just a lazy Friday afternoon in the desert.  Heard a stunt pilot doing some flying near the airport so slipped over & watched him for 10 minutes before he landed for gas.  Those guys sure do some pretty wild things up there in the air.

STUNT PILOT LANDS TO PICK UP SOME GAS

A few days ago, fellow bloggers Jim & Rene from LIVE-WORK-DREAM left Slab City & rolled into our desert area about a mile northeast of us.  Had been emailing with them back & forth so knew they were coming.  We first met Jim & Rene about a year ago when they stopped into the ranch near McNeal.  Late this afternoon they wandered over through the desert creosote bushes & dropped in for a chit chat.   An energetic younger couple with an even more energetic 3 legged dog, Wyatt.  They didn't bring Wyatt today, he was back at the rig holding down the fort.  They will be here for a week so we'll probably see them again later.  Nice folks:))

JIM & RENE WALK IN OUT OF THE DESERT  (Their rig is the smaller one in the center of the picture)

Noticed a lot of extra traffic out on the highway & RV's have been pouring into the desert since mid afternoon.  A lot of week-enders.  We have our fingers crossed & the F16 Fighter dogs are on a priority alert in case we have any intruders closing in..........:))

 

GROANER'S CORNER:((  A fine is a tax for doing wrong. A tax is a fine for doing well. And state lotteries are a tax on the mathematically challenged.

This troublesome Windows Live email has lost my tag lines & links to our blog & photo albums so I'll have to work on yet another problem with this program tomorrow!!!!!!!!!

HEY CALIFORNIA.....TURN OFF THAT BIG DARN WIND MACHINE WILL YA!!!!!!

MAX LIKES THE SUNRISES

At least we were smart enough to pull our slides in last night before going to bed.  It was obvious the wind was not going to let up, & it didn't.  With the slides in it is less noisy inside so I was actually able to remain in an unconscious state for 5 wonderful back to back hours.  Kelly was hoping I would have stayed in that state much longer:((

Nice looking day outside with plenty of sunshine & white fluffy clouds.  Temps are OK but the strong gusting 40mph winds add a wind chill factor so we opted to just hang out in the rig doing 'in the rig stuff.'  Can hardly get the door at times anyway.   Kelly continued wrestling with Microsoft's Live email program trying to import our address book from the other computer.  This has made for hours of frustration for her over the last while.  I've never been impressed with Windows Mail, or Windows Live Mail, or Windows Live Hotmail, or Windows Dead or Alive Mail or even their Arrive Alive Mail.  What a mess they have made of what could have been a simple email program to go with Windows 7.  Big mistake dropping easy to use Outlook Express.  Yes, I know there are other email programs, we have them, & I don't really care much for them either.  Certainly not that impressed with Windows 7 so far.  I suppose it would be much easier to get onto if I could just swap out some tired old brain cells for some nice new fresh ones.

On the way back from Ghost Mountain Wednesday I rolled out of the Yaqui Pass into the sweeping Borrego Valley.  The air was clear & I could see clean across the valley all the way to the Salton Sea.  The nearby huge San Ysidro mountains filled the western horizon dwarfing little Borrego Springs in their shadow.  I was reminded of some comments I've heard from a few people regarding various States that make up the American Southwest.  I prefer to look at the southwest as having no States or State lines.  First & foremost in my mind, I see this borderless land as one big chunk of beautiful earth.  I attach no politics to it, no boundaries, no limitations.  It bothers me when I hear people say things like, I don't like Arizona or Colorado, or I don't like Utah because of some political reasons or other sillyness.  If they passed a law in Nevada saying everyone must wear their underwear backwards does that mean you now dislike Nevada & wouldn't go there again.  Who cares about backwards underwear anyway.  Maybe California's prices are higher than some other places but does that make it any less beautiful.  What if New Mexico took a stand on aboriginal rights, abortion, & whatever other hot political potatoes there are out there.  Would that make the land any less attractive.  The mountains, canyons, & deserts were here long before man came along & divided it all up with his warring political boundaries, whims, & fancies.  Never mind the silly politics, the territorial greed, the marches, & the causes for awhile.  Just come on out & enjoy the vast beauty Mother Nature has created here in the west.  See it for what it really is.

I pumped up my excitement level a tad this morning by simply getting all my maps & atlas's out.  Besides California's huge winds here right now there are also other winds afoot.  The winds of travel are again beginning to whisper themselves around my ears.  Had us a look at temperatures in the Joshua State Park area & beyond.  Dusted off our good old Mountain Directory to see what mountainous obstacles would have to be circumnavigated, if any.  Checked out scenic secondary roads northeast of Joshua & also checked the calendar as our shortening days begin to take on a bit of anxious meaning.  As always, it's apparent.....so much to see & do & so little time to see & do it all.

A month from now will see us on our homeward leg for another year and from the time we pull in the driveway at home I will be counting the days until we pull out of that driveway again.  Right or wrong, it's just the way it is with me.  But, having said that, it is still a nice feeling having a home to go home to.  Even if it's for a few weeks or a few months.  I would sooner be on the road a whole lot more but for now this is second best.  A sticks & bricks home in Ontario for six or seven months (way too long) of the year & a motor home anywhere in the southwest for the rest of the time.  Sometimes we just have to make compromises when we can't have things our own way:((  In the meantime we'll continue to keep our back burner ideas on simmer.  We'll continue to follow & stir the real estate waters of British Columbia for example & we'll continue to keep the burner turned up on our dream of having our own small quiet piece of country property somewhere in a forest setting with year round civilized temperatures.  Well, that's kinda the big darn long range plans anyway.......................10-4:))

IVAN & ROADTRIP 2010 had to return to Canada earlier this winter on business but has just transferred his gear from his truck camper to his Rockwood 5th wheel & after pulling it out of the snow is in the process of sweeping it off & heading south again.  We had the pleasure of meeting Ivan when he popped into the ranch back in McNeal, Arizona a couple months ago.

Looks like the wind is going to continue blowing the stars around tonight so wish us luck.  We're really getting tired of all this rapidly moving air stuff!!

GROANER'S CORNER:))  Queen Nyteshade had two claims to fame. She could tell fortunes and she was a midget. The local authorities frowned on her because they thought that fortune telling was fraudulent. They had Queeny arrested. She was placed in a holding cell. Since she was so small she was able to squeeze between the bars of her cell and escape. This so incensed the judge that he ordered the local newspaper to print an article about the culprit. The following was printed in the paper the next day......... 'Small medium at large.'

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.

GHOST MOUNTAIN HIKE & WE PASSED THE SITEMETER 100,000 MARK FOR BLOG VISITS TODAY:))

JAN & MIKE ON LEFT GIVING AN INFORMATIVE TALK ABOUT GHOST MOUNTAIN BEFORE THE HIKE

When I'm able to start the blog off without complaining about the wind you will know that we have probably left the Southwest.  We were both up in the middle of the night again retracting slides before the wind ripped the awnings off.   Needless to say I was awake a big part of the night & this morning I felt like I'd been run over by a road grader.

           

SOME YAQUITEPEC RUINS

Sometime in the night our Sitemeter recorded over 100,000 hits on our site since starting the blog.  "WoW, who would have ever thunk it!!  Thanks folks:))

Had to be over in Blair Valley by 9 a.m. to meet a group of people for an organized hike up Ghost Mountain to the Marshal South homestead site.  It's close to an hour's drive through the twisting & winding Yaqui Pass southwest of here so I was out the door & on my way by 7:30.

IN THE BLAIR VALLEY

Beautiful morning & I enjoyed the challenge of the drive as it took me back many years to those snappy sports car days of old.  When you can hear the tires squeal a bit in the curves you know your having a fun time:))

 

A PROPERTY NEAR SHELTER VALLEY

This was my 3rd trip to Ghost Mountain & I couldn't help but think back 2 years ago when Kelly & I first drove out to Blair Valley in search of a place where a family had eked out an existence back in the 30's & the 40's.   That day standing atop Ghost Mountain in the few sparse ruins of the Marshall South homestead made a lasting impression on me & I came down of the mountain that day with a fascination for the man, his family, & their story.  Bought the book, 'Marshall South & the Ghost Mountain Chronicles' & my interest deepened.  This is the BLOG I wrote that day & these are the PHOTOS

SMALL WORLD...Couple on right lived in London Ontario back in the early 60's & had a cottage in Grand Bend.  Grand Bend is a 20 minute drive south of Bayfield where we live. (Standing in the homestead ruins)

Last year while boondocking near Borrego Springs I blogged about plans to hike up Ghost Mountain again.  A few days later we received an email from director John McDonald who had done a documentary about Marshall South & the Ghost Mountain story.  John & his wife Lydia were camping in the area & said the 'Ghost Mountain' alert program on his computer kept showing him people were clicking on a site called, The Bayfield Bunch because of the blog I had written about our hike the year before.  To make a long story short Kelly & I drove out to Ghost Mountain a few days later & I hiked up to the top again.  Kelly was nursing a sore ankle at the time so waited at the bottom.  By the time I came down John & Lydia  had arrived at the foot of Ghost Mountain & we were able to meet them & pick up a copy of his documentary.  Here is my BLOG & PHOTOS of that day.

 

STRONG WINDS ARE BLOWING HEAVILY ON MIKE'S HAT (click pics to enlarge)

I knew our stay at Borrego Springs this year would not be complete if I didn't hike myself up to the Marshall South site again so I had been watching for an organized hike this time.  I knew hike leaders would be able to point out things I had missed before.....and so they did.

GHOST MOUNTAIN IS IN THE BACKGROUND AT THE TIP OF THE TALLEST BRANCH ON THIS OLD TREE

Turned off highway S2 for the 3 mile hard packed sandy drive along a bumping road to the meeting point at the bottom of Ghost Mountain.  Met hike leaders, Mike & Jan Bigelow.  Six other people arrived & after an informative talk by our hike leaders we were in single file making our way up the steep, narrow, & rocky switch back trail leading to Yaquitepec.  About a quarter of the way up two separate hikers cell phones rang & I thought, wonder what Marshall South would have thought of all this modern technology on the trail.

SEPARATE CELL PHONES RANG AT THE SAME TIME

Jan led the hike while husband Mike brought up the rear.  We had a couple of informative rest spots on the way up & then crested the last ridge & walked the short distance to the ruins.   Questions were asked & answered standing amidst the homestead remains & the group split up to explore around & take some photos.  Time there lasted about 25 minutes & the group reformed for the hike back down the nearly mile long rocky path.  Everybody but me of course.

TODAY'S GROUP AT YAQUITEPEC

From the first time I set foot in the ruins of  Yaquitipec 2 years ago I was aware of a very special feeling.  That feeling returned last year on my second hike when I spent about 40 minutes wandering around the site by myself.  And that feeling was present again today as I walked around looking at a few spots mentioned in the book.  Jan had pointed out to me the very spot Marshal South had sat among the rocks to write his many Desert Magazine articles.  She also pointed out the rock piled kiln they used.

 

ROCK PILE KILN & MARSHALL SOUTH'S SUNDIAL

It was quiet on the mountain after the group left except for the cool & heavy west winds blowing across the ridge.  it made a howling sound in some of the tall Agave stocks.  I had brought a thermos of coffee & a nature bar with me & what better place to drink my hot coffee than in the exact same spot Marshall South sat with his old typewriter on his lap.  He had mortered up a short wall of stones between two large boulders in the lee of a pinion Juniper.  It blocked him from the sometimes howling chilly winds & gave him a quiet secluded refuge not far from the house.  I could look out & see the exact same landscape this writer, spinner of tales, & talented craftsman could see some 70 years ago.   It was a special moment for me & a cup of coffee in a place I shall always remember.

 

THIS IS WHERE MARSHALL SOUTH CAME TO WRITE HIS ARTICLES FOR THE DESERT MAGAZINE AND THE VIEW HE HAD SITTING THERE

I ambled around the site taking a few photos, looked at the kiln, & then took Socky Geepers out of my bag & did a little photo shoot with him around the site.  It was after I had take the photo of Socky in the old 'wading pool' that I turned around & saw something orange underneath a Juniper tree.  Upon closer inspection I saw a dark garbage bag wrapped around something.  Moved some rocks & twigs away & felt that there was something hard & rectangular in the garbage bag.   Carefully lifted it out & looked inside the bag.  I had just accidentally discovered a Geocache.  First one I have ever seen.  It was a metal military ammunition box.  Opened the lid & discovered a treasure trove of articles that other folks had left inside.  A religious pamphlet, some lip balm, business cards, some coins, & maybe a half dozen other things.  A zip lock bag contained a list of people's names & the dates they had been there since the cache was left at this site back in 2008.  A small piece of paper had children's drawings on it.  I recognized a rocket ship.  Only thing I had to leave was a Bayfield Bunch card.  Carefully put everything back & re-wrapped it all up in it's garbage bag.  Placed it under the tree & put some rocks & twigs over it.  Later wished I would have thought to look for information on who put it there & what the co-ordinates were.  Next time I will know what important things to look for.

THE GEOCACHE AS I FOUND IT, SOCKY GEEPERS DISPLAYS THE CONTENTS, & THE GEOCACHE AS I LEFT IT (Socky Geepers is with me:))

The unrelenting winds finally worked their way through my clothes & I began to feel the cold creeping in.  It was time once again to leave Yaquitepec.  I had been there alone on the mountain for a whole precious hour.  As twice before, I said good-bye to the many mountain spirits present here.  The Indian people who inhabited the mountain & roasted Agave stocks & hearts nearby.  Goodbye to the spirits of Tanya & Marshall South.  Goodbye to Yaquitepec & goodbye to Ghost Mountain.  I hope to one day pass this way again.

GOODBYE YAQUITEPEC......I'LL TRY TO MAKE IT BACK AGAIN NEXT YEAR:))

MARSHALL SOUTH & GHOST MOUNTAIN - THE STORY

PHOTOS OF MARSHAL SOUTH'S FINAL RESTING PLACE - JULIAN CEMETERY

I was down the mountain & in the car headed back across Blair Valley in the direction of Borrego Springs by 12:45 p.m.  Great drive stopping for a few pics here & there.  All & all this day will remain one of my more memorable days on this trip so far this year.  Hope I can squeeze a few more in before heading home.  Back to the rig by 2 & the rest of the day was spent semi-dozing in my chair.  Winds have substantially picked up again just in time to keep me awake for another night..........Ooooohhh:((

A SNOOZY LITTLE MOTORMOUSE

And as we pass the 100,000 visitors mark today I noticed tonight we have two new followers.  Welcome aboard to Julie & RickNB.  Didn't look like you folks have blogsites or I would have linked them here.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Q: Who has the right of way when four cars approach a four-way stop at the same time?
A: The pick up truck with the gun rack and the bumper sticker saying "Guns don't kill people. I do."

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.