OUR LAST NIGHT IN THE YUMA AREA

CITY OF ROCKS STATE PARK, NEW MEXICO  (didn't have any pics for today so have thrown in some previous trip photos)

A second beautifully calm morning had us out of the rig early but by 11 we were driven back inside by high winds & blowing sand.  A warm front is moving into the area & it's the big winds that are bringing it here.  Had put the flags up earlier but had to get them down again while they were still in one piece.

No Blue Angel jets out this way from the El Centro Air Show so maybe they were all blown over into Texas somewhere.  We spent all afternoon inside reading &  doing computer stuff.  Wow, talk about exciting times.

RICK had a good post in this morning about why he likes his RV lifestyle just the way it is.  I sure wish I had some of that contentment stuff he has.  A lot of other RV'ers have it as well but it seems I was out to lunch somewhere the day all that stuff was passed around years ago.  You would think by the age of 65 I would be getting myself slowed down a bit & catching up on some of that there contentment stuff, but ya know what....I don't think it ain't never gonna happen:)))))

CITY OF ROCKS STATE PARK, NEW MEXICO

Had a question about the pile of rock's photo in last night's blog.  I had positioned the sun directly behind that pillar of rocks & noticed it shining through a couple holes in the stones.  That gave it the fiery eye effect.  Many miles directly behind lay the Imperial Sand Dunes & with all the kids out there with their ATV's, Dirt bikes, & dune buggy's yesterday there was a fine dust cloud on the horizon.  The sun sitting on the horizon filtered through that dust giving the sky an orangey  look.  Photo was taken at 200mm & F/9.  A little assistance from Picasa 3 helped refine the color & contrast as well. 

MORNING WALK NEAR OGILBE ROAD, YUMA

I am always in a bit of a dilemma about our 'Blogs We Follow' list.  I try to keep it reasonably short for simplicity & ease of reading sake but after I read Donna's post from 2 TAKING A 5TH today about having 300 sites on her list I guess that should tell me I have lots of room to expand my list.  Aw no, I don't think so!!  Every once & awhile I will come across an RV'er just starting out in the blogging world.  If I find it interesting I sometimes put it into our list for awhile hoping to give the new blogger a jump start on their blog.  I remember well when I first started out, the feeling of anticipation as you check your SITEMETER about a hundred times a day to see if anybody read it.  A couple hits, maybe 10, & then holy smokes after a long while your all the way up to 25 & on a roll.  WoW!!  I like to think by sometimes putting a new person's blog on our site it can maybe add 40 or 50 hits over night for the new blogger giving their blog a nice boost .  And, that makes me feel good.

 

THIS 'TOY HAULER' TRUCK SEEN IN YESTERDAY'S BLOG IS ACTUALLY FOR SALE........GOOD LUCK!!

However, there is a more troubling side to the 'Blogs We Follow' list that bothers me.  In order to keep the list short, & to keep the emphasis focused on fewer blogs as opposed to blogs becoming lost in a multiple blog list, I have to let some go & that is always an agonizing decision for me & not something I take pleasure in doing.   If I wasn't a sensitive person I wouldn't give a hoot about dropping blog sites........but I do, & I'm sure other bloggers have thought about this as well.

I have some regular blogger friends  who have been on my list almost from the beginning & others who have drifted away.  I can always tell when feelings are hurt though because folks blogs I have decided to drop, & who used to leave comments, immediately stop leaving comments & just seem to drop right out of sight.   Oh well, just one of the little on-going bumps along the old Bloggerville road:((

CITY OF ROCKS NEW MEXICO

We have been monitoring the weather carefully & it still looks cold for going anywhere too far north so our 4 corner States visit is still off the drawing board.  However, tomorrow morning we will have the big wheels rolling eastward again heading for somewhere over in Saguaro Cactus country.  Where too??  Dunno.......that just takes all the fun out of it.  Now, let me see....how do I spell contentment!!

NEW MEXICO

GROANER'S CORNER:)) 

Harvey's grandfather clock suddenly stops working right one day, so he loads it into his van and takes it to a clock repair shop.
In the shop is a little old man who insists he is Swiss, and has a heavy German accent. He asks Harvey, "Vat sims to be ze problem?"
Harvey says, "I'm not sure, but it doesn't go 'tick-tocktick -tock' anymore. Now it just goes 'tick...tick...tick.'"
The old man says, "Mmm-Hm!" and steps behind the counter, where he rummages around a bit. He emerges with a huge flashlight and walks over the grandfather clock.
He turns the flashlight on, and shines it directly into the clocks face. Then he says in a menacing voice, "Ve haf vays of making you tock!"

 

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.

MORNING CAMPFIRE & COFFEE OUTSIDE ON A BEAUTIFULLY QUIET SUNNY MORNING

SPOTTED THIS 'FAIRY DUSTER' ALONGSIDE THE ROAD

What a treat it was this morning to open the Motorhome door to quiet & calm air.  The mountain sunrise & warmer temperatures had us outside within minutes relaxing in our pajamas with coffee in hand.    Cactus Wrens were twerbling in the Mesquite trees & a hummingbird dropped by to say hello.  Dragon Flies were in the air & we saw several butterflies.  Wasn't long & we had nice little morning campfire going.  Just might delay our Saturday departure for another day or two now.

GOLD ROCK RANCH LAUNDRAMAT

Happy to report that Kelly's Dad has been moved from the hospital to a re-hab center & is doing reasonably well.  My Uncle Harry is still in the hospital & is slowly regaining strength.  With a little bit of luck he may be back to his 'assisted living' facility sometime early next week.

   

SOME MEMORIES FOR OLDTIMERS

Having been in this area before we are familiar with where things are so headed up the road a few miles this morning to, GOLD ROCK RANCH RV RESORT.  We had a load of laundry to do & we've used the laundromat there before.  A lot of mining artifacts have ended up here in this RV Park & I took a lot of pics of things in December of 08.  You can see those pics here at...GOLD ROCK PHOTOS & the blog for that same day here at...GOLD ROCK BLOG   I also took a few more this morning while we were there & I will include them in this blog.

  

Last time here we also explored what was left of the old mining town of Tumco which is about 3 miles up the road from where we are camped now.  An organization in El Centro later emailed me seeking permission to use some photos I took that day & I said yes.  Never saw their project so I don't know which photos they used but you can see the photos of that day here... TUMCO PHOTOS (check out the large Cyanide tanks & old graves) & you can read my blog from that day here... TUMCO BLOG.

We've decided to stay another day so tomorrow we might see a few jets in the sky as the Blue Angels perform at the El Centro air show west of our location.  We won't see the heart of the show but we might get some F/A 18 Hornets making some rather loud & sweeping turns out over the desert here closer to Yuma.  I went to a lot of Air Shows years ago in London & Hamilton Ontario but I can't take the crowds anymore so we'll watch from the desert.  First aerobatic team I ever saw was the Golden Hawks flying F 86 Saber jets way back in the 50's.

All & all we had a quiet afternoon just relaxing under the awning & soaking up this beautiful wind free & warm California day:))

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Did you know that England doesn't have a kidney bank, but it does have a Liverpool.

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.

BIT OF A NOTHING DAY:((

The winds took a break last night to recharge their Galactic turbines & were back in full force  this morning again.  We're not as much out in the open here as we were in Borrego but some of the gusts still rocked the coach pretty good.

NICE TO HAVE A FEW TREES NEARBY FOR A CHANGE

We fired up our generator after supper tonight just to top up the batteries.  After about 20 minutes I noticed the sound of the generator changing.   Almost like a rhythmic knocking or deep rattling sound.  Not a good sign!!  The noise got louder & I figured it must be a hole in the muffler & it was coming off.  I started to get out of my chair to turn the generator off when it really got loud & I thought, oh no it's run out of oil & the motor is seizing up.  I was about half way across the floor in a panic to reach the generator switch on the dash when all of a sudden there was an even louder sound.......but by now it was a sound I finally recognized.  It was a helicopter going by low overhead & the sound of the blades had fooled me into thinking it was our generator coming apart.  The military base in Yuma fly's a lot of helicopters out this way.  The whole episode only took about 10 seconds from start to finish but I was convinced about the 9 second mark that our generator was done.  I had just checked the oil in that thing late last week.  Whewwwww, close call.

OCOTILLO BLOOM

Our coffee percolator gave up the ghost earlier in the week so Kelly was anxious to get that problem resolved & headed off to Yuma about 9 this morning.  I wasn't feeling in 'mall mode' so stayed with the guys.  Turned out to be one of those mentally tired days with no energy or interest to accomplish anything constructive.  Resigned myself to watching morning television which of course is about as moronic as things get.  Would you believe they were running back to back 'Beach' movies with Annette Funicello & Frankie Avalon.  Those movies are sooooooo bad & should be locked away in a deep dark cave forever!! 

                               

FREIGHT TRAIN ROLLS BY THE IMPERIAL SAND DUNES - MILITARY HELICOPTERS FLY OVERHEAD - A CURIOUS PILE OF ROCKS

We are pulling in about a dozen channels with just the antennae so didn't bother setting up the dish.  Eight of those channels are Mexican!!  If you like loud accordion music this place just might be your cup of tea.  Not mine!!!!  Most exciting thing I did all day was (in the words of DOUG DUBROUILLET) go for a little dodder in the desert.  Kelly was back about 3:30 with a boat load of groceries but no coffee pot.  She is fussy about her coffee pots.  I figured we could just punch a few holes in an old juice can, throw some coffee grinds in, & drain some hot water through it.  Apparently not!!

Working on some more travel plans & we will probably roll out of this area Saturday morning.

GROANER'S CORNER:((  Two boll weevils grew up in South Carolina. One went to Hollywood and became a famous actor. The other stayed behind in the cotton fields and never amounted to much. The second one, naturally, became known as the lesser of two weevils.

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.