TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Friday, November 19, 2010

A RETURN TO THE CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL MONUMENT

STOPPED TO HAVE A WEE CHAT WITH A HORSE THIS MORNING

We had the Jeep wheels rolling by 8:30 this morning heading north up the Sulphur Springs Valley. A couple quick stops for pictures, a chat with a horse alongside the road & we rolled into the Chiricahua National Monument at 9:40 a.m. Made an important stop at the Visitor Center where Kelly, after 62 years, was finally able to purchase a lifetime free entry pass to all the National Parks in America. It’s called an ‘America The Beautiful’ pass & has a bunch of other perks with it. Kelly has dual citizenship, having been born in American at Rochester NY.

LOOK FOR THE REPOSING PROFILE OF THE GREAT INDIAN CHIEF, COCHISE

This was our second trip to the CHIRICAHUA NATIONAL MONUMENT. Our first time at the Monument was a couple years ago & it was a very cold windy day up in the mountains so we didn’t stray far from the car & didn’t do any trails. But, we did visit the FARAWAY RANCH at that time & it was a worth while tour of an old Ranch homestead from yesteryear. It is located in a Canyon within the Park. Today we headed directly for the Echo Canyon Trail. One of the most popular & scenic trails in the Park located at the 6,780 level it loops out 3.3 miles through some of the greatest rock formations I have ever seen. It is truly one of those places where the phrase, ‘with each step a thousand photographs’ could have been coined.

KELLY GETS HER ‘AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL’ PASS AT THE VISITOR’S CENTER

Average time to do the trail is 2 hours but of course we ended up taking 4 hours to get around it. Many stops for photos along the way with occasional rock scrambles alongside the main trail. For me, it is day’s like this that make the RV lifestyle the greatness that it is. I am not going to try & describe the beauty we saw today but over the next couple days I will post a few pictures of what we saw & I will also put together a Picasa Web Album in the next few days with all the photos from today’s hike. I took 233 pictures today & on my first edit threw 103 of them in the trash bin. The poorest lighting for photography is bright mid day sunshine & I was disappointed with the lighting in a lot of the photos.

We did underestimate the length of the trail today. After last weeks long drive from Ontario Canada our legs were no way in any kind of hiking condition & the last uphill grade really had us bearing down & concentrating on getting our aching limbs back to the parking lot & planting our buns firmly into the waiting comfortable Jeep seats.

(click pics to enlarge)

We had planned on stopping in to see our friends Carol & Rosanne at the PAWS & HOOVES ranch near Sunizona but we were just too tired plus the fact we had taken a couple hours longer than planned. We always worry about our doggy guys when we are away for any length of time. Of course the guys were all fine when we got back to the rig & we were welcomed with the usual flurry of wagging tails. I have a feeling Saturday is going to very relaxed day hanging out at the rig:))))))

SHORT CHAT WITH A GROUP OF HIKERS WE MET ON THE TRAIL

More photos of today’s hike…tomorrow:))

GROANER’S CORNER:(( A Russian, an American, and a Blonde were talking one day.

The Russian said, "We were the first in space!"

The American said, "We were the first on the moon!"

The Blonde said, "So what? We're going to be the first on the sun!"

The Russian and the American looked at each other and shook their heads.

"You can't land on the sun, you idiot! You'll burn up!" said the Russian.

To which the Blonde replied, "We're not stupid, you know. We're going at night!"

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

A RELAXING DAY FOR THE BUNCH:))

SWISS HELM MOUNTAINS IN OUR BACKYARD

We still have not adjusted to Arizona time. It is now 2:20 a.m. & I have been up since midnight. Of course my brain put itself to sleep about 7 Wednesday night so now thinks it is well into Thursday & everything is perfectly normal. Well, I’ve got news for you, brain!! Kelly’s having the same problem & was out of action last night by 6:30. Of course my brain will attempt to put me into a Zombie like state every opportunity it gets now for the rest of the day to compensate for it’s scheduling mistake. Will it ever learn!!!!

SOMETIMES YA JUST GOTTA OPEN A FEW GATES IN LIFE TO GETS TO WHERE YER GOIN TO:))

I was hankerin for a good fix of the old West this morning so what better way than kickin back outside & listening to ‘The Sons Of The Pioneers’ for an hour or so. You just gotta love the harmonies those guys did years ago & their songs typify the old west & the way it was & the great way country music used to be. They just don’t make no darn good sounding music like that no more:((

Forgot to mention that upon arriving at our present location last Sunday we decided to give the levelers a whirl & level up the coach a bit. Of course I did not expect them to work so was surprised when I hit the ‘on’ button & lights lit up on the control panel. Carefully deployed both passenger side levelers which worked perfectly. Nice to be on the level again. We’ll see what happens when we try to retract them at some point.

HEY DAD, MY WHOLE WORLD JUST TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

And, to answer a few more questions. Yes, we have a regular RV Park sewer type hook up & we do have access to the house. Nice big kitchen if we wanted to use it. Fridge, stove, freezer, etc. Two full bathrooms & hot showers in the house as well. We have 20amp electric at the rig & an abundance of fresh drinkable well water. A propane truck will deliver propane (just got some today…$37) so we are as snug as a bunch of bugs in a rug for the time being. There is a large security light on the other side of the house but it doesn’t bother us. We are also enclosed by a coyote proof fence complete with a lockable gate & yes, we do have laundry facilities in the house. Still no sign of the roving neighborhood Javelina gang though. Our roving neighborhood watch patrol (Max, Checkers & the Motor) have probably scared them off:))

PROPANE MAN FILLS UP THE HOUSE TANK AFTER FILLING OUR RIG…..& KELLY PAYS UP

The Bayfield Bunch welcomes Kate & Terry from TRAVELS IN CHOLULA RED & David, Sheila & Stella from RVING WITH A BEAGLE. Thanks for your blog support folks. Much appreciated. Some of you 5th wheel folks may want to check out ‘Rving with a Beagle’ & have a look at a different type of hitch set up.

Just noticed on our Sitemeter this morning that we have crossed the quarter million mark (251,805) in ‘pages read’ on our blog. Not really sure what that all means but it does sound like we still have a few people reading the blog anyway.

WE ARE STAYING SOMEWHERE NEAR THAT BARE ROCK FORMATION AT CENTER FAR LEFT & THE SMALL CANYON WE DROVE TO WEDNESDAY IS AT THE BASE OF THAT ROCK…(we plan to return there for a hike shortly)

THE JEEPS NAVIGATOR PONDERS A ROUTE CHANGE >>>

As you may have noticed, I am currently working on a picture sizing problem with the newer Live Writer. Sooner or later I will get it to where I want it.

Aside from cleaning some Motor Home windows today it was pretty quiet around the rig. I haven’t saved up enough energy units to wash the whole rig yet but maybe soon. Tomorrow we may just head off into the Chiricahua Mountains in search of all things wild & wonderful:))

GROANER’S CORNER

How is it one careless match can start a forest fire,
but it takes a whole box to start a campfire?

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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.

TUNA SALAD SANDWICHES IN THE OLD GHOST TOWN OF GLEESON, ARIZONA

Our temps have been warming up a bit & I wasn’t as worried this morning about Jack Frost nipping at my nose. Our early doggy walks aren’t as long any more as they once were. Just too hard on Max, so it was a shorter walk on the road today. Checkers didn’t come Monday morning because it was obvious by the gunshots that hunting season had just opened & Checkers hates gun shots.

Decided to take a run further up that road we were on yesterday. It had some nice dips, swirls & gully whompers but we took our time in 4 wheel drive & we all did just fine. Road didn’t go as far as I thought it would before ending. Scenic little canyon ahead so pulled over figuring we would go the rest of the way on foot. Well, that was until a blue pick up truck pulled in behind us. We had seen it a few minutes before & suspected hunters. We were right, so that effectively ended our hike. Walking in an area where people are hunting is never wise. These two guys were very friendly but that can be taken two ways. Either some good old genuine western hospitality or…….you just never know. I did see a gun on the front seat of their truck. They both exited their vehicle, approached, and we had about a 10 minute chat. Kelly was nervous about them & I must admit, I was too. All the time talking to these guys I was thinking of all the TV shows I’ve seen where people mysteriously disappear…or worse!! Anyway, I did manage to get a picture of the guys, we did get out of there, & they were probably just a couple of friendly locals.

Didn’t want to go back to the Motor Home yet so scooted straight across the valley to the little ghost town of GLEESON. Thought we would try out some dusty roads to nowhere in that area. Nice idea but most of the roads we ventured out on, were just that, nowhere roads!! Most of them dead ended at a locked gate with a ranch somewhere on the other side.

WE KNEW WHERE WE WERE BUT OUR GPS DIDN’T

NOT LOOKING LIKE GLEESON HAS A BIG FUTURE:((

A FEW PICS FROM AROUND GLEESON

This was probably our 4th or 5th time through Gleeson so decided to go eat our picnic snacks on the steps of what used to be an old dance hall & school. And, if I haven’t got that right I’m sure I’ll hear from Ray in Gleeson. So, today at exactly high noon Arizona time, Kelly & I were sitting on the old cement steps of what used to be a very large building in Gleeson, eating our tuna salad sandwiches & zesty pickles. Yep, that’s what the label on the pickle jar said all right…….zesty!!

(click on pics to enlarge)

Gleeson was a rootin tootin wild west mining town in it’s hay day, with a main street, saloon, shops & the usual cast of nefarious western characters I’m sure. Tombstone’s (only 15 miles west of Gleeson) infamous gun fighter Johnny Ringo was last seen drinking at a saloon in Gleeson. You can see that Saloon plus more pics & read my take on Gleeson at, GLEESON, ARIZONA. For the day we found Johnny Ringo’s gravesite at the base of the Chiricahua Mountains further north, check out our blog for, JOHN RINGO'S FINAL RESTING PLACE. I have pics of Johnny Ringo’s grave plus some interior photos of the old saloon in Gleeson.

I’M SURE THE RUINS OF GLEESON’S HOSPITAL LOWER LEFT TENDED TO MANY INJURED & DYING MINERS FROM THE MINE SITE IN THE BACKGROUND.

MINE SHAFTS ARE VISIBLE THROUGHOUT THIS REGION & GLEESON HAS IT’S FAIR SHARE OF THEM

An hour after our tuna salad sandwiches we were back at the Motor Home. Kelly had some phone calls to make & some emails to check regarding work. I had to check on my afternoon snooze program and that just about sums up our whole day. Weather is great, sun is hot & until we are face to face with our next dilemma……….life is good:))