TRAVEL WITH THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))

Sunday, November 21, 2010

A FULL MOON, A STAR FILLED NIGHT SKY, AND A CAMPFIRE:))

NIKON D50… 700mm TELESCOPE LENS AT 1/4000 SEC SHUTTER SPEED… COLLAGE DONE IN PICASA 3

WAITING FOR TONIGHT’S FULL MOON

We finally have a smattering of white puffy clouds in the big blue Arizona sky & that adds character to the day & makes for scenic photos. You also need clouds for beautiful sunrises & sunsets.

OUR BACK YARD:))

Loaded ourselves into the Jeep this morning & headed on down the long bumpy road to the little town of Elfrida for a good old Sunday morning breakfast. You have to understand that eating places in small dusty wind blown western towns are not exactly like eating at your high end city fancy schmancy restaurants. Sometimes these little places are lucky if they have two chairs that match. Your probably not going to get a tablecloth & you sure won’t get some ear ringed waiter guy in tights flitting around your table either. I like these little hole in the wall places & feel quite at home with the mismatched silverware & tattered window shades. And, if ya have to lean over & blow a little dust of the table, well, that’s alright too:))

THE ‘GROTTO’ ALONG THE ECHO CANYON TRAIL

We have a bit of a busy morning coming up Monday so decided to just grab some R&R again today. Have to take the little Motormouse into Douglas to see the Vet at 11, grab some groceries at Wally World & then I’m hoping to pop into the Elfrida Photo Group in the afternoon. Same group I attended all the time we were down in this area last winter. And, one day this coming week we plan to head back to the Chiricahua National Monument to do another scenic trail. There is also a Jeep tour in the wind with friends & fellow Jeep owners early in December. And, a big move is coming up…….. but we won’t be the ones moving.

We are soooooo much enjoying the freedom of this Cradlepoint router & I really like the fact that neither of our laptops are tethered to anything. We can carry the lappers outside if we want too. A really nice side benefit we hadn’t counted on is the increased reception power. When we first set up last Sunday we had 2 green Verizon bars which was adequate but the blog took a long time to publish. We hooked up our Wilson antennae & that solved the slower connection speed problem pushing Verizon up to 3 & 4 green bars. But, now with the Cradlepoint Router acting as an antennae as well, we no longer need the Wilson antennae up on the roof so took it down this morning. Methinks if the router & Wilson antennae worked together we might be able to even bring in the Space Shuttle or Moon Base Alfa. D’ya think:)) Also nice to not have the Verizon modem not plugged into the lap top & sticking out the side or back where it could get bumped to bits. That modem is now plugged safely into the out of the way router itself. Nice:))

A LAST REST STOP BEFORE PUSHING ON TO THE END OF THE TRAIL

THE FINAL LEG OF THE HIKE AND AT LAST…. THE JEEP:))

Now, to answer a few more questions. Our new header picture in the Chiricahuas was a team effort with me, Mr. Self Timer & Mr. Small Portable Tri-Pod guy all working together to create the photo. Do I use a polarizing filter? Yes, sometimes but wasn’t using it in the Chiricahua pics. I do have UV filters on both camera lenses though & yes, both cameras are Nikon DSLR’s Yes, our Jeep is a 6 cylinder, 6 speed stick shift standard transmission vehicle. (and we love it) No, we don’t know how long we will be staying in these southeast Arizona parts. And, why don’t we like RV Parks? Well, I’m not going to touch that one with a 10 foot pole, but if you follow our blog for any length of time….you will understand:))

THIS MORNING’S WALK

ED FREY first came across my desktop sometime this past summer. He had somehow stumbled across our blog about our times at the ranch this past couple of years The mention of the Sulphur Springs Valley perked his interest. Ed attended school in Douglas & still has relatives in the area. He was in Douglas a short while ago to attend a school reunion & passed up this way through McNeal just a few weeks before we left Ontario. He dropped a book off at the ranch for me to read at that time & this morning I started into that book entitled, ‘Chasing Rainbows And Similar Acts Of Foolishness’ written by W.D. “Arizona” Kennedy. I’m half way through it already because I love these kinds of books written by down to earth people about their life & times as they remember it. Reminds me of another book I read last year by another Sulphur Springs feller, Walter Swan, who wrote, ‘'me 'n Henry. I like these books because they are written by ordinary everyday people in a truthful fashion. No fiction stuff!! Their memories take place years ago in the very area we are right now. A great look into the past in a way that I like to read about the past. Hope we can meet Ed on his trip back down through the valley on his way home to Nevada in a few months. He’s up around Silver City New Mexico somewhere at the moment. Gotta get his book back to him…. I think he’s got family in there:))

ANOTHER GREAT DAY FOR LISTENING TO, 'THE SON’S OF THE PIONEERS’

Checked the internet for the full moon time in the area, set up my camera’s & tri-pods & waited for the moon to come up over the Swisshelm Mountains. Kelly got a campfire going as well as the BBQ. Real darn nice way to wind down the day….10-4:))

TONIGHT’S SUNSET

GROANER’S CORNER:((

Knock Knock.
Who’s there?
Dwayne.
Dwayne who?
Dwayne the pool, I’m dwowning!

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Tourists see the world, travelers experience it.

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OUR PHOTO ALBUMS http://picasaweb.google.com/stargeezerguy/

The only thing better than right now will someday be the memories of right now...... AL.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

INSTALLED OUR CRADLEPOINT ROUTER TODAY:))

KELLY SETS UP THE CRADLEPOINT ROUTER…..YAAAAAAY KELLY:))

We slipped over to Jeannie & Ray’s place at the ranch this afternoon to pick up our Cradle Point Router which was delivered Friday by UPS. When we ordered it from the 3G store in Chicago we didn’t know if UPS would come out on the bumpity roads so had it shipped to the ranch. Silly us!! This is the wild & wooly west of course & UPS would have brought it in by stagecoach if they had to.

ALL FOLLOWING PHOTOS ARE FROM OUR ECHO CANYON HIKE FRIDAY

ALONG THE ECHO CANYON TRAIL

From the time Kelly pulled router out of the box to the time we had both computers successfully on line spanned a short period of 20 minutes. We could not believe how simple it was to hook up & that it actually worked right off the bat without a lot of cussin & swearin!! There was a time when I would have hooked it all up myself but with my dwindling patience with techno things I just let Kelly do the set-up. I’m sure that is probably why there were C & S problems:)) So, long story short…..the in-house internet connection wars are over. I’m hoping my knees will begin to heal now because I had to spend a lot of time on them begging for computer time this past couple weeks!! We also brought back a load of firewood & Ed’s book from the ranch as well.

THE SMALL PUDDLE OF RIVER WATER ON THE LEFT INDICATES WE HAVE REACHED THE CANYON’S BOTTOM

Had an interesting email Friday from a couple I remember reading a bit about last summer on Ara’s, OASIS OF MY SOUL blog. This is the couple who have been traveling with a wagon, four horses & two chickens. Their blogsite is, RON DAKOTAH...ON THE ROAD AGAIN. I’m sure we RV’ers sometimes take for granted our somewhat cushy lifestyles. Some of us still have the security of sticks & bricks living for half the year but not so for the ‘On The Road’ folks. Security is not an operative word for them as they desperately search for a place to put down some roots for awhile. I suggest you all take some time to read their interesting story. They are presently in the Las Cruces area slowly making their way west to Arizona.

Note to Emjay…I remember hearing about the book, ‘A Cowman’s Wife’ last year but had forgot about it. Hadn’t realized some of the story involved the ranch house at Camp Rucker. Am now wondering if it is the very same abandoned ranch house that we walked through & photographed when we found Camp Rucker a couple years ago. We will definitely find that book now & thanks so much for the reminder. To read the blog about our day there click, CAMP/FORT RUCKER & for photos in & around the abandoned ranch house click, RUCKER RANCH HOUSE.

Since we repositioned the rig I am now able to sit in my chair, computer on lap, camera at hand & look to my left watching the sunrise over the Swisshelm Mountains. Pretty darn nice way to start the day I’d say & thanks for the correct name configuration of Swisshelm, Ed)

Looks like our warm 70F days are slowly coming to an end as a cool front approaches dropping day time highs into the high 50’s next week. That means night time temps of freezing & below. We love ya Arizona but could you please keep that thermostat turned up a bit while we’re here:))

As predicted, after yesterday’s tiring hike, we had kind of a lazy day. I should mention that the Echo Canyon hike trail is a well worn & easily navigable trail. Some grades, loose rocks sections, step overs & some stone hewn stairs. Not wheel chair accessible but fine for all ages. The Ranger Station even has a shuttle every morning at 8:30 that will drive folks up the Park’s highest point & drop them off. People can then follow the trails downhill all the way back to the Ranger Station about 4.5 miles below through some of the greatest rock formations you will ever see. The trail also wanders along beautiful forest paths as hikers descend into the lower canyons. If you have a readily handy imagination you will see countless faces & animals etched into the very rocks themselves.

This area is steeped in Indian history, folklore, myth, mystery & legend. Many ancient chiseled rock faces watch out for you as you make your way along the well worn Chiricahua trails. Cochise & his Apache braves hunted these Canyons & aptly named this area, ‘land of standing rocks. If you come to the Chiricahua National Monument you will soon see why the Indians gave this area that name. All roads leading to the Monument & within the Park itself are paved. There is a small RV Park as well but maybe check that out on the Park’s website. I think there is a 29’ limit.

LEFT PHOTO…NOTICE LARGE RABBIT WITH BROWN EARS CENTER LOOKING LEFT, GOLD HEADED DUCK IN RIGHT FOREGROUND LOOKING LEFT & A PUPPY DOG BEHIND RABBIT LOOKING RIGHT

KELLY SAW A PUFFER FISH GOING RIGHT & I SAW A TURTLE GOING LEFT

FACES ARE EVERYWHERE

And, like I mentioned yesterday, be sure to wander into the Faraway Ranch within the Park’s borders near the entrance. And no, this is not a tourist trap!! Original barns & real horses. Volunteers will give you a guided tour of the ranch house, the history & the way it all used to be….oh so many years ago. (third & final Echo Canyon Trail photos will be in Sunday’s blog)