‘OH OH’……. IT WAS DAY 4 OF R & R (rest & relaxation)

ELRIDA’S BAPTIST CHURCH

Oh no, it turned out to be day 4 of basically sitting around doing nothing.  This has got to be a ‘doing nothing record’ for me &   Kelly had to keep the bathroom door locked or by the end of the day I would have gone right in there & flushed myself down for sure!!

Kelly is in the process of finishing up the next book I am going to read, ‘Log Of An Arizona Trailblazer.’  This was another read suggested by Eve over at the GRAPEVINE CANYON RANCH.  The book deals with more of this areas historical facts & is made up of short stories.  Nothing too complicated for AL anymore you know.  I follow the KISS rule these days….'Keep It Simple Stupid.’

Re-caulking jobs have never been one of my favorite things to do.  Seems I can never get the goop out of the tube & if I do it gets on everything it’s not supposed to get on, including me.  So, it was with great trepidation that I loaded one of those silicon tube things into the metal Mossmagator squeezer thing & headed into the bathroom to do battle with the caulking around the tub & shower walls.  Decided I had better fire off a test shot of goop first before entering the tub because usually getting the stuff out of the tube is the first of my many re-caulking problems. 

Tried squeezing out a burst of juice & of course nothing happened, & yes I had dutifully snipped the end off.  Tried again & again with increasing grunts of frustration & pressure on the squeezy thing.  Seconds before dashing the whole apparatus into the floor I noticed some stamped writing on the top of the tube that suggested an expiry date.  Yep, that’s what it was alright.  Tube was good up till May of 2004.  It was all dried out & probably hard enough to derail a freight train!!!! %^**(#)

Undaunted, I flew right back into our ‘junk drawer’ where I knew lurked another tube of squeezy stuff.  Only this squeezy stuff didn’t require the metal applicator & the tube felt soft to the touch so I knew this time it wasn’t all cemented up inside.  Lopped a bit off the tip,  confidently climbed my self right into the tiny tub & attempted to squeeze me out a burst along the seam.  Nothing!!!!  I had not lopped off enough of the plastic tip….but now I had a second problem.  I couldn’t extricate myself from the tub.  No, I wasn’t wedged, I just couldn’t configure myself into a reverse motion.  Kelly heard some grunts, some shuffling around & some blue words.  I heard, “here, take my hand.”  “NO,” came my answer.  If a man gets himself in a jam all by himself he’s gotta get out of it all by himself too, right??   Geeeezzz, I’m not that old yet am I.  This was the first time I had ever got myself into a configuration I couldn’t seem to get out of but eventually I was able to get myself draped unceremoniously out over the lip of the tub in a head down position.  With the aid of the sink & toilet, (not necessarily in that order) pulled myself up onto my feet again.  It wasn’t pretty!!

Well, to make a long story short, I lopped off another chunk from the end of the goop tube & handed it to Kelly.  Without further ado she set to the task of re-caulking the tub & ended up doing a mighty fine job of it too.  And, I might add, a far better job than I would have done with my impatient tendencies.  In my world it is always better to send in a good woman to do an impatient man’s job anytime….. if you want the job done right that is……….10-4:))  

OH OH, THIS COULD BE SERIOUS!!

 

GREAT PLUMBER SHOT EH:))

JB answers a question that popped up in the comment section of yesterday’s blog in which Rick wondered what the difference was between a Cowman & a Cowboy.   JB says,  ‘For Rick I think the difference is a "cowman" is what we would call a rancher and a "cowboy" is usually a hired hand working another mans stock. But as we get older it is better to be a cowboy than a cowgeezer.’   Or, you may prefer JERRY’S take on the difference in which he says, “I think the difference between "cowman" and "cowboy" is the difference between committed and being involved. In a breakfast of ham and eggs, the chicken was "involved," the pig was "committed!"

Several people have expressed an interest in the blog I had originally planned to post on my 1,000 posts day & didn’t.  I will post that blog in it’s entirety shortly.

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Earl was passing by Bubba's hay shed one day when through a gap in the door he sees Bubba doing a slow and sensual striptease in front of his old red Massey Ferguson.

Buttocks clenched, he performs a slow pirouette and gently slides off first to the right, then to the left.  He then hunches his shoulders forward and in a classic striptease move, lets his braces fall down from his shoulders to dangle by his hips over his corduroy trousers.

Grabbing both sides of his checked shirt, he rips it apart to reveal his tea stained vest underneath and with a final flourish he hurls his cap on to a pile of hay.

"What on earth are you doing, Bubba?" says Earl.

"Jeez Earl, ye frightened the livin bejasus out of me!" says an obviously embarrassed Bubba. "But me and the Missus been having some trouble lately in the bedroom department and the therapist suggested I do something sexy to a tractor!"

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
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.

CLEARED SOME BRUSH, FINISHED MY BOOK & MEMORIES OF AN OLD HOUSE

MARY KIDDER RAK’S RUCKER CANYON HOME IN, ‘A COWMAN’S WIFE.’

Oh dear, it has turned out to be another one of those relaxing & reading days.  Don’t know if I can take much more of this.  Might as well trade in my legs for a new pair of stronger reading glasses.  Wouldn’t be happy if I wasn’t griping about something you know:))

We did manage to clear some tall brush on the other side of the fence this morning giving us a bit better view of the Swisshelm Mountains.  That Mesquite brush is not nice stuff to work with because of it’s sharp thorns so it was a long sleeve shirts & work gloves project.

CAN YOU SEE THE PINK LITTLE MOLLY POPPINS TRIMMING BRANCHES:))

RETURNING FROM CLEARING BRUSH

Came across a couple older pics today dating back to April of 2004 when Kelly & I worked at a Bayfield area tree farm for awhile.  This particular day we were sorting a ka-zillion billion acorns.  Hours at a time were spent standing at tables.  Kelly outlasted me on this job when my upper back gave out on me after about a month.

  

For any of you folks contemplating buying a new toad for your rig have a look at heyduke’s site at, ON THE ROAD TO RETIREMENT.  He has researched this out very thoroughly & goes about his decision very methodically.  We should all be so lucky to be so thrifty.  This is one of those posts you may want to print out & save for a future vehicle purchase for sure.  Heyduke is less than 3 months from retirement & the open road. ‘Go heyduke go:))’

OUR MORNING WALK LANEWAY

Our home area of Bayfield Ontario is sure getting hammered with non stop snow storms at the moment.  Roads closed & school buses not running.  The city of London, an hour southeast of Bayfield is virtually paralyzed & the whole city is shut down with police urging people to stay in their homes.  London has called on neighboring cities to bring snow plows.  University students are being asked to help Seniors.  It is fast shaping up to be the worst snow storm on record. 

Finished my book, ‘A Cowman’s Wife’ today.  Another in a great series of reads over the past few weeks.  Incomprehensible to me in this day & age how people lived back in earlier times.  Technology has moved so fast that we do not have the faintest understanding of how things really were.  This ladies true story took place back in the 1920’s just a few miles from where we are right now.  It is about the hardships, joys & endless toil it took to make ends meet on a small cattle ranch in the harsh beauty of Rucker Canyon high in the Chiricahua Mountains.   This book had special meaning for me because on March 15 of 2009 Kelly & I finally found the location of OLD FORT RUCKER.  On that site was a large barn still being used for cattle & a curiously shaped little wood & adobe house in various states of disrepair.  We were able to go inside & I was intrigued with it’s seemingly haphazard layout, thinking at the time what  story & what old memories took place here.  I felt it was a mysterious house with an unknown past.  Unknown that is….until now. 

SHE WRITES ABOUT THE TIME THE HOUSE NEARLY BURNED DOWN WHEN SHE LOST CONTROL OF A FIRE IN THIS FIREPLACE

Several readers had suggested I read ‘The Cowman’s Wife’ but it wasn’t until I talked to Eve over at the GRAPEVINE CANYON RANCH that I made the connection between the book & the little house at old Fort Rucker.  This was the very house the book’s author, Mary Kidder Rak lived in with her husband Charlie years ago as she wrote about their hard life & times in Rucker Canyon.  As I read the book I had the house photos right here in the computer.  You can see those photos at…. MARY KIDDER RAK'S RUCKER CANYON RANCH HOUSE.  I have it in mind now that I would like to return to Rucker Canyon again & have a second look at where all the memories in her heartfelt book took place.  Might just have to make a Jeep run up there shortly.  Awww, the history just goes on & on here forever in the beautiful & great American Southwest………..10-4:))

THE CORRALS & BARN THAT HOUSED THEIR CATTLE

GROANER’S CORNER:((  And did you know that everyday you beat your own previous record for number of consecutive days you have stayed alive.

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
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.

MADE IT TO THE ELFRIDA PHOTO GROUP TODAY:))

OUR PRESENT DIGS (house is empty)

Grand Bend Ontario is a 20 minute drive south of our place in Bayfield.  The Grand Bend Yacht Club has a webcam mounted in a replica light house that looks back over the river leading to Lake Huron.  We often click on this cam to see what the weather is like back home.  The river generally freezes over & in the Spring when we see the river is free of ice again we know it is safe to head home.  Below is what our area back home was looking like this morning.

It was one month ago today we left home for the Southwest.  We were remarking just yesterday how it seems like so much longer since we left.  No idea where we will be a month from now.  Maybe we will still be in the same spot as we are now east of Elfrida, Arizona……who knows.   It is all part of the RVing lifestyle we both so much love.  We just kinda move on whenever the spirit moves us to go have a look over the next hill & around the next corner.  No schedules, no events to attend, no reservations, no hard & fast rules & no stuffy boring routines.  Just a more pleasurable way for us to do things.

I explained in yesterday’s post why we prefer the Southwest States of New Mexico, Arizona & California for our RV winter travels.   I should have included southwest Texas in there too because of the Fort Davis & Big Bend areas.   My favorite scenic State is probably Utah but it’s generally too cold up in them parts for us in the winter.  I have also traveled through the western States of Nebraska, Idaho, the Dakotas, Wyoming, Nevada, Washington, Colorado & Montana.  All beautiful places but just not accessible to us during the winter months.  If we were full timers you can bet your bananas we would be up into those States in the summer months for sure including Oregon.  I have also traveled in British Columbia & western Alberta & they are second to none when it comes to rugged mountain beauty.  In fact, I lived in BC’s Okanagan Valley for nearly 3 years.  Anyway, just wanted to clear that up about the northwestern States.

Our trusty propane driver & truck rolled in this morning about 10:30 & refilled our nearly empty 23 gallon tank with 21 gallons of propane to the tune of $53.40.  We also had him rig us up an adaptor that we can hook up to a smaller & portable type tank typically used on back yard BBQ’s.  Been going to do that for a couple years so am glad that is done & we can now carry a smaller propane tank for emergencies.  Good thing to have when boon docking but boy oh boy was that brass adapter & hose ever expensive.

One o’clock found me at the Monday afternoon, soon to be renamed, Elfrida photo group.  Always nice to see some old friends & always nice to meet some new ones.  And we did pretty good at sticking to photo topics today too:))

 

ELFRIDA PHOTO GROUP

Each year before leaving Canada I gripe quite a bit about past border crossing woes & being detained & hauled out of the rig for agricultural checks.  Well, that kind of pales to Rene’s experience recently when he was detained at the border for stealing his own truck.  Check out, BORDER INCIDENT.

BAGGED ME A TUMBLEWEED TODAY SO I PUT IT ON THE ROOF & BROUGHT IT HOME FOR SUPPER:))

Just want to mention that my thoughts in yesterday’s & today’s blog about RV lifestyle preferences are just my thoughts & opinions & in no way suggest our preferences are in any way better or worse than anyone else’s.  Just wanted to make that perfectly clear…..10-4:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Four Catholic ladies are having coffee together, discussing how important their children are.

The first one tells her friends, "My son is a priest. When he walks into a room, everyone calls him 'Father'."

The second Catholic woman chirps, "Well, my son is a bishop. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, ', 'Your Grace'."

The third Catholic woman says smugly, "Well, not to put you down, but my son is a cardinal. Whenever he walks into a room, people say 'Your Eminence'.

The fourth Catholic woman sips her coffee in silence. The first three women give her this subtle "Well...?" She replies, "My son is a gorgeous, 6' 2" hard-bodied, male stripper. Whenever he walks into a room, people say, "My God...."

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EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
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.

REMEMBERING WHY WE LIKE THE SOUTHWEST

Another perfect weather day in Arizona’s Sulphur Springs Valley.  Lots of sunshine, warm temps & no wind.  Decided to make it a relaxation day.

JUST KIND OF A LAZY BOOK READING DAY

We often receive nice emails from folks following our blog & we had one a couple days ago from the Province of Quebec in Canada in which a lady stated how much she loves & misses the beauty of the American southwest.  That set me to thinking of why we consistently come to the States of New Mexico, Arizona & California.

Some clues are readily apparent in my photographs.  I am a very visual person & the landscapes of the western deserts & mountains fascinate me.  Desert sunrises & sunsets.  Endless scenic valleys & canyons winding their way through towering mountain ranges.  Rocky mountain trails wander through towering Pines, Juniper & tall Agave’s.  The list just goes on & on forever & the photo opportunities are endless.  

Kelly & I are both quiet people & we find the vast stretches of people free land a peaceful place to spend the winters.  We can drive beautiful scenic valley roads without seeing another car for miles in either direction.  We can boon dock in places with only Saguaro Cactus & Coyotes for neighbors. 

The history of the wild west has always appealed to me & the best part is the fact history is still alive & well in it’s western rawness.  We have walked through the ruins of ghost towns & cemeteries untouched by modern commercialism.  Camped in areas where not another man made shape was visible for as far as the eye could see.  No water connections & no electricity hook-ups.  Just a campfire with a canopy of stars from mountain top to mountain top.  A lot of folks flock to the tourist places….we avoid them.  Many people won’t travel the dusty back roads….we seek them out.

 

The more we visit the southwest the more I am convinced I was born on the wrong side of the country.  My Grandfather’s people on my Dad’s side were all horse people.  I think my Dad always had a love of the western lifestyle as well but just never made it out of the east.   Had it not been for some major events in the past 10 years I wouldn’t have likely made it either. 

 

Ever since a small boy reading western comic books & going to the Saturday afternoon Matinee’s watching Randolph Scott riding across the big screen I’ve had a yearning to travel west in search of the land where my Cowboy hero’s rode.  Had the opportunity to make a quick trip through the Southwest back in 92 & that hooked me.  So, for 5 months of the year now I am able to be a part of the land I love so much, put on my old Cowboy hat & kick up a little dust all over myself most every day.   I am a pretty darn lucky feller alright & doubly darn lucky I have me a partner who likes most all the same things I do.  Well, maybe not the kicking dust all over herself part……10-4:))

Kelly brought my attention to an always interesting blog this morning that she has been reading for quite awhile.  I checked it out & knew right away this fellow is a good writer with insight, thoughts & opinions about the RV lifestyle & beyond.  Check out MOBILE KODGERS & be sure to read back several posts about what’s happening in urban Phoenix.  I have added Mobile Kodgers to our, ‘Blogs We Follow’ sidebar.

And, about leaving the dogs in the car.  Legal or not, it is something we are not in the habit of doing & would never take the dogs anywhere in the heat of the summer months.  The photo of Checkers & Motor in the Jeep yesterday was on the north shaded side of the Safeway store where it was probably about 55 degrees under a light cloud cover.  We always park there, dogs or no dogs.  If you have ever been to this corner of Arizona at this time of year you will know that on the sunny side of your rig you can comfortably bask in the warmth of the big Arizona sun but if you plan on spending any time on the shaded side of your rig you had better get your woolies out!!  Kelly also reminded me this morning about a question someone had regarding how our furry guys like the new outside step we had shipped from Camping World a couple weeks ago.  The sturdy steel step has worked out perfectly for the guys making it much easier for them entering or exiting the Motor Home.  And, it folds down to a depth of only one inch.  Sure beats the heavy old wooden & cumbersome Mossmagtor I built 3 years ago. 

GROANER’S CORNER:((  If a man has enough horse sense to treat his wife like a thoroughbred, she will never turn into an old nag.

--------------------------------------------------------------
EMAIL THE BAYFIELD BUNCH:))
stargeezerguy@gmail.com
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.