DESTINATION….PARKER CANYON LAKE

It was another cold night here in Southeastern Arizona & the ground was covered with a heavy frost this morning.  Had to start the Jeep before heading out just to defrost the windshield.

 

YEP, IT WAS A MIGHTY COLD ARIZONY MORNING AGAIN

Rolled through the gate at 9:50 a.m. with our destination being Parker Canyon Lake somewhere on the west side of the Huachuca Mountains.  Beautiful day for a drive with a big clear blue Arizona sky above.  Grabbed a Starbuck’s coffee at the Safeway store on our way through the San Jose part of Bisbee & struck off across the San Pedro Valley heading for the snow covered Huachuca Mountains & Coronado Peak. 

   

HEADING ACROSS THE SAN PEDRO VALLEY TO THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS

It was our third time into the Coronado National Memorial Park but it was the first time we saw warning signs of a troubled road ahead.  Signs cautioned drivers to either have chains on tires or 4 wheel drive.   There was obviously snow & ice ahead.  That was precisely the reason for our Jeep decision last summer so off we went heading for the summit at Coronado Peak. 

    

IT’S ONLY NERVE WRACKING IF YOU ARE THE PASSENGER

Pavement ended not too far past the Visitor Center & the road turned to a wet hard packed mud surface but no problem.  As we ascended the twisting road it wasn’t long before we began picking up skiffs of snow alongside the road.  We noticed the road was frozen in the shady areas so we knew to be extra careful in those spots .  I had already shifted into 4 wheel drive so the hard packed icy snow was not a problem.  The road is narrow in spots & we met a pick-up truck coming down on a snowy stretch.  I knew there was not room enough for us to get safely by each other so I stopped & backed down the hill about a hundred yards until I could get over far enough to let him by.  Backing up anything has never been a big problem for me & figured it made more sense for me to back down the slippery surface than for him to try backing up a slippery surface.  The drop off on his side at this point was about 5 feet away with a 200 foot drop into into the canyon below.  This may all sound very scary, but only if you are a passenger, as Kelly will shakily attest to.

  

 

JUST A FEW FEET TO THE LEFT & YOUR OVER THE EDGE

A few more icy sections & we were at the top.  Nice big paved parking area here with views for miles & miles.  Last time here a couple years ago we saw Border Patrol guys scanning the territory below with high powered binoculars & it was the same today.  The field of view is easily 40 or 50 miles.  The Mexican border is just below Coronado Peak & there is heavy illegal alien traffic in the area.

    

THE SAN RAFAEL VALLEY…WE WILL HEAD NORTH ALONG THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS ON THE RIGHT

THE ROAD WE JUST CAME UP

 

THE MEXICAN BORDER FENCE IS VISIBLE RUNNING ALONG THE DESERT FLOOR

Without further ado we started back down the west side of the mountain range into the beautiful San Rafael Valley.  Noticed right away the absence of ice & snow on the road & figured the warm afternoon sun on that side of the Huachuca’s had melted it all off in the last couple days.  A long & wide beautiful valley stretched before us as far as the eye could see with mountain ranges rimming the distant horizons.  Somewhere off to the left lay Nogales about 60 miles away & somewhere straight ahead a hundred miles or more lay the city of Tucson.

       

There were no road signs on the dirt road to tell us where we were going & about 20 minutes after coming down off the peak, the road forked.  Ahead was a sign saying Copper Canyon so we figured Parker Canyon Lake must be off to the left.  It wasn’t!!  We had a hunch we were on the wrong road when it arced back around to the south & headed directly for Mexico.  Minutes later we were stopped at a T-intersection & head to head with a long horizontal steel beamed low fence running east & west.  Barbed wire alongside the steel beams told us we were stopped just a few feet away from the Mexican border.  We could have easily stepped over the steel beams & through the old loosely & trodden down barbed wire right into Mexico.  Didn’t try anything silly like running over & back again just to say we had been to Mexico this trip.  I knew we were probably already under surveillance from somewhere high atop Coronado Peak to our left.

NOSE TO NOSE WITH THE MEXICAN BORDER!!

  

 

OK, HOW DO WE GET OUT OF HERE

We were not exactly sure where our destination was now so out came our big Arizona Road & Recreation Atlas to figure things out.  With an idea where we were we headed back from whence we had come & turned left onto the Copper Canyon road.  Within a few hundred yards we felt we were back on track again.  There are absolutely no signs in this whole area to tell you where you are, where you have been or where you are going.   No matter, this whole area was just to beautiful to stop & complain about it.  Even for me!!

RETRACING OUR STEPS BACK TOWARDS THE HUACHUCA MOUNTAINS

    

We drove a lot of miles on twisting roads always keeping the Huachuca mountain range on our right hand side & the sun on my left shoulder.  I knew that would keep our nose pointed in a northerly direction where our destination lay….somewhere.

Hadn’t seen another vehicle since the 3 border patrol trucks just after leaving Coronado Peak so when a pickup truck appeared coming our way I stuck my hand out the window for him to stop, which he did.  Asked him if we were on the right road to Parker Canyon Lake & he said, “yep, you got about 8 miles to go.”  Needless to say, that was a bit of a relief as we continued our gravely & bumpy journey through some of the most beautiful scenery we have seen.  But then again, where isn’t the scenery beautiful here in the Southwest.  Ok, well maybe if your in a city or something:((

IT WAS NICE TO STOP & HEAR WATER BUBBLING IT’S WAY ALONG OVER THE ROCKS

    

I first caught sight of PARKER CANYON LAKE below us to the northwest through a bunch of trees.  An aqua blue splash of water in a small picturesque valley oasis about a mile away lay framed by yellowed grass, green leaved white Pines, Agave, Yucca & varied rock formations.  Interspersed among all the flora & fauna were were tiny houses & cottages scattered about in the rolling hills.

OUR FIRST GLIMPSE OF PARKER CANYON LAKE

It was nice to reach solid pavement again as we turned left on highway 83 & headed the short distance down to the Marina.  So unusual to see a beautiful 132 acre lake way out here in the middle of what you might call rolling hill country in a semi-desert like setting.

   

Nice marina, boat launch, small dock & general store.  Bright yellow Kayak rentals are also available.  About a mile from the Marina is the Lakeview Campground where Kelly & I stopped & ate our turkey salad sandwiches.  The campground is RV accessible with a few pull though sites but I wouldn’t really want to bring a 40’ diesel banger in there.   I would say 30’ or less would be far more comfortable.  I will post a few site photos in a later post.

  

 

It was 2 o’clock when we left the campground & headed back out highway 83 for home.  Again, beautiful rolling hills & winding roads with mountains on all horizons.  At one point I could the Huachucas, the Mules, the Santa Ritas, the Whetstones, the Dragoons & the distant snow covered Chiricahua mountains.  Have I told you today how beautiful this part of the country is.

 

PICNIC SNACKS IN THE RV LAKEVIEW CAMPGROUND

Missed a turn off at a place called Elgin & ended up heading northwest to the town of Sonoita before picking up highway 82 east.  This wasn’t our first time in Sonoita for we had passed through here in late December of 06 on our way from Tombstone to Patagonia Lake.  We were driving a truck & fifth wheel at that time.

  

THE MUSTANG MOUNTAINS

It was getting late in the day so we didn’t waste any tine making our way past the Mustang mountains to the town of Whetstone.  From there we continued east past the ghost town of Fairbank to highway 80 where we hung a right into the town of Tombstone.  South of Tombstone we picked up Davis road to McNeil, & hung a left to Elfrida’s Jefferson Road.  East on Jefferson heading for the Swiss Helm Mountains & home.  Our trip had lasted just under 7 hours & we put on something like 175 miles.  What a great day it was & I was once again so happy to see things I had never seen before.  Aside from asking the one person we saw if we were on the right road to Parker Canyon Lake we never really had occasion to talk to anyone else.  Now, that is my kinda day:))))))))))

HEADING BACK ACROSS THE SAN PEDRO VALLEY WITH THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS DEAD AHEAD

GROANER’S CORNER:((  A jumper cable walks into a bar. The bartender says "I'll serve you, but don't start anything."

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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.

AND BEFORE I KNEW WHAT HAPPENED…..I WAS IN A J.C. PENNY STORE!!

NOTICED A DUSTING OF SNOW ON THE DRAGOON MOUNTAINS ACROSS THE VALLEY EARLY TODAY

We dropped to 19F last night so we were definitely on the cold side of the equation this morning.  Started the blog out just after I got up this morning & within minutes had me a good old cabin fever grumble going on.  I was on quite a roll until the sun popped over the mountain tops & flooded our rig’s interior with a warming sunshine.  That pretty much knocked the grumble out of me so I will have to save that post for another day.  However, I will include the first couple paragraphs before the good part of the grumble really got started!!

SNOW IN THE CHIRICAHUA MOUNTAINS THIS MORNING

Blog reader Ann left a very good question in yesterdays post comment section asking in part, “why not get out of the ice and snow?”  My very thoughts exactly Ann & I did bring that up with the Chief earlier this morning. 

APPEARS TO BE AN OBSTACLE ON THE ROAD AHEAD

The major ‘pleasant problem’ we have at our present location is the fact we just  have it too darn nice here & that is not giving us a strong enough incentive to move on.  With the privacy we so much love, mountains in our back yard, free full hook-ups with access to a house & laundry facilities plus a pet friendly gated fence all around, it is hard for us right now to make the decision when to leave this place.  (it was at this point my Grumble started) 

YEP, IT’S AN OBSTINATE OBSTACLE ALRIGHT!!

We weren’t long in getting a campfire going this morning & stretched out in our recliners to soak up the sun’s warmth for half an hour.  Just so great to be outside again after a couple days of wind, rain & sleet.  Air was cold but who cared, just great to feel the sun’s warming rays again.  One more day sitting around & I would have been a straight jacket candidate for sure.

GONNA HAVE TO WORK OUR WAY THOUGH THE REST OF THE HERD 

We threw ourselves out of the Motor Home & into the Jeep about noon & headed out for a drive.  Figured we would work our way south down the Leslie Canyon road in the direction of Douglas.  Hadn’t done that stretch of road before & I was in a real big need of some new scenery.  Seems like one minute I was driving along enjoying the mountain range of the southern Chiricahuas & the next minute I was totally surrounded by racks of clothing merchandise in a J.C. Penny Store.  Now, how in the heck did that happen!!!!!!!!

KNOW ANY GOOD COW JOKES PAL?

I have never been in a J.C. Penny store in my entire life but there we were, right in the gol darn men’s clothing section in Douglas Arizona looking at new shirts & pants for me.  How did this happen, certainly wasn’t my idea!!  Within minutes I had a folded new red plaid shirt tucked under my arm & then it was a pair of red checkered pajama bottoms.  I kept hearing Kelly happily mumbling something about everything being 70% off.  Then, just as quick as anything, I had a new pair of gray Nike track pants over my shoulder & two more new flannelette shirts on a collision course for my left arm.  I kept hearing Kelly singing, “70% off, 70% off, 70% off!!

NICE EAR RING SWEETIE PIE

By the time I came to my senses, a light flannelette lined tan jacket had been added to my new clothing world & the realization set in that I could now be in some big trouble with the Salvation Army & Thrift Store companies.  After all, I have been their poster boy for the past 15 years or so.  If word got out I was about to wear a brand new piece of clothing, my hard earned & coveted raggy shirt hobo appearance could be in some very real jeopardy!!  But, it was too late:((

GIVE ME THE SECRET PASSWORD & I WILL LET YOU PASS

Before I even knew we were in the store….we were out of the store & on our way home with a big bag of new clothes for Al in the back of the Jeep.  How had this happened.  Surely, if I wear any of these new shirts the locals well see a shiny new shirt Gringo coming a mile away.  Oh dear, what am I to do……:))

MY FIRST VERY BRAND NEW SHIRT IN YEARS & YEARS:))

Weatherman says our high of 44F today will be bested by a 56F prediction for tomorrow with sun & some clouds.  Sounds like a good day for a Jeep tour up & over the Coronado Peak in the southern Huachuca Mountains, & down the west side into a long scenic valley along the Mexican border.   Then back up & over the northern Huachuca’s & home.  Should be good for a picture or two I’d say:))

NEW PANTS, NEW SHIRT, OLD HAT, OLD GEEZER

GROANER’S CORNER:((   The divorce lawyer began his examination of a Polish husband ...

Lawyer: Have you any grounds?
Pole: Ja, ja, an acre and half and a nice little home with 3 bedrooms.

Lawyer :"No," I mean what is the foundation of this case?"
Pole: "It is made of concrete, brick and mortar," he responded.

Lawyer: "Does either of you have a real grudge?"
Pole: "No," he replied, "we have a two-car carport and have never really needed one."

Lawyer: "I mean, what are your relations like?"
Pole: "All my relations are in Poland."

Lawyer: "Is there any infidelity in your marriage?"
Pole: "Yes, we have hi fidelity stereo set & DVD player with 6.1 sound.  We don't necessarily like the music, but the answer to your questions is yes."

Lawyer: No, I mean does your wife beat you up?
Pole: No, I'm always up before her.

Lawyer: Why do you want this divorce?
Pole: She going to kill me.

Lawyer: What makes you think that?
Pole: I got proof.

Lawyer: What kind of proof?
Pole: She going to poison me. she buy a bottle at the drug store and put on shelf in bathroom. I can read -- it says, "polish remover.

--------------------------------------------------------------
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.

IT WAS ANOTHER COLD SNOWY KINDA DAY…….

SAND HILL CRANES

Well, here we are at the last day of the year.  After reading BIG DAWG & FREEWAY’s reflective post on the past year this morning I thought of doing the same thing but after sitting here awhile with a blank mind trying to compress the past year into 300,000 words or less…..I had to give it up.  It was just too big a challenge for Mr. Blabberfingers………

Our nasty winds have abated but we never got much above the freezing mark today & the outside water hose remained frozen as did the doggy’s & birdies water dishes.  Had us a batch of sleety snow in the afternoon.  Needless to say we were once again confined to barracks for the day.  And don’t even mention the words, 'cabin fever’ to me!!!!!!

 

YEP, THAT’S SNOW ALRIGHT

The annual Snowbird rush from North to South is well underway as evidenced by Randy at, THE ROADRUNNER CHRONICLES.   Thousands upon thousands of RV’ers are happily heading South for sunshiny days & warm temperatures.  And, RICK & PAULETTE are having great travel weather so far as they make their way South through Oregon heading on down to sunny California.

THIS SUMS UP OUR DAY

For anyone out there thinking of a new RV & has a couple extra dollars to spend, have a look at this set up….

THIS IS QUITE A RIG VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

     

First order of business this morning was our plan to move ahead with our new Verizon Mifi set up.  In the end we decided to stick with Verizon because their tech support is good & we have a track record with them.  Figured it might be a smoother installation as well.  We also have 30 days to return the Mifi if not satisfied.  Of course that meant the uninstalling & change over of our current Verizon Cradlepoint Router setup to the newer Verizon Mifi way of doing things.  With the new Mifi modem firmly in hand Kelly charged into battle at precisely 7:22 a.m.  It proved to be very unfortunate that ‘no installation instructions’ were included & within minutes Kelly was under heavy fire from the always present Gremlin squad launching heavy artillery type error messages at her.  A strategic withdrawal was finally called at 7:49 & our Cradlepoint Router was reconnected (we hadn’t uninstalled it) as Kelly had to call Verizon headquarters for further instructions.  By the way, my contribution to all of this was to offer lots of good old Cursmudgeon grumbling from the Peanut Gallery:)) 

OK, LET’S GET THIS MIFI SHOW ON THE ROAD!!

First, let me say congrats to Verizon for having a totally North American person on the other end of the telephone.  Thank you for making Kelly’s morning much easier!!  Kelly’s time on the phone (Skype) lasted 15 minutes & armed with new instructions & orders from Verizon headquarters she quickly regrouped.  First thing we did was to charge the new Mifi battery up to optimum.

THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO THE NEW MODEM

Operation Mifi commenced once again at 10:14 a.m. with the 8 minute downloading of Verizon’s new Access Manager.  Next came the crucial ‘point of no return’ as Kelly nobly rode into battle once again, wielded her sword & with one fell swipe….uninstalled our UMB175 Modem.  We were now officially dead in the water somewhere between the 2 systems.  At 10:46 Kelly placed a cell phone call to Verizon at which time they began the enabling process for the new 10 Gig Mifi system.  I could hear the lady tech on the other end of the phone giving Kelly step by step instructions.  It sounded like a critical surgical procedure underway in an operating room.  I was soooooo glad Kelly was handlng all this because tekkies on telephones always seem to talk a whole lot faster than what my brain is able to comprehend.

THEY SENT EVERYTHING…..BUT THE INSTRUCTIONS

No rocket launching Gremlins reared their ugly heads during the 23 minute tekky call & Kelly sailed through the online installation process with no problems.  Not even any problems from me sitting unusually quietly over here in the Peanut Gallery.  At precisely 11:09 we were successfully online with our new Mifi system & the battle was officially over with Kelly once again emerging victorious in the never ending computer Gremlin Wars.  Seconds later, with the addition of a typed in code number we had the second computer up & running too & all was once again well in Computerville.  Ya-houie Louie:)))))  If it wasn’t for Kelly I would likely still be back in the dark ages somewhere looking at an old 19” B&W television with a snowy Buffalo test pattern on the screen.  Come on guys, ya just gotta love these Gals, eh:))

Our little family of Wiggly Piggly’s  (Javelinas) showed up this morning for a refreshing drink from the water cooler I leave out for them.  They first had to break a layer of ice on the surface but they poked away until they finally had water.  If we didn’t have a fence separating them from us we might not be as enamored with the wiggly piggly gang but we do enjoy watching their affectionate family antics towards each other when they are here.

Finished my Apache Wars book today & I must say it was an educational read.  The book doesn’t just deal with the Wars but also the camp life of Indians & barracks life of Troopers.  The book traces the history of weapons, clothing, wagons & just about anything else regarding that time period including soldiers wages, food, tactics, & day to day routines.  Many personal stories as well.

No sooner had I finished ‘Apache Wars’ when I started my next ‘homegrown’ book entitled, ‘Pioneering From The Aravaipa To The Chiricahuas.’  Written first hand by local Pioneers, Miles Wood, Jim Hancock, Irene Hancock Kennedy & Rosalie Kennedy Gilliland.  I have already read about Miles Wood’s first encounter with Cochise near Fort Bowie.  I really enjoy reading these books because we have been to many of the places the people in the books talk about & that keeps everything in perspective & real for me.  It is a real history of real people, places, things, & events.

 

Today’s blog title sums up our entire day but before posting my last post of 2010 let me just say thank you to all the folks who have inspired me to keep this blog going through thick & thin.  Without all the readers, comments, emails, personal visits & readers input this blog would probably have petered out a long time ago.  I thank everyone for the inspiration, confidence & courage to pursue my hobbies of writing, photography & travel.  On behalf of the Bayfield Bunch I wish everyone all the best in the New Year……..10-4:))

GROANER’S CORNER:((  Boudreaux and Thibodeaux worked together and both were laid off so they went to the unemployment office. When asked his occupation, Boudreaux answered, "Panty Stitcher. I se da elastic onto ladies' cotton panties.

The clerk looked up Panty Stitcher. Finding it classified as "unskilled" labour", she gave him $300 a week unemployment pay.

Thibodeaux was asked his occupation. "Diesel Fitter," he replied. Since diesel fitter was a skilled job, the clerk gave Thibodeaux $600 a week.

When Boudreaux found out he was furious. He stormed back into the office to find out why his friend and coworker was collecting double his pay.

The clerk explained, "Panty stitchers are unskilled and diesel fitters are skilled labour."

"What skill?" yelled Boudreaux. "I sew the elastic on da panties, Thibodeaux puts dem over his head and says: Yeah, diesel fitter."

--------------------------------------------------------------
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.