I am up before the sun and it is a bit chilly in the bus. I turned on the big heater and went back to bed for another half hour. When I got up, the sun was just peeking over the horizon. It is going to be another warm day today so that is a good thing - especially when it is so chilly back home!!
The Javalina are busy this morning so Hogan will have to wait a bit for his daily run out into the empty acres beyond our fence.
The hummingbirds are busy as well. I refilled the feeder yesterday so the syrup is fresh. There were two feeding yesterday and a few fights did arise as they are so territorial. They can be quite mean to each other!!
Today, Kay and I tackled getting that huge Weider home gym weight lifting system out of the abandoned trailer. We went in, armed with a few sockets and a crescent wrench. After a few bruises and scrapes, not the mention a crushed boob, we conquered the massive thing and it is now sitting in our yard where we will take a picture of it and have John put it on the internet to be sold for whatever. They are not too expensive and perhaps someone will come and get it for cheap - a case or two of beer will get someone an almost new home gym!!!
Once that was done, Kay and I decided that we deserved a break and sat outside watching the birds. I had gone into town earlier today and picked up some cheap dog food to feed the Javalina so I threw some of that out as well.
We saw a roadrunner earlier as he cruised on through so now look forward to seeing him more often. They are rather territorial so I imagine that he is the only one in this area. I know there is one just down the road at the River Preserve and wonder if it is the same one.
While the four of us sat around enjoying the last of the day's sunshine, the Javalina soon came for their visit and snacks. Hogan was "on guard" as usual but once again, the Javalina were not too concerned with the likes of him. At one point, there were seven just outside the fence. After this seven moved on, another group came along, this one had the Mom Javalina with them and unfortunately, there was only one baby with her so the other must have met its demise. So sad and yet it is nature's way.
Once the sun went down, John started a fire in the now awesome "Ball of Fire" fire pit and we sat around it soaking up its heat.
I went in and quickly made a pizza for supper and Kay, John and I sat around the fire eating. Ray had to do some paperwork for the park so he had gone in earlier to do it. We sent him in a couple of pieces so that he could keep his strength up!!
It was soon time for my bubble bath and once that was done, there was a Christmas movie on TV that needed to be watched so I did not return to the fire. John and Kay sat around it until it burnt down and then they too, called it a night. A good day was had by all.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 27/2012
I am up early this morning, the sun isn't even up yet!! I slept well so should be good to go when the renos get underway.
I looked outside and saw Turbo (Ray and Kay's cat) walking along the top of the cement wall that is our back fence so he is obviously checking out the neighbourhood for any nefarious creatures. Hogan is up on the dash ready to chase him.....oh, if only he too could get up on that wall!! There would be some commotion then!!
There has been some interest in the abandoned trailer that we started cleaning out and today, Ray has decided that the job needs to be finished as the person interested in it would like to move in at the end of the month!! Oh Dear, that only leaves us 3 days to get everything done!! Ray headed into town to get some plumbing supplies while Kay and I got busy hauling more crap out and onto the trailer. Another dump/recycle run will be needed. Kay and I managed to clear the trailer of everything except the huge home gym thing the fellow had. It is huge and will require some disassembling to get it out the door. Definitely NOT looking forward to that!!
Once we got everything out of the house, we started on the final clean up of the yard. John came over and did some heavy lifting and by the time Ray got back, the yard was clean and tidy. Man, Kay and I can really get stuff done when we set our minds to it.
By the early afternoon, the plumbing was fixed, the trailer almost empty (still have to deal with that weight lifting thing) and the yard was clean. I now have an old antique table, a dresser and desk in the yard and I am not sure what I am going to do with any of it but I could not bring myself to leave these antiques in the abandoned trailer. There is a label on the chair that goes with the desk so I must "google" it and see what I find.
John worked a bit more on the floor in our trailer while Kay and I were busy with the other trailer but he said that I am scheduled to help him tomorrow - no excuses!!
We have been invited over to Mitch's tonight for supper so we all headed over there shortly after 3:00. I quickly did up some potatoes with fresh carrots, celery and onions mixed with onion soup mix and took them over while Ray wrapped up some potatoes to be baked and brought salad. Mitch supplied the steak and the new BBQ!!
We had a few games of horseshoes while the meal cooked and I must say that Kay kicked all our asses!! She is deadly at this game and no one is really surprised when she gets both her horseshoes around the peg scoring 6 points!! At one point, she was spotting us points!! John actually beat her in one game but she spotted him 15 points!! Hell, the game only goes up to 21 and the end score was 21 to 19 so she was gaining on him fast!!
Finally, our meal was ready and we got a reprieve form the horseshoe humiliation. Supper was awesome and the new BBQ worked like a charm although Mitch was not the chef. John took on that job and as usual, cooked a good steak. There were plenty of leftovers for Mitch for tomorrow.
There were a few more games of horseshoes after supper and eventually a campfire was started. Mitch has a huge fire pit and in no time at all, it was radiating awesome heat to take the chill off the air.
There was an awesome sunset tonight and I managed to get a few nice pics. I also got a pic of the moon coming up and in one, the saguaro where framed by the moon so hopefully that one makes it to this blog.
Eventually, it was time for me to head home. My bathtub was calling to me and I wanted to give John's Mom a call. She arrived home today from a long bus tour to Branson, Missouri and surrounding area so I wanted to touch base with her. I bet they had a blast.
Ray arrived home about an hour after I did as it was time for him to call it a night as well. It is hard to let your hair down and party when one is "on call" for the park everyday, all day long. Being the manager of the park has its benefits and its drawbacks.
Of course John, Mitch and Kay continued to party until midnight when they too decided to head to their beds. All in all, it was another good day with us getting a lot of work done and then taking some time to relax and enjoy the rest of the day with good friends, good food and some fun (even if we did get our asses kicked in horseshoes!!).
I looked outside and saw Turbo (Ray and Kay's cat) walking along the top of the cement wall that is our back fence so he is obviously checking out the neighbourhood for any nefarious creatures. Hogan is up on the dash ready to chase him.....oh, if only he too could get up on that wall!! There would be some commotion then!!
There has been some interest in the abandoned trailer that we started cleaning out and today, Ray has decided that the job needs to be finished as the person interested in it would like to move in at the end of the month!! Oh Dear, that only leaves us 3 days to get everything done!! Ray headed into town to get some plumbing supplies while Kay and I got busy hauling more crap out and onto the trailer. Another dump/recycle run will be needed. Kay and I managed to clear the trailer of everything except the huge home gym thing the fellow had. It is huge and will require some disassembling to get it out the door. Definitely NOT looking forward to that!!
Once we got everything out of the house, we started on the final clean up of the yard. John came over and did some heavy lifting and by the time Ray got back, the yard was clean and tidy. Man, Kay and I can really get stuff done when we set our minds to it.
By the early afternoon, the plumbing was fixed, the trailer almost empty (still have to deal with that weight lifting thing) and the yard was clean. I now have an old antique table, a dresser and desk in the yard and I am not sure what I am going to do with any of it but I could not bring myself to leave these antiques in the abandoned trailer. There is a label on the chair that goes with the desk so I must "google" it and see what I find.
John worked a bit more on the floor in our trailer while Kay and I were busy with the other trailer but he said that I am scheduled to help him tomorrow - no excuses!!
We have been invited over to Mitch's tonight for supper so we all headed over there shortly after 3:00. I quickly did up some potatoes with fresh carrots, celery and onions mixed with onion soup mix and took them over while Ray wrapped up some potatoes to be baked and brought salad. Mitch supplied the steak and the new BBQ!!
We had a few games of horseshoes while the meal cooked and I must say that Kay kicked all our asses!! She is deadly at this game and no one is really surprised when she gets both her horseshoes around the peg scoring 6 points!! At one point, she was spotting us points!! John actually beat her in one game but she spotted him 15 points!! Hell, the game only goes up to 21 and the end score was 21 to 19 so she was gaining on him fast!!
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| Mitch's new BBQ |
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| Mitch and Kay |
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| Moon coming up |
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| Great sunset |
There were a few more games of horseshoes after supper and eventually a campfire was started. Mitch has a huge fire pit and in no time at all, it was radiating awesome heat to take the chill off the air.
There was an awesome sunset tonight and I managed to get a few nice pics. I also got a pic of the moon coming up and in one, the saguaro where framed by the moon so hopefully that one makes it to this blog.
Eventually, it was time for me to head home. My bathtub was calling to me and I wanted to give John's Mom a call. She arrived home today from a long bus tour to Branson, Missouri and surrounding area so I wanted to touch base with her. I bet they had a blast.
Ray arrived home about an hour after I did as it was time for him to call it a night as well. It is hard to let your hair down and party when one is "on call" for the park everyday, all day long. Being the manager of the park has its benefits and its drawbacks.
Of course John, Mitch and Kay continued to party until midnight when they too decided to head to their beds. All in all, it was another good day with us getting a lot of work done and then taking some time to relax and enjoy the rest of the day with good friends, good food and some fun (even if we did get our asses kicked in horseshoes!!).
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Monday, November 26/2012
The sun is shining again today and another nice weather day is on the rise. I see the Javalina have come for their morning visit and Hogan is standing at the gate ready to give chase should the need arise. Maybe by the time the coffee is ready, and him and I go for a short morning walk, they will have moved on.
Back from our walk and all is well in the empty acres on the other side of the fence. There were a few stragglers (Javelina) around but Hogan was smart enough not to give chase.
Howard, the fellow from Wyoming, who stays in his RV just outside the boundary fence of the empty acres has returned for the winter and the Javelina were checking him out this morning. There were four over there. He too, feeds them while he is here. It is good that they went to greet him this morning...just to say welcome back!!
My ankle has improved again over night and my limp is less pronounced. It is a good thing that I rested it over the weekend. Why, I think I will live after all!!
John and I headed into Surprise today to Home Depot. We were on a mission to get all the supplies we would need for the the remainder of the trailer renovations. Well, let me tell you, John is not much of a shopper and we left with everything except the wood. He was tired of looking for what he needed so opted to return to Wickenburg and get everything at the little lumber yard here in town. After walking five miles inside Home Depot, my ankle was throbbing and I was trying to figure out a way to kick John's ass with my bad foot!! I was more than happy to return to the truck and Wickenburg where we did stop at the lumber store and got most of what is needed to finish the reno. It was quick and painless........except for my now aching ankle!!
Once back at the Park, we stopped at Mitch's and watched a couple of games of horseshoes then, headed to the bus to unload the wood. John was going to leave it until tomorrow then thought since it was cool out, that tonight might be better to unload it than wait until the sun was beating down on us tomorrow and then we could both have a stroke while unloading it in the heat!! I too chose to unload tonight!!
It was then time for a refreshment and then it was inside the bus to relax in front of the TV. Monday night football was on and I headed to the bed to get my ankle up on some pillows. Hogan was left by himself for part of the day so he was more than willing to cuddle as I am sure he was feeling a bit left out today. Tomorrow, the renos start so I must get my rest. Good Night.
Back from our walk and all is well in the empty acres on the other side of the fence. There were a few stragglers (Javelina) around but Hogan was smart enough not to give chase.
Howard, the fellow from Wyoming, who stays in his RV just outside the boundary fence of the empty acres has returned for the winter and the Javelina were checking him out this morning. There were four over there. He too, feeds them while he is here. It is good that they went to greet him this morning...just to say welcome back!!
My ankle has improved again over night and my limp is less pronounced. It is a good thing that I rested it over the weekend. Why, I think I will live after all!!
John and I headed into Surprise today to Home Depot. We were on a mission to get all the supplies we would need for the the remainder of the trailer renovations. Well, let me tell you, John is not much of a shopper and we left with everything except the wood. He was tired of looking for what he needed so opted to return to Wickenburg and get everything at the little lumber yard here in town. After walking five miles inside Home Depot, my ankle was throbbing and I was trying to figure out a way to kick John's ass with my bad foot!! I was more than happy to return to the truck and Wickenburg where we did stop at the lumber store and got most of what is needed to finish the reno. It was quick and painless........except for my now aching ankle!!
Once back at the Park, we stopped at Mitch's and watched a couple of games of horseshoes then, headed to the bus to unload the wood. John was going to leave it until tomorrow then thought since it was cool out, that tonight might be better to unload it than wait until the sun was beating down on us tomorrow and then we could both have a stroke while unloading it in the heat!! I too chose to unload tonight!!
It was then time for a refreshment and then it was inside the bus to relax in front of the TV. Monday night football was on and I headed to the bed to get my ankle up on some pillows. Hogan was left by himself for part of the day so he was more than willing to cuddle as I am sure he was feeling a bit left out today. Tomorrow, the renos start so I must get my rest. Good Night.
Sunday, November 25/2012
It is Grey Cup Sunday today and although the game does not start until 5:00, all the pre game stuff starts at noon. It is a football kind of day and I hope this game is a good one and not a blowout like some have been in the past.
Yesterday, Kay gave John and I a stained glass version of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Logo and it is awesome. I will have to hold it up to the sun and take a pic so that John can post it to the blog. Kay commissioned a woman in Elko, Nevada to make it and she did a wonderful job. It truly is a unique gift and not one that anyone else has. Wow - thanks Kay!!
My ankle is feeling much better and I think that if I look after it again today, it will be good to go tomorrow. Enough of this lying around wounded thing. That is sooo not me!!
We have to go and buy the rest of the wood products we need for the trailer and tomorrow is the day to do it. We really need to get into gear although John has all the "nasty" areas of the living room floor ripped up and ready for replacement. Once that is done, the walls should go up fairly quickly and then we can get the kitchen cabinets back up on the wall and deal with getting new appliances. Woo Hoo!! It will be nice to be able to start furnishing the joint.
I chatted with Ray and Kay this morning and found out that there was a fire in the water pump house and the park was currently with out water. Apparently there was some sort of electrical "meltdown" which cause the wiring and whatever else to catch fire. Smoke was seen billowing out of the pump house and one of the residents quickly got all the power shut off to the park and that I am sure helped control the situation. Now Ray had to fix the problem and on a Sunday, that might not be such an easy fix. This of course does not really impact us as we are still living in the bus and although our water tank is on the low side, we can still manage just fine.
I headed into the grocery store this morning for a few things before the big game and managed fairly well with this stupid ankle. I am sure it will be sore tonight but it still felt good after my excursion into town.
The Toronto Argonauts won the 100th Grey Cup. It was an awesome game and I am happy for them. Sooo very glad that the Calgary Stampeders lost!! Woo Hoo!!
After the game, I headed into the bedroom and got my leg once again, elevated on a stack of pillows. The swelling around the ankle is still there but my toes are a bit puffy tonight - probably form the whole going into town thing. Anyway, I can watch TV from there and relax for the rest of the evening. Life is good.
Yesterday, Kay gave John and I a stained glass version of the Saskatchewan Roughrider Logo and it is awesome. I will have to hold it up to the sun and take a pic so that John can post it to the blog. Kay commissioned a woman in Elko, Nevada to make it and she did a wonderful job. It truly is a unique gift and not one that anyone else has. Wow - thanks Kay!!
My ankle is feeling much better and I think that if I look after it again today, it will be good to go tomorrow. Enough of this lying around wounded thing. That is sooo not me!!
We have to go and buy the rest of the wood products we need for the trailer and tomorrow is the day to do it. We really need to get into gear although John has all the "nasty" areas of the living room floor ripped up and ready for replacement. Once that is done, the walls should go up fairly quickly and then we can get the kitchen cabinets back up on the wall and deal with getting new appliances. Woo Hoo!! It will be nice to be able to start furnishing the joint.
I chatted with Ray and Kay this morning and found out that there was a fire in the water pump house and the park was currently with out water. Apparently there was some sort of electrical "meltdown" which cause the wiring and whatever else to catch fire. Smoke was seen billowing out of the pump house and one of the residents quickly got all the power shut off to the park and that I am sure helped control the situation. Now Ray had to fix the problem and on a Sunday, that might not be such an easy fix. This of course does not really impact us as we are still living in the bus and although our water tank is on the low side, we can still manage just fine.
I headed into the grocery store this morning for a few things before the big game and managed fairly well with this stupid ankle. I am sure it will be sore tonight but it still felt good after my excursion into town.
The Toronto Argonauts won the 100th Grey Cup. It was an awesome game and I am happy for them. Sooo very glad that the Calgary Stampeders lost!! Woo Hoo!!
After the game, I headed into the bedroom and got my leg once again, elevated on a stack of pillows. The swelling around the ankle is still there but my toes are a bit puffy tonight - probably form the whole going into town thing. Anyway, I can watch TV from there and relax for the rest of the evening. Life is good.
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| Thanks Kay! |
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Saturday, November 24/2012
My ankle is feeling better again this morning so I think staying off it really helped. I will do that again today and hopefully, things will be back to almost normal on Monday. It could happen!!
I managed to hobble outside to see Ray and Kay's new chiminea. It is bigger than the old one (which now supports a rather large crack after 5 years of use) and is of clay construction with not one, but three sun faces on it. It looks great and I am sure it will provide many ours of heat for them while sitting out on their back deck this winter.
Mitch, who went with them to Surprise, bought a new barbecue and Kay is not even sure he knows how to barbecue!! Well now, isn't that something!!
Once back, Ray got busy installing the new chiminea and Kay went up to Mitch's to help him put the BBQ together. Apparently, Mitch is not too terribly handy when it comes to putting things together!!
I hobbled back into the bus and took up my now rather regular position in the bed with my leg up on four pillows. My ankle was really throbbing by this point. Maybe I should have used the crutches!!
Being Saturday, it is steak and baked potato night and John got busy starting a fire in our fancy round fire pit. It truly is one of the neatest fire pits I have seen. My ankle was still feeling the effects from my latest foray out of the bus so I had to resort to using the crutches. I am not very good on them by the way!!
Ray and Kay joined us at the fire and Ray had to keep jumping up to go check on his fire in their new chiminea as he was "curing" it. Apparently the moisture has to be leached from it with a slow, warm fire. This way, the clay will not crack once a raging bonfire is set in it. That kept Ray busy most of the evening.
Mitch eventually joined us and we all sat around the fire enjoying the evening. Kay, who has been playing horseshoes since the pits were finished, is now much less stiff than she was a few days ago. She forced herself to play yesterday because she was so terribly stiff from playing the first day and today was even better. She said she would teach John and I to play once my ankle was better. I can see another men vs women competition starting. Should be good.
Eventually, the steaks were cooked and the fire allowed to burn down. Another day in Arizona has come and gone. Life is good,
I managed to hobble outside to see Ray and Kay's new chiminea. It is bigger than the old one (which now supports a rather large crack after 5 years of use) and is of clay construction with not one, but three sun faces on it. It looks great and I am sure it will provide many ours of heat for them while sitting out on their back deck this winter.
Mitch, who went with them to Surprise, bought a new barbecue and Kay is not even sure he knows how to barbecue!! Well now, isn't that something!!
Once back, Ray got busy installing the new chiminea and Kay went up to Mitch's to help him put the BBQ together. Apparently, Mitch is not too terribly handy when it comes to putting things together!!
I hobbled back into the bus and took up my now rather regular position in the bed with my leg up on four pillows. My ankle was really throbbing by this point. Maybe I should have used the crutches!!
Being Saturday, it is steak and baked potato night and John got busy starting a fire in our fancy round fire pit. It truly is one of the neatest fire pits I have seen. My ankle was still feeling the effects from my latest foray out of the bus so I had to resort to using the crutches. I am not very good on them by the way!!
Ray and Kay joined us at the fire and Ray had to keep jumping up to go check on his fire in their new chiminea as he was "curing" it. Apparently the moisture has to be leached from it with a slow, warm fire. This way, the clay will not crack once a raging bonfire is set in it. That kept Ray busy most of the evening.
Mitch eventually joined us and we all sat around the fire enjoying the evening. Kay, who has been playing horseshoes since the pits were finished, is now much less stiff than she was a few days ago. She forced herself to play yesterday because she was so terribly stiff from playing the first day and today was even better. She said she would teach John and I to play once my ankle was better. I can see another men vs women competition starting. Should be good.
Eventually, the steaks were cooked and the fire allowed to burn down. Another day in Arizona has come and gone. Life is good,
Friday, November 23/2012
The sun is shining today and it is going to be another great day. I hobbled outside to let Hogan into the open acres this morning and although my ankle still hurts like a bugger, it does feel a bit better. I think if I baby it over the weekend, it should be a whole lot better by Monday.
I spent the entire day just chillin and keeping my ankle elevated. I have watched two movies and several episodes of various TV shows. My ass hurts from all the sitting!!
John climbed up onto the trailer and got me the crutches we have stored in one of the pods for the "just in case" scenario so that will sure help if I do not have to put any weight on my ankle at all. He also did some more work on the floor in the trailer while I was recuperating.
The Vanier Cup was on TV tonight so that took up about three hours of TV viewing tonight and I managed to hobble around the kitchen enough to make spaghetti and meatballs for supper. After that, It was back into the bed with my foot elevated. Looking forward to tomorrow....I am sure my ankle will be feeling even better.
I spent the entire day just chillin and keeping my ankle elevated. I have watched two movies and several episodes of various TV shows. My ass hurts from all the sitting!!
John climbed up onto the trailer and got me the crutches we have stored in one of the pods for the "just in case" scenario so that will sure help if I do not have to put any weight on my ankle at all. He also did some more work on the floor in the trailer while I was recuperating.
The Vanier Cup was on TV tonight so that took up about three hours of TV viewing tonight and I managed to hobble around the kitchen enough to make spaghetti and meatballs for supper. After that, It was back into the bed with my foot elevated. Looking forward to tomorrow....I am sure my ankle will be feeling even better.
Friday, November 23, 2012
Thursday, November 22/2012
It is American Thanksgiving today and with that, we wish Happy Thanksgiving to all our American Friends.
Hogan and I are up early and have already been out to the empty acres for a bit of a walk. He managed to chase one Javelina but stopped as soon as I called him back and really, the Javelina stopped too!! Good Grief, they really are not afraid of Hogan. He did however wander off into the shrubbery.
I see that the Javalina are starting to dig around the Agave plants that I have planted just outside the fence so I had to place some rocks around the outside of the plant to discourage the destructive little creatures from digging. Hopefully, that helps. Kay and I planted three along this side of the fence and the javelina have already uprooted one of them and dined on the roots so that one is toast. Hopefully the rocks around the other two will save them.
The weather is wonderfully warm today and I can't help but wish some of this warmth was back home where I know all my boys in their semis are battling icy roads.
Today, John started ripping the damaged parts of the living room floor up so that it can be replaced. I was hauling the nasty boards to the fire pit for burning later and doing general cleanup. I stepped off the step to get John his safety glasses and twisted my ankle ....OMG, did that hurt. Now, I have a huge swollen ankle and won't be able to move very well for the next few days. Ice and a tensor provided some relief and all the tears I cried just gave me a headache. Good Grief - I am a wreck!! Even the dog is looking at me funny!!
Once the initial pain settled (about an hour later), I was able to hobble out to the lawn chair, prop my ankle up on the table for elevation and watch the birds. John had to be the one to feed them and the Javalina tonight!! Nine Javalina came to visit tonight and Mom brought her two little babies quite close to the fence. They are so cute and are so funny to watch as they try to eat some of the dog food. I don't think they have teeth yet so it is quite comical watching them try to chew.
John got the new fire pit put together and before too long, we were sitting in front of it with a good blaze going. What an awesome pit we bought. It is a globe of fire and kicks off some mighty fine heat. The neighbours came over and joined us at the fire about an hour later. They had been busy all day helping Mitch build his horseshoe pit so were tired and sat around enjoying the fire and relaxing. It was a nice ending to the day and I hope that my ankle will feel better in the morning although I am not holding my breath, Everyone knows how a sprained ankle goes!!
Hogan and I are up early and have already been out to the empty acres for a bit of a walk. He managed to chase one Javelina but stopped as soon as I called him back and really, the Javelina stopped too!! Good Grief, they really are not afraid of Hogan. He did however wander off into the shrubbery.
I see that the Javalina are starting to dig around the Agave plants that I have planted just outside the fence so I had to place some rocks around the outside of the plant to discourage the destructive little creatures from digging. Hopefully, that helps. Kay and I planted three along this side of the fence and the javelina have already uprooted one of them and dined on the roots so that one is toast. Hopefully the rocks around the other two will save them.
The weather is wonderfully warm today and I can't help but wish some of this warmth was back home where I know all my boys in their semis are battling icy roads.
Today, John started ripping the damaged parts of the living room floor up so that it can be replaced. I was hauling the nasty boards to the fire pit for burning later and doing general cleanup. I stepped off the step to get John his safety glasses and twisted my ankle ....OMG, did that hurt. Now, I have a huge swollen ankle and won't be able to move very well for the next few days. Ice and a tensor provided some relief and all the tears I cried just gave me a headache. Good Grief - I am a wreck!! Even the dog is looking at me funny!!
Once the initial pain settled (about an hour later), I was able to hobble out to the lawn chair, prop my ankle up on the table for elevation and watch the birds. John had to be the one to feed them and the Javalina tonight!! Nine Javalina came to visit tonight and Mom brought her two little babies quite close to the fence. They are so cute and are so funny to watch as they try to eat some of the dog food. I don't think they have teeth yet so it is quite comical watching them try to chew.
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| The new pit |
Wednesday, November 21/2012
The sun is once again shining and it looks to be shaping up into another "good weather"day. As it turned out, it was quite hot out and I did manage to get in a bit of suntanning (sorry Kimmy). I was not out too long as I really did not want to have to deal with a burn.
The new covered fire place came today and it looks like it will be awesome. It is wide and low to the ground. Of course it came in 300 pieces so John spent much of the early evening putting it together. It looks to be a two day project so once the sun went down this evening, John started a fire in the old pit and we sat around it for a few hours. All in all, it was a quiet day spent suntanning, constructing, watching Gone With the Wind on TV and of course watching the birds and bunnies.
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| Mr. Bunny |
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| Female Cardinal |
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| Hummingbird |
Tuesday, November 20/2012
The sun was up and shining when I woke up today and the birds were very busy at the birdseed. Once I got dressed, and had a cup of coffee in my hand, Hogan and I went for a short walk into the open acres beside our yard. I had just taken a few steps away from the gate when Hogan took off. When I looked over to see what the commotion was all about, he had a javalina on the run. I guess there was one on the other side of the mesquite bush I didn't notice. Hogan did and gave chase until I called to him and he aborted his mission. The encounter from last year where Hogan was clearly on the losing end does not seem to have deterred him from chasing the darn things. These javalina can sure run though!!
Since I have not done dishes for two days, I finally broke down and did them today. It was nasty and I really should do them daily but I hate doing dishes!! The kitchen fairy doesn't seem to like doing them either!! She doesn't like putting away the clean clothes either so I had to do that today too!! Geez, I am tired now.
Since Thursday is American Thanksgiving, there is no shuffleboard so, we are heading to the Bar 7 to play the games tonight. Gee, I thought we would just pick up the tournament next week but I guess not.
Since the games are not scheduled until 7:00 p.m. we had time to sit and enjoy the last of the sunshine and watch the birds and bunnies. Again, we are living an exciting life. Today, about 8 javalina came for their evening snacks and that included the two new babies. I managed to get some pics and even took a short video so am hoping that John posts it to Facebook.
After a quick supper, we headed over to play shuffleboard and although I did not win again tonight, John and Ray did. Kay and I challenged John and Ray in our own mini tournament and each of us won one game. We were not able to finish the tie breaker as other folks wanted the board and since Kay and I were the winners, we had to play the challengers and actually finished the evening as champs. We were hot!!
I was back at the bus by 10:00 while some of the rest of the group decided to stay downtown for a while. Well, they can party on........I am going to bed!!
Since I have not done dishes for two days, I finally broke down and did them today. It was nasty and I really should do them daily but I hate doing dishes!! The kitchen fairy doesn't seem to like doing them either!! She doesn't like putting away the clean clothes either so I had to do that today too!! Geez, I am tired now.
Since Thursday is American Thanksgiving, there is no shuffleboard so, we are heading to the Bar 7 to play the games tonight. Gee, I thought we would just pick up the tournament next week but I guess not.
Since the games are not scheduled until 7:00 p.m. we had time to sit and enjoy the last of the sunshine and watch the birds and bunnies. Again, we are living an exciting life. Today, about 8 javalina came for their evening snacks and that included the two new babies. I managed to get some pics and even took a short video so am hoping that John posts it to Facebook.
After a quick supper, we headed over to play shuffleboard and although I did not win again tonight, John and Ray did. Kay and I challenged John and Ray in our own mini tournament and each of us won one game. We were not able to finish the tie breaker as other folks wanted the board and since Kay and I were the winners, we had to play the challengers and actually finished the evening as champs. We were hot!!
I was back at the bus by 10:00 while some of the rest of the group decided to stay downtown for a while. Well, they can party on........I am going to bed!!
 |
| Hogan sees the Javalina coming |
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| The two babies |
Monday, November 19/2012
Laundry day today. Wow, one of my most favorite things to do although, I can do some reading so I guess it is not all bad now is it?
Should be another nice day as the sun is shining like crazy so life is good!!
It took two hours to do the laundry. For some reason, the clothes just did not seem to want to dry. I don't really know who got all those clothes dirty anyway, I swear it wasn't me!!
With the laundry done, I headed over to Safeway and finally, after being here almost a week, have replenished the fridge and cupboards. We are now "good to go" for a day or two!!
When I got back to the bus, John was already starting the renos. He had put some light fixtures up and now I have light in the back bedroom and the hallway. Together, we figured out how much wood we would need for to finish the walls and floor and decided where we wanted the stove/oven to sit in the kitchen.
Kay and Ray headed over to visit Ray's brother (who had just arrived for the winter here in Wickenburg) and John and I sat out in the yard watching the bunnies and the birds. Man, do we live an exciting life or what!!
While we we sitting there, Hogan went on "alert" and John said "what the hell is that coming through the trees?". Ya, ask the blind girl!!!! Geez Louise!! I assumed it was a Javalina, instead, it turned out to be a rather large, tall coyote. I said to John that it looked like it was limping and he said that indeed it was trotting on only three legs. Hogan was itching to give chase but I am sure, even with only three legs, the coyote would have taken care of "the city dog" in no time!!
Of course the "chill" came with the lowering of the sun but it was time to think about supper anyway so we went inside. The news (we watch Saskatchewan's news here) was on and John usually likes to watch that.
We spent a quiet evening and it was good to just sit and relax.
Should be another nice day as the sun is shining like crazy so life is good!!
It took two hours to do the laundry. For some reason, the clothes just did not seem to want to dry. I don't really know who got all those clothes dirty anyway, I swear it wasn't me!!
With the laundry done, I headed over to Safeway and finally, after being here almost a week, have replenished the fridge and cupboards. We are now "good to go" for a day or two!!
When I got back to the bus, John was already starting the renos. He had put some light fixtures up and now I have light in the back bedroom and the hallway. Together, we figured out how much wood we would need for to finish the walls and floor and decided where we wanted the stove/oven to sit in the kitchen.
Kay and Ray headed over to visit Ray's brother (who had just arrived for the winter here in Wickenburg) and John and I sat out in the yard watching the bunnies and the birds. Man, do we live an exciting life or what!!
While we we sitting there, Hogan went on "alert" and John said "what the hell is that coming through the trees?". Ya, ask the blind girl!!!! Geez Louise!! I assumed it was a Javalina, instead, it turned out to be a rather large, tall coyote. I said to John that it looked like it was limping and he said that indeed it was trotting on only three legs. Hogan was itching to give chase but I am sure, even with only three legs, the coyote would have taken care of "the city dog" in no time!!
Of course the "chill" came with the lowering of the sun but it was time to think about supper anyway so we went inside. The news (we watch Saskatchewan's news here) was on and John usually likes to watch that.
We spent a quiet evening and it was good to just sit and relax.
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Sunday, November 18/2012
I slept in today.....what the heck is with that. The sun is already up and shining and it is more than warm in the bus. As I look outside, the doves and several other species of birds are busy at the birdseed. I really have to clean these windows again so that I can get a "cleaner" look at them! Gee, I thought I just did that at Willow Beach but I guess the trip from there to here left enough dirt and dust on them to warrant another cleaning. Man, I can hardly wait to do that hateful job!!
There are two football games on today. Both the Eastern and Western Finals are today and the outcome will determine which two teams are in The Grey Cup. Canadian football is almost over for the season.
It will be the Toronto Argonauts against the Calgary Stampeders in next weeks Grey Cup. Finally, the Montreal and B.C. dynasties have been tumbled. It should be a good game.
Between the two games, I got the white lights on one of the big yard trees so now we should have some nice soft light to see by while we sit in the yard after the sun goes down. Because this tree is bigger than the ones I decorated in the desert, I am short on lights and think that another four strings would look awesome on it. We will see though, maybe it is good just the way it is too but I am rather "picky" when it comes to my lights!!
Kay and I were mucking around with that stinking "smart" phone again today. She took the sim card out of her phone and put it into mine and the phone actually hooked up to signal but automatically was in "lock" mode so that did not work as well as we had hoped. Stupid phone. I put my sim card back into it and when it turned back on......I had signal. I was hitting on the AT&T tower and had service!!! Woo Hoo!! I have no clue what we did, but I have service!! I became a texting fool for the next hour!!
With the football games over, we spent the rest of the evening in the yard checking out the wildlife. The javalina came around and since they seem to know that Hogan can not get to their side of the fence, they have no problem with coming in close. I threw them some cut up raw potato (which they seem to really like and at 69 cents a bag, it is cheap food) and they finished off the dog food that Ray put out for them this morning. Life is good for them too!!
With the sun down, there is a chill in the air so John started a campfire and we sat around it for a few hours. Ray had made some green chill stew earlier so I had a bowl of that while we sat around the fire. He knows I don't really like it too hot (as in spicy hot) so made it so that is was not burning my mouth off. Thanks Ray!! It was delicious.
Soon enough, everyone was heading in and I was able to catch up on a few of my Sunday night TV shows. Hogan was more than ready to cuddle under the covers!!
There are two football games on today. Both the Eastern and Western Finals are today and the outcome will determine which two teams are in The Grey Cup. Canadian football is almost over for the season.
It will be the Toronto Argonauts against the Calgary Stampeders in next weeks Grey Cup. Finally, the Montreal and B.C. dynasties have been tumbled. It should be a good game.
Between the two games, I got the white lights on one of the big yard trees so now we should have some nice soft light to see by while we sit in the yard after the sun goes down. Because this tree is bigger than the ones I decorated in the desert, I am short on lights and think that another four strings would look awesome on it. We will see though, maybe it is good just the way it is too but I am rather "picky" when it comes to my lights!!
Kay and I were mucking around with that stinking "smart" phone again today. She took the sim card out of her phone and put it into mine and the phone actually hooked up to signal but automatically was in "lock" mode so that did not work as well as we had hoped. Stupid phone. I put my sim card back into it and when it turned back on......I had signal. I was hitting on the AT&T tower and had service!!! Woo Hoo!! I have no clue what we did, but I have service!! I became a texting fool for the next hour!!
With the football games over, we spent the rest of the evening in the yard checking out the wildlife. The javalina came around and since they seem to know that Hogan can not get to their side of the fence, they have no problem with coming in close. I threw them some cut up raw potato (which they seem to really like and at 69 cents a bag, it is cheap food) and they finished off the dog food that Ray put out for them this morning. Life is good for them too!!
With the sun down, there is a chill in the air so John started a campfire and we sat around it for a few hours. Ray had made some green chill stew earlier so I had a bowl of that while we sat around the fire. He knows I don't really like it too hot (as in spicy hot) so made it so that is was not burning my mouth off. Thanks Ray!! It was delicious.
Soon enough, everyone was heading in and I was able to catch up on a few of my Sunday night TV shows. Hogan was more than ready to cuddle under the covers!!
Saturday, November 17/2012
Oh my gosh, I woke up with an incredible headache this morning. It was massively banging while I was lying in bed and I am sure that I must have slept wrong (NO, I am not suffering any effect from alcohol as I have not had any for several days now - I am giving my liver a break!!). I got up and popped a few tylenol and attempted to lie back down but was driven from the bed in the hopes that if I changed positions, that might help. Oh - Oh, I only had one cup of coffee yesterday and I am wondering if this has something to do with caffeine. I am sure I have an addiction and that is not good but Holy Smokes, I can't take this pounding in my head. I quickly choke down two cups of coffee, and within 90 minutes, the jackhammer has ceased to exist and I just may survive the day. Unfortunately, I am not sure if this is a result of the caffeine or the tylenol but at this point I am just happy to say adios to the jackhammer!!
There were two little cottontail bunnies out eating at my birdseed this morning along with some doves. They were cute but quite skittish. When I was fumbling around trying to get some coffee started, they of course heard the noise and scooted off. There must have been a few sitting out of my field of vision because I saw at least 6 hop away with the noise. Awesome!! Had my head not been ready to fall off my shoulders, I'm sure I would have appreciated them more.
Today, Kay and I went over to get some dishes and usable items out of the abandoned unit for our trailer. We now are the proud owners of a dish service for 12!! I am not sure when exactly we are going to be in a position to use all the place settings but I have them when I need them!!
There are a few pieces of antique furniture over there as well that will have to make the trip over here but that will be later on. All in all, we did pretty well out of this old trailer.
Once we were done with that job, it was time to relax and enjoy the weather. It is hot again today. Ray and Kay had already done a dump run and had reloaded their trailer again for another dump run before Kay and I got our stuff out of the old trailer so, they were really ready for a break!!
Tomorrow, I will have to wash all the stuff I brought over and get in put away as John says that we are starting the rest of the renos next week. Woo Hoo!! I can't wait to get this place done and liveable.
We spent the rest of the late afternoon and early evening just enjoying the sunshine. The birds came to feed and the bunnies too. We counted 6 bunnies and Ray says there were 7 around all summer so I hope that the last one was just being antisocial. There were no javelina tonight and no bobcat. What is with that!!
Saturday night means steak so the baked potatoes cooked while we sat around Ray and Kay's little chiminea. Mitch came over for a while and it was nice to be able to sit and chat with him. He has been working like a dog down in "the valley" (meaning Phoenix and area) paving roads. He is now off for a week or so over the American Thanksgiving week.
When the spuds were done, the steaks were thrown on the grill and before too long, John and I were enjoying one of the first great steaks of the winter season. Mmmmmmm!!
Watching TV in bed has got to be one of life's greatest indulgences and I love it. Hogan is an awesome cuddler. What an great day. We scored some stuff for our trailer and ended the day with great friends and good food. Life is good.
There were two little cottontail bunnies out eating at my birdseed this morning along with some doves. They were cute but quite skittish. When I was fumbling around trying to get some coffee started, they of course heard the noise and scooted off. There must have been a few sitting out of my field of vision because I saw at least 6 hop away with the noise. Awesome!! Had my head not been ready to fall off my shoulders, I'm sure I would have appreciated them more.
Today, Kay and I went over to get some dishes and usable items out of the abandoned unit for our trailer. We now are the proud owners of a dish service for 12!! I am not sure when exactly we are going to be in a position to use all the place settings but I have them when I need them!!
There are a few pieces of antique furniture over there as well that will have to make the trip over here but that will be later on. All in all, we did pretty well out of this old trailer.
Once we were done with that job, it was time to relax and enjoy the weather. It is hot again today. Ray and Kay had already done a dump run and had reloaded their trailer again for another dump run before Kay and I got our stuff out of the old trailer so, they were really ready for a break!!
Tomorrow, I will have to wash all the stuff I brought over and get in put away as John says that we are starting the rest of the renos next week. Woo Hoo!! I can't wait to get this place done and liveable.
We spent the rest of the late afternoon and early evening just enjoying the sunshine. The birds came to feed and the bunnies too. We counted 6 bunnies and Ray says there were 7 around all summer so I hope that the last one was just being antisocial. There were no javelina tonight and no bobcat. What is with that!!
Saturday night means steak so the baked potatoes cooked while we sat around Ray and Kay's little chiminea. Mitch came over for a while and it was nice to be able to sit and chat with him. He has been working like a dog down in "the valley" (meaning Phoenix and area) paving roads. He is now off for a week or so over the American Thanksgiving week.
When the spuds were done, the steaks were thrown on the grill and before too long, John and I were enjoying one of the first great steaks of the winter season. Mmmmmmm!!
Watching TV in bed has got to be one of life's greatest indulgences and I love it. Hogan is an awesome cuddler. What an great day. We scored some stuff for our trailer and ended the day with great friends and good food. Life is good.
Saturday, November 17, 2012
Friday, November 16/2012
Oh the sun is shining and once again it looks like it is going to be another great day. After spending some time on the computer checking up on all the "kids" back home, Hogan and I went outside to check things out. There were a few birds pecking around in the birdseed I threw out yesterday and of course Ray had already been out and fed the desert creatures earlier this morning.
I didn't see any javalina today but assume they had come and gone without me noticing. They are quite stealthy creatures and Hogan is often the one to signal their arrival. He has a "hate on" for them. Perhaps he remembers the war wound he received last year from one of them!!
Today Ray, Kay and I went over to the abandoned trailer here in the park and got some more junk loaded onto Ray's trailer. It was getting pretty full so John took our trailer to the car wash so that we could park it in our driveway and free up their truck (which we used to move our trailer) so that it could be used to take the trailer full of junk to the dump. Sounds a bit confusing!! Anyway, Ray will do a dump run tomorrow and then we can start on another load. We will soon have all the junk out of there and then start the cleaning. Whatever repairs that are needed can be done after the cleaning and the unit can then be put up for sale by the owner of the park.
Once that was done and none too soon either (it was getting mighty HOT out and time for a rest) we relaxed a bit before I had to head down to the local Verizon store and deal with the phone issue. Once again, we had absolutely NO phone service. We had upgraded to a new and fancy "smart" phone before leaving home and was once again (shades of 2 years ago) assured that this phone would work in Arizona. WRONG - why can't things be simple. Gosh, we are not in some third world country!! Our neighbours have the same phone as we do and they have service so what is the damn problem?
Back from the Verizon store and I now have a "Pay as you Go" phone. The fellow that helped me said that he could not help me!!! THANKS ANYWAY. That is why I now have a pay as you go so now have to activate it and see what happens!! There are just some days that technology is not my friend - maybe I am lost in the 60s!!
Keith and Charlotte came for a visit and stayed for the evening. As the evening progressed, John started a campfire and we sat around it chatting and enjoying the evening. Keith is our resident computer geek so I handed my fancy "smart" phone to him to see if he had any ideas as to why I had no service here and he mentioned that I may need a new mini Sim card as the one I got with the phone was not recognized here. I should head back to the Verizon store tomorrow to see if that is a possibility.
Meanwhile, Ray's phone had an issue with "present location" weather so Keith did his magic and fixed both his and Kay's weather information. Gosh, why couldn't my phone be an easy fix!! I could fix the damn thing with a hammer, that is for sure, then it could show me just how "smart" it really was. No frustration here!!
Keith and Charlotte totally enjoyed traveling this summer and have now "caught the bug". They do not plan on staying here in Wickenburg this winter, instead, are answering the call of the open road. They both seem happy and had several stories about their travels that they shared with us. It was awesome to see them again and I can only wish them tons of good luck and safe travels. We will, most definitely see them again at some point.
The campfire eventually died out and everyone took to their beds. Tomorrow is another day and more adventure awaits.
I didn't see any javalina today but assume they had come and gone without me noticing. They are quite stealthy creatures and Hogan is often the one to signal their arrival. He has a "hate on" for them. Perhaps he remembers the war wound he received last year from one of them!!
Today Ray, Kay and I went over to the abandoned trailer here in the park and got some more junk loaded onto Ray's trailer. It was getting pretty full so John took our trailer to the car wash so that we could park it in our driveway and free up their truck (which we used to move our trailer) so that it could be used to take the trailer full of junk to the dump. Sounds a bit confusing!! Anyway, Ray will do a dump run tomorrow and then we can start on another load. We will soon have all the junk out of there and then start the cleaning. Whatever repairs that are needed can be done after the cleaning and the unit can then be put up for sale by the owner of the park.
Once that was done and none too soon either (it was getting mighty HOT out and time for a rest) we relaxed a bit before I had to head down to the local Verizon store and deal with the phone issue. Once again, we had absolutely NO phone service. We had upgraded to a new and fancy "smart" phone before leaving home and was once again (shades of 2 years ago) assured that this phone would work in Arizona. WRONG - why can't things be simple. Gosh, we are not in some third world country!! Our neighbours have the same phone as we do and they have service so what is the damn problem?
Back from the Verizon store and I now have a "Pay as you Go" phone. The fellow that helped me said that he could not help me!!! THANKS ANYWAY. That is why I now have a pay as you go so now have to activate it and see what happens!! There are just some days that technology is not my friend - maybe I am lost in the 60s!!
Keith and Charlotte came for a visit and stayed for the evening. As the evening progressed, John started a campfire and we sat around it chatting and enjoying the evening. Keith is our resident computer geek so I handed my fancy "smart" phone to him to see if he had any ideas as to why I had no service here and he mentioned that I may need a new mini Sim card as the one I got with the phone was not recognized here. I should head back to the Verizon store tomorrow to see if that is a possibility.
Meanwhile, Ray's phone had an issue with "present location" weather so Keith did his magic and fixed both his and Kay's weather information. Gosh, why couldn't my phone be an easy fix!! I could fix the damn thing with a hammer, that is for sure, then it could show me just how "smart" it really was. No frustration here!!
Keith and Charlotte totally enjoyed traveling this summer and have now "caught the bug". They do not plan on staying here in Wickenburg this winter, instead, are answering the call of the open road. They both seem happy and had several stories about their travels that they shared with us. It was awesome to see them again and I can only wish them tons of good luck and safe travels. We will, most definitely see them again at some point.
The campfire eventually died out and everyone took to their beds. Tomorrow is another day and more adventure awaits.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Thursday, November 15/2012
Oh Dear, I think it is going to be another warm day!! I feel bad when I see the temperature back home and see that they are into the double digit minus numbers. Ya, I do.......really!! Where on earth did I leave my sunglasses??!!
Ray is the caretaker of the park we are in and this summer, the park gained ownership of one of the trailers here. Apparently it is full of all sorts of "stuff" and he needs help cleaning it out along with cleaning up the yard. I told him during the summer that he had to wait until I got here to do it as I would help him and Kay with the cleaning. (I totally need to be doing something when I am down here) Because John and I are helping, we get to have anything we want inside the trailer so I am hoping there are dishes and "stuff" I can use for our place. Woo Hoo - it will be a treasure hunt!!
We headed over to the trailer with garbage bags, a huge trailer so we could throw all the trash into it and Ray could take it to the dump, our gloves and anything else we thought we could use. Two hours later, we had the trailer full, and had piles for the Soroptomists (much like our Salvation Army) and a pile of stuff for us. Wow, I scored an awesome set of dishes and silverware. Woo Hoo!!
Now, we just need to clean and that will be a dirty job as the place has been empty for several years. I told Ray to "bug bomb" the joint before we headed into it as I really had no desire to come face to face with any nasty ass spiders or snakes!! So far......so good!!
When that was done, I got the big clippers out and declared war on that thorny shrub by the gate. Despite the fact that I had on leather padded gloves, a few of the thorns managed to get through only making me more determined to win this battle. Eventually, it was cut to pieces and hauled away. Ray then took his drill and drilled holes around the stump and poured some sort of root killer around it. Take that you nasty ass thorn producing tree!!
John, in the meantime was busy cleaning up the collapsed shed thing. He cut up all the wood for the fireplace and stacked the metal along the brick fence so that it could be hauled away once we got all the metal from that abandoned trailer together. We will have quite a bit of metal for the recyclers.
We had one tree in the yard that seems to have grown rather well and we now cannot get to the back door of the trailer so John and Ray cut a huge limb off it. Now the path is open and we have access to the other side of the trailer and that part of the yard. Man, for desert conditions, these trees are certainly adaptable and grow like crazy!!
With all the work for today done, I hopped into the jeep and headed to the store for some much needed milk and bread, birdseed and hummingbird food and had to stop at the ATM for some money as tonight we start our shuffleboard tournament which will last the whole winter.
Finally, back at home and a few hours to sit and relax before we are once again "on the go". While sitting in the yard before heading off to shuffleboard, Kay looks out into the empty acres over the fence and sees a bobcat sitting on the other side of a mesquite tree. Of course we all looked and sure enough, there it was in some sort of stalking mode (not sure what it was after, perhaps one of the little cottontail bunnies) and it wasn't until it actually stood up to its full height that we got a good look at him. He was awesome and yet another reason for our sweet little Hogan not to be running around in the "north forty" by himself as I am sure Mr. Bobcat would make quick work of him. Wow, another highlight for this year.
Shuffleboard was fun tonight, and after many hugs and "how are you and how was your summer"s we got the rocks rolling. I was partnered with Harvey (a fellow we met last year from Washington state) and he hates to lose. Now that is definitely NOT a good thing as I have not played since leaving here!
As it turned out, we did end up losing although we made a respectable showing. John and Ray were partnered up and they were soon eliminated from the tournament. At least Harvey and I did better than them. Kay and Kiki (Harvey's wife) took second place so they got their entry fee back.
Once the tournament was over, Kay and I challenged John and Ray in our annual mini tournament and got our asses kicked big time. OMG - that is not good and because Kay and I gloated so much last year (as the champions), John and Ray thought that they would reciprocate. They are such poor winners!! Game on now boys!!
It was a good day. We got lots of work done and ended the evening with fun and friends. Not too shabby!!
Ray is the caretaker of the park we are in and this summer, the park gained ownership of one of the trailers here. Apparently it is full of all sorts of "stuff" and he needs help cleaning it out along with cleaning up the yard. I told him during the summer that he had to wait until I got here to do it as I would help him and Kay with the cleaning. (I totally need to be doing something when I am down here) Because John and I are helping, we get to have anything we want inside the trailer so I am hoping there are dishes and "stuff" I can use for our place. Woo Hoo - it will be a treasure hunt!!
We headed over to the trailer with garbage bags, a huge trailer so we could throw all the trash into it and Ray could take it to the dump, our gloves and anything else we thought we could use. Two hours later, we had the trailer full, and had piles for the Soroptomists (much like our Salvation Army) and a pile of stuff for us. Wow, I scored an awesome set of dishes and silverware. Woo Hoo!!
Now, we just need to clean and that will be a dirty job as the place has been empty for several years. I told Ray to "bug bomb" the joint before we headed into it as I really had no desire to come face to face with any nasty ass spiders or snakes!! So far......so good!!
When that was done, I got the big clippers out and declared war on that thorny shrub by the gate. Despite the fact that I had on leather padded gloves, a few of the thorns managed to get through only making me more determined to win this battle. Eventually, it was cut to pieces and hauled away. Ray then took his drill and drilled holes around the stump and poured some sort of root killer around it. Take that you nasty ass thorn producing tree!!
John, in the meantime was busy cleaning up the collapsed shed thing. He cut up all the wood for the fireplace and stacked the metal along the brick fence so that it could be hauled away once we got all the metal from that abandoned trailer together. We will have quite a bit of metal for the recyclers.
We had one tree in the yard that seems to have grown rather well and we now cannot get to the back door of the trailer so John and Ray cut a huge limb off it. Now the path is open and we have access to the other side of the trailer and that part of the yard. Man, for desert conditions, these trees are certainly adaptable and grow like crazy!!
With all the work for today done, I hopped into the jeep and headed to the store for some much needed milk and bread, birdseed and hummingbird food and had to stop at the ATM for some money as tonight we start our shuffleboard tournament which will last the whole winter.
Finally, back at home and a few hours to sit and relax before we are once again "on the go". While sitting in the yard before heading off to shuffleboard, Kay looks out into the empty acres over the fence and sees a bobcat sitting on the other side of a mesquite tree. Of course we all looked and sure enough, there it was in some sort of stalking mode (not sure what it was after, perhaps one of the little cottontail bunnies) and it wasn't until it actually stood up to its full height that we got a good look at him. He was awesome and yet another reason for our sweet little Hogan not to be running around in the "north forty" by himself as I am sure Mr. Bobcat would make quick work of him. Wow, another highlight for this year.
Shuffleboard was fun tonight, and after many hugs and "how are you and how was your summer"s we got the rocks rolling. I was partnered with Harvey (a fellow we met last year from Washington state) and he hates to lose. Now that is definitely NOT a good thing as I have not played since leaving here!
As it turned out, we did end up losing although we made a respectable showing. John and Ray were partnered up and they were soon eliminated from the tournament. At least Harvey and I did better than them. Kay and Kiki (Harvey's wife) took second place so they got their entry fee back.
Once the tournament was over, Kay and I challenged John and Ray in our annual mini tournament and got our asses kicked big time. OMG - that is not good and because Kay and I gloated so much last year (as the champions), John and Ray thought that they would reciprocate. They are such poor winners!! Game on now boys!!
It was a good day. We got lots of work done and ended the evening with fun and friends. Not too shabby!!
Wednesday, November 14/2012
Well, it is the first full day of our winter here in Wickenburg. The sun is not up yet and there is a bit of a chill in the bus but as soon as the sun rises there will be a marked temperature spike. It is quiet outside and I have yet to see the javalina this morning. I am sure they will be around at some point today. Kay (our neighbour) says there are two little babies that come with their Mom so I can hardly wait to see them. Ray has continued to feed them throughout the summer so they know where to come for their treats.
Once the sun came up, I took my coffee outside and settled into my chair and just enjoyed the warmth of it and the peacefulness of the morning. Wow, I so missed sitting here and watching all the birds.
As I look around the yard, I do notice that there is some maintenance to be done.
While we were gone for the summer, the torrential monsoons did a number on the covered lean to and the metal roof is now lying on the ground. We had intentions of taking the thing down anyway as it was quite an eyesore so, the fact that it is now lying on the ground is not a bad thing. Ray said it started leaning badly after one monsoon and was on the ground after the next one. The metal can go to the recyclers and the wood will be burnt in the fireplace.
Last year we had chopped several mesquite trees out and I see that one has returned with a vengeance. It is now what you would call a shrub (no tree yet) but has armed itself with thorns, some of which are 2 inches long. Now that, is going to hurt when you brush up against it and unfortunately, it is right beside the gate leading to the open acres just on the other side of our yard. It will be thorns vs Marie and I WILL WIN!! Stupid Tree!!
It was basically another pyjama day although I did get dressed. Time for the capris and tank tops. I did not think sitting out in the yard in my pink nightie and my green fluffy Rider pants would be appropriate but they do make allowances for us Canadians!!
Marybeth (another neighbour) came over for our usually scheduled "happy hour" with her glass of white wine (in a travel mug - yes, that's right, we are very classy down here) and together we sat and watched the birds.
I have got to go and buy birdseed. Last year, Ray and I fed them (and the javalina) twice a day. He threw seeds to the birds and dogfood to the javalina in the morning and I threw seeds and dogfood out to them in the late afternoon. This way, we had fine feathered friends around all day and javalina when ever they decided to wander through. It was great.
While Marybeth and I sat there, the javalina did come and we soon had the privilege of seeing the two babies. They were awesome but the Mom kept them at a distance. She was quite wary of coming too close. Hogan was quite bugged so I ended up putting him in the bus while they were around. I threw chunks of potato over the fence and that was gone in no time. Wow, first day here and I see the babies!! Does it get any better than that?
The evening was spent quietly with Ray and Kay inviting us over for a beverage. I was busy reading but John went over for about an hour before returning home and spending the rest of the evening watching TV.
Tomorrow, we have stuff to do and since today was a "rest" day, tomorrow should be a work day.
Once the sun came up, I took my coffee outside and settled into my chair and just enjoyed the warmth of it and the peacefulness of the morning. Wow, I so missed sitting here and watching all the birds.
As I look around the yard, I do notice that there is some maintenance to be done.
While we were gone for the summer, the torrential monsoons did a number on the covered lean to and the metal roof is now lying on the ground. We had intentions of taking the thing down anyway as it was quite an eyesore so, the fact that it is now lying on the ground is not a bad thing. Ray said it started leaning badly after one monsoon and was on the ground after the next one. The metal can go to the recyclers and the wood will be burnt in the fireplace.
Last year we had chopped several mesquite trees out and I see that one has returned with a vengeance. It is now what you would call a shrub (no tree yet) but has armed itself with thorns, some of which are 2 inches long. Now that, is going to hurt when you brush up against it and unfortunately, it is right beside the gate leading to the open acres just on the other side of our yard. It will be thorns vs Marie and I WILL WIN!! Stupid Tree!!
It was basically another pyjama day although I did get dressed. Time for the capris and tank tops. I did not think sitting out in the yard in my pink nightie and my green fluffy Rider pants would be appropriate but they do make allowances for us Canadians!!
Marybeth (another neighbour) came over for our usually scheduled "happy hour" with her glass of white wine (in a travel mug - yes, that's right, we are very classy down here) and together we sat and watched the birds.
I have got to go and buy birdseed. Last year, Ray and I fed them (and the javalina) twice a day. He threw seeds to the birds and dogfood to the javalina in the morning and I threw seeds and dogfood out to them in the late afternoon. This way, we had fine feathered friends around all day and javalina when ever they decided to wander through. It was great.
While Marybeth and I sat there, the javalina did come and we soon had the privilege of seeing the two babies. They were awesome but the Mom kept them at a distance. She was quite wary of coming too close. Hogan was quite bugged so I ended up putting him in the bus while they were around. I threw chunks of potato over the fence and that was gone in no time. Wow, first day here and I see the babies!! Does it get any better than that?
The evening was spent quietly with Ray and Kay inviting us over for a beverage. I was busy reading but John went over for about an hour before returning home and spending the rest of the evening watching TV.
Tomorrow, we have stuff to do and since today was a "rest" day, tomorrow should be a work day.
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| Javalina in the empty acres beside our property. |
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| Little babies - only a few weeks old |
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| Hungry little critters. Always wanting to nurse |
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| Mom didn't come very close |
Tuesday, November 13/2012
It is chilly in the bus this morning but the sun is shining through the big windows so it will not be long before the air warms up in here. The big heater will help too.
Hogan was out this morning but I did notice that he steered clear of the cholla and returned to the bus without any thorns in his feet. It sure didn't take him long to get into the swing of things here in the desert.
We stopped at the recreation site this morning to dump the sewer and grey water tanks then headed down the road towards Wickenburg. It looks like we will make it today!!
When we arrived at the park, John pulled the bus and trailer in front of Mitch's place and unloaded the jeep and the quad. Ray and Kay soon showed up and the trailer was parked in Mitch's yard until it can be washed. Then it will be moved down here and into our driveway.
We parked the bus beside our home knowing that we would have to move it again to wash the darn thing and fill it with propane. The outside bay of the carwash was closed when we went by or we would have stopped and washed the bus before getting to the park.
Once that was done, we spent the evening with Ray and Kay. Ray had a HOT summer but managed to survive the heat. Thank Heavens for air conditioning!!
I finally got to spend time in my bathtub. Oh my, it was sheer bliss and one experience I plan on repeating.....nightly!!
Hogan was out this morning but I did notice that he steered clear of the cholla and returned to the bus without any thorns in his feet. It sure didn't take him long to get into the swing of things here in the desert.
We stopped at the recreation site this morning to dump the sewer and grey water tanks then headed down the road towards Wickenburg. It looks like we will make it today!!
When we arrived at the park, John pulled the bus and trailer in front of Mitch's place and unloaded the jeep and the quad. Ray and Kay soon showed up and the trailer was parked in Mitch's yard until it can be washed. Then it will be moved down here and into our driveway.
We parked the bus beside our home knowing that we would have to move it again to wash the darn thing and fill it with propane. The outside bay of the carwash was closed when we went by or we would have stopped and washed the bus before getting to the park.
Once that was done, we spent the evening with Ray and Kay. Ray had a HOT summer but managed to survive the heat. Thank Heavens for air conditioning!!
I finally got to spend time in my bathtub. Oh my, it was sheer bliss and one experience I plan on repeating.....nightly!!
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| Heading out |
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| Coming into Wickenburg - Vulture Peak on the right |
Monday, November 12/2012
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| Coyote checking us out |
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| Covered wagon passing by |
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| Heading out US 93 S, AZ |
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| Our first Saguaro Cactus |
Before we left, Hogan, who was chillin on the dash started with his deep growl thing and when I looked out and saw a rather large coyote trotting by in the desert. Now this is the first wild four legged creature we have seen since parking in this spot.
We chatted with one of the local fellows the other day in the Restaurant and he says there are 3 wild mustangs out our way and that would be so totally cool to see them so I have been looking outside often. I have yet to see them and probably won't. Oh well, it is nice to know that they still exist in some parts of this country.
It wasn't long before the coyote had vanished but I must say.......he was a good size and one that I sure didn't want Hogan to meet.
He continued sitting on the dash keeping a "lookout" and was soon growling again. This time, there was a chuck wagon being pulled by 2 horses going past the bus. There were also two other horses tied to the back of the wagon. Must have been spares!!
Soon, we were loaded up and heading down the road. We got as far as Burro Creek Recreation Area. This being about 60 miles from Wickenburg. It is a rather picturesque area with Saguaro Cactus dotting the landscape along with the usual desert flora of palo verde trees and cholla. Hogan was not impressed with the cholla and it wasn't very long before I was pulling thorns out of his feet. He eventually just went inside the bus and came out only long enough to pee!! If he was capable of sending dirty looks, I am sure he would have.
It was quite warm out when we arrived and John got the lawnchairs out so that we could enjoy what was left of the sun. It was hot enough for a sunburn. Of course I was sitting in the relative shade of the Palo Verde tree by the bus because the last thing I need is more heat!! Hell, I generate enough of my own!!
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| Our spot for the night |
Monday, November 12, 2012
Sunday, November 11/2012
It is Remembrance Day today and time to take a moment to remember just how lucky we are to live in a country that is free and democratic. Although I cannot imagine the horrors of war and what still today, is happening in many countries, We do take the time to pay homage to those brave men and women who fought for our freedoms and paid the ultimate price. I wear my red poppy proudly and hope that those still on deployment return home safely.
Today is a pyjama day!! Woo Hoo!! We have nothing on our agenda today other than watching both the Western and the Eastern semifinals in our Canadian Football League. We are almost down to the Grey Cup match and hopefully, Saskatchewan makes it to the game!!
The bus is decked out with the Saskatchewan Roughrider Flag and our little mascot Rider is ready for the game. Come on boys........lets do this!!
Our team lost (but it was a good game) so now the Rider Flag is down and has been folded up and stuffed into the closet for another year. Thanks for the entertainment guys but all there is left to say is "better luck next year".
With both games over, John headed into the trailer to set up the campfire in a can so we could sit out there and watch the sunset. There is a bit of a wind blowing so it looks like the inside of the trailer is the place to be. While we sat there, John cooked our potatoes over the fire. He has that down to almost perfection so it has become the thing to do. Cook the potatoes while we enjoy the fire!!
Hogan sat in the doorway of the trailer guarding us from whatever night creature may wander into his line of vision. Considering that I have only seen birds and a few cows, I am not sure what he is keeping at bay!!
Once the spuds were done, it was time for John to throw the steak on the BBQ and go inside and catch up on our TV shows. Once again, supper was awesome.
The only thing that could have made this day better was if the Saskatchewan Roughriders had won their game.
Today is a pyjama day!! Woo Hoo!! We have nothing on our agenda today other than watching both the Western and the Eastern semifinals in our Canadian Football League. We are almost down to the Grey Cup match and hopefully, Saskatchewan makes it to the game!!
The bus is decked out with the Saskatchewan Roughrider Flag and our little mascot Rider is ready for the game. Come on boys........lets do this!!
Our team lost (but it was a good game) so now the Rider Flag is down and has been folded up and stuffed into the closet for another year. Thanks for the entertainment guys but all there is left to say is "better luck next year".
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| Not this year! |
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| Our QB - Durant |
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| Next year Rider! |
Hogan sat in the doorway of the trailer guarding us from whatever night creature may wander into his line of vision. Considering that I have only seen birds and a few cows, I am not sure what he is keeping at bay!!
Once the spuds were done, it was time for John to throw the steak on the BBQ and go inside and catch up on our TV shows. Once again, supper was awesome.
The only thing that could have made this day better was if the Saskatchewan Roughriders had won their game.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Saturday, November 10/2012
What is with me getting up so damn early when I don't have to!! Gosh, it is still dark out. It is only 6C this morning and chilly. John left the heater on low so it is much warmer in the bus than I expected this morning.
I am still mad about the whole Grand Canyon thing yesterday and spent much of the trip home trying to decide how I could get close enough to the edge to push John over!! Still fueled by my discontent, I googled the Grand Canyon West site and find that perhaps I would not have even bothered to take the tour. The cost is alarmingly high (well over $100.00 ea for two) and from many of the reviews I read, not worth it. You are not allowed to take your camera on the skywalk, in fact, are not allowed to carry anything on your person for fear of someone dropping it and causing issues with the glass. The owners of the attraction will be happy to take all sorts of pictures of you while on the skywalk for the small sum of $30.00 per picture!! WHAT!!!! Helicopter rides are in the vicinity of $150.00 per person. Many of the reviewers, suggested to go see the Grand Canyon South entrance as it is much cheaper and the views more spectacular. Now, I am going to have to apologize to John for all my hateful thoughts and schemes of yesterday and say that perhaps he was right. OH SHIT - I HATE HAVING TO DO THAT!!! Oh well, guess I will put on my big girl panties, suck it up and do it. Oh, how I am going to hate that smug look he is going to give me!!
We are supposed to be going to see The Murals today but will take Big Wash Road first and hopefully, end up at the Murals.
Big Wash Road, starts in the valley and travels along the top of the Cerbat Mountains. Initially, it is a well travelled, graded dirt road gradually climbing as it makes its way into the Cerbat Mountains. A sign at the start of the the road suggests that trailers are not recommended and I found that to be rather misleading as a smaller trailer would certainly make the climb to the campground. However, any trailer longer than 20 feet would prove challenging considering some of the tight switchbacks we encountered as we started the more intense climb to the top. There are long sections of shelf road. In fact, most of it is shelf road but two vehicles usually had enough room to pass each other up until one reaches Windy Point and the Cherum Pass lookout.
On our way up, we encountered 3 mountain bikers (coming down) along the tight switchbacks and being blind corners and narrow trail, I can't imagine the horror the first biker felt when he was faced with the grill of the jeep. The look on his face was "OH SHIT". It was either grab your brakes or go over the cliff. He managed to miss us but I am sure he would have to throw away his biking shorts after that close call. After this encounter, John started blowing his horn around the corners just to give any unsuspecting biker a warning. They were the only three we encountered for the day.
The wider, graded road stopped at Cherum Peak and the trail became a narrow, rocky path that in most places, left no room to pass another vehicles should one be encountered and actually in my opinion, should be deemed a one way trail. We lucked out today as we did not meet any oncoming traffic!!
There are a multitude of 4x4 trails in these mountains and we stayed on what we thought was the "main" trail hoping that it would eventually lead us off the mountain and into the valley far below and to the murals, painted on the granite boulders of a canyon just outside of Chloride. A sign or two along the trail would certainly have been helpful. Instead, John followed his nose. Many of the side trails, of which we took a few, led to old abandoned mine sites.
Once we got off the graded road, the trail that presented itself was indeed the best trail we have taken in this area. With the increasing challenge of a well worn trail, with its large and small loose rocks, the areas of trail erosion and a few off camber sections (leaning towards the edge of the shelf!!), it was an intense trail to maneuver but done easily with an experienced driver. There were only a few sections where I felt that having the high clearance vehicle helped although I imagine a stock vehicle could have also traversed these spots as well. Perhaps, just not as easily as we did. I am glad we had "Old Yella" with us.
After several hours on the trail and slowly making our way down, we did eventually make it to the Murals. We were passed by a couple of dirt bikes just before getting to the murals and they were the only other people we saw the whole day, with the exception of the 3 mountain bikers a few hours earlier.
The Murals are paintings done on some of the huge granite boulders of the Cerbat Mountains which lay just outside of the town of Chloride. They were painted by Roy Purcell, who in 1966 took a break form his studies towards a Master's Degree in fine arts to labour as a miner in the mountains. While there, he painted "The Journey", a 2000 square foot set of murals on the rocks. The work led to world wide recognition and helped launch a very successful career that still continues today. The murals, painted in 1966 have withstood the desert weather for over 40 years. In 2006, Roy returned to Chloride along with ten other artists to restore the fading murals. Nineteen of the murals were restored and they are awesome. There were a few ancient petroglyph dispersed in amongst the painting.
We took a quick tour of the town once back in Chloride and I got a few pics of some of the still standing original building from back in the 1800's. It was interesting but sad to see how the town is allowing these building to simply deteriorate further. We stopped at Yesterdays Restaurant for a few beverages and stayed for the entertainment and supper. Tonight, the two singers we had seen previously had joined forces and sang together. It was great. We managed a few dances and John even got Debbie (one of the singers) on the dance floor - once, when she was singing!! She danced and sang at the same time!!
We were back at the bus by 9:00 and took the rest of the evening to just relax. What a great day we had. Tomorrow, it is football and Monday, I think we will find ourselves in Wickenburg. Woo Hoo!!
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| He who lies here, used to be an iron worker - hence the iron headstone. |
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| Many different grave markers - this one lava stone |
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| Each war vet has a flag - even in death, long past the war, these American's are still honored. |
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| Many sites have seen better days |
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| Many, many unmarked graves |
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| This one belongs to a two month old baby |
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| Korean War veteran |
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| World War 11 and Korean War Vet |
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| Old Miner's graves - killed by Indians. These were the oldest graves we found. |
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| "Killed by Indians - October 13, 1866" |
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| Headed down Big Wash Road |
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| Incredible vista - Chloride down below |
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| Hogan, out for a run along the trail |
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| Is that our trail way down there? |
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| We are now off the graded road and on 4x4 trail |
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| Some of it was sandy |
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| Some of it was rocky |
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| The Murals down below |
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| Most of it was narrow shelf trail |
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| The trail actually crossed this abandoned mine's tailings pile. This was one of the few spots where one could pass another vehicle if the need should arise. |
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| abandoned equipment |
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| useless power lines - must have worked at some point I imagine |
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| Erosion on the trail |
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| We traveled through juniper and pine trees. Passed tons of mojave yucca and several varieties of cactus. |
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| Bat guano |
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| It doesn't look very steep - but it was!! |
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| The Murals - painted by artist Roy Purcell |
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| A few ancient petroglyphs were strewn in amongst the murals |
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| Painted arrows on the rocks pointing the way to the murals |
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| One of the many open mine shafts |
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| Old water tank |
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| Chloride's old train station |
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| Old Travco Motor home |
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| What remains of Chloride Jail |
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| The Old Miner's Payroll Office |
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| Our jeep, sitting outside Yesterdays Restaurant. Pic taken from inside the restaurant and shows the light reflecting in the glass |
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| Tonight's entertainment at the Restaurant - Bill and Debbie |
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| The manager - Chrystal. She is the one that poured me the wicked vodka drinks!! |
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| John dancing with Debbie while she is singing!! |
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| Back at home, chillin with Hogan |
We are supposed to be going to see The Murals today but will take Big Wash Road first and hopefully, end up at the Murals.
Big Wash Road, starts in the valley and travels along the top of the Cerbat Mountains. Initially, it is a well travelled, graded dirt road gradually climbing as it makes its way into the Cerbat Mountains. A sign at the start of the the road suggests that trailers are not recommended and I found that to be rather misleading as a smaller trailer would certainly make the climb to the campground. However, any trailer longer than 20 feet would prove challenging considering some of the tight switchbacks we encountered as we started the more intense climb to the top. There are long sections of shelf road. In fact, most of it is shelf road but two vehicles usually had enough room to pass each other up until one reaches Windy Point and the Cherum Pass lookout.
On our way up, we encountered 3 mountain bikers (coming down) along the tight switchbacks and being blind corners and narrow trail, I can't imagine the horror the first biker felt when he was faced with the grill of the jeep. The look on his face was "OH SHIT". It was either grab your brakes or go over the cliff. He managed to miss us but I am sure he would have to throw away his biking shorts after that close call. After this encounter, John started blowing his horn around the corners just to give any unsuspecting biker a warning. They were the only three we encountered for the day.
The wider, graded road stopped at Cherum Peak and the trail became a narrow, rocky path that in most places, left no room to pass another vehicles should one be encountered and actually in my opinion, should be deemed a one way trail. We lucked out today as we did not meet any oncoming traffic!!
There are a multitude of 4x4 trails in these mountains and we stayed on what we thought was the "main" trail hoping that it would eventually lead us off the mountain and into the valley far below and to the murals, painted on the granite boulders of a canyon just outside of Chloride. A sign or two along the trail would certainly have been helpful. Instead, John followed his nose. Many of the side trails, of which we took a few, led to old abandoned mine sites.
Once we got off the graded road, the trail that presented itself was indeed the best trail we have taken in this area. With the increasing challenge of a well worn trail, with its large and small loose rocks, the areas of trail erosion and a few off camber sections (leaning towards the edge of the shelf!!), it was an intense trail to maneuver but done easily with an experienced driver. There were only a few sections where I felt that having the high clearance vehicle helped although I imagine a stock vehicle could have also traversed these spots as well. Perhaps, just not as easily as we did. I am glad we had "Old Yella" with us.
After several hours on the trail and slowly making our way down, we did eventually make it to the Murals. We were passed by a couple of dirt bikes just before getting to the murals and they were the only other people we saw the whole day, with the exception of the 3 mountain bikers a few hours earlier.
The Murals are paintings done on some of the huge granite boulders of the Cerbat Mountains which lay just outside of the town of Chloride. They were painted by Roy Purcell, who in 1966 took a break form his studies towards a Master's Degree in fine arts to labour as a miner in the mountains. While there, he painted "The Journey", a 2000 square foot set of murals on the rocks. The work led to world wide recognition and helped launch a very successful career that still continues today. The murals, painted in 1966 have withstood the desert weather for over 40 years. In 2006, Roy returned to Chloride along with ten other artists to restore the fading murals. Nineteen of the murals were restored and they are awesome. There were a few ancient petroglyph dispersed in amongst the painting.
We took a quick tour of the town once back in Chloride and I got a few pics of some of the still standing original building from back in the 1800's. It was interesting but sad to see how the town is allowing these building to simply deteriorate further. We stopped at Yesterdays Restaurant for a few beverages and stayed for the entertainment and supper. Tonight, the two singers we had seen previously had joined forces and sang together. It was great. We managed a few dances and John even got Debbie (one of the singers) on the dance floor - once, when she was singing!! She danced and sang at the same time!!
We were back at the bus by 9:00 and took the rest of the evening to just relax. What a great day we had. Tomorrow, it is football and Monday, I think we will find ourselves in Wickenburg. Woo Hoo!!
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