Monday, January 2/2012

Loading up to head out to Box Canyon and Stanton Ghost Town

Keith - always ready for the picture pose!!

The start of our trail-Hassayampa River  - sand and more sand - no water

A cove just off the river

Keith and I climbed up this ladder and found a wonderful little  area behind the rocks

The other little  canyon Keith and I climbed into

Jeep pose under a fallen tree limb

Finally - some water!!

This is the Hassayampa through Box Canyon.

A couple of cowboys we met. Both had cows on their ropes and they were leading them to water

Keith was riding shotgun - so he had to open the gates

What remains of the Weaver Post Office

Keith - may he rest in peace!!  Who, in their right mind, lays on someone's
grave and poses!! He will be cursed!

Marie and Charlotte

Keith and Marie  "planking"

Bronze hood ornament on a quad - it is a gold panner.  Not a very good pic

Dead Tree Standing

Charlotte and Keith "planking"!!

The start of the Hassayampa River.  This is where it comes out of the ground at
the end of Box Canyon.

Ten feet from where it comes above ground, it is already flowing!

GPS shows we are driving on a river - and we were!!

flowing water

Back through "the box" -  darn shadows

Tarantula Wasp - you do not want to get bit by this thing!!

Wet distributor - stopped to dry out and enjoy a beverage along the river - no water here though

Keith - getting his "Jeep" on.  

Lots of horses in this territory

vehicle bridge across the Hassayampa

So many little washes to explore

After several tylenol I was finally able to get to sleep and this morning I am feeling just fine.  I got a bit of a sun burn on my face but at least I can move without my body screaming that I was so foolish to walk for as long as we did yesterday!!  No pain - No gain - Right?
The sun is shining and it should be a good day to make the trip to Box Canyon and Stanton Ghost Town.  Keith and Charlotte have not been to either place so it will be fun to take them.  There is so much mining history in this area and to see the Hassayampa River flowing on top of the ground instead of underneath the ground is wonderful.  There is very little "running" water in this area of Arizona.
We headed out at eleven o'clock.  With Keith and Charlotte tucked into the back seat and me riding shotgun we accessed the Hassayampa in no time.  Miles and miles of sand greeted us.  There were several well used trail throughout the sand and one simply has to pick a path and enjoy the scenery.  It really was cool and I saw sights I had not seen before so it is always like the first time when one travels the river bed.
We stopped at one of the favourite spots along the river bed and Keith and I explored an area behind all the huge trees and found a ladder that gave us access to an area above the river bed.  We climbed up and found   another little canyon which was kind of neat.   We took pictures, climbed back down, took more pics of the jeep (of course)  then carried on into Box Canyon.  We soon started to see water and that was great.   One never really knows how much water you will find in the box so you never really know if you can actually travel to the end or if you can't.  The first year we travelled the canyon, we had to turn around as the water level was half way up the doors of the Tracker!!  Last year (with Lorne and Marilyn) we were able to make it to the end of the box as there was just a little water flow.
This year, the flow was much the same as last year, easily traversed and we made it to the end of Box Canyon without any difficulty.  The water was crystal clear as usual.
Once out of the box, we accessed the trail that took us over to Stanton Ghost Town.  We saw a bit of wild life alone the way - rabbits, various birds including a pair of red tailed hawks and I almost forgot to mention  that Charlotte finally saw a roadrunner on the way into Wickenburg this morning.  The one bird that had eluded her and she was so wanting to see and presto, there he was along the side of the road!!
We stopped at what remains of the old Weaver Post Office and the restored Weaver Cemetery.  Keith got the brain wave to pose for a picture lying on one of the graves so I took the shot!!  Kind of creepy!!
We walked around the ghost town for a while.  Keith and I decided to "plank" across a bench and I bought a multicoloured lizard made out of metal for $15.00 dollars and shoved it under the back seat for the ride home.
We took a different way home, through a wash and Keith and Charlotte decided to "plank" across the top of the jeep!!  What the heck is this new craze!!  Oh my Lord - talk about  not acting your age!!  We laughed like we were teenagers!!
Eventually, we made it back to Box Canyon and found where the Hassayampa comes out of the ground.  The Hassayampa is actually an  underground river. We managed to splash through what water was in our path, getting the distributor wet and having to stop and dry it out.  Time for a beverage and that is when I was able to show Charlotte a Tarantula Wasp.  This sucker has a very painful bite (I am told) and one you do not want to experience.
With the jeep running again, we were off and heading home.  Keith drove for a while and I think he was getting his "jeep on" as he seemed to be enjoying it a lot!!  Who knows, maybe next year he will have one and we can go exploring with two vehicles!!
Charlotte and I were in the back seat and having a good time (refreshment and all) when she some how managed to jam her thumb and although she could move it, was convinced it was broken and she was going to die!!  She took a couple of Advil and decided that since she could still hold a beer can, life was still good!!
As we continued towards camp over some rather bumpy terrain,  John decided to give Charlotte and I a real good ride and decided to "goose it" over one of the many divets in the trail.  Before I knew it, we were both airborne and I somehow managed to hit the roll bar with my forehead, mangling my glasses in the process.  Oh yea, ask me if I was mad!!  I now have a bump and mangled glasses!!  John has been damned to hell and back 15 times and I sooo broke my New Year's resolution to not say the "F" word!!
Charlotte was unscathed in the attack which was a good thing since she had already "broke" her thumb!!
It is a good thing that I have a spare pair of glasses or I would really be hooped considering,  I can not manage life without them!!
Finally back at camp and Hogan, who we had to leave at home, was more that happy to see us.  He danced around like we had been gone for days instead of only 7 hours (it was only 6 p.m.)
Keith and Charlotte headed home and John and I sat outside for at least another hour enjoying the evening then headed into the bus for a game of Yahtzee, then supper and bed.  All in all, another great day - minus the injuries incurred along the way - although - those too, will heal!!

Sunday, January 1/2012

Multi armed saguaro - can't imagine how old this thing is!!

Sun behind Teddy Bear Cholla giving it an aura 

Happy New Year and may all our dreams, hopes, fun and laughter follow us into this year.  The sun was up when I got out of bed this morning and there is not a cloud in the sky.  I am thinking that it is going to be another hot day.  More suntanning!!
The birds are busy at the feeder and since I changed the hummingbird food, I expect that he too will be enjoying his New Year treat!!
Charlotte wandered over this morning asking if I wanted to hike at the River Preserve today and of course I jumped at the chance to do this.  It is so pretty down there and hopefully it is open today.  As it turned out,  the Preserve was closed for New Years so we ended up hiking Sophia Flat trail system.  It is found off of Blue Tank Road which in turn is off of Constellation Road.  John and I had driven past the area two years ago and I remembered that there were hiking trails out there so off Charlotte and I went.  There is a remarkable trail system out there, all neatly signed and easy to follow.  With a wide variety of miles to hike, we headed out.  The scenery is the usual desert typed with numerous old saguaro and lots of ocotillo which surprisingly is starting to get leaves and some even had the buds of flowers.  Wow!!  We spotted and jack rabbit along the trail and a few birds and lizards.  There was no shortage of people either.  It was such a beautiful day and Charlotte kept saying I can't believe it is new years and here we are hiking in this wonderful weather.  I totally agreed.  What a great day we had.  Once back at the trail head (I am sure we had walked 3 or 4 miles) we took Blue Tank Road back to town and made it back to camp about 4 hours after leaving!!
John was ready for a quick game of Yahtzee and of course I lost (can't break tradition).  This year, he wants to keep track of our total points - now that should be interesting!!  I am only 10 points behind him!!
The bees are totally swarming the bird feeder for some reason and are trying to dig their way through the seed and it looks like they are trying to get inside the feeder.  I am thinking they want to use it for a home so I swatted them away and took it down for awhile.  There is a ton of food now on the ground from all the bee activity and the birds are just going to have to clean if up from there - how crass!!  I have never seen the bees do this before but Charlotte wandered over and said her feeder was full of bees!!  What is with that!!
Happy hour came around and John and I retired to the "backyard" to watch the sunset then headed into the bus for another go around with Yahtzee!!  Don't Ask!!
Jan called tonight and I had a good chat with her.  All is well on the home front and that is good.  She had a quiet New Year and also hit the pillow before the midnight hour!!
John cooked supper then watched some football while I crawled into bed with my book.  I am super stiff and sore from the hike so have taken some tylenol and said a prayer!!
We are off to Box Canyon tomorrow as it is Keith's last day of holidays before he has to work again.  Now that should be fun.  I hope I can get into the jeep with all my sore joints!!

Saturday, December 31/2011

I am up before the sun again today. It is warm again today (no need for the heater) and the birds are already squabbling at the feeder.  The coyotes are not too far away as they have decided to vocalize this morning as well.
Charlotte and I decided last night that we would go hike the Hassayamppa River Preserve today so that should be fun.  It is going to be girls only and hopefully we get to see some different kinds of birds.  Charlotte has never been there before and I know that she will enjoy it.
John and I have invited Keith and Charlotte for New Years Eve supper and to watch the Canada vs USA hockey game tonight.  John will bbq salmon so it should be awesome!!
There was a change of plans today as Charlotte found out that the zero gravity chairs she has wanted for a while are on sale today so her and Keith are going into Phoenix to pick a couple up.  She is totally jealous of our two chairs and I keep having to lock ours away in the trailer for fear that she sneaks over here under the cloak of darkness and steals them!!  Now I won't have to worry!!
John decided we needed to go on a short jeep ride out into the desert today so we loaded up and took off.  He wanted to find the trail that goes from here and takes you into Wickenburg.  We found it and were back at camp two hours later.  Keith and Charlotte had just arrived home from their shopping trip and were both sitting in their new chairs - NICE!!
Being that it was a bit too early to start supper, John and I took Trueman's and Cowboy's Christmas presents to them.  We jumped back into the jeep and headed for his mine. Another roadrunner ran across our path on the way out to the mine and when I mentioned it to Trueman he said he has seen it out here a lot.   When we arrived he was just about to eat but had a new years beer with us first.  He had been busy running some dirt and showed us the bits of gold he had panned and it was most interesting to see.  He told me he had about $200.00 dollars worth in the pan.  He had the pan sitting on the tailgate of the truck and was just about to move it when Hogan jumped up, knocked the pan and the gold went flying!!  OMG!!!  Little bits of gold covered the tail gate of the truck and Trueman and I spent the next few minutes sweeping the tailgate and trying to recover his day's labor.  We managed to get it all back into the pan and I apologized several times for the dog.  It is a good thing that Trueman is a kind, gentle soul as he said he was only a split second behind the dog in his attempt to get the pan out of the way and did not appear all that upset or mad.  Bless his prospering heart!! He said he thought both dogs were going to jump up!! We stayed and chatted with him for about an hour, then headed back to camp to start our supper.
Keith and Charlotte wandered over and John started a campfire.  We sat around it waiting for the potatoes to cook and once the salmon was on, Keith started the asparagus.  Supper was awesome and with strawberry shortcake for dessert, the meal was over and it was time to wait for the arrival of the New Year.

Heading out 

Following the trail in the wash

Hogan checking out the green grass!

Old Willys we met on the trail

I think we got us a convoy!

Heading down into Wickenburg

Pink house, Pink 4x4!

Gold in Trueman's pan

We watched the arrival from Time Square in New York City which was really two hours before midnight here in the Sonoran Desert but that was alright.  We sat around the fire for a while longer then Keith and Charlotte headed home and I headed into bed.  I think John was the only one that actually was awake for the midnight hour here in Arizona!!  Happy New Year!!

Friday, December 30/2011

Sunrise this morning!

I was up before the sun was this morning!!  Actually God must have decided that Marie did not need to sleep too much last night as I was awake A LOT!!  I guess it was just "one of those nights".  Oh well, I got to watch the sunrise this morning and what a beauty it was! The sun is shining now, there are tons of birds at the feeder all chirping and making happy sounds and it looks like it is going to be another awesome day.
At this rate, I will have a decent tan by the time I get back home.  I noticed on the weather reports from home that there has been snow and freezing rain making the roads hell to drive on.  Lots of accidents and now with the temperatures falling (-13C this morning) everyone now has to deal with the cold too. Last night many roads were "not recommended for travel" so I won't think about Jace being out there in his semi on those hellish roads.
I went into town today to pick up a few things for John so that he could continue to work on hooking up the solar panels.  I quickly got into my shorts and tank top, grabbed my book and a glass of water and settled down to do some tanning while I read.
Keith wandered over and said that Charlotte had gone shopping so he and I decided to go Cholla hunting as I really would like to have a bit of a solar powered lighted feature in the yard.  He wanted to get in a bit of a bike ride (he is into his riding like an addict!!) before going so I said come over when you are ready.
With the bike ride over, we headed off, leaving John busy with the wiring on the panel box and Hogan mad because we were not going to take him.  His poor paws would be loaded with cholla stickers as they are brutal.  Keith and I were covered with them by the time we were finished but we managed to get quite a variety of shapes and sizes. Surely one of them will do for a yard feature for me.
Back at camp, Charlotte had arrived home and John was still mucking with the wiring.  He is busy talking to himself and asking questions and after living with this man for so long, I know that he is not really asking me these questions and not really expecting an answer and that, is probably a very good thing!!
It was soon time to "sit in the back yard" and watch the setting sun.
John started a fire and we sat around it for and hour or so with Keith and Charlotte then headed into the bus for supper and to finish a game of Yahtzee we had stated earlier today.  Don't even ask who won!!

Thursday, December 29/2011

It looks like it is going to be another hot day today.  The sun is shining and the door is open.  Again today, there is no need for the heater to be on.
I went into town again today to pick up some packages at the UPS store, stopped and picked up another printer cartridge as we have gone through the one by printing so many Yahtzee score cards, did some running for John to Napa then a quick stop at the grocery store and I was home sweet home.  On the way into town I noticed four more campers had moved into the area and being a long weekend, am not really surprised.
On the way home, the rather elusive roadrunner ran across the highway in front of me and I am always thrilled to see them.  A rather unique bird that does not fly - he runs.  I almost expected Wile E. Coyote to be following him!!  Beep Beep!!
John was busy hooking up the batteries to the solar panels and says that we just may be running on all three panels by by tomorrow.  Now won't that be interesting.  We will not have to us the generator so much.
He needs a few more parts and I will pick those up in town tomorrow as I have to go back to the UPS store as they gave me someone else's package (like I would be checking the label!!).
Happy hour arrived and John and I set up our chairs "in the back yard" and simply enjoyed the warmth of the sun and the view of our very own Saguaro Forest and the hills.  It really is quite a site.
Keith wandered over for a while and we enjoyed chatting with him (as we always do).  Charlotte was busy reading so did not join us. I was almost a little jealous as I too am involved in a very good mystery - one that is hard to put down.  Together the three of us watched the sun set then went in and watched a bit of Junior Hockey.  It really is good hockey.
Feeling the need for a little grease (after all that turkey), I made french fries for supper with some fish and finally got my grease "fix"!!
I took my book to bed and called it a night.  I have a murderer to catch before I sleep!!