Tuesday, December 13/2011

It rained off and on throughout the night and this morning, it is still raining.  The fog remains although not nearly as thick as it was yesterday.  It is a good thing that the temperature is reasonable as it would be so much worse if  it decided to hover around freezing!!  I shall be thankful for the dampness and not the cold!!
Mr Woodpecker was here briefly this morning but did not stay long.  The little finches have not made an appearance and I suspect that they are huddled somewhere out of this rain awaiting for the sun to return - perhaps tomorrow!!  It looks like this will be another "stay in the bus" day and since I am into a real good novel, I am totally ok with that!!  Hogan will hang out on the dash making sure that all is well with the world outside the big windows then will rest in front of the heater - he loves the heat!!
As predicted, it rained the whole day and it is bringing back memories of the first year we stayed here and it rained for a whole week!!  The washes were really running then and it was fascinating to watch.
It is a good thing that we have internet and TV for days like this.  We played six games of yahtzee and I won't bother you as to the results!!  I will keep playing because I have an indomitable spirit - I could win - it could happen!

Monday, December 12/2011

Mr Woodpecker hanging upside down drinking

New bird, don't know what it is yet!

I am up early today and am quite surprised that I can actually move without hurting!!  My thigh muscles are a bit vocal and would rather stay in bed but all in all, I am able to mobilize well.  Not bad for an out of shape, over weight, middle aged woman!!
The woodpecker is back at the hummingbird feeder and I have finally got a pic of him practically turning himself upside down to reach the nectar.  I have my very own gong show just outside the bus!!
It is cloudy today and looks like rain.  I am supposed to be going into town today to pick up a few things but I think I will wait to see what the weather is going to be like.  The jeep currently is roofless and I have no desire to get into town then have it rain on me so that I am soaking wet by the time I get back to the bus.  Nothing good will come of that!!
It did start raining and John and I made a mad dash out to the jeep to put the bikini top and the doors back on.  I am not sure just how much rain this will keep out, but I am sure it will help.
As it turned out, the remainder of the day was filled with rain.  If this keeps up, I am sure that some of the washes will be running.  The fog rolled in during the afternoon and never left.  There was a bit of wind as well which made the day generally miserable.
I read my book, John was on the computer and eventually I allowed John to kick my butt in two games of Yahtzee (I am glad to see that I have not lost my losing ways)!!
John did not want to bbq tonight (can't imagine why) so I made a beef stew - comfort food on a damp, dreary day.
We did not see hide nor hair of Keith and Charlotte today and assumed that they too were holed up in their trailer staying warm and dry.  According to John, tomorrow's weather is supposed to be much the same.

Sunday, December 11/2011

early morning moon

sunrise

sunrise

walking path to Vulture Peak

Teddy Bear Chola - acres of this along the trail

Saguaro Cactus along the trail

Looking down on the way to the top of Vulture Peak

Almost at the top.  Standing on the "saddle" close to the peak.  Only
250 more feet to go but this is a vertical crawl to the peak!!

FINALLY on the top of Vulture Peak!!

Trueman's mine - view from the peak

Wickenburg,  Arizona - view from the peak

Yea, I really did make it to the peak!!

Keith and Charlotte - at the peak

Our campsite - from the peak

I slept in a bit this morning as the sun had already come over the hill!! I did notice that the moon was still out and I managed to take a few pics of it so hopefully at least one of them will look decent and will be posted.
The birds were busy and it was a treat to watch them.
Today, Keith and Charlotte want to climb Vulture Peak and have asked me to go with them.  I agreed but mentioned that I am sorely out of shape and may not be able to do the whole hike (which would totally suck) but they are good with that.  I think I may have to take some tylenol before I leave and maybe some for the trail and for sure some for after the trail.  I have warned John that he may have to carry me to bed and bring me all sorts of treats and he simply shakes his head and thinks I have lost my mind.  He wondered last night just how I would manage this herculean task since I had not really been walking much lately.  Go Big Or Go Home I say!!  I might not be so smart by the end of the day!!
The three of us were on the trail by noon and the day was absolutely lovely.  There was a minor breeze blowing - one that would guarantee to help when Charlotte's and my "moments" chose to rear their ugly heads!!  We walked through some old growth Teddy Bear Cholla and Saguaro and it was rather surreal to see the acres and acres of this vegetation.  Being too cold for the venomous  creatures (rattlesnakes, scorpions and spiders) we walked with the confidence of knowing that we would most likely not see anything like that.  The first part of the climb was relatively easy and not too steep.  Keith, with his "bad" ankles found this part to be the hardest.  Charlotte and I found that once the trail became steep, it was rather tough going for us.  There were several large boulders along the route and believe me, I took every chance I found to rest my screaming knees!!  We were not the only hikers on the trail today and I met a fellow from Edmonton.  It truly is a small world!!  We continued our steady climb, stopping to chat and take pictures along the way all the time marvelling at just how far we had climbed.  Vulture Peak is between 3660 and 4320 feet high (depending on what google site you access) and the real hard part is yet to come.  This includes many stair steps that are all different heights and can be difficult to maneuver.  I wasn't looking forward to this part of the trail!! My knees and hips were definitely getting a workout!!   Eventually we made it to the "saddle" where we took the opportunity to rest and prepare for the final 250 feet of vertical climb.  This is a hand over hand climb and one needs to be alert and careful.  Falling at this point on the trail is not an option!!  We slowly picked our route to the top and eventually reached the summit!!  Woo Hoo !!  We all snapped some photos then prepared for the climb off the summit.  This would actually be harder than the climb up as we were now heading pretty much straight down and it is one thing to climb up, but the climb down is a whole new ball game!!   We picked our path and at one point, were all taking separate routes down.  We all made it back to the saddle - all body parts intact!!
The remainder of the descent was pretty uneventful although one did have to be careful with the placement of their foot as there were several areas where the trail was nothing but loose rubble and that can cause a foot to slide, an ankle to turn and even a fall.  None of which holds any appeal!!
By the time the three of us got back to the trailhead, four hours had elapsed and we were the walking wounded.  Keith's ankles were toast and Charlotte's and my knees had had enough!!  All of us were glad to have successfully completed the trail and the climb to the peak!!  Time to go home and pop some tylenol!!
John and Hogan arrived back at the bus about 20 minutes after we arrived - they had been in town and gassed up the jeep.  Hogan was panting hard and had just completed his mile and a half run from the highway!!
It was good to be home and now it was time to relax.  Leftovers for supper then relaxing in bed - Life is good!!

Friday, December 9/2011

Full Moon Tonight!

moon through the mesquite tree

Moon with the palo verde tree

Moon above the saguaro and the hill

Hogan and I were up before the sun this morning and I was pleased to find that the temperature in the bus verged on comfortable.  It must have stayed fairly warm overnight.
The trash can for the cooking of the Christmas turkey is supposed to be available for pick up today so I should probably take a quick trip back into Wickenburg to pick it up.  Other than this, I really have nothing else planned for today however someone should probably climb up to the storage pods and get the Christmas decorations out.
I did make the climb and I did get the lights into the rather user unfriendly branches.  Now that my hands have quite bleeding (couldn't find the gloves), I will wait till the sun goes down to make the final judgement as to the placement of the festive colors.  I may have to do some rearranging once the lights are turned on and you can get a better idea of how they look.
John started a fire although it really was not necessary as the evening was more than pleasant.  There was no wind and it was not chilly at all.  The campfire however always supplies the right ambiance to the evening.  We sat around the fire while supper cooked then retired to the inside.
Trueman had stopped by during the afternoon and stayed to chat for a bit.  It is always nice to see him and today he was feeling pretty good.  He was hauling water as he is hoping to "run some dirt" through his trammel and hopefully find some gold.  I am hoping he will let me come and watch him and maybe I will even be lucky enough to get to help him.  I will experience my own Gold Rush Alaska!!
John worked on the placement of the batteries again today.  The vent is now in so I think all that needs to be done now is just put the batteries into the compartment and get them wired.  Then it will be a matter of getting the solar panels wired in and presto, we will have more solar power than we know what to do with.  It will be most interesting to see how long the power will last.  With way more capacity,  perhaps we will not have to turn the generator on at all!!
We were blessed with a full moon tonight so it was quite bright out as we sat by the fire.  I took some pics and they came out decent enough.

Saturday, December 10/2011

The new computer is up and running and today is the first day that I am doing the blogs with it.  Just imagine, all the keys work with this one and it hasn't shut itself off once!!  It has almost taken the fun out of this blog!!  It was always Marie against the computer and now with this new one, some of the anticipation as to will I or will I not get the blog finished, is gone.  Oh well, I guess this is progress!!
I was up early enough to enjoy the Christmas lights this morning as the sun had not come over the hill yet.  Of the two trees that I decorated, the one that sits at the back of the bus is by far the prettiest although John said last night that the big palo verde reminds him of the "flight of the bumble bee" and he likes that one best.  Charlotte says that the lights look like they are floating in the air at night and now that she said that, I think I like the Palo Verde better cause they do look like they are just hanging in the air!!

Wickenburg

John and Keith surveying the landscape

acres and acres of rock, saguaro and cholla

Hummingbird nest

cactus growing out of the rock

Winding our way through the canyon

sun going down

Sunset, Time to head home

The hummingbird was up early too.  The sun had just barely risen over the hill when he was ready to start drinking from the feeder.  It wasn't long before Mr. Woodpecker was there as well.
Keith and Charlotte walked by the bus on their way "up the hill" to see what they could see and Hogan decided to walk with them today.   Off the three of them went and returned about two hours later.  Charlotte said that they had to stop a few times to take thorns out of Hogan's feet (thank heavens I gave them the pinchers) but they all managed well.
When they got back John decided that the four of us should take a cruise out into the desert and maybe we will be able to find that cave that we came across two years ago.  Keith would really like that!!
With the jeep packed and ready (I now often think of Gilligan and his three hour cruise at this point), we headed out.   Hogan was staying home and I think after his walk, he was rather content to do just that although he did have a look of disbelief when we called him into the bus!!
We travelled through some incredible terrain with the best being through some pretty tight washes where the rock formations were carved by years of water erosion.  We did a few steep climbs on some loose shale but the jeep managed well.  We passed through acres and acres of Saguaro and Teddy Bear Cholla and vowed that we had to come back as there were several "good" ones available for making crafts with.   John volunteered to be the driver on these cholla hunting missions!!  Keith and Charlotte have ones that they put solar lights inside of and they look lovely so I am on a mission to have them show me how they did it and will take some back home for a summer project.
We eventually found the Hassayampas River and Morristown and found the trail that would lead us back home.  It has been two years since we rode this trail and although one knows the direction back to camp, the challenge is to find the trail that will actually get you there and not into some dead end wash.   We saw the sun set and moon rise and the need for headlights became apparent.   The jeep had been running well all day but it too must have been getting tired because it decided that it no longer wanted to provide us with head lights!!  (A three hour cruise!!  Shut up Gilligan!!)  Something in the dimmer switch John said.  This was not much of a worry because we do have those big Light Force lights on the jeep and they provided lumination  when we needed it!!  Now we still had to find the proper trails and with the help of Keith's phone and the GPS we were able to make it back onto Vulture Peak Road and back to the camp.  We were out for five hours and were glad to be home.
John built a fire and we all sat around it for a while then Keith and Charlotte went home and John cooked our supper.  All in all, another good day!!