This & That

Well, it's been a LONG time since I've made a post. Got back home from my Arizona trip March 6, 2009. It doesn't look like I'm going to go south this winter. Sherry's still working and going alone isn't much fun, although I always enjoy the thrill of taking off and being "on the road". So maybe a short trip to the Palm Springs area or even Quartzite in January. We'll see.

As it is, I'm just happy to be here and be relatively healthy. This year they found a small cancer on my chest that they removed. Then in the process of checking me out decided I had gallbladder cancer (which I didn't) so they removed my gallbladder. Then they thought I'd had a "silent heart attack" (which I hadn't!). So in the end, I'm pretty healthy, feel good and have NONE of the bad stuff the Dr.'s thought I had!! In fact, an angiogram showed I only had a below normal amount of plaque in one artery! Nothing else. Pretty damned fantastic!

I just got back last week from a trip to see the kids in Ojai again and got to watch my oldest grandson, Alex, who is 17 and a senior in high school play one of his last football games. I had never seen him play H.S. football although I used to watch him in the earlier leagues. Anyway he was a starting wide receiver for the Ojai Rangers and made the first (and only) sack of the game and helped to win their homecoming game! He's really an all around athlete. He hopes to go to San Jose State on a baseball scholarship. Then my 2 younger grandsons, Austin 11, and Nick 8 also play football and I got to watch both of them play games. And my 2 kids are doing well down there and have happy, busy lives.

Just had the yard at my house re landscaped. It was in bad shape after I had 3 trees removed over the last few years. So now all the tree stumps are gone, barkdust is gone from the front yard and in it's place are rocks! Neighborhood cats won't use rocks as their "litter box" like they tried to do with the bark!

Here it is Monday Feb 23, 2009. Since my last post in the snowy weather of Willcox, I have travelled back west. I spent another 4 nights in Gila Bend, mostly to try and get over a cold I got before journeying up to Sun City to see Charlie. Then I spent 6 nights in Sun City visiting with him and, surprise! his son Denny who came out from DesMoines, Iowa for a couple of weeks. I was most glad to see Denny. He's a heck of a nice guy, about my age, owns a fifth wheel almost identical to mine and a Dodge truck with the Cummins powerhorse Diesel engine, just like me. And he brought his mom with him - she was Charlie's wife at one time, and although she's 83, she's got a mind as sharp as can be and she knows what she knows! Nice visit. Also got to have dinner a couple nights with Sherry's sis, Peg. We had a real good visit. I enjoy visiting with her.

So then, Saturday Feb. 21st. I left and headed west. I've been in Quartzsite camping in the Plomosa Rd. area about 6 miles north of town on BLM land. It's free, but there are no services, water or even a place to dispose of your garbage. But it's the wide open spaces with mountains in the distance so I do like it. The picture above is a picture I took when I got here. After tomorrow night I'll start out to arrive in Ojai, probably Friday to visit my kids. I'm excited to do that!! I have 3 grandsons that I never get to see enough and Ward & wife just bought a house so everything is looking up out there!!

GOOD MORNING FROM SUNNY ARIZONA!

Yikes! Time sure gets away from you when you're having fun! Know what I mean?
It's Saturday morning, Feb. 7th. as I write this and so again it's been a few days since I made a post. Actually the last few days haven't done much. But Monday I made a trip to Chiricahua National Monument park about 30 miles south of here and did a little hiking as well as learning more about Apache history.

Here's a picture I took of myself at a fire lookout tower on top of 7,310 ft. Sugarloaf Mtn.

It wasn't a real long hike, but it was just right for me and I was happy to have made it!

Below are some more pics of the trip. Much of the park is about rock formations as you can see.

Yesterday, Monday, I visited Ft. Bowie. It is a park administered by the National Park Service. But it's way remote! To get to it requires a 10 mile drive on a dirt road, then a 1 1/2 mile hike up the side of the mountain through desert and mountain scrub, dry washes and so forth.

NOTE: YOU CAN CLICK ON ANY PIC HERE TO ENLARGE IT AND SEE LOTS OF DETAIL.

In the photo the Fort was laid out from the small building you see bottom center. It is a ranger station. There were actually two forts built. The first burned, and the second eventually contained at least 29 structures, including a hospital, barn, officers and enlisted quarters, mess hall, store as well as a large parade ground. (All military facilities HAVE to have a parade ground for marching, inspections, ceremonies,etc!).
The first Fort was constructed starting in 1862. The second was abandoned in 1894 after Geronomo was captured and the Apache Wars were pretty much ended. old historic cavalry/indian sites, and a cemetery. After I left the ranger station (the building in the photo), I hiked up hill further, to get to the very top of the hill where a person has a commanding view in all directions. My legs were getting pretty rubbery feeling by the time I got back to the trail head!

The fort was built for two main purposes: to protect travellers and the U.S. Mail through Apache Pass and to protect Apache Springs, the ONLY water source in the region. The cavalry intended to prevent the indians from getting any water, hoping to eradicate them. That in turn led to many, many bloody battles. In those days, the Apache's were mostly on the warpath and they killed with abandon. The main U.S.Mail route from Memphis/St. Louis went right up through Apache Pass and over to San Francisco, a distance of 2,812 miles that took 25 days. The mail was hauled by Butterfield Overland Mail, who had won a $600,000 annual contract to do this job. They also hauled passengers on the stagecoach. Postage for a letter on this trip was 10 cents; passengers paid $150 apiece, no meals included! Butterfield had a stage station very close to the Fort. So water was important to them too, for both passengers and the animals pulling the stage.

Anyway, tons of history and it was a good trip. Today I'm going to the Chiricahua National Monument listed as 12,000 acres of rocks! (They're BIG).

I'm going to have to extend my stay in this area. So many interesting places I want to see. Most, if not all, are directly related to the cavlary, indians and cowboys.

My water line to the RV froze last night (it's just a white hose). So I turned on my onboard water pump and used my own water this morning. I'm sure the hose will thaw with the sun and be just fine.


This is a "thatched Wickiup" that the Apache's lived in.

The Springs

Don't cha love it when you can just change your plans whenever you want? That's what I did this morning. I was going to Benson but the Escapee RV Park there (SKP CooP) was full, so I found another RV park here in Willcox that has all the Cox Cable TV channels I need so I can watch the Super Bowl and here I am!

The picture at the right was taken about 5 minutes ago at 6:15 pm MST looking to the west. It shows most of the fifth wheel and part of my truck behind a sun shelter that covers the picnic table. I like it here. Not too many other Rv's, lots of wide open spaces. But this is high desert country I found out this morning. I'm at 4,200 ft. elevation which explains the cooler temps here compared with Phoenix. Hi today was around 68, low last night about 27. Phoenix was probably around 80 today. Big diff! And this is cowboy country. Here in Willcox is the Rex Allen museum - Rex Allen was a cowboy actor back in the late 40's early 50's. When I was about 6 and 7 my friends and I went to the "matinee" every Saturday to watch cowboy movies including Rex Allen's. So anyway I can identify with him and that era. The town here has tried to make the most of its association with him. He grew up here. To the left is another picture I took this morning looking to the east or northeast from Fort Willcox. Nothing but open prairie with mountains in the background.


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Ok a new post is long overdue so here's a summary of the last week and a half or so.
I did leave Quartzsite on Friday Jan. 23rd. and ended up in Gila Bend again staying at Holt's RV park and truck stop. Nice place for the money, but no tv so it isn't somewhere I'd want to stay long term since I don't have satellite tv this trip. On Monday the 26th. I went up to Sun City and spent the day with Charlie and later he and I and Peggy went out to dinner after which I drove back to Gila Bend. On the morning of Wednesday the 28th. I left Gila Bend and drove the 50 miles or so to the SKP Coop RV park in Casa Grande. Again it's part of the Escapees rv club, very clean, well run and reasonable. But this one was very tight and felt exactly like what you might think of as a trailer park. Spaces too small and close together for my blood. I need more room! So after 2 nights there, I left this morning, Friday the 30th. planning on going to Benson again to the SKP park there, but ended up coming clear over to Willcox for the night to see what is here. Tomorrow I plan to return to Benson and settle in there for the super bowl. After a few days there, I'm thinking seriously I may head over to California to see the kids for a few days and then work my way home. Sherry's ex in laws, Willard & Bernita Nofziger left Lebanon in their fifth wheel yesterday and I think they're somewhere around Palm Desert so may try to see them enroute. So that's about it for now.