California Dreaming

We headed out of Gila Bend a few days back and made for the California line. After getting through the traffic congestion at the Fruit Police stop on the border we made our way out to Grays Well Road and exited the freeway for a moment then headed back east to Ogilby Road. The overpass at Ogilby Road is having some work done so it is closed so there is no exit from the westbound lanes. We found us a quiet little spot north up that road about 4 odd miles and got set up for a stay here.

Blue and I took a spin looking for some folks that Ivan had told us were in the neighbourhood and met Skip and Jean and then Wandering Willy and had a visit with those good folks.

The next day our friends Mike and Shaunna Lewis and their horses/mule and well-trained mutts joined us here.

We headed south of the border to Los Algodones to order some glasses for Brenda and I and a new sign for Mike and Shaunna. Along the way, we managed to find a lunch and a Margarita and a Cerveso or two. Our glasses wouldn't be ready till the next day so we decided to pop back down the next day to have lunch and a few more Margarita's as well as make another run into Walmart for some necessary supplies.

Camp dogs

Back Yard

Lewis's sign

Algodones is always a great place to visit, the people are friendly, and so accommodating and very enterprising, it is nice to see, although the culture is a little different than north of the border. Good food, good music, and apparently good Margaritas.

Back in camp we enjoyed chewing the fat around the campfire both morning and night and were sad to see Lewis's pull out to start their journey north to the northern ranges this morning. Happy Anniversary you two.

Beginning the long journey home

Sunrises and sunsets in Arizona are spectacular and change so quickly, these two were taken with moments of each other this morning.

They are both panorama's made up of 3-5 separate shots but the colours are pretty much straight out of the camera. And this last one was taken just a short while later. Later in the afternoon Ivan himself came by for a little chin wag.

The Outpost at the South Pohl

We spent a couple of nights at the Clarks near Sunsite and then it was time to move on to the South Pohl. Ken and Verna have a nice spot in the shadow of Cochise's Stronghold and we moved into a little piece of heaven they have just down the road. Our friends Mike and Shaunna Lewis have a place right next door so we took advantage of having access to two great dog trainers to work on a few things with Max and Maya. I don't think they are going to head over to the police dog academy anytime soon but a few of their more annoying behaviours are less noticeable now anyway.

The view from the Outpost at the South Pohl

The weather here is a little different than down around Why, not long underwear cool but close, and if you were hanging around outside once the sun went down at 4:22PM, here in the shade of the Stronghold, you would probably rethink that statement pretty quickly.

One day we took a run down to Bisbee for a look around and stopped in at the Bisbee Breakfast Club in old Bisbee for a late breakfast. It is an interesting place with a lot of character. Pete Hanson suggested I read a series of books about a fictional sheriff in Cochise County by J.A. Jance and I took his advice so as we drove around Bisbee and the rest of the County it almost seemed familiar. Brenda was thinking I was going to drive into say hello to some of my fictional folks.

Another day I took a drive up to the actual Stronghold for visit. Interesting rock formations and easy to see how a whole band of Apache's could make themselves hard to find in there.

If those walls could talk I am sure they would have some tales to tell.

Cochise Stronghold

Another day Blue II and I took a run through the Dragoons and over Middlemarch Pass. We got far enough over that we could see Tombstone and the west side of the range. Lots of old mining trails and diggings in there and a pile of trails still to be explored.

A look back from the Pass across the valley towards the Chiricahua's

A big Century Plant 

I wasn't the only one out for a look around.

I made a trip into Wilcox to pick up a few baking supplies for Brenda and she whipped up two kinds of tarts and a couple batches of shortbread cookies so we enjoyed Christmas baking. Christmas Eve we gathered at the Big House and shared a plethora of appetizers including Natcho's, Chili Dip, ribs, sauteed shrimp, jalapeno poppers, and some of that baking then Verna treated us to a movie night.

Christmas Day we chilled around the campfire, and then it was back to the feed trough at the South Pohl for a Christmas Dinner with all the trimmings with Verna, Shaunna, Mike and new friends Micki, and Zach.

This morning we loaded Blue II after our morning fire and headed west. We had a supply stop at Costco in Tucson and then moved on to Gila Bend for the night. We are spending the night at the KOA here and I have to say, over the years we have stayed in a bunch of KOA's and this is far and away to nicest of the lot. Great Wifi, landscaping, dog parks, laundry, pool, showers and clubhouse, all top shelf facilities. We will flush our tanks, empty those that are full, fill those that are empty and then head further west into California tomorrow.

Sunrise from the Outpost of the South Pohl this morning.

Moving On!

We had a great time hanging out at Gunsight Wash, just chilling and watching the world go on by. The weather was great and we had a couple of good meals, one at Estrella's in Ajo, a great burger, and then down to Why to Granny's Kitchen where I had some pretty good chicken enchilda's and Brenda had another great burger. They are only open Sunday to Friday 6AM to 2PM though.

We are still getting used to being back on the road, and all that comes with it like laundromats and somewhat limited internet. Amazing when we were last footloose and fancy free, 5GB was doable, but now it seems like that is not enough to get us through the week let alone the month. Feeling our way around the rig and figuring out our water usage, those skills never go away it seems though, we had things pretty well timed our black tank was just about full and our water tank was empty about the same time. Coincidentally we were moving on today so we stopped in the Coyote Howls park in Why and dumped the tanks and then headed East.

We have friends here in Pearce, Mike and Janna, and we are living it up here tonight, full hook-ups, even mooching their wifi connection, after a great dinner, and visit. It has been a couple of years since we got together with them but what with Janna's great blogging and Facebook we never missed a beat, felt like we could pick up our conversations just where we dropped them way back when.

Why Not

This morning we thought we should wander around the neighbourhood a little. We loaded the muttski’s in the truck and headed south for the Organ Pipe National Monument.

Ajo Mountains

Thought we better give it a look see before Donald Trump turned it into Walmart distribution centre or something. It bumps up against the Mexican border and just across the border the Mexican government has a couple more of these protected areas creating a pretty good sized biosphere. We poked around in the Visitor Centre but passed up on the 21 miles drive through the heart of the monument, we did that back in 2008 and I am sure not much has changed since then. We had to cross through a Border Patrol checkpoint but it was pretty relaxed, just a couple of young fellows wishing us a good day and waving us on through. In the past here at Gunsight Wash we were struck by the frequency of the Border Patrol vehicles roaming around but today was the first time we have seen any in the area. Not sure what that means either folks are not coming this way or maybe they are just not coming anymore.

We stopped in at the Why Not Travel Store to see if they had any potatoes but just chips, not much else there when it came to groceries. But they do have some beautiful murals there. And then it was back to Dogpound Anywhere to while away the afternoon.

Ajo

It was a windy, but sunny day down here at Gunsight Wash today.  Temps in the mid teens Celsius I guess around 50F, but the wind made it seem much cooler. We just hung out in camp for the most part although I did run into Ajo to mail some Christmas cards and pick up a little BBQ sauce for our country style ribs. Not sure why they call them that, though they were good, there were no ribs to be found anywhere in them.

I had took a couple of shots of two of the murals that are around Ajo, there are many more.

 And then stopped for a visit at the mine pit museum. The fellow/historian who was there reminded me of my Dad, he had a story for every picture in the place and was one of those fellows who probably was pretty good at filling in the blanks when the record was a little short on details. He made it almost sound exciting to work at the bottom of that big hole in the dead of summer when it was about 160F down in the pit. Not sure at those temps if you need to smelt the ore to get the copper out, or if it just runs out and you ladle it into buckets.

A couple of visits today from our friends from the Air Force, but nobody right down on the deck pretending to shoot us up. Got a couple of responses from Al and Ivan about boondocking near Bisbee and it seems that is not as easy as it sounds. We might just have to stay a little farther afield and just make day trips down into that country. The Queen Mine RV Park in Bisbee apparently has a low bridge to go under to get into and Dogpound Anywhere is not exactly a low bridge kind of rig, but we will figure out something.

Why, of Course

Blogging is a little different on a Mac than a PC when you are away from the internet. Sure miss Live Writer so I am trying writing this in the note App on my Mac and copying it over to blogger when I get online.

Well the deal is done, Dogpound South is no more, and Dogpound Anywhere has slipped her bonds. We pulled out of Thunderbird Farms early Saturday morning and headed for the desert. We started our boondocking adventures back in 2008 with friends at Gunsight Wash near Why, Arizona and thought why not go back there. It is on the road to Rocky Point/Puerto Penasco, Mexico just north of the Organ Pipe National Monument. The highway south is a little busy throughout the day but at nights there is nothing here but the foxes and a few high flying fighter jets using the range to the north.

A-10 Warthogs

Once in a while the A-10 Warthogs make a run on our rig, I do think they use us as pseudo tanks as they sometimes are only a few dozen feet above our satellite dish. We have a few neighbours here but as usual in the desert they are a couple of hundred yards away as most folks out here are refugees from RV Parks and like their space. A couple of days ago we wandered over and had a visit with some folks from Alberta who were hiding out here in the desert to kill a week until they were allowed back into their membership park over at Yuma Lakes.

We also ran into Ajo to do a little grocery shopping although I think the prices there drove Brenda away. She said butter was over $6.00 a pound and as our longtime readers know Brenda does know her butter so it she says that is outrageous it is outrageous. The only thing I noticed was a bottle of Crown Royal that was $19.95 in the Walmart in Maricopa was going for $30.95 at Olsens IGA in Ajo, pretty high markup so I am glad I didn’t need any.

I took a run about 10 or so miles west up the wash yesterday with Blue II, it is a nice drive, smooth, if a little dusty. Lots of shady overhanging trees but nothing that got in the way. I didn’t see a soul out there but did spot some far off dust that might have been Border Patrol folks. One thing that is different than a few years back, we are not seeing many Border Patrol units heading out into the desert here. Years back when it was full moon they were back and forth all night, even hauling horses out past our rigs. Maybe the traffic has moved elsewhere or slowed down considerably.

We are not sure how long we will be here or really where we are heading next although we have never really been down around Bisbee country before so might like to wander over that way for a look see. Time to figure out where the Bayfield Bunch and Ivan and Hailey hung out down that way. Close enough to see the sights but far enough off the beaten path to miss the crowds at night. One thing about the desert the sunsets and sunrises are pretty nice as well as the Super Moon

Sunrise

Sunrise

Super Moon setting

Sunset

Almost

Sunday the 26th

We are just waiting on a couple of final things and we are out of Dogpound South, Brenda is getting the inside all shiny and clean, I am tinkering in the shed and around the yard to make sure everything is ready for our departure. I have drawn a diagram of the irrigation system and tried to give DPS's new owner a good idea of how things work. For the most part, the manuals are all here so he will be able to figure it out himself. We aren't taking a lot of things with us so about 3 or 4 rubbermaid containers thrown on the little ATV trailer should suffice. We will leave that and our Buick at a friends place and come down late next spring, Mayish, and repatriate it all to Canada.

Well, today we checked the last box of things to do, passed our septic inspection, pumped the tank and with that completed there is only the money to change hands and the papers to be signed. We sign ours on Wednesday morning so it is looking like Thursday is the day we hit the road. For the most part, we are packed and tomorrow will move those few things out onto our trailer, tarp them over and move our gear into Dogpound Anywhere (DPA).

Sunset tonight

I am taking the Buick into the big city to get a trailer hitch, in the morning, and make one last Costco run before we head for the wide open spaces. We have a kind of a plan on where to go to start with but I will save that for a later update. Hate to give too much warning to folks, this way they don't have a long time to plan their escape.

Max likes a good sunset as well.

Packing our Tent

Not much exciting going on here at Dogpound South. We have been getting DPS ship-shape for its new owner. The deal hasn't closed yet but we have dealt with the conditions and I guess until the money actually changes hands that is as close as it gets to being done. We had to fix a couple of minor issues but all in all the place was in good shape.

This week as well as finishing up those outstanding issues we have been trekking over to Gold Canyon in the East Valley to Superstition Chiropractic for Brenda's Calmare or Scrambler Therapy. It is one of the only things she has found that relieves her nerve pain caused by the Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).

Sunrise this Morning

 Today we had an early afternoon appointment and we took the opportunity to slip down the road a couple of hundred yards from the clinic for a visit with Renè and Jeanette, who are staying nearby for a couple of weeks. They fed us a great lunch and we caught up with our visiting. I was so busy visiting I didn't get any pictures so all I have for today is a couple of shots from DPS.

Sunset Tonight

I started this blog a week or so ago and never got it finished. Everything at DPS is ready to go now, except for one more inspection that needs to be completed. We expect that things will all be in order by mid-next week and we are hoping to close on November 30.

Monday afternoon we got visitors here at DPS, Mike and Shaunna Lewis, and their travelling menagerie. They had a couple of horses, a mule, and three of the best-behaved dogs you have ever imagined. Guess that is what happens when the owners are both RCMP K-9 handlers and trainers. Max and Maya just sat back and observed for the most part but I don't really think any of that training is going to rub off on them, they are free spirits and their owners are not too good as dog trainers.

The Lewis's were in transit to their place down near Pearce, Arizona and used their visit with us to stock their pantry. We sure enjoyed having them and sharing stories around the campfire.

Wednesday we put some new tires on the Buick and it is ready for its journey back north of the Medicine Line next spring/summer, so just a few more things to get done and Dogpound South (DPS) will be in our rearview mirror. What is next, we are not sure, but it probably includes a trip to Why, and maybe into SE Arizona, one part we have never visited much. After that we will have to see where the wind blows us, but for this winter I guess Arizona and Southern California are on the horizon.

New Adventures in the Pipeline

Six and a half years ago we made a move that surprised some folks. We were visiting friends in Thunderbird Farms and stumbled on a little single wide trailer that looked like a great base to do some riding around Arizona from. We jumped on it and started hauling our horses south for the winters. We saw a lot of country, met some great folks, had some interesting adventures, and until Brenda's knee surgery in 2014 had a great time. Long-term readers will know that surgery wasn't exactly successful and Brenda has been unable to get back on her pony. I continued riding here the next couple of winters but it wasn't the same without my partner. Last winter we left the horses at home and brought an ATV, Blue II down with us, thinking that would allow us to get out into the desert again together. Well, it is not Brenda's favourite mode of transportation but, she is being a good sport and spending some time bumping around the country with me. We traded off our Living Quarters horse trailer and acquired a toy hauler that allows Blue II to travel with us and converts to a pretty nice dining room when he is on the ground.

Dogpound Anywhere (DPA)

So not needing pens and not needing a place to keep our ponies led us back in time to the days before Dogpound South when we were just wandering the highways and byways finding a lonely desert location and enjoying the winters down here in the Sunbelt. So we rigged up our new Road Warrior and the next thing Dogpound Anywhere was born. I mean what is not to like about spending our mornings with a view like this.

Watching the sunrise along a wash outside of Bouse, Arizona

We took our time getting south this year, something that is not all that easy when you are transporting horses, but Blue II will stand tied for just as long as you want and never a nicker or a stomping foot to get rolling. We started talking about the next chapter a little more seriously, and earlier this week decided to talk to our local realtor. Well, things moved pretty quickly after that, within 24 hours we had an interested buyer, and a day later an offer on the table. His number and our number were the same so if all goes well over the next few days Dogpound South will have a new proprietor and Dogpound Anywhere will shed her ties, lift her jacks and hit the trails again. Still, a couple of things to be done but I am hopeful none of them insurmountable and we will be onwards to continue John and Brenda's Incredible Adventure, down the road from Dogpound. We've got some old favourite spots to visit, some friends to drop in on, and no ties hopefully in a few weeks. We have conditionally sold the place as a turnkey deal, the new owner will just need his toothbrush and he is ready to go.

We loved this place, and it was great while we used it with the horses but those days are gone, and it is time someone else enjoyed it. We will miss a lot of things here, not the least of which is the people, and neighbours we have, and I am sure that unlimited internet will be missed as well, but I know Brenda won't miss keeping this acreage in order.

Chilling

Not much to report today, but what the heck I'm on a roll and this blog will probably double my production for the year, maybe more. We didn't do much today, a fire in the morning to watch the day begin and drink our tea, but no pictures, that passed the pre-publishing inspection, of that event. As usual we are eating like royalty here at Dogpound Anywhere (DPA), but I am not much on food pics so you will just have to trust me that you would be drooling.

Yesterday and today Brenda took a spin in Blue II with me, it is not her favourite way to travel but she is a trooper and trying to look like she is enjoying it. I like this Can-Am but it does have one flaw, it is a mid-engine outfit and that engine sits right between our seats and throws a pile of heat. Those who have followed our journey with Complex Regional Pain Syndrome know that heat is not a great thing, so that doesn't make it anymore comfortable for her either. This is beautiful country and the scenery starts just beyond where you can walk easily. Back in the day Meg and I walked a couple of hundred miles through these hills but now Blue II is doing the moving and I am just along for the ride.

Along the way we came upon this memorial, appeared to honour two folks but the pictures were so sun faded it was hard to tell.

We took about a 6 or 8 mile run through the hills past an old mine site and the memorial and then back to camp to chill for the rest of the day. I spent a little time mucking about with my extension tubes and camera and below is the result of that exercise.

Just a rock but it could be the Grand Canyon

Wouldn't want to step on this little bugger

Every day has to come to an end but here at DPA the end is always beautiful so I'll leave you with this.

Yellow Bird Country

Well we got done Brenda's mission in Vegas and headed south for a old favourite spot near Bouse, Arizona. Along the way we crossed through California for a short distance and caught this train headed for the coast.

It was pulling hard on an uphill grade and within 10 miles we passed two more hot on his tracks, literally.

We ran down through Lake Havasu, and stopped in Parker to pick up a few things and then we were off to the desert for a little down time before we head the rest of the way into Dogpound South. As I said this is maybe our favourite spot to decompress and get away from the rat race. Our solar panels keep us in power and we have a new WeBoost system for our cell phones so we might even have decent internet, although the country around here is pretty nice and we don't have much time for the internet anyway. Today we took a couple of runs on the Can-Am and saw some of the country, even passed through this high security gate with a keypad to open and shut it.

That was on our trip to the dump to get rid of our garbage, and then we headed around the mountain for a short ride. The desert is a beautiful spot and we enjoy seeing it in all its wonder.

Had a little excitement back at Dogpound North today, I won't bore you with the snow pictures but my Thermostat sent me an email about 4:30AM this morning to tell me we had a low temp situation going on back there, so I had a peak at the camera in the Furnace Room as sure as shooting the pilot light had gone out. I waited a while and then caught Matt on his way to work and he ran in and relite it for me so we have heat on the Northern Ranges as of this writing, but our furnace guy is headed there in the morning to give it the once over anyway, and probably replace the thermocouple as a little preventative maintenance.

It is a beautiful night in the desert tonight and thanks to WeBoost we are able to write this blog as Live Writer doesn't work so well in the Mac Ecosystem and it has to be done online.

One last shot of the moon tonight off our dining deck.

#VegasStrong

I said yesterday Brenda had a mission in Vegas, we headed in today, got set up in the Las Vegas RV Resort and then headed off to complete that mission. A few weeks ago she watched a news story about the massacre on October 1. She saw some fellow had made memorial crosses for all 58 victims of this modern day massacre and each one had an American flag on it. Four of the folks shot down that night were Canadians so she wanted to make sure that was recognized. Today we visited the site and she put Canadian Flags on those four folks crosses. Jordan McIldoon, Jessica Klymchuk, Calla Medig, and Tara Roe Rest in Peace and know that those of us north of Medicine Line are remembering you.

On the Road

We spent Thursday and part of Friday hauling stuff out to the rig and packing it away, loading things for our southern migration. About noon we figured we had enough stuff to keep us from blowing away in the wind so we fired up the truck and headed out. The plan is to do something we haven't ever tried before and just wander our way south, taking it easy. Our first stop was going to be somewhere around the border, Milk River or Shelby, but we didn't actually find a decent spot to pull off until pretty Dutton, Mt. There is a good little Rest Area just north of there that is quite a way off the road and makes a good place for a "rest". And a great spot for the dogs to get out and do a little exploring.

We got a good nights sleep and Saturday morning around 9 we got on the road, I told you it was going to be different, in the past we would have already been 4 or 5 hours down the road by that time. Just a while down the road we pulled into Great Falls and filled the Ford, and then headed into Denny's to fill our own tanks. Brenda had her favourite Chicken Fried Steak with white gravy and I tried something new called Sticky Bun Pancakes. They were Pecan Pancakes dressed with some sauce off of Sticky Buns and holy smokes they were good, fattening, and not healthy, but oh so good. After a leisurely breakfast we headed back out onto the highway. Our plan was to head for southern Montana and called it a day south of Dillon, at the Clark Canyon Reservoir. There are a few spots to camp there, we chose Horse Prairie and it was sure a hidden gem. Rumour has it that it can be windy in that valley but it was dead calm the whole time we were there.

A pano the lake from our spot, probably 6 or 8 images stitched together

Sticking with our theme of taking it easy we hooked up about 9 and got on the road soon after. Today we had a big day planned, about 5 1/2 hours on the road, Seems strange wandering along, hooking up in the daylight and setting up in the same, not my usual way of heading south, but usually I am racing to get to DPS to meet Brenda coming on the airplane, but this time she is traveling with me and long days and her CRPS don't fit well together. We stopped for the night at Cabela's in Lehi. We have pulled in here before both with and without the horses, they had corrals here for them but those have been removed so it is not a horse stopping spot anymore. We did slip into the store and pay the rent though with a few purchases.

This morning we got on the road about 9ish and headed south again, it was a nice driving day and we slipped down the Virgin River Gorge and pulled into our regular stopping place at the Clark County Fairgrounds in Logandale, Nevada. This is a great spot for those hauling horses, nice pens, some covered stalls and even an internet connection that works pretty well. We always throw some money in the honour box as even though we don't haul horses anymore we do use the internet and the power that is available. This a well kept place and I was a little disappointed to see that some folks don't appreciate it, looked like at least two trailers had been here recently and cleaned themselves out in the parking lot. There are great spots here for doing just that but these goofs just pushed it out the back onto the parking lot. I worked off my dinner shovelling a couple of idiots manure and shavings and piling it in the proper place if we don't look after these places they will not welcome transient horse folk anymore. And you just know that people that do that probably didn't put anything in the box either.

Logandale Sunset

Tomorrow we are heading for Vegas, Brenda has a mission in mind so we will have a short, 60 minute, drive day and get that job done.

Hey look at that two entries, one month.