A very Merry Christmas to one and all....

Our Location: Saddle Mountain BLM, Tonopah, Arizona

Today's pics are sunrise, lunch and sunset. Sorry but I didn't take any other pictures at all today.

Start of sunrise between 7 - 7:30 am

Merry Christmas to all! May this day bring the love and warmth of family and friends to you and yours. 

Opposite the sunsets, the skies go from red to yellow

A coolish Christmas morning here in Saddle Mountain BLM as the temperature reached 37F/ 2C over night.  I’m sure I heard the sleigh bells ring as St. Nick passed overhead much earlier around 5 am. A Merry Christmas wish from daughter Courtney about an hour after that had me thinking it was time to put the iPad aside and get out of bed. A beautiful sunrise brought the day to a awesome start between 7 - 7:30 am. HRH Miss Kitty and I started the day curled up on the couch waiting for Mr Heater to warm the Igloo. Actually I was curled on the couch, she sat on the chair looking at me as if to say, well, aren’t you going to feed me yet? Which I did when I was making my hot chocolate like I do pretty much every morning. You would think she would know the routine by now. 

Enough cloud cover to make it interesting today

Around 7:45 am I headed outside, as Riley was still sleeping, to start my holiday phone calls to the great white north of Ontario, and of course to the areas of Southern Ontario that my two other daughters call home. Wishes and warm tidings were exchanged and passed around  in all of those calls. Nothing like hearing the voices of loved ones at any time, not just on this day.

Riley rolled out and while I was finishing up my phone calls and she pulled out some Grand Biscuits for breakfast. They were purchased for the occasion so it was nice to have a treat this morning. Although I will admit we’ve treated ourselves a few times this winter season to these biscuits.

We have enough chicken left over for a couple of sandwiches

After that I did a bit of tidying up and finally about 10 am got out of my jammies. Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not ever in my jammies that long. However I was a lazy bum this morning and enjoyed it to the hilt. 

Lots of veggies but my favourite is the stuffing

We decided on a walk this morning, and walked about two miles. Up one road, down another, with Courthouse Road adding the last of the triangle. On our easy walk we met Sonya from Connecticut. She travels with her youngest son, Josh and dog Jack in a van type camper. We finally made friends with Jack before we left our chat with Sonya. We chatted for about 15 minutes and enjoyed the interaction with other folks.

I left the date so you would know I wasn't just showing the same pics over and over

Back home I started prepping lunch. I opted to bypass my salad today as I still pretty full from my 3 biscuit breakfast. I put the whole chicken on the Weber around 1:30 pm and turned it twice. It was done to golden perfection and isn’t in the least bit dry. We added Thyme, Parsley, and Oregano before tossing it on the grill. It was just about ready by 2:45 pm at which time I added two packets. One of mixed veggies including fresh green beans, fresh mushrooms, spaghetti squash, celery, peppers, and carrots. In the other packet I added some butter and a bit of honey to some Acorn squash. While those were cooking Riley made some stove top stuffing. That my friends was our Christmas lunch. We have a bit of left over chicken and everything else was cleaned up with no leftovers. 

Maybe Chevy should be buying some of these pics.

After dishes I once again donned my shoes and headed off for the approx mile round trip to Courthouse Road and back. I didn’t over eat but I was certainly full and the walk made me feel much better. 

Awesome, isn't it?

The sky was overcast all day and the temps didn’t get very warm, only in the mid 60’s/ 16-18C, with a hint of wind, nothing you could actually say was wind but the hint was there. Since there wasn’t any sunshine to sit in for warmth I had to put on my fleece sweater and my Santa Hat while I sat outside reading and cooking lunch. We left the outside door open but not any windows. I closed the door when it reached 4 pm as it was cooling off quickly. Now as I sit outside taking pics of the sunset at 5:30 pm the temps are still dropping. The sky has cleared up some with some blue showing more now that the sun has left the sky. A nice light yellow seems to be the colour of the moment. 

Our plans are to kind of pack up a few things tomorrow but nothing much. We will be heading to Buckeye on Wednesday to do a stock up shop before we head out on Thursday. I also want to top up the Dogsled’s fuel bowl before I hook up as I find it much easier to do so. I find that it’s often difficult enough to get to the diesel pumps with just the truck as some people have no concept of what the green handled pumps are for and park their little cars in the middle of the pumps to block anyone from using the other pump. When I’ve got the Igloo behind me it makes it a bit more difficult to maneuver around those folks. Which is the reason we aren’t taking the Igloo with us to stock up and then head out. We aren’t pressed for time so we can take our time and do it over two days. Less hassle, less stress. I like less stress.

A plane left his calling card in the night sky too.

So there you have it, our Christmas Day. Peaceful, bountiful and quiet. We like that. We hope you’ve all had a wonderful day, feeling the love and affection of family and friends, enjoying the warmth of the season in a way that was comfortable for you. While it seems we can’t have peace in the world, I’m happy to settle for the peace we’ve found here at Saddle Mountain during out stay.

A birthday greeting goes to cousin Barry, who celebrates his birthday today. A Christmas baby that was definitely a unique gift, he is truly one of a kind! Happy Birthday Barry!!

Thanks for stopping by, feel free to drop a comment. 

Merry Christmas, goodnight from Saddle Mountain, Tonopah, Arizona

Until next time…take care, be safe,


Deb