Bit of a rant, errands and nicer day than expected....

Our Location: Empire Ranch, Vail, Arizona

 

We seem to be in a suddenly popular spot. Saturday 5 rigs (besides us and the turn around guy) parked on this little roadway. Yesterday around 4:30 pm another one parked literally across the road from us.  One would think it's an Airstream convention as 3 of the 5 near us are Airstreams.

 

 

Yesterday was a day for some errands, so we headed into Sierra Vista to accomplish those things. Trash, water and shopping were the order of the day. We accomplished all three. The shopping was two fold, I wanted to look at few items for under the sink storage and also a generator that caught my eye in store, plus of course we needed groceries as well. Lowe's was spot of choice for the under sink cabinet items and that is where the generator caught my eye. (It was not something we were actively looking for at this time but I had a question about one they carry.) I've usually found Lowe's to be good, always someone around to find the right person or to help us find what we seek. This year I've noticed a big change, and not for the better in the quality of service. It reminds me very much of Canadian Tire back in Ontario. You can never find anyone, and if by chance you do, they need to call someone else to help, and that person is either 15 minutes getting to you or perhaps just doesn't show because after that long I leave anyway. Needless to say after waiting for two different people to show up, we left with nothing in our hands and a disappointing experience yet again at Lowe's this year. 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Today's forecast was supposed to be very ugly with snow and rain and wind and cold, so far it isn't looking too bad, no snow, no rain, the wind will of course continue to pick up as the day goes on and the temperature is already higher than the predicted high of a few days ago.  We are running the heater though as being at this elevation it is just  naturally cooler in the mornings. 

 

 

 

 

 

All of today's photos are of sunset on Friday, Feb 28. 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit. 

 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

 

Deb

Friends, new, old and new old.....

Our Location: Empire Ranch, Vail, AZ

Today's post is a bit different, I hope you enjoy it. The photos do NOT match the paragraphs. I am simply telling you what I see when I look out one particular window. The photos are posted at random taken in about a 180 degree of view. I haven't taken any toward the road way that leads us to our spot. 

You know I'm going to tell you about the wind, right? Okay, I've told you. 

 Sorry for the reflection of the kitchen faucet. This is the mountains I describe later in this post.

This is the view when I look southwest out my window. 

Yesterday was a great day for us, we enjoyed a quiet morning and the views outside the window. Let me tell you about the views as I sit in my chair looking out. 

You can see the road beside us, it doesn't look nearly as orange when up close.  Way off in the distance is the mounds I can never reach. To the right is a stump, one of the many that dot the landscape making you think it's something other than a stump.

Those buildings are off in the distance as you can see from one of the above photos. This is just a closer view. The Empire Ranch lands do not reach that far or at least we cannot reach those buildings by the road we travelled.

The grass is a colour that would be hard to duplicate on a painters palette. It's yellowish/brown, but with dark highlights. As it waves in the wind it is quite literally a sea of grass as the long stalks wave in the wind much like a wave rolls on the ocean changing colours as it rolls. In the grasslands it starts off as a yellow/brown roll and as it moves the darker hues of dying stalks show in the wave, when it passes, the yellow/brown once again is dominant. Ripples I guess you could call them in a very light wind, but definite waves as the wind climbs. Stumps and bare somewhat stunted trees (compared to the trees I'm used to back in Ontario) dot the landscape, breaking up the sea of grass. 

 Not welcoming in the least, cold, stark, black with patches of white near the peak to the left of middle. 

The black dot under that tree is a cow. It is near the water tanks which are in the area to the left of the fence.

Here and there you can see black dots of cattle as they forage among the grass, looking for the green tender shoots that appear here and there. Under it all the dirt road ways when seen from a distance look almost orangish, or a very unusual shade of brown maybe,  not the bright orange of Alabama clay but a relative for sure. Upon getting closer it is less orange and more brown. An oddity for sure. 

 You can see that really is a stump. I doubt you believed me when I told you it was. See those mounds way off, I can never seem to reach them. 

This is the view outside our door. I took a series of photos of this view to show you just how different it can look.

It appears to be gently rolling hills but those of us that have visited know it isn't always the case. The washes that run through here present a different colour off in the distance. A patch or line of trees, that looks greenish in hue but you know they aren't. It's a trick of the eye. A dark line of brown or maybe grey seems to hover in these areas and you realize it's the top of the grass along the wash. The colour seems to be darker but it isn't, it just appears to be in the slanted view or maybe it's another trick of the eye. Beyond that is the lower hills or maybe mounds, are far off, I seem never to get close to them, they are always 'over there'. They are a darker brown than the grass but we would still consider them a light brown in colour. They are dotted with dark shapes which of course are more of those bare, stunted trees and stumps. Behind those mounds are bigger mounds, again they are 'over there'. Behind those are mountains. 

A closer view. I believe that tree may be in a small wash, but I haven't yet checked it out. 

The mountains have a look that changes as the light changes. Black, craggy, ominous looking hill sides that end in many peaks. Some with what looks to be snow at their top, but maybe it's simply lighter coloured rocks that appear like snow against the backdrop of such foreboding but majestic formations.  The sun's light changes the views with each passing hour, as the morning turns to afternoon and then on into evening the mountains while remaining dark looks less craggy, less cold, but still not welcoming. There is no colour on these mountains except the contrasting white at the top and black on the sides. 

 Closer still.

The wind is a fact of life here I think. Like a rock in the middle of the water, it just depends on the moment as to what kind of wind you  have. Due to the elevation here, the wind is cool, brisk, some might even deem it to be cold, and I think they would right today as the outside temps hover around 47F/ 8 C at 11 AM. Overall the area is beautiful, breath taking in many ways. I find it some how more lonely than the flat desert floors we've enjoyed for most of the winter. Inviting in a way unlike the desert, but stand offish as well. This is a place that would be easy to have a love/hate relationship with, I have no doubt. I suppose one must decide whether the love side out weighs the hate side, wouldn't you think? 

Can you see the darker grasses over there. A wash runs along that line I'm certain and one day I'll walk over there and check it out.

Yesterday also found us texting with our friends Deb & Tom (Celebrating the Dance) who are currently tethered to full hook ups at Quail Ridge RV just down the way. Riley and I headed into Sierra Vista for a couple of things before stopping at the Stinger Bee for a visit. It is always fun to spend time with this wonderful couple and we hope to see them again before they head out on the next leg of their journey. Thanks for sharing the warmth of the Stinger Bee and the wonders of friendship as well. 

Those are mounds way over there and they always seem to stay 'way over there'.

After a few years of near misses we finally managed to meet new old friends Ken & Shirley ( Seeing America with Ken & Shirley ). We have followed their blog for a few years but have never been able to be in the same place at the same time. Yesterday was the day it all connected as we all met at the Stinger Bee for a visit. They are a delightful couple, lots of smiles and hugs as we settled in to chatter. Seemed like we already knew them even though it was our first meeting. With a full house we didn't get to visit with Ken much but we've all agreed to fix that in the future. We did manage to chatter with Shirley some and of course truly enjoyed her company, she's a sweetheart! We look forward to spending more time with them in the future and getting to know them better.  Shirley of course brought a buffet with her. Thanks for the goodies Shirley. 

Ken on the left, Tom on the right, enjoying a nice cold brew after a hard day of touring and lunch. 

Another couple also came along to join the fun, Doug & Michelle.  Nice folks and they added to the lively mix of conversations. Perhaps our paths will cross again in the future and we will get to know this couple better as well.

Shirley, Deb & Riley.

It was 7:30 pm before we left to head home to the Igloo. Of course we didn't arrive at the Stinger Bee until 4 so I guess we didn't overstay our welcome too much. Riley and I talked on the ride home about how much better she seems at being able to meet new people and how much more comfortable she was with THIS large crowd. She is usually full of anxiety and dreads this kind of gathering. I think because we already know and enjoy the time we spend with Deb & Tom, that helped a great deal as she is very at ease with them. Since we follow Ken & Shirley's blog it's almost like she knows them a little and so the anxiety of meeting new folks didn't really apply to them. The only unknown new folks were Doug & Michelle and as it worked out, we didn't really chat with Doug much, only Michelle. So it was a much easier visit for Riley than it would have been even two years ago. Of course we knew Doug & Michelle would be a nice couple, after all they are hanging out with our friends both old and new old.  How could they not be nice?

Doug and Michelle, and in the right side mirror, Deb & Shirley.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your day even half as much as I enjoyed mine. 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

Deb

Busy day....

Our Location: Las Cienegas Grasslands, Sonoita, Arizona

 

Rain, rain, rain and yet more rain last night and today. We however had things to do today and so between rain drops packed up the Dogsled and headed off to Sierra Vista to do our chores. 

 

These Pronghorns numbering about a half dozen grazed lazily by the roadside.

 

A bit curious but they weren't too worried about us.

 

We haven't been able to see the mountain tops around us for two days now, they have been covered in clouds and fogs and although some times we fancy we can see the outlines we really haven't. Today's pictures will show what we finally managed to see on all the mountain tops around us except the one out our windows, we still haven't been able to see it. Tomorrow hopefully we will be get a view and a few photos. 

 

This fella just kind of posed for us.

 

The prongs aren't big on these two so these aren't the same ones we seen at our first sighting.

 

We had to float the Dogsled past the big water puddle I showed you days ago when we moved from one to spot to another. The 'then' little water puddle is now a lake with docks, water skiers and jet skis. No, not really but it is big. We then proceeded to follow BLM 6900 out past the Ranch House headquarters toward AZ 83 where there was no water in any of the dips. On our way we once again noted the herd of Pronghorns grazing by the roadside. We managed to get a few good photos. 

 

They finally decided to stop the photo session and causally walked across the road way.

 

These guys moved at a trot to keep up with the first guy.

 

From AZ 83 we turned left onto AZ 82, past Quail Ridge Campground and a right on to US 90 S toward Huachuca City and Sierra Vista. Our first stop was Walmart to dump our garbage. From there we headed out to Best Buy to return the computer charge cord that was too big. It seems I'll have to order one from on line as my laptop is too old for them to carry a cord in stock. No problem. 

 

Hey guys, wait for me, don't leave me behind.

 

They seem to realize the rest of the herd has crossed the road and don't want to be left.

 

 

From there we headed off to Sierra Wash & Dry laundry on Wilcox Ave. We had to do some laundry or the neighbours would start talking. The first inside impression isn't the greatest but the machines were clean and the attendant was helpful and often out and about checking, cleaning, sweeping, etc. You can't judge a book by it's cover I guess. A few hours there had us having washed, dried and folded two baskets and two duffels of laundry. 

  

Snow up there on those peaks.

From the laundry we headed off to Walmart again, but this time to shop. We spent a good hour there shopping. We like Walmart Colby Cheese and they didn't have the two pound bricks just the smaller one pound bricks. I tracked down a fellow to ask him if they had any in the back and long story short, the hand held scanner was wrong, there wasn't 8 on shelf and none could be found in the back either, so guess what he did? He discounted the smaller bricks and gave me a savings of $1.20 on top of the discount to be the same price as a 2 lb brick because they had none at all. How sweet is that? 

 

You can see the clouds still shrouding the mountain tops.

 

From Walmart we had a couple of other things to do. I decided to skip the oil change as I'm still a thousand miles from my next one but I did check into having the tires re-torqued since I had them rotated in Buckeye. However the fella assured me that if they were put on with an impact wrench it wasn't needed. So I didn't do that either. However we still needed to top off the Big Dog's water bowl and so pulled into a Circle K for 10 gallons of fuel at $2.80 per gallon. I'm happy with that and now when we head out in the next few days we'll have a full tank of fuel to start the day. 

 

Just amazing to see these views in Sierra Vista.

 

From the fuel up we stopped to fill our water jugs in Huachuca City at the car wash which also has a water dispensing machine. One more stop before we headed home was to head out US 90 past AZ 82 until we found the propane fill up station (sorry can't recall the name) and for $17.50  we filled up our 7 gallon tank. Yeah us, all the things necessary had been stroked off the chore list. 

So stark and beautiful.

 

We had been gone most of the day, not arriving back home until around 3:30 pm which made it a full day as we left home right around 9 am. So take an hour for off driving, and the rest of the time was spent doing errands. We put away the groceries, grabbed some lunch and fell into our chairs. It's been a long day. 

 

So pretty to look at but brrrr wouldn't want to be any closer.

 

It appears the sun will be out tomorrow as it was when we arrived back home and I think we have a plan or two but I'll leave that for tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by, I hope you had a wonderful day!! 

 

It is just so pretty. The shadows cast by the clouds and the bright patches of sunlight topped off with snow.

 

Until next time... take care, be safe, 

 

 

We are once again back on Las Cienegas BLM heading for the Cienequita camping area.

 

 

Deb

 

 

  

Sierra Vista today....

Our Location: Las Cienegas Grasslands, Arizona

Warmer this morning than yesterday morning, today we were at 47F/ 8.3 C when I looked at the temperature around 7:30 AM. Not a bad start to the morning. Plans today but no hurry to get out the door. We enjoyed some breakfast, a hot drink and a visit with our blogging friends before we loaded up the truck to head into Sierra Vista for some errands.

 

A watering hole with some pretty green algae on top.

 

We first decided we’d check out a few things in the area but after about a half hour turned around and headed back toward the Ranch House entrance/exit. I had thought to take the BLM road out to AZ 82 but didn’t as I was worried it might become too soft. After turning around and getting on AZ 83 we took a scenic sort of drive toward AZ 82 which intersects with AZ 83 at the little hamlet of Sonoita, AZ. We hung a left on AZ 82 and motored along the road way passing Quail Ridge Campground where we have stayed a time or two in the past. We screeched around the corner onto AZ 90 heading toward Huachuca City and Sierra Vista.

 

Can you see the snow through the tree?  Love these grasslands.

Our first stop was on the far side of town at Best Buy to get a new power cord for my Mac. Expensive and I ended up bringing home the wrong cord. I’ll have to return this one, it is about 2 pins too large. Oh well, we need to go back for a couple of other things before we leave the area anyway. A total of $104 CAD for the cord, and I’m thinking I’ll just return it and make due with this one until we get back to Canada. 

 

So pretty, so vast, so inviting.

 

From Best Buy we headed off to Fry’s Grocery and man was it busy today. The first day of the sale flyer and I had I known I would have held off another day. However we were in and out without too much trouble, loading our purchases into the Big Dog before we pulled around to the Juice Bar. With our VIP Fry’s card we saved 10 cents per gallon today so we paid $2.69 per gallon instead of $2.79. Yeah us!!!!

Can you see the cow down there?

 After we left Fry’s we cruised on over to Walmart to get a few other grocery staples that we need. You know I used to bake bread at home, from scratch, with my hands, no bread maker, and I love the smell of freshly baked or baking bread but as we walked into Walmart the smell was horrid. I have no idea why that would be but it was almost enough to make me turn around and leave the store. Riley also mentioned it to me and had the same reaction. I’m glad we don’t eat their bakery stuff.
 

This cow got off the road when the car behind approached, then back on the road until we got closer, back off and after we went past she came back on again. Too funny.

 

After doing our business at Walmart we headed off home thinking we’d get water at the Ranch headquarters but lo and behold on our way through Huachuca City we spied a water dispensing machine at the car wash, and whipped in there to fill up our jugs. Very reasonable $1.25 for 5 gallons or 30 cents per gallon. We filled them all before heading back home. 

The same mountain peaks we see out our window.

 

Back home around 2:30 pm we managed to get the groceries all put away, everything separated for the freezer as well before we had lunch. I always like to get the separation accomplished as quickly as possible. We almost always have to repackage things in single one meal size packs for our use. We like being able to pull a single size packet out of the freezer in the morning for our big meal at lunch time. 

 

Wonder if it's round up time? Statues or metal work off on the hilltop.

 

The afternoon was warm but with a pretty strong breeze that has since died down. High today was 83F / 28.3 C and the numbers have been dropping in the last hour or so, as I type this at 6:30 pm the temp is down to 60 F/ 15.5 C and still heading downward. Big swings make the chilled air seem much cooler and the hot air much hotter. However this is not a complaint, just once again stating the facts. 

 

The junction of AZ 82 & AZ 83, the town of Sonoita welcomes everyone. I think that may be a Texas Longhorn. Statues again.

 

A chat with my buddy Ron tonight has us finalizing some plans to get together with him and Sharon, his lovely bride of many years. We’ll be heading north of I-40 this year on our way home before we reach Memphis and so will be by passing our stay at Big Buck to spend time with Ron & Sharon instead. We are so looking forward to seeing them again. It’s been a couple of years since our paths last crossed.

Not our white tailed deer but they sure are pretty in this setting don't you think?

 

So that was our day, thanks for dropping by, I hope you enjoyed the visit and made yourself at home. 

We didn't have the zoom lens so it's a bit blurry.

 

Until next time… take care, be safe,
 

What an amazing ranch this must have been in it's time.

 

Deb