I'm Still ALIVE!!! Yay!!!

I suppose that requires a little explanation.  I say a little thank you every morning that I wake up.  In THIS case however, I say it because I ate something I probably should NOT have.  

You see, I have a relative way up North in Montana.  One I never see or EVER talk to.  One day in December, I got an email that I would receive a package in the mail.   It was a little too late to tell them I was leaving for Tucson.

In the meantime, nothing showed up at my door until after I was gone.  My neighbor called to say she found a box on my doorstep.  Knowing what it was, I asked her to leave it on my back steps.  I should have told her to keep it for her family, but I really did not know what was inside.

Almost two months later, I found the box when I arrived and opened it.  There were lots of goodies in plastic wrapped packages.  Hmmmm I wonder if these are any good.  I took a bite of the chocolate covered pretzels.  It came out as fast as it went in.  Yucky and stale.

Then I found two bags of the biggest English muffins I've ever seen.  Gosh, it's been really cold outside, maybe they have survived their two month hibernation and will taste as fresh as just baked.  Let's try one!!

Not too bad, although the entire time I was eating it I was wondering if it had some unforeseen moldy thing going on that would kill me.

You're not going to believe this, but it was one of the best muffins I've ever eaten, although a tad bit stale.  Who in the world would have thought after that long they would be any good?  I did get a little scared of the possible results, so I didn't eat any more, but I'm for sure getting on the internet to see if I can find these.

In the meantime, the Insurance Adjuster hasn't shown up, nor do I expect him to before I leave this morning.  I enlarged the two pictures I have of the fence down, placed them in a zip lok bag and duck-taped them to the door he has to pass going into my back yard.  

The last I heard, he will return in between some of his other assignments.  I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to meet up with me, for obvious reasons.  I did find the two boards missing from the OTHER fence that he said I could repair for $35.00.  From the tracks around the corral, he didn't even get CLOSE to the correct fenceline.  I may be fighting this one for awhile.

My truck is now packed and ready to go.  You couldn't get another dog toy in there if you tried.  I'm just hoping there's enough room for my computer, me and the kids.

This time I found a hotel (assuming of course it's not a dump) in Indio where I will try to be more organized when it comes to the kids.  I talked the nice girl down to $99 for this one.  Woohoo!!

Now I remember EXACTLY why I had an RV to travel back and forth.  Hopefully this trip goes better than the last one.  Then, the hunt is ON for a small fifth wheel.

My guess is you will not hear from me tomorrow morning.  I'll be back Friday!!!

Baby's Got New Shoes

It's been a quick couple of days waiting around for the adjuster who appears to be a no-show.  Just for kicks, I checked the back fence on the OTHER side to discover yet another hole ... a SKUNK hole to be sure.  

The grass is as high as an elephant's eye, so today's list begins with weed spray.  Too bad they don't make skunk spray!!!

I did spend some time fantasizing about a new Big A$$ Truck.  Every time I get to ride in Dan's version, I get goose bumps.  What the heck ... lets look it up just for fun!!  This must be the price of a 3/4 ton Ford Truck with all the bells and whistles if you buy it back East.  Out West, the total should be around $70,000.  Hey, I can dream, right?

 

I even thought about trading in my Jeep (complete with tow bar if anyone is interested in a great toad) along with my existing pickup, for this beauty.  Yes, I did the math.  I would probably not be able to afford the fifth wheel and it would make my Baby very sad to be traded in.  After all, she only has 110,000 miles under her belt.

Sooooo, after taking a good look at her feet, I decided to buy her new tires instead.  Although the old ones had good tread, they were purchased in 2013.  Fine for running around town, but not so much for holding the weight of a fifth wheel.

Baby's now got new shoes!!!  The California cost (due to high taxes) was $1200.00.  Yikes!!

Next up, retrieve the fifth wheel hitch.  When I bought the Class A, I gave this setup to a good friend, although he said he really didn't need it.  Not long after, some lady ran into his new truck and HUGE fifth wheel, destroying everything.  Instead of getting a new hitch, he just used this one.  I didn't know that.  I thought maybe he had it just sitting in his garage, so I called to inquire.

Being the good friend he is, his first words were "you can have it back and I'll buy another one".  You can't beat THAT!!!  So yesterday I went and picked it up.  I think we are back in business!!

Well ... closer anyway.  Now the REAL test begins .. trying to find a small fifth wheel when practically everything is sold out!!

In the meantime, I'm trying to figure out how to pack everything I need into my back seat, now crammed to the ceiling.  I'll be leaving first thing tomorrow morning for the return trip to Tucson.  This time I'll be taking it a little slower!!

Death and Taxes

There's two things that are a certainly in this world ... death and taxes.  There's also Friday traffic jams and just when you think you have it together, you don't.  

I've always considered myself strong ... as in "as a horse" ... but it appears I've been wrong about a lot of things.  First and foremost is just how much FOOD does for you when you are old!!  Not having an ice chest, I tried not to pack much more than puppy food, figuring I could stop along the way.  Lucky for me, I did receive one of those dinner packages, which I repacked including those huge ice thingies, to bring for my enjoyment.

Wasn't I surprised when I opened the box and discovered I left all the MEAT for those meals in my freezer in Arizona.  RATS!!  That means a trip to the store.  But first ... here's the sunset from the hotel room door in Tehachapi in 40 degree weather.  It was windy and VERY chilly!!

Not wanting to take the truck full of furniture, I took the Jeep, completely forgetting about no license plate.  Luckily that Police car was coming TOWARDS me!!  When I got home I hid the keys so I wouldn't do THAT again!!

LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!!  Peanut butter Oreo's!!!   Don't bother.  Yes I did purchase them and they do taste like something resembling peanut butter ... but notice it says FLAVOR creme.  That's code for fake awful imitation peanut butter taste.

I spent the rest of the day working on the third reason I came to California.  All of my tax paperwork goes to a post office box as a result of porch pirates and mailbox thieves.  I was hoping to pick up everything I needed and send it off to my accountant.  

You know how that goes .... the car mechanic never works on his own car?  Well the accountant never does her own filing, keeping everything in a big cardboard box.  What a job it is to dig through and find the necessary papers.  The worst part?  I left a big chunk of paperwork in Arizona.  DOUBLE RATS!!

The best news of the day was I got to EAT!!  I picked up ground pork at the little Mexican grocery store near me.  Sometimes I think there was someone in the woodpile, if you know what I mean, because I certainly do LOVE Mexican food.  It's tacos again ... pork, onions, loads of garlic, spicy powdered something or other seasoning and pineapple.  At least I won't starve!!

I haven't heard a word from the adjuster, nor do I expect to.  I found the "fence" he looked at.  One board fell down into the neighbor's yard.  I guess that was the $35.00.  I'm guessing he doesn't want to come back while I'm here to listen to my rant.  Tomorrow I'll ask the neighbor to remove his supports and let the fence fall over until I call and let him know the coast in clear.  Then he can put it back up.

One last major realization from that long drive to California.  Who knew a car would even START when you were not wearing a bit of makeup and your hair is a mess, let alone drive all the way to Cali.  I was born into big hair and lots of makeup ... for my entire life.  My high school girlfriend Lynn, the Avon Representative, will attest to that fact!

Never did we EVER go out without makeup.  I really didn't want to be bothered on this trip, so I put on my biggest pair of sunglasses and went au natural!  Who knew?  My Jeep started up and ran the entire time.  It's a good thing I didn't get stopped for no license plate, because I'm sure I would have scared that poor policeman to death!!

No this isn't me .... but it's a pretty good representation of the cheerleaders, letter carriers and "in" crowd I went to school with.  Unfortunately I never fit in, in spite of my attempt at makeup and big hair.  I think on the way back I'll not only wear big sunglasses, but my biggest cowboy hat!!  No comb required.

I Could Have Planned That Better

This gorgeous sunrise was the last vestige of sanity I saw as I headed out on an epic journey to California. I mean really, who tries to drive 790 miles in 13 hours?  Yes, that would be me.  Here's the secret reason why.  I sold my rig.  Wait ..... that doesn't mean I'm out of the RV business.  Quite the contrary, I'm getting a new one, but more on that later.

It was mostly for financial reasons.  It was almost 10 years old, meaning there were a lot of HUGE and EXPENSIVE maintenance items coming up, not to mention all the "little" things (meaning under $2,000) that needed replacement (and possibly one BIG thing).  In about six months I would have been completely upside down on the mortgage, only to continue that big payment until I died.  

Being the accountant I am, it was time to say goodbye.  I expected a long drawn out process, but after contacting La Mesa RV, they bought it outright in less than one hour.  The inspection took less than ten minutes.  Yikes ... that was FAST!  The problem that brought up was a required trip to California for the four dining chairs, the European recliner, the parts and pieces to the vacuum system and all the original bedding.

Add to that meeting up with the fence adjuster!!  All good reasons to make a mad dash to Cali with the ever increasing prices of everything!!

And so I was OFF!!!  Into the cloudy rainy skies of Arizona.  First off, Friday is the worst day of the week to travel ANYWHERE!  Oh my goodness the traffic!  I kept saying ... self?  Aren't you glad most of it is going the other direction?  Little did I know.  By the way, it rained for mile after mile! 

I fueled up in Quartzite.  The price has already escalated from $2.29 to $2.50, and by the time I hit California, it was $3.95 for regular!!  I guess that pipeline will cost people much more than they expected.

By now I've made a couple of puppy stops, an exercise in craziness itself.  You haven't lived until you are trying to lift two dogs out of a small back door while hanging on to their leashes for dear life.  

Out of nowhere, I ran into THIS.  Think about this for a second, those of you who know the roads well.  The 20 mph snail race pace started at the turnoff of Hwy 215 from Hwy 10 and ran all the way over Cajon Pass to my Hwy 395 turnoff.  Big sigh!!

Here's where I learned a big lesson about eating.  The body cannot survive on Cheetos and peanut butter cookies, even though I tried.   At the next stop in Victorville for gas, I could barely hit the keycard numbers I was shaking so badly.  Hmmm maybe I should eat.  Taco Bell it is!!

At long last I arrived in Tehachapi where I learned my lesson in planning had gone all wrong.  I drove to the expected location of the dog friendly hotel.  Nope ... not here.  You must go BACK 3 miles to the Baymont.  After driving around it twice, I finally found the registration desk.  This place cost me $129.00 for just one night.  $10 of that was for the puppies.  Ca-Ching!!!

Add to that OH NO!!!!  Nooooooooooo!  That beautiful piece of plastic that was my Arizona license plate (until the real one arrives by mail) had broken off and disappeared.  Oh great ... now I'm going to get a ticket for no license plate!!  

So here we are, with one of my quilts on the bed to make sure Jessie doesn't have an accident.  Let me just say you should always bring everything ELSE in first and the dogs last.  Lesson learned.  Time to feed Jessie, except there was no knife packed, nor spoon in the hotel, to get the dog food out of the can.  Cooper refused to eat all together.  

After multiple trips outside with puppies going six different directions and me trying to figure out how to unlock the darn door, we settled in for some TV.  This is it ... all I could get the $129 hotel room to put out.  At least there was sound.  

We finally crashed on the bed.  I didn't even bother to change clothes.  I might have gotten a little sleep except we were right next to the soda machine.  Ka-bonk ka-bonk happened about once an hour, followed up by the barking dog in the room next door whose owner appeared to have flown the coop.  I'm guessing I got maybe three hours sleep.

When the clock hit 4, I was up.  No use waiting around for daylight.  That's when I discovered I had no toothbrush, no hairbrush and no food for me ... again.  All of my good planning was for naught!!  This time I did it right .... I put the dogs in the Jeep first, then loaded up all the other crap ... er overnight stuff.  We were OFF again after saying a prayer the police didn't stop me!!  Yes, I drove Tehachapi in the DARK!!!  White knuckles and all!!

Three hours later we pulled in to the garage at home #2.  I was so exhausted I couldn't sleep a wink.  I spent a couple of hours gathering up all the RV stuff and figured out the jigsaw puzzle of how to fit five pieces of furniture, a big box and four bags of pillows into the back seat of my truck.  I'll have to spend the night somewhere on the return trip and didn't want anything stolen out of the back.  

Why am I taking my truck?  Because it actually has a license plate!!  YAY!!!

It's a new day ... and VALENTINE'S DAY ... so give your sweetie a hug and tell them how much they mean to you.  Otherwise you would be single, like me!!

Also, HAPPY BIRTHDAY ... you know who you are!!!  Be sure and hit the quilt store for your discount.

Now to find that insurance adjuster for the fence and plan the return trip.  Oh ... and I have a whole new respect for the term "MY" bed!!!

Some Days I Amaze Myself

Although I truly can't remember the last time that actually happened, there MUST have been a time or two when I was surprised I could actually accomplish something.  Maybe in my younger days!  Now the laundry seems to go in the oven more than the washing machine!! 

It's been an adventure just cleaning out the motorhome of all those things I purchased over the last ten years.  There were two washed wool bird houses, something a self respecting bird would NEVER use, two wooden Indian flutes to add to my collection of six, a few VERY old music CD's stuffed in a corner because they were so awful and dozens of rocks and seashells.  Ahhh so THAT'S where I put my gloves I couldn't find for weeks!!

You know when you walk that trail or beach and find that really interesting rock you put in your pocket?  I was shocked to find how they had multiplied in the cupboard over the last few years.  The seashells .... well maybe they are the reason for the smell that kept hitting me in the face every once in awhile.

Taking a break from all the cleaning, the Chance house invited me to have a Mexican dinner OUT.  I do love the food and wish I could duplicate it.  This is shredded beef enchiladas with beans and rice.  The rice I can do, the beans probably came from a can, easy peasy.  It's the SAUCE that makes the meal.

Here's the latest on the fence.  I sent this picture of my back yard.  do you think he will figure it out THIS time?  Just to make sure, I have to run for the border of California today.  It's not going to be a fun trip I fear, since it will be just two puppies and me in the Jeep.  

It's a new experience ... an adventure ... to gather up everything I will need to get us there, like dog food, dog blankets, dog box, dog toys ... and my fervent hope to find a DOG friendly hotel along the way.  That being said, you may not hear from me tomorrow.  I might be napping at a Flying J for the night!!

This was nice surprise yesterday morning as I checked the game camera.  What a BEAUTY!!  I'm surprised that she is alone and not with a few of her cohorts.

She sauntered off up the hill to park herself under my big tree.  At least that's what I see in the fresh tracks.

I'm off to try and slip in a nap before I leave.  Those FIVE trains that went by this morning between 3 and  4:30 have me a little wasted!!  

It's another ADVENTURE!!

Signs Can Get You In Trouble!

My friend Cyndae and I seem to be good at getting into trouble.  Yes, the adventure continues as we returned from Cascabel, a little more alert since seeing the chimpanzee head-on-a-stick at the entrance to the last driveway we drove in to.

Along the way bouncing down the dirt road, we saw a church steeple.  Hmmm must be a town there!  Let's figure out how to get to it.  We spotted this sign on the roadside and turned in.  No we did NOT have a reservation, nor did we have phone service so we could get one.  In fact, we had had no service in the last three hours.

As we drove down the now narrower and rougher dirt road, we spotted a big open gate.  Lets go in HERE!  That's when I saw the sign.  GAMMONS GULCH!  I've seen pictures in the past from one of my Ghost Town websites, but very few of them.  What a FIND!!

I instantly spotted the huge game camera attached to the fence looking right at us.  We parked and walked around the big fence into "town".  What a fabulous place.  It was an entire old west town full of original buildings.  I spotted a pickup way down at the end and hailed the human standing here.  HELLO!!!

Is this not cool?  There's a hangman's noose on the scaffold at the very end.  Oh the pictures I could get here!!  We are CLOSED the man said.  Oh darn ... could we just get a couple of pictures?  I was already snapping away.

No sorry, we are closed.  Cyndae distracted him as I took this one.  He gave us a card with all the information and we dejectedly walked back to the Jeep.  No ghost town pictures for me.

Later I looked it up on the internet.  It seems the buildings were gathered up by Jay and Joanne Gammons and moved here as a movie set.  If you want to rent the entire town and shoot a movie, you can.  $$$$   If you are just Joe Public and want to visit, you canNOT.  It is not open to the public AT ALL.  Well actually, I guess you can rent the place for your big church function or your wedding.  Several films have been made here, none of which I recognize.  

So we drove OUT the gate, but Cyndae insisted we turn left and head off into the desert.  It turns out there is a donkey sanctuary just down the road, but yet another sign said reservations only.  We tried our phones again, to no avail.  We saw donkey evidence, but with nothing else in sight, we finally turned around.

Next trip I'll try to get reservations for both the birds and the donkeys.  On the way back in to Pomerene we spotted this beauty.  Gosh if I had this truck I would be fixing it up and putting it on the road.  The motorcycle, not so much.

Since Cyndae had not been here before, we took a short detour to Pantano on the way home.  You've seen this before when I almost got the Jeep stuck in the mud.  Every year neighbors bring artificial flowers to the graves here.  It appears however that someone comes back and places them all on this grave.  This lady's last resting place is visited by her family often.

There are many buried here, but most are unknown.   Sadly it's in some disrepair.  Maybe I'll spend a day fixing it up a little.

After an amazing lunch of chili rellenos at Magaly's in Benson, we arrived back home in one piece.  Cyndae was ecstatic.  Let's do that AGAIN!!!  

OKAY!!!

Super Bowl and Madness!

 By now most people know that Tom Brady, the GOAT (greatest of all time), took his team the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to the Championship.  Good for him!!  At 43 years old if you can beat the predicted winner of the Super Bowl, you deserve to gloat a little bit.  Kansas City just could NOT get it together. 

Now about those commercials ..... which is one reason I actually WATCH the Super Bowl .... they were mostly unrecognizable.  I searched my brain for the reasoning behind the majority of them.  It rather surprised me that they were all about getting together and unity when that seems to be that LAST thing this country is doing right now.

As to the half time show, I'll make it short and sweet.  We skimmed through it in five seconds (Mr. Chance had taped that part) until we got to the dance where the men (and maybe women, who knew?) were wearing underwear (and I'm saying that nicely) on their heads.  I sure hope they washed them first!!

For snacks, I tried out my new air fryer on these wings.  The first batch came out perfect!  I was on a roll until I heard the machine die a slow death.  WHAT?  I unplugged it, plugged it back in and hit the button.  Nothing.  I grabbed a set of hot pads and carefully moved it to another plug.  NOTHING.  That's when I noticed my Breville (keeping the first batch warm) wasn't on either.

Ding ding ding ... you blew a circuit breaker.  I quickly headed for the panel and yes, that HUGE 15 amp breaker was off.  No WONDER!!  Note to self ... don't turn on both at the same time.  I was 30 minutes late to the party, but the guacamole dip and deviled eggs made up for it.

After that jaunt down the dusty gravel road, my Jeep was a hot mess.  Time for a quick bath in our new CAR WASH!  Yes, in beautiful downtown Vail, although actually located a few miles down the road, we now have a Surf and Turf!!  At least that's what I read as I drove by the sign.  

Turns out it was Surf n' Thru ... or something like that.  I got a card for 5 premium washes, $10 each.  Not bad ... and the card never expires.  They don't have the brightly colored washing bubbles, but the flashing red light that blinds you at the end makes up for it!!  It actually did a pretty good job considering the shape my Jeep was in.  Bonus:  you get a little smelly thing in your choice of flavors to stick in your air conditioning vent.

The critters have been out most every night, and these guys were no exception as they hunted for rabbit dinner.  I think I came pretty close to losing Cooper.  I put him out about 2:00 in the afternoon, only to see a dark shadow sneaking through the bushes about 50 feet from my short block wall fence.  Yikes!!  I walked down to Cooper and discovered a SECOND coyote right AT the fence sniffing the breeze.  BOO!!!  He ran away in a flash.  It's a good thing I was outside or Cooper just might have been dinner!!  Scary stuff!!

Here comes the MADNESS section.  Remember my fence?  I called the insurance company who said their adjuster (from Texas) would be out soon.  I talked to him, explained the neighbor who said it was all my fence and that he had propped the fence back up, but all the posts were broken off.   I even gave him exact directions to get TO the fence.

Yesterday I got the estimate for repair - $35.22.  Do you think I saw RED???  I'll write you a check and you can fix it for me!!  I could feel myself sliding off into MADNESS!!

I called the gal back and read her the riot act.  Did she not give him the photos I sent?  Did he not LISTEN when I told him about the fence?  Oh gee she said ... here's the picture he took of one board by the horse corral.  I guess that's not the right fence?

She said she would call him to go back out.  Not only did I explain again and AGAIN, I sent a map I drew of exactly where the fence was.  I explained for the tenth time that the neighbor PROPPED THE FENCE UP!!!  Go around and remove his boards and this is what you will get.

She sent a note back ... the adjuster wants to know if this is a "common" fence.  Big sigh ... no, for the fifth time ... it's ALL MY FENCE.  

I finally told her better yet, I'll find two fence contractors to give me an estimate and I'll send it to them!!

So I can tell you with impunity that my veins and arteries can carry lots of blood VERY fast around my body when I'm mad!!  Honestly, do you think I would call the insurance company for one little board when my deductible is $1,000??  

Thankfully, I've since calmed down.  I think I need another adventure to smooth my ruffled feathers!!!

Great Adventure #2 ... More Signs

Having survived the last adventure ... hey, why not head out on Adventure #2 to the oldest part of Tucson. This town has had several names, depending on which Indian tribe you were speaking to.  The Tohono O'odham called it Schook-Shon, meaning at the foot of black hill.

An early Franciscan monk spelled it Tuquison and later Toixon.  In the middle 1800's, it took on the name of Took Shon.  Eventually it morphed into Tucson ... don't pronounce the C.  Whatever you call it, the old downtown area is worth a visit.

Cyndae's cousin drove down from Phoenix to visit his daughter who just finished her Masters Degree in Nutrition at the University of Arizona.  Cyndae would end her visit with me and return with him, later to drive to California.

How about we all meet up for lunch?  The daughter Lauren picked Cup Cafe at the Hotel Congress.  Built in 1918 in conjunction with the Rialto Theatre, it was named by having a contest whereupon you would win Baby Bonds.  Dorit Dinkel won and so the hotel came into being, mostly because the railroad depot is located right behind it.

I bet you are wondering just what exciting thing happened at the Hotel Congress!  Well here goes ..... in 1934, after a string of bank robberies, the John Dillinger Gang arrived in Tucson to hide out.  A fire accidentally started in the basement and burned all the way up to the third floor where the gang was staying.  

The desk clerk contacted them by phone and luckily they escaped via ladders.  Here's where it all went wrong.  At the request of the gang, the firemen retrieved their luggage, whereupon their true names were discovered and they were all arrested.  After being transferred to a jail in Indiana, John Dillinger was able to escape again, eventually leading to his demise.

On this day however, we arrived at the Cup Cafe at around 1:00.  Here's another tidbit of information you probably didn't know.  Linda Ronstadt lived here for many years.  They have even named the bus transportation center after her.  

She moved to San Francisco some years ago because she didn't like the attitudes of the children HER children were playing with.  She also thought the buildings began to look like Stalinist Russia.  

Arriving at the hotel, we found our wait would be at least an hour.  With not much else open, we got on the waiting list and headed up Fourth Avenue, the site of an annual craft/art fair every year.  I'm sorry for the terrible pictures, but all I had was my phone.  

This is the Hippie Gypsy, full of weird music and bad smelling things.  We kept on walking, but this seemed to be the recurring theme.

This amazing brightly painted spectacular example of a building is the local Goodwill Store.  At this point I'm beginning to agree with Linda Ronstadt.  

We walked along for about 30 minutes before entering a strange little market full of everything organic, weird and well .... not my cup of tea.  I didn't recognize one single brand name there.  Remember Lauren is a master of nutrition!  I'm all about eating healthy, but fermented cabbage is not my thing.

At last we headed back towards the hotel to find our table was ready, or at least WOULD be in another 20 minutes.  We did not go inside, but were seated out on the patio.  They have brunch every day with a varied menu.  

So just what do you order when you are sitting across from a 5'8" gorgeous girl who weighs 98 pounds and is a master of nutrition?  Not this ... this was NOT my plate, but the smoked brisket eggs Benedict did look absolutely amazing!!

SHE of course ordered the cauliflower and corn tacos.  I fell off the wagon with DEEP FRIED fish tacos.  That's healthy, right??

It was delicious and yes, I ate ALL three.  Cyndae had the same thing.  I promise next time I'll order the cauliflower.  

By now it's two hours past the time I needed to leave.  We quickly unpacked Cyndae's stuff and I headed out for home, almost an hour away.  Remember, we were deep in the heart again!!  It really was a fun interesting adventure to downtown.  I'm not sure I will go again if alone but I will definitely go again if I can convince someone to accompany me.

Next up ... it's time for some FOOTBALL!!  I'm running a tad bit behind.

There Were Signs .....

Yes, there were signs all over.  Mostly private property signs, although occasionally we ran into things like this.  Cyndae and I looked at each other and said hmmmmm.

As we slowly maneuvered down the road and were about to cross a water hole (turns out it was Lake Something Or Other), an elderly lady drove up on a four wheeler.  When I rolled down my window and said we were looking for Cascabel, she said "you know the dot on the map?  You're ON it!"  

Okay ... but I thought there was a small restaurant and maybe a building or two.  No she stated, this is it!  I told her we were out looking for ghost towns and were fascinated with history.   Well just come on in to my place she said, only leave your Jeep outside.

There was a very old mobile home with several large white barrels outside full of something unrecognizable.  I was a little hesitant, but in we went.  Two alpacas came to check us out.  I had already spotted two horses off to one side.  Too bad I missed the dog.  "Walk on up to the cabin" as she drove her four wheeler the opposite direction.

As I looked at the ground, I saw huge bones ... like leg bones ... laying all over the yard.  Cyndae almost tripped over one as I whispered to her, "if she comes back with a knife and a gun, you run one way and I'll run the other"!!  She looked at me like I was cray-cray!  I've watched plenty of movies where the strangers  disappear.  At least I can run faster than Cyndae!!

Past the mobile home was her pride and joy.  Turns out Sue is an entrepreneur.  This old cabin set back in the mountain is over 100 years old.  She rents it out as a Vacation Rental By Owner.  She insisted we go inside and take a look since her newest customers would not arrive until the next day.  "I" insisted she go in first!!

Sure enough, inside the screened porch was a very cool old cabin made of river rock, complete with tile sunflower on the floor entry.  I kept thinking the entire time ... who would want to stay here?

This is Sue standing in the kitchen with her hand on the fridge.  There is only one cupboard which is hanging from the rafters.  Sue said she was pretty happy about cancelling all her reservations last year, since she was so booked she never had time to clean the place up for the next group.  Hmmmmmm.

You can see hints of yellow here and there .... that's the bed that lives in the kitchen/bedroom/dining room.  The window wall doubles as a library bookcase.  If you look in Sue's hand, she is holding a "sanitizing" light she whisked over everything we touched, which wasn't much.  I kept a close eye on the door.

That was it.  I think the entire cabin is maybe 18' x 18' and all made of rocks and concrete.  Want to see the outhouse she asked?  Out the screened porch we went to a small wood building next door.  It's a two-holer!!  Even better, it's a composting two-holer!!  I did not ask how that worked.

We thanked her profusely for letting us see her beautiful old cabin.  I can't say I relaxed, especially after the dog who was almost as tall as me came up behind and gave me a push into the outhouse.  At any rate, it turns out Sue was nice as could be and loved showing off her cabin.  She recently had these postcards made up to give out to customers.  

I did check it out and the River Rock Cabin at Cascabel rents for $55 a night.  Just watch out for the dog and the alpacas who like to spit.  

As it turns out, Sue is also a writer.  This second card is about Saving Red, a rescue horse she apparently took care of.  Red no longer lives here, but somewhere in the Benson area.  

Head on up to the Community Center she said.  This time there ARE no signs of any kind, so we drove carefully up this VERY steep hill, slipping and sliding because I should have put it in 4-wheel drive first.  

There's no one there Sue said ... just walk right on in.  And so we did .......

This beautiful building was built by all the residents of the valley.  There was a tiny food bank set up on a table with a little kitchen in one corner along with lots of books at the far end. 

We sat on the back patio and ate snacks while checking out the view behind the barbecue.  As you can see this is the perfect elevation for saguaros, which were all very happy campers and the biggest I have ever seen!!

Time to head back home down the long dirt road.  We were passed several times by people in pickup trucks racing down the gullies.  When I spotted one pulled over, I thought maybe they had a problem. Out they jumped with cameras in hand .... except for the one guy who had a very nice rifle aimed at something off in the distance.

Needless to say, we didn't stop.  It was time for this adventure to come to an end.  

It didn't take long however, since the NEXT adventure to deep in the heart began early the next morning.