Ramblin Ramsey

Mini Vacation

2010-09-15T16:34:00.001-07:00

I guess it’s time to update the blog as it has been quite some time since the last one. I have been doing fairly well with the new prostheses but still am not able to walk on it all day. Things are looking up though. Been dancing on the weekends and in general having a ball.

The latest news is that I have a new girlfriend. Her name is Wanda. We have been together for a couple of months now and some how she manages to put up with me so far.

Monday September 13th 2010

Wanda and I decided that we needed a break from all the doing’s at the VFW. We will be going to the VFW District meeting in Williams burg next week so it’s time to get the hell outta dodge for a couple of days.

Left Deming around 9:15 AM heading North on Hwy 180. First stop was Bill Evans Lake just above Gila. On arrival there were a bunch of firefighters there with their trucks. One was parked on the boat ramp and was testing the trucks water pumps.

A geocache popped up on the GPS so we headed for it. It happened to be down over the back. Wanda had sandals on so I started down. First try at this so things went kinda slow but made it to the cache. Oops no pen. Wanda threw a pen to me but it only made it about half way so back up the bank I went, retrieved the pen and got back to the cache. It was a might easier getting back up the hill than down. Got back to the car and had to rest and patch wounds from cactus and tree.

We then hit the road again and had planned to spend the night in Glenwood but when we got there the 3 restaurants that were there were closed and we needed to eat. Again we hit the road and headed for Reserve. Picked up 3 more geocahes on the way and stopped in Alma and had a wonderful lunch. Service was very slow but the food was excellent. Got into Reserve sometime in the late afternoon, checked into a motel then headed for Aragon to get a cache. On the way we made a turn onto a forest service road to find another cache that was 10 miles in. The road was a typical forest service road that was graveled. the going was slow but a very beautiful drive, too bad we were unable to get to the cache once in the area.

Too rough for the car to make it the rest of the way. We again got back on track and heading for Aragon. It was 20 miles to the cache and when we got there we could not find it so turned around and headed back to the motel. Got in around 8:30 PM.

We found this in Reserve.

A sign we also saw in Reseve but did not get a picture of was.

“Didn’t miss Taxidermy” You gotta love it.

After spending a dinner less night (Nothing was open) We had a really good Green Chili and Cheese omelet at the restaurant across the street from where we stayed. We then headed for Snow lake which is about 50 miles across the mountain on gravel roads.

After stopping at the lake and looking around we headed for Mogollon an old mining town. It was around 2:00 PM when we got there. Here are a couple of pictures..

We arrived back in Glenwood around 3:00 and there were no restaurants open so we headed to Alma to eat there. Nope not today they close at 3:00 PM. Bought a tube of crackers, a chunk of cheese and a Dr Pepper $8.00 plus change………………………..That was dinner. There are 2 motels in Glenwood. One is cabins the other is where we stayed. First key the lady gave up opened a room that had not been cleaned yet. The second had 3 beds all of different sizes. This is a real classy place, but it’s only for the night thank god.

After a night of not so much sleep we were up early, had a nice light breakfast and headed for the Cat Walk Glenwood New Mexico We arrived at the parking lot and not another vehicle in site. Gathered out goodies filed out and paid our parking sticker and were on the trail.

Not really sure if we could make it or not here we go.

Total trip 1.1 miles each way and we both survived! Now for some well deserved rest.

Til next time, BYE!

Senior Citizen Cache Trip.

2010-03-15T19:06:00.001-07:00

Sunday March 14th

Yes, that’s right, a senior citizen caching trip. The crew Ceejay535, Garyjune and myself headed out to finish the series of caches that were were working on a couple of weeks ago.

Our Senior Cachmobile. Now how cool is this?

Here are some of the cache containers that we found.

This one is a duck head first in the sand. Remember these are all metal welded together.

We finished the series and really had a blast doing them. Geocaching gets more fun every day.

See ya all next time. Have fun and stay young. I 'am going to.

Looking a lot like spring here

2010-03-15T18:55:00.001-07:00

Saturday March 13th

Another ATV outing was held. I again got to lead the group .This trip was to the top of the Florida Mountains. We all met at an intersection part way down Hwy 11 called Sunshine. From there we headed South to County Rd 016 (Cameno Doese (Spelled wrong but 12 in Spanish)) No it does not make sense. There were only 4 of us but what the hell, we had a good time. I had been up there a couple of years ago but the so called road had washed out after that. The trip up was slow and sometimes quite hair raising.

The first picture is of the rock building at the bottom of the hill. That’s part of the Florida’s in the background. They are pretty awesome rocks.

We had left the vehicles about a half mile back and rode up to here just so we would have more ride time. After all it’s been awhile since our last ride.

This is one of the mines that we passed on the way up.

I think that this is one of the local miners……………

One of the switch backs on the way. Note the background in this. It’s a long ways down there.

This almost up at the top and is a hunters cabin which is sporting a new roof this year. A great place for us to have lunch, which we did.

Is this a view or what?

After a nice leisurely lunch and a bit of rest we headed the rest of the way up. Damn! it’s windy up here. We had a slight breeze all the way up but it was warm and felt good. Up here the wind was ripping pretty good and we were forced to put the long sleeve shirts back on. How ever it was very nice. We also passed this mine on the final leg up.

Oh Yeah, here is a Century Tree also.

We had an uneventful trip back down. Here is a link to Stu’s blog which has a few more pictures of the trip.

Geocaching 2010

2010-03-04T17:47:00.001-08:00

A day of Geocaching.

Attention Sharon, Yes you you know who you are.

Tuesday the 2nd at 6:15 as planned June and Gary (AKA Garyjune) showed up at my door step. We promptly loaded out cacheing gear, lunch, walking sticks, etc into my van. Then proceeded to meet Jake and Cindy (AKA Ceejay535) and hit the road. Our route to the first Geocache was around 90 miles away. We settled in and began the usual BS about everything from fixing the world to more reasonable things like caching. Finally coming to the dirt road that led to our first cache we turned off and shortly found our first cache of the day. The cache container was very unique. Take a look. When you lift the turret the whole deck opens up.

Yes, that is the cache container.

I will not be mentioning any names of these caches as they could be “Spoiler Pictures”.

We then headed on down the dirt roads and trails in search of other caches. We had specific caches in mind.

Here is a group picture of another cache.

The container is all welded metal and looks very realistic, including guy wires. actual cache was inside.

Another one

What a day. The entire crew had a blast.

We ended up getting 19 Caches for the day and got back into Deming at 6:00 PM, Then went out and had a Mexican dinner to finish the day. We were totally pooped.

1/26/2010

Went to the Doctor today complaining again about the soreness of the stitches left in my leg. He gave me a local anesthetic and dug them out, Wow, what a difference that made. I was able to put full weight on the leg that day. Things are looking up.

2010, The beginning.

2010-01-22T06:28:00.001-08:00

Williamsburg 01/15/2010

The infamous Deming Wrecking Crew headed off to Williamsburg for a week end get away and to attend a District VFW meeting in T or C. (Truth or Consequences). Friday started off good, we left Deming around 9:30 AM with good spirits and good intentions. About the time we were leaving Hatch things got thirsty. You ever try Heineken Dark Lager.? Good beer! Somewhere after that we made it to the AMVETS post 69 in Arrey. Here is a picture.

They were running a little slow today but we had a beer anyway.

Shortly after that we spotted a Border patrol vehicle which we thought would take pursuit so we put a paper bag on Hectors head so they would not know we had a Mexican in the vehicle. (He was driving) He claimed that he could not see where we were going so it was decided that he could hold Tigars tail so that he would know when to turn. Here is our navigator.

The Border Patrol gave up and we continued on.

We eventually reached our destination which luckily was open. A big sign behind the bar read “Welcome Deming Wrecking Crew” We were impressed and drank to it. After wetting our whistles a bit we checked into our respective rooms and met back at the VFW. Later, Much later one couple left (no names here) Later another couple left, (no names here either) then someone went to walk the dog, never saw him again that night. There was only 2 of the wrecking crew left to close the place so we did. End of Story. It’s mine and I am sticking to it.

OH! you want pictures? OK.

Here is the Crew.

Wanda

Candy

Bob

Hector

Stu

Betty

Yours Truly

Saturday morning we all headed for the T or C VFW for a District meeting. Upon arrival we found that we were a little early so just hung around until people started showing up. We had a great lunch of Brisket, Potato Salad, Beans, Rolls and a bunch of different deserts. After which the meeting was held. After adjournment it was back to the Williamsburg VFW. A few drinks were had a a great dinner was devoured. Green Chile Cheese Burgers were wonderful and I was told that the Green Chili Stew was also great. We managed to outlast the Williamsburg crew and still left early.

Sunday morning it was back on the road to Deming which went without a hitch, although we did stop for breakfast before getting home. Arrival in Deming was just in time to go have a beer with one of the members that did not attend and then it was off to the Nine Ball Tournament at the VFW (which I won). Now we can start our recovery for the next road trip. Some of this story was true and some was not, it’s up to you to figure it out…. Bye for now.

01/07/2009

Newest health update: Doctor says everything looks good, wear prosthesis more! OK, I'm trying and things are still slow but progressing. I am now up to a couple of hours a day and don’t get quite as sore. Here is a look at the new leg and foot. Looks kind of bionic doesn't it.

If you are one that loves old westerns check out this site. It is pretty cool.

Happy 2010

2010-01-01T12:24:00.001-08:00

Well, another year bit the dust. Sure do hope the new one will be better than the last. I was sure I would be walking by now but that has not happened yet. Maybe by the end of January.

Dec 31,2009.

A bunch of us were invited to a wedding being held at the American Legion Post. So being the good guys we are Stu and I were in attendance. It all started at 11:00 AM. Snacks and drinks were provided and we all had a lot of fun.

Just before 5:00 PM we headed for the VFW for a Prime Rib Dinner and New Years eve party. There is a possibility that we had a drink or two and played a bunch of pool while listening to Bob Delp and his band. Great music, great fun and a very good way to bring in the New year with a whole lot of Great Friends. Happy 2010 to Ya all……

Happy New Year

Christmas 2009

2009-12-23T18:31:00.001-08:00

Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Xmas Light Parade.

2009-12-06T20:13:00.001-08:00

Dec 05,2009

VFW Post 1477 entered a float in the annual Xmas light parade. The theme was “Christmases Past”. We decorated the float with lights, a tree with presents and a penguin and igloo. As it turned out the igloo was definitely at home as it was very, very, very chilly out. A few of the VFW riders joined us and we had a great time. The kids along the way really liked the riders driving around and giving out some candy.

Getting the float ready.

A slight problem getting the penguin inflated.

Our very own Eskimo

VFW Warriors. Now those are real elves………

Just Playing.

2009-11-24T12:23:00.001-08:00

Bob!

Happy

Thanksgiving

If' ya like BBQ,try here.

Veterans Day

2009-11-16T07:51:00.001-08:00

Well, I guess that a little late is better than never.

I attended the Veterans Day Memorial Ceremony at the local veterans park. There was a pretty good turn out, however there were a lot of local government speakers that did not make it. Too busy I guess. Pretty much every branch of military service was represented and all in all it was a good crowd. After the ceremony a free to veterans lunch was served at the Post 1477 VFW hall. My camera went South on me a few weeks ago, so I did not take any photo’s, however I did get a bunch from Matt Robinson.

Remember your Vets………

Halloween 09 Williamsburg VFW

2009-11-06T04:11:00.001-08:00

The Deming wrecking crew minus 2 made the trip to Williamsburg for the VFW Halloween party over the weekend. Stu and I arrived first closely followed by Hector, Betty, Wanda, and Pam. It was around 12:30. All got settled into rooms quickly and met at the VFW. We all wore our new “Wrecking Crew shirts” which everyone loved. The first order of business was to wet the whistle from the long (hour or so) dusty dirty ride from Deming to Williamsburg. It was rumored that the four in Hectors car were wetting before they got there but it was never proven.

Friday evening Sam set up all his karaoke stuff and got a good start on the evening. At one point during the evening I was presented with a gift which I was quite surprised. The reason, you ain’t gonna believe this. They did not know anyone else that would cut off their leg so that they could be a pirate for Halloween. Those people are flat out crazy. Loved it..

Saturday morning started out well enough, Bloody Mary’s and Coffee with or without Brandy. We finally made a corporate decision to go get some chewable food and off we went to Denny’s. This was an interesting experience as the waitress had a hard time with us and the orders. I asked for Pumpkin pie 3 times and she then finally brought Pecan Pie. OOP’S, I’ll bring the pumpkin………DUH! Afterwards we headed back to the “V” as it was decided that we were getting too late a start for going to the ghost town that we had intended to visit.

That night there was a costume party which was a real hoot. More Karaoke, and a couple more drinks. We closed the place at midnight again. Damn, hate it when that happens.

Sunday morning early. Earlier than we though as someone change dthe time on us in the middle of the night and forgot to tell us. Stu, Wanda and myself headed for Hillsboro. Wanda wanted to visit a friend there that had had a heart attack. It was a nice drive over from Williamsburg but we got there a might early. We drove on to Kingston, looked around then turned around and went back to Hillsboro. The cafe was finally open. We met Wanda’s friend Sonny and had breakfast there. Good ole biscuits and gravy………Then it was off to Deming as we have a pool tournament to play.

What a great weekend. I think that I can say that everyone enjoyed it.

Now for a few pictures.

Genie's and Jail Birds.

The crew. How patriotic is this?

Our favorite bartenders.

Sam doing his thing.

Is it next year yet???

Health Update.

For those of you who are wondering how I am doing when not out running around and having fun here ya go.

I received my semi permanent prosthesis last week. I am working with it as long as I can tolerate it and as much as possible. I am not completely healed yet so things are still a little slow. Therapy has a whole new meaning now, and I am now able to put approximately 50 percent on my weight on it. My plan next week is to daily go out to the truck and work with the clutch and see how it goes. I ended up getting a Caucasian pink instead of Black or Mexican brown. There is a joke behind that comment.

Side Comment.

While at the VFW in Williamsburg a lady came up to me and asked me if I would dance if she brought me a leg. Slightly confused, I said sure why not. Next thing I know she is standing in front of me with a leg in her hand. OOP’s…Sorry lady that’s the wrong leg and I can’t dance with 2 right legs. Her husband was an amputee, so she stole his leg……… Damn Vets, ya gotta watch em…………….

So long for now.

2nd Annual Luna Quad Squad Rodeo

2009-10-26T15:35:00.001-07:00

October 23-24th.

Day 1 Friday.

The 2nd annual Luna Quad Squad Rodeo was held at the home of Harold and Barb Hood.There was a great turnout of contestants, so there was a lot of meeting and greeting going on. Dry camping spots were provided for those from out of town or who just wanted to stay there.

Some people went out and checked out the poker run course and a lot tried the barrel race course. Most got the barrel race course wrong the first couple of times but all was good. We had a great time. There was a blind mans bluff run where the driver was blind folded and the passenger directed the quad through an obstacle course. Another event was the weenie bite where the passenger had to bite off the weenie while the quad was being driven under it.

Around 5 PM the Potluck started and we all filled our bellies with outstanding dishes. I think there were also a drink or two in there somewhere. Sometime after dark the Karaoke stuff was set up and the party began.

Day 2 Saturday

This is the day that the actual rodeo begins.Bloody Mary’s were served beginning at 8:00 AM. Some were ready and some were not!

So much went on today that I am have a hard time writing the blog and trying to pick pictures to post. Wish I could post them all but that ain’t gonna happen so this is what you get.

How in the hell are we going to wake Silver City up?????

A Rooster?

Starting line up for the day. A pass by of all the quads.

Some people saw the day like this.

Others saw it like this.

I am sure that others had other views but we will leave that to them. We probably did not want to know anyway.

Richard going for the Gold in the Barrel Race.

Bob doing something. What?

Richard fixin the weenie for the weenie bite.

This could be Stu biting the weenie. Or at least trying. Is that Wanda driving? I didn’t know she could drive.

Our host Harold and Lois.

Our Hostess Barb.

The mean green machine and I. I am the one blind folded.

Around the camp fire.

Lou, Wilma, and Trudy

Sunday Oct 25th

Bloody Mary’s, Coffee with or without Brandy, Scrambled eggs, Biscuits and Gravy were served starting at 9:00 am. What a wonderful weekend.

We are all looking forward to next years bigger and better event.

A big thanks to Harold and Barb for having us and to all that helped putting on the event. See ya’all next time.

Another ATV Adventure.

2009-10-26T05:30:00.001-07:00

Florida Mountains, East Side.

It was commented that I neglected to post anything on a ride that Bob, Candy, Stu, and I took a couple of weeks ago. Well here it is. We left the parking spot on Gap Rd around 9:30 or so and headed for the East side of the Floridas. We explored a lot of different roads and trails along the way. The views are really spectacular out that way. We had covered 23 miles when we turned around at 3 PM, and it took us 8 miles to get back to the trucks.

I somehow did not take any pictures on this trip but Candy did so here they are.

These poles are set in concrete.

An old cabin we passed on the way.

The gang except for Candy, Duh ! she was taking the picture.

This is actually part of the World famous Deming Wrecking Crew.

Another great day

2009-09-27T20:51:00.001-07:00

Saturday Sept 26th 2009. Destination Pinos Altos. A small town about 40 miles North of Deming. It sits up on the mountain amongst the pine trees and has lots of BLM land around it. Bob, Candy, Wanda, Stu and I were in attendance. We got a fairly early start from Deming. Got to the parking area that we wanted around 10:30 or so. Hit the trail not long after that. Within the first 1/2 mile we hit the rocks (I called it Pee gravel but no one believed me). It was the hardest part of the whole trip.

Here is a GPS track of the ride.

Looks like a long way don’t it? Not at all, it was only 6.1 miles round trip and only took us approximately 4 hours.

View from the top.

I neglected to get my camera out until we started back down the hill and I was not able to get the pictures from Candy that we took on the way up. So here is what we got.

Lunch on top of the hill.

Do you see Candy still riding in back of Bob??????

NO!

She is standing at the bottom of the hill with me.

She walked down……..

Is that Tigar driving again?

That’s going to have to do for now anyway.

Later.

Here is a website link that was sent to me and I thought that Ya’all would enjoy it. It is really beautiful, turn on your speakers.

Additional pictures from Candy’s Camera. These were taken on the way up.

We don’t know the story on this house but it sure would have been a nice one had it ever gotten finished. There is a lot of lumber missing since I was up here a year ago. Some was blown off and some disappeared for some other reason.

Had to add this one for Justin.

Victoria Mountain Ride

2009-09-14T12:53:00.001-07:00

Saturday morning September 12th, Wanda, stu, and I took off to Gage. It’s a little burg around 20 miles west of Deming. We were headed for the Victoria mountains for an ATV ride. We ended up getting started later than planned, but what the hell we had all day.

Stu and I traded trucks for the day as his has and automatic transmission and we were hauling to trailers. WOW, it sure felt good to drive again and I never once tried to push in the clutch. We parked in a large graveled area next to some kind of rock quarry and proceeded to get the ATV’s unloaded.

Here is a GPS track of our ride. It covers an area of around 14 miles, which was plenty for the day.

There were quite a few mines in this area but they were blocked from entry by metal grates, fences, etc. This was part of the mine safeguards act back in 1994. This project consisted of safeguarding 120 shafts, 18 adits and 26 open stopes. All disturbed areas were seeded. The various mines within the project area operated from about 1880 to 1948 and produced gold, silver, lead, copper, iron and zinc ores. It appears that the land was then sold to another company and worked for awhile in 1915 so the pictures of the rock building were not very old. They appeared to be employee housing.

I walked, hobbled up to this mine. From the ATV you could not see that it was sealed, so I had to take a look. Of course when I got there I was disappointed to see that it was sealed.

Inside the entrance I found the following plaque.

In case you can’t read it. A 10 year old boy that died in this mine in 1963.

This is one of the brass plates that they install on abandoned mines. It was placed when the mine safeguards act went into effect.

Here are a couple of shots of what's left of some of the buildings.

This is Wanda and Stu ripping down the road.

Stu and his very diligent navigator Tiger

The wide open spaces.

This rock we quickly dubbed as Apehead Rock, Can you see why?

We got back in town just in time to have a beer before heading to a Birthday party at the VFW. Wow what a day. I think we all died early that night.

Catch ya next time. Enjoy.

An enjoyable day.

2009-09-06T20:53:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Sept 05 Stu his dog Tiger and I went for an ATV ride on the East or back side of the Florida Mountains. Left camp around 8:00 am and had a really good time. It was kind of a test run to see how I could do on a days ride. I was quite happy as it turned out. Here are a few pictures taken during the day.

The first three were taken on the first stop we made. We followed the trail on up the hill past this building and found a mine and a lot of the stuff that goes along with it. There was a structure with 4 legs which were set in concrete inside 55 gal drums.

Here is a rock wall we spotted off one of the side trails.

Here is the top doorway of one of the mines that had been filled in.

This one was a Vertical shaft mine.

These were just neat mountain pictures.

Here is another rock wall we spotted in a really neat canyon.

All in all it was a great day, The leg held up better than expected although I rode side saddle most of the way back. Stu said he would not tell anyone that I rode the ATV like a girl. we got back to town around 4 Pm, Stopped at the Elks lodge and had a couple of cocktails to wash down the dust and headed back home.

That’s it until next time.

Not a happy camper.

2009-08-27T04:26:00.001-07:00

Yesterday 8/26 Travis took me to a couple of Dr appointments in Las Cruces. The second appointment was with the Dr that did my amputation. The PA walks in and looks at the incision, which I had already removed the dressing from and says, It looks like you got a little bit of infection there. Then asks why I had not come in to get the stitches removed 10 days after surgery. Well dude if you had told me to come in I might have done that but first off you did not tell me and second I was still in the Rehab Hospital at that time.Where were you guys? After much ado. I told him it was water under the bridge now and it’s to late so let’s get on with it. He prescribed some antibiotics and that’s that. The nurse, at least I assumed it was a nurse is this big guy over 6ft gets all his stuff together (We get along great and he has one hell of a sense of humor). and starts removing these stitches which have now been in me for a month. Needless to say I am NOT A HAPPY CAMPER as they are pretty much buried which pretty much means that it hurt like hell when he was removing them. Finally got em all out though, so it’s on to bigger and better things. Don’t you just hate it when you do everything you are told too and still catch hell for it…………………..????????????????. Now they want me to air out the wound and let it scab over. I have another appointment with them the 8th of next month.

That’s my story and I'm sticking to it.

The latest

2009-08-27T04:05:00.001-07:00

Well, the first week at home was a real learning experience. The thing that I thought would be the easiest (Taking a shower)turned out to be the hardest. Try doing your dishes while standing on one foot some day, sounds easy enough. Vacuuming and mopping the kitchen and bathroom floors were tricky but I managed. Tracy came over and helped me with laundry and Travis has also been indispensible with various tasks that I could not do.

John, a friend from Colorado showed up in Deming on Monday, so him Deloris ( a school mate of Johns) and I went slumming. Went to the American Legion and Membris Golf club house for a couple of drinks. I had to drink water (That really sucks) as the meds they have me on and alcohol do not mix. I think that the alcohol would make a better pain killer.We had fun and some interesting conversations.

Tuesday 08/18 John and I went to Palomas MX to get some OSO Negro (Mexican Gin). We each picked up 2 bottles. Had some Guacamole and Tacos. We notice something a little different about the tacos and come to find out they had PaPas (Potatoes) in them. They still tasted fine.

The Golden years

2009-08-17T05:42:00.001-07:00

I wasn’t really sure whether or not to post this, but then decided to go ahead.

I was on my way out of New Mexico heading for Colorado when on July 5th my left leg calf started bothering me. By about 6 PM I could hardly walk. Around 2 AM I could still not sleep, I got up and drove to the Membris Hospital Emergency room and checked in. At 6 AM I had still not been called and the pain had subsided so I drove back to Elephant Butte where I was camped at the VFW. I moved from the WFW to Elephant Butte campground and spent Sunday night there. Early Monday morning I decided that I had better head back to Deming and get to a Dr. I checked into Sunrise RV park, then called and got an appointment with a Vascular Surgeon. The appointment was for the next day. Travis drove me to Las Cruces and I met with the Dr. He sent me straight to Mt View Hospital. The next day they did a angiogram.

The next day I have no recollection of. (Damn good drugs). The following day they did an arterial bypass on my leg. From here on out my time line is really screwed up due to the good drugs.

I think that I started living at Travis and Theresa’s on the 15th of July as I needed to have Home Health come in to check on me and they would not come to the RV. We had a small Birthday get together on the 20th for Theresa and my birthdays. Then on the 24th I could not handle the pain anymore and called the Orthopedic surgeon in Las Cruces and explained what was going on. I made the Dr appointment and was again admitted to Mt View Hospital. I believe it was on the 26th the Dr and I decided to amputate the leg. They wanted a blessing from the Cardiologist before continuing so Dr Leon was contacted. the following day Dr Leon came in to see me and check me out. Gave his blessing to the other Doctors. On the 30th my leg was amputated. Things again became a blur and at some time a few days later (Aug 1st) I was transferred to Rehabilitation Hospitals of Southern NM, which was only a couple of building away. I worked my tail off in therapy so that I could get back home and was released on the 12 of August.

I had an appointment with the Prosthesis Dr the day I got out of the hospital and he gave me a temporary leg/foot . I am not able to walk on it but it is intended to get used to the weight and regain some balance. I wear it 5 to 10 minutes a day and put as much weight on it as I can stand. It attaches to a brace that is helping me straighten out my leg so it will not bend at the knee. The next temporary should bend at the knee.

It is great being back in my own house although there was quite a learning curve to figure out how to get in and out of the house, taking a shower, doing dishes and all the rest of my house hold duties.

Things are going well so far and I start therapy this coming Friday the 21st. I have signed up for Senior Citizens rides to do Dr appointments, shopping and anything else that comes up. Will not be driving for quite some time.

I think that all this means is that I will not be leaving NM until sometime next year. OH Well!

Thank you to all that sent cards ,called , Emailed or visited. I really appreciate it.

Here is a link to a few pictures of my leg. Don’t want anyone freaking out so no imbedded pictures. If your brave take a look if not skip the link. Photos were self taken with my cell phone so quality isn’t great.

So long for now.

PS: I will get a parrot for my shoulder as soon as I can afford one.

Fourth of July Winston/Chloride NM

2009-07-05T13:28:00.001-07:00

The motley crew casually known as the “Deming Wrecking Crew” so named by VFW Post 3317 of Williamsburg NM took a tour of a couple of small towns nearby. They would be Winston and Chloride. Below is the Motley Crew. This particular picture was actually taken in Chloride.

You can click on the images to enlarge them.

Names will be withheld to protect Me.

We first stopped at the General store in Winston. Quite the little place and had everything from food, hardware, tack and blankets.

Originally called Fairview, the town was settled in 1880-81 by miners who found the area more agreeable than nearby Chloride. By 1884, it had 3,100 people

How about this modern day drill press

The next stop was Chloride, which is just a few more miles up the road. On the way there a BBQ chuck wagon was spotted and was immediately tagged as the lunch stop on the way back. We traveled on up the road to Chloride and pretty much had to check the cooler and make sure the beer was still cold. It Was. About the first thing you see on arriving in town is the side of the museum and this building.

Inside the building is the stove and fireplace.

Outside are these flowers. I was told they were New Mexico Bird of Paradise.

This little place was just down the street from the museum and so called saloon.

We finished up the trip with the afore mentioned BBQ Chuck Wagon which was excellent.

Under way 7/2/09

2009-07-02T17:19:00.001-07:00

Well, I think that I have officially left Deming. I got on the road this morning about 5:00 am after a crappy nights sleep. I think it may have been anticipation of leaving. Feet hit the floor @ 2:30 AM. Arrived at Elephant butte State park around 7:00 am, and it was pretty much full due to the 4th of July weekend. Unhooked at a wide spot and headed out to find the Williamsburg VFW. Found it and got an OK to camp in their parking lot…Went back to Elephant butte and got the 5th wheel and headed for the VFW. After getting set up I of course went in to have a cool one. Cool, they are having a 9 Ball tournament at 2:00 PM.

Later on in the day, Faired OK at the tournament but ended of loosing. Oh well that happens quite a bit.

AT 3:30 The temp here hit 103…………………………………….I was sure that I had gained a bunch of elevation and was headed North. It sure don’t feel like it.

Petroglyphs

2009-06-28T03:25:00.001-07:00

Yesterday, Saturday a couple of friends and I took a trip out the some Petroglyphs not far from here. What we found were a lot of them were missing. Yes missing,, someone has removed a large portion of them either just for the hell of it or to add to collections. However we did manage to find some with a lot of climbing around up high. We were just a tad over 5000 ft which in this area is only a 1000 ft above Deming. Here are a few pictures and you can make up your own mind. Some are fake and some are not.

Some grinding holes.

This one we thought looked like a horny toad after trying to cross the road

Maybe an Ibex?

Possibly horses?

Fishhook Cactus.

Later folks.

Time to post something. 6/19/2009

2009-06-21T18:12:00.001-07:00

Back at the Blog again, at least temporarily. I made the big move today from Rockhound State Parkt to City of Rocks State Park. A grand total of 43.5 miles. Long Day. I had outlasted my stay of 21 days at Rockhound so had to move.

OOP’s. Guess I did not get them that day so I did today 6/21/09. This is the road into the park. The park is the rocks in the background.

A little closer shot of the rocks and park.

This is the beginning of a long nature trail.

One of the 2 working windmills that supply all of the parks water.

Some other shots around the park. There are more Jack Rabbits here than I have seen in any one place for a long time.

That’s it folks. With any luck I will be on the road before next week..

Later all..

Gila Cliff Dwellings

2009-02-24T18:58:00.000-08:00

Today 2/24/09, I decided that I needed a break so I combined a Geocaching/Sight seeing trip to the Gila Cliff Dwellings.

The following pictures are in areas that I found Geocaches.

This Was really a neat place. The windmill was actually turning.

This is at the beginning of the trail into the Gila Cliff Dwellings.
The trail is 1 mile long, but is not a bad walk. The first half is a gentle climb up to the dwellings. The other half is fairly steep but is downhill.

Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument offers a glimpse of the homes and lives of the Mogollon people who lived in this area over 700 years ago.. The surroundings probably look today very much like they did when the cliff dwellings were inhabited.

These are some grinding holes.

Twas a pretty long day, so I'am off to bed. Left this morning around 6:00 AM and got back to Deming around 4:00 PM.

Later.

Forgot this one last night.

I stopped here on the way back from the Dwelling. It is called an Arrastra and was used to crush rock in order to get the gold out.

New Years 2009

2009-01-01T05:02:00.000-08:00

Well, here we are in the year 2009. I sure hope that it goes better than 2008 did. New Years eve I went out to the Deming VFW for an outstanding Prime Rib Dinner followed with a cocktail (or 2). We commenced to playing pool shortly after dinner and had some great games. At 10:00 PM sharp we had a count down for the (Senior) New Year. You know the one for the older folks that can't make it until midnight. We then resumed our pool games until at the stroke of midnight we officially brought in the New Year.

Happy 2009 everyone.

2008-12-24T05:13:00.001-08:00

Merry Xmas
and
a
Happy New Year to everyone.

June 18-30. Elephant Butte State Park

2008-07-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

Hello and good Tidings to all. June started off with a bang here in New Mexico. For them of u's who do not know this, it gets windy in Deming. Along with those winds come some sand storms like you see in Movies. Ever seen the Mummy?? That wall of sand coming at them....that was taken from a windy Deming day. NO shit. The stuff is called blow sand. And it blows in every crack and cranny around. One learns how to dust alot, or ignore it and live on. Whatever is ones own personal deal. This year has been highly unusal for the amount of dust storms. Every time we get a big dusting here, we watch the news the next morning and tornados have devistated the mid west.
Chuck decided he needed a break in the dustings, so we (in we I mean Joanne took her motor home and chuck and I took ours) went to elephant Butte State park. It is outside of T"r" C and has a big lake. It was decided that Teresa, Travis, Gary and Keith would follow on the weekend.

Our week out there just us three was fun and relaxing. I got in lots of naps. The dogs loved the water and chased sticks to there little doggie leggs were tired.
Then came Friday and in the early evening Keith and Gary show up. Keith brought his jet skis and Gary brought the tent and his canoe. So, let the story's begin.

This is the arrival of Gary and Keith. Notice that Dozer, Keiths puppy is asleep over the center of the truck.That can only mean one or two things. One, Garys driving scared the crap out of the poor little pooch and it has fainted. OR TWO, the puppy is stoned on JD. I pick the first one.

The first night Keith and Gary show up, Gary comes into the camp ground we are in. Us people with the RV's believe in comfort. We are in a regular park set up with air conditioning and we have tables with shade. A requirement when one likes comfort. Gary decided it is way to "civilized" for him. HE wants to CAMP by the water. So we show him a nice stop and he says NO. HE wants to go somewhere else. Moncelelo campground eight miles up the road. So much to my disappointment, we say goodbye and off they go. After all, this is THEIR time off work and they should be allowed to do what they want. Correct??
Joanne, Chuck and I go home, make dinner and are deciding what game to play when in walks Gary and Keith. They decided it would be more fun for the family to camp together than apart. Yeah, I am so happy now!!!
So we all go back to the original spot we had showed them and proceed to unpack. Gary gives Jo and I the job of pumping up his air mattress. So I start the foot action (easier on Jo's back cause she has back issues). No air is going in. So Jo gets on the ground of her knees and holds the hose in the hole slot so air will not escape. After awhile Jo say's "Dee, this thing is not pumping up." I replay I know cause my leg says so, Then Jo say's to me "Dee, look at this, it has not top for the hole." After careful exam by Jo and I, we have decided that Gary has lost the screw top to the air mattress, thus letting all air not settle inside the said mattress.
Gary could not find the top. (He did find it in the morning in his canoe) So poor Gary has no air mattress to lay on.
In the meantime, Gary, Chuck and Joe put the tent up. Keith is getting out his ice chest of junk food he bought. Seems these two guys forgot to eat. So we sit around eating junk food and getting eaten by some damm little bugs. The smart ones (chuck, jo and I) decide to go home. To many bugs, to much junk food and it is getting time for bed anyhow.
We are all happy, say our goodnights and come up for breakfast in the morning.
In the early, and I mean early morning here shows the guys. Look what happened during the night. Remember those wind and sand storms I told you about in Deming. Well, I guess they get there share of them here also.
During the night a hughe wind came in. It knocked the tent apart and was blowing sand around. Keith and Dozer were sleeping under the little shade canopy and that was the first to go. Gary was inside the tent. Keith decided hell with this, so he picked up his bag, dog, cigarettes and headed for the truck. These are pictures Keith took as he was in the truck.
These pictures are not in order, so I will explain and you can go back and scroll.

This is Gary stuck inside his tent trying to find his way out. The tent has rolled over and he can not find an exit zipper. Keith said he was laughing so hard tears were rolling down his cheeks. Gary was all over inside that damn dark tent, falling over himself and blankets, rolling it to and fro to find a zipper to help him to freedom. Keith said it took about 15 minutes of this fun.

This is the aftermath.
The guys ended up moving to our camp site.

The next morning, Travis and Teresa arrive. Here are the three guys getting stuff ready for something.

And now this scene. I have never been on a jet ski. GAry took it out to see how it handles. Notice how it handles. Gary and I had so so much fun. Did you know that when you go to turn the jet you have to give it gas, NOT let OFF the gas. It was a fun learning experience, even though Jo got a crink in her neck.

Here is Keith and Gary (two accidents waiting to happen!!) playing pull the toad. Gary is on a boogie board and Keith is towing him around. I think this shot was one of the few we got when Gary was actually being pulled and not drowning himself.
This is Travis and Gary. Notice Travis is standing. Hard to balance that way. Needless to say they fell down lots of time's but they were entertaining us and making the whole beach laugh at there antics.
This is Teresa and Travis at camp. I had made coffee frostie's and they were thinking they were in some tropical island. Clint, their fur child is behind them and that is Jo's mobile behind them.
Well, I guess that is the end for now. Tonight we are all going to the races and watch the cars crash and see more fireworks. Until we post again, take care.

Mothers Day weekend, Pinos Altos New Mexico

2008-05-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

Yep, as usually we are late. Yes, I said usually. ha ha
Today it is 97 degrees and it is only 10:30, it is suppose to get up to over 100 today. I get my lay in the sun time in early. Nope, no pictures of that grossness.

Onto mothers day. Chuck and I, Gary, Joann, Keith and Travis went to Pinos Altos on an ATV ride and to Check out Keiths mines he has there. This is just some of the cool stuff we found while we were out.

Lookie, Lookie at the cave. It was really cool. Seriously, at least 30 degrees cooler than outside!! This is the entrance.

Gary went in First, Travis making sure he is in before he decended, than I went.

This is going in the inside. Keep in mind it is pitch black in this thing, so my flash was really working great. (Much to Travis's disappointment as I kept blinding him)

Yep, see the blind. Notice the little flashlight, then all the sudden comes my flash. It looks like poor Travis's eyes were caught off guard. Yeah, you can be sure I got the word to knock it off. Of course as always, Travis was very polite about it. We found no gold in this mine, but will go back at a later date with a better light system to check it out.

Look at that fine looking boy. This is after we left the cave and had been running around for awhile on the ATV's. Pancho found a mud pond and had a blast. Here he is looking to make sure I am still with him. He has to be sure I am behaving myself. (I can never misbehave between my dog and family....)

Now, this is Belle. This is Pancho's girlfriend. They look alike do they not. We are planning a wedding for them in October. No babies cause both have been fixed, but kids are not everything in a relationship.

This is Pancho teaching bell how to dig a proper hole. She seems to be doing a pretty good job. That hole got pretty deep. We looked (and found) gold flakes in the dug up soil.

This is Belle's mom and our friend Joann. She is a fun person and a great friend.

Here is Chuck and Gary finding a vein of gold. I mean, they got a nice haul out of this little pile of rock. Gary and Keith's main job that day was to teach Joann and I how to spot gold and to tell the difference from fools gold to real gold. Keiths mine is full of gold.
Here is a great picture. It shows the learning going on. We were just in a little wash looking at rocks and found a bunch with veins of gold in them. Next stop is Keiths to pulverize the gold and other mineral. That has not happened yet as Chuck got a major head cold, and now everyone else is getting it. Yes, the family who shares is a good thing, but don't you think there should be limits???
Here is Keith and Chuck at the top of the world.
There is so many more pictures, but for now that is all.

The sad news however, is my poor little Pancho got attacked by on of Gary's big dog's. Pancho is in recovery, but has three broken ribs, a bruised spine, holes all over his neck, face, side's and rear end.
It appears Scout picked Pancho up and shook him. I thank god that Pancho's neck and back was not broken. A lesson here is no matter how much the big dogs and little dogs get along and play, NEVER trust them alone like I did. Scout was being a dog, and I can not hate him for that, but from now on, Pancho will NEVER play with a big dog without me there. Especially with my little boys macho bravo. I am sure that Pancho was on Scouts ass when it came to who owns what house as Scout got Pancho right at our steps coming into our trailer. I had seen a display of aggression on Pancho's part to the other dogs about what is his territory (his house). I am sure this is what happened and Pancho got the better of the aggression. Scout is no angel either. He is an intact male that has attacked and torn up Gary's donkey, so I do not put that dog on a parasol. I would of shot him for attacking and tearing up the donkey, but it is not my dog.
I just learned a valuable lesson at my poor dogs expense.
The vet here was great and Thank you to my sis for doing a long distance Reika on Pancho.

Well, for now, I guess this is all I have to say. We have been waiting on the weather to change in the Midwest. I have a great fear of Twisters. I have been in Hurricanes, earthquakes, lighting storms, small floods and a couple of close calls with Twisters. Nothing makes me more afraid than these dam twisters that come out of the sky and suck you dead.

So until I post again, Take care of each other and be happy.
Chuck , Dee and Pancho

Bad month

2008-03-27T10:41:00.000-07:00

Hi ya all,
This is a no picture blog update. I thought I better do a fast update even though it has not been a great month so far. The month started out bad in late February.
Keto, Teresa's father passed away. It is and was so very sad. He had been in poor health for quite awhile, but we never expected him to die. But I guess he got tired of fighting, and passed on at five in the morning after everyone had left his room. Snicky.
His funeral was Hugh as he was loved and respected by so many many people. Teresa and her family are doing ok at this point. Martha and Keto were married for 42 years. They held his service in the same church that they have been attending since they were first married. The priest even broke down in his messages to the people. I had to go lay down in the car. I guess I do not do funerals so good. The last one I went to was when my lovely niece Nichole was killed in a horrible car wreck ten years ago.I got sick to my stomach at the funeral and was feeling pretty upset. His death really effected me and Chuck.

Then, on top of this horrible event, Martha, Teresa's mother is now going through radiation for Brest Cancer. She is staying in Las Cruses with one of the daughters. My gosh, when it rains it pours. If you all pray, send one her way. Martha is one of the most sweetest wonderful people you will EVER meet in your life. If anyone is worth a word of goodness to god, it is her.

A day or two after the funeral I got really sick. I got the flu and a horrible headache. Then on top of that I got the stomach flu along with the damn headache. Then on top of the stomach flu I got a chest cold. Thank god the headache went away. So for the last three weeks I have been in bed, on the couch, or praying to the porcelain gods. Today I am feeling like sitting up and writing. I have to say I am sorry to the people who have wrote to me asking for messages, visits, etc. I really have not been on my computer since February 27th.
Oh, yeah, I went to the doctors about this. They thought I had a blockage in my stomach and talked of putting me in the hospital for surgery. Not enough stress as it was so lets add to Dee's misery. Thank god we waited (the doctor admitted they know NOTHING about Gastric Bi-pass patients and suggested I go to Cruses or El Paso for a second option) as that was a non issue. However, I am going to ask my Doctor in Texas who did my surgery for a recommendion of a doctor in this area (las cruses or el paso) in case anything does come up. I am grateful that the doctor was honest with me about what would happen if I ever needed a Specialist. I like honesty.

While all this is going on, My darling Chuck is getting the deeds recorded from the property we have bought. I was getting scared about the " What IF's" of life. Keto's death scared me into thinking what if something were to happen to Chuck. What would I do with a Trailer and a truck? Where would I go, what would I do??? Where could we afford to live if we had to stop traveling for health reasons? Chuck just had another stint put in his body a couple of months ago.
Being that we have so many places we really liked, it came down to what is affordable in todays economy. Well, we decided that Deming is the affordable place. Oregon is out of the question as everything is so expensive there. Property, taxes, cost of living. Sky high. So is Northern California. Texas is expensive and way to hot and humid in the summer for Chuck. He can not take the humidity. Mexico would be nice, but even in Mexico it is expensive to live in the places I would want to be, and besides that, there is humidity that Chuck would be in misery dealing with.
So Deming it is. So we have purchased two acres here on the hillside and plan on building a house very slowly. This year we got the property. Maybe by next year we will put in a well, then a septic, etc. etc. The goal is to do this as cheap as possible and not have to incur a construction loan. Chuck is still not in the mood to stop traveling, nor does he want me to get a job, so this is where we are at for now.
I can deal. Not that "dealing" is hard. I do enjoy our travel time.

Pancho is fine. He is happy. He is killing his rats left and right and keeping down the rodent population. He sleeps with me during the day, goes out in the evening to hunt and is in bed with us at bed time. My being sick has really helped him catch up on his much needed naps. It is so nice to have such a loyal dog like my little boy. Gosh I just love him to death!!!

So until I am up and running around, please accept this typing as our blog. Soon we will get some pictures out. Although I am not sure when we are leaving Deming to continue our travels. I know we are thinking of going to Kansas, Visiting Joe, Becky and Poochie in Missouri and then onto So. Dakota in July. I would like to go see the grand Tetons this summer also, so perhaps this summer we can post some interesting stuff.
Until then, take care of each other and do not forget to let the ones you love KNOW you love them. Again, I am sorry for not staying in better touch, but that is the way the ball bounces when I am sick. I really feel way to sorry for myself during the throws of sickness to care about anything else. I am such a baby!!!

We are still here. Quartsite, that is.......

2008-02-03T09:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Chuck and I decided to go on an ATV ride. It was suppose to be sunny and in the high 60's, but because the weather does not always respond to the predications it was sunny and COLD. However, we went in the morning thinking it would warm up. It did for about an hour. Here is some neat places we went. This place is called Dripping Springs. It was a two hour ATV ride into the canyons. My gosh but it was so beautiful. We were slowly riding through canyons made of rock that had cactus of all sorts gowning out of the cracks and crevices on our way to this spring.
This is the outside view of the cave and some of the water that feeds the area.

This is not a moon shot. It is looking out from the cave. Yeah, I know it looks weird in this picture, but trust me, we are inside looking out.

this is me inside the cave. Notice how wide and roomy it is. It was fairly dim inside (not dark as it does not go back real far) with lots of moisture. Notice the black beenie. Somehow it fell off of my head and I lost it. Dang. Just walking around and these things happen!!! Hope some cute little rodent finds it and makes a nice warm bed out of it.

This is my Chuckie in the cave. His head is just about resting on the top of the cave. We are still inside of it.

This is a tree outside of the cave. Your probabley thinking what is the big deal about a tree. Well, this tree has been there for over a hundred years. Imagine the changes this tree has seen. Indians, generations of coyotes, soldiers, now people with motor driven vehicles to it.

This is part of what we were seeing in the countryside. It was all very pretty.

We found some art work. Chuck and I are not sure if this is from Indians or not. Lots of people have defaced the rocks out there and now one can not tell real from fake.

This is me inside a canyon. We were looking and talking in how pretty it is.

After these canyons we went for a drive. Chucks GPS said there way an arch about four miles from where we were. Well, that four miles took us about three hours to get to it going the way we went. But what a neat ride. Over hill and dell and washes. Up and down and everywhere their are nice rocks I would LOVE to pick up. We got to the arch, took our picture, took a break and onward towards home.

So that was it for our big day. We came home, I made us a hot drink and Chuck bought us some more property in Deming. Great day. We will write more later. Take care of each other!!!

Still in Quartsite.

2008-01-21T18:34:00.002-08:00

Sunday Jan 20th 2008
Quartsite, AZ

Yeah, I know it is really not Sunday, but this is what we did on Sunday. It was a fine day. Chuck, Pancho and I went on an ATV ride to look for Geo Caches in the desert hills. It was a nice sunny day with no wind. I was actually able to take my two jackets off for about an hour, although I did have long sleeve on. It is still cold to me, around 50 during the day. I think on this Sunday the temp got up to the mid 60's.

A Crested Saguaro Cactus, Apparently fairly rare that is is growing like this.

I liked the texture of this cactus as it grew. These cactus look in a lot better shape from a distance. Bird and mice seem to tear them up pretty good to the point that some of them die.

The way this is shaped and the angel this picture was taken is quite cool.

These two Cactus we called the twins. They looked almost like twins. We did not see any cactus like these two the whole day, so I guess they must be pretty special growing close to each other like that and looking so much the same.

This sign gave us a good laugh. It was an "oh shit" road to going up. I had to get off and walk at one point. Going down I got to stay on the ATV, but it was fun.

This is uphill and is the good part. It is to bad that the camera never show's how steep a road or trail really is. This thing, although it is the good part was pretty steep.

This is from the top. At the top there is a mine. It is not an old mine either as the post holding the entrance have round nails in them. Also there is tin at the entrance, something the old miners did not have and probley would not of been able to carry anyway.

All those white dots are RV's, and this is only 1 small section of them.

I really would like to take one of these red barrel cactus back to Deming. There are so many here that I told Chuck from a distance they all look like red headed Indians peaking for attack over the rocks. I can not take any back however cause it is illegal to take anything out of an Arizona desert. Even dead branches of cactus. Besides, it might not live until we get back to Deming, so I guess these cactus are safe from me relocating them.

While we were at the mine, some other ATVers came up the road. There are so many people here that while riding you will run into people. Not only on ATV's, but in Jeeps, dune buggies and motorcycles. They all drive Pancho crazy. He wants to bit them all.

This is me looking that the entrance of the mine. Pancho is following.

This is the entrance. A big section of the entrance fell down, or it was blasted off to seal off the entrance. There was rail tracks going into it also, you can see them at the bottom of this picture. It would of been a neat place to explore if it was safer. Or if you wanted to lay on your belly and crawl in. I am not that into going into an unsafe area that I would get on my belly and crawl through beams, rat poop and owl poop hoping NOT to run into a rattler that I would do that. Pancho did not even want to go in very far and that say's a lot when your dog says no.

This is at another place away from the mine. If you look closer or make the picture bigger by clicking on it you can see Old Indian writings. Very cool.

Do you Know what this is??? Yes, it is a hole, but from what???

This is what it looks like when you walk up to them. They are holes that the women would put corn and nuts in to grind. I can just see these women talking while they watch the water in the river (This is on a river bar and I expect at one time there was quite a bit of water here) and the children while they worked. So this is some of what we saw on Sunday. It was a fine day and we had a blast. Pretty country in the hills with lots to see. We also came upon some rocks that people over the years have carved into. Some as old as 1903. One I was real impressed with was from a Mexican man in 1925. The time he took to carve the way they used to write was real impressive. Sorry we did not get a picture of that. We will continue to post as we go.

More of Quartsite

2008-01-17T18:00:00.001-08:00

Thursday January 17th

Today we went to the "Main Event" area.

Dee picked up some feathers for her art stuff and I managed to pick up 10 air chucks. 10, Why 10? Well because they were 10 for $1.00 or you could get a steal deal and pay $.50 each. So 10 works for me.

Here are a few shots of vendor spots.

Dee here. Look at all the twirlers. These were a big seller five years ago the first time we saw them. We have a brown one with a adobe house on it. Now they have anything you can imagine on them. Very pretty.

If you click on this picture you can see these neat little birdhouses. This could be a good do it yourself project if you get your own wood. I thought they were pretty cool. Pancho wanted to mark them, but we have a rule. No marking around the vendors things. This includes tents. Needless to say, I carry the little boy allot when we are in the vendors area.

Chuck liked these wooden things. I agree they took a lot of work, but we did not need any. I think if they had motors chuck might of thought a little harder about one.

This is the vendor I get my stuff at. Yeah, lots of killed animals, but we people seem to like things like that. Personally, I do not mind killed animals as long as their ate. I wonder how many people ate them coyotes and foxes. Wonder if they tasted like chicken?

After doing the vendor thing, we came home and ate lunch, then I settled in to keep warm under my blanket and read a book. About a half hour later, Chuck thought going to get a Geo Cache would be good. I was not going to go cause it is pretty cold, but Pancho was having such a fit at the door I decided he needed to go out for an outing. Man was that dog ready!!! He was so happy to be on the ATV he jumped up on Chucks shoulders and smiled the whole way. We ended up getting three Geo Caches. It was a lot of fun. We went over rocky hills and into washes and had a grand time.
When we got back it was about five in the evening. That is the time the coyotes come out and start to scout around the trailers to smell the cooking smells. Pancho was in my arms and I still had his ATV harness on him. I was glad about that as he decided he was going to defend us against the coyote. The coyote just stood there watching. I guess the coyote was about 30 feet away. Anyway, after a bit the coyote got tired of waiting for me to put down its snack (that would be Pancho) so it turned around and slowly walked away. Poor Pancho, another coyote got away. Pancho sure is brave when he is in my arms or in the truck. Very mean one he is.

Tomorrow if Chuck does not forget the camera, maybe we can get some pictures while we are out on the ATV. Personally, I know I have spent more money than Chuck here, but I am about ready to break down and get another jacker. One with a windbreaker built in. I am in three layers of long sleeved jackets and still the cold wind is bitting into me. Lets all give Dee a big "AAAHHH poor Dee." There, thank you.

Running around in Quartsite.

2008-01-17T06:44:00.002-08:00

Tuesday, January 15th 2008

This area is called Tyson Wells, which is at the junction of I-10 and Arizona Hwy 95. SW and is where the "Big tent" is located. The tent will open on Jan 19th.

This Saguaro Cactus must be older than dirt as they do not get their first arm until they are 75 years old. So I am told.

This is a good example of some of the vendors all around. However, here at Tyson Wells the walking area is covered with outdoor rugs to keep out the dust some.

One of the many kinds of Rocks/Gems available here.

Chuck was thinking these big ones would make a great bathtub. I told him it would probley scrape up our butts to much, so he decided not to buy one. (Thank god!!!)

Noticed the price on this sucker. What the heck is this person thinking????

Wednesday January 16th 2008

This area is one near what is called the "Main Event"

Pancho loved this spot. He growled and growled and amused people all around us with his challenging these dang Coyotes. I do not think the owner was so impressed however. Oh Well, it DID bring attention to his vendoring spot so I think he should of given Pancho a bone.

This is the "Hi Jolly" memorial. Check out the history here.
It was also a Virtual Geocache.

Quartzsite Day 2

2008-01-14T19:01:00.001-08:00

Look!!! A posting within a day of the other one!!!! We are doing great. It was a good day. Little windy in the early afternoon, but by the evening it was really nice weather. Chuck took a ride on the ATV while I stayed home and cleaned (I really like to clean the house when the hubby is not underfoot......all 31 feet of the house on wheels) So here is some pictures he took today.

Here is our home for the time being.

A view from one of the old mines West of us.

The next 3 were taken from atop "Q Mountain" I has a big Q on the side facing town.

This is the mine that the first picture was taken from.

Quartzite Arizona

Day 1 in Quartzsite, AZ

2008-01-13T17:42:00.000-08:00

We have arrived. We are in a short term campground half mile from town. We road our ATV into town, but I'll get back to that in a minute. We left Deming and Geo Cached our way to Tucson. We stayed at the Desert Diamond Casino. We have stayed there twice before, but were shocked to see it this time. They built that Casino up big time. It now has a six story Hotel, a very expensive buffet, $10.95, (no, we did eat in there, we had left over chinese food) along with a sit down and order restaurant, and a hughe casino. Some people who parked next to us last night ate at the sit and order restaurant and were disapointed in it. They said that you order everything separate. They ordered prime rib. Then had to order a potato and then a salad. They said the food was not bad, but the price of the meal was way more than they expected. They were from Canada, so if they were unhappy about the price, you know it was overpriced. From what I understand, going out for a meal in Canada is more costly than the U.S. and the portion's are smaller also. So most of the people we have met from Canada think eating out in the U.S. is a bargain.
Anyway, last night I was beat. So I went to bed at 7:30. Chuck followed. Our neighbors decided to turn on there generator just as we were going to bed. So I laid there until they turned it off at nine. Very polite I might add for them to keep to the unwritten rules of camping next to someone......turning off the generator at nine. My bad for trying to sleep before nine. Anyway, they turn it off and last thing I remember is thinking "Thank god...now I can to to sle...

Unfortunally, they decided to leave at 4 in the morning. On goes there motor home engine, up goes our eyes. They of course had to let it warm up as it is freezing weather ( at least in MY mind) and by then there is no going back to sleep. So after chuck heats up the house, I got up, warmed up coffee and put it in a thourmas, brushed hair and teeth, got the slide outs in, put the satellite ON the bed and Pancho OUT of bed and away we went. We got here in Quartzsite by 11.

Found us a nice place to park and after setting up, we went for a ride on the ATV. Now, you all know us, and you know we NEVER go looking for things to happen to us or come our way. NEVER. It just happens to find us. What found us today while we are at an old mine looking for a Geo Cache is four teen age boys. They are about 16. One of them decided he liked us so much that he decided to show us his butt. Several times. All the while yelling and telling us to Look at him. Well, not him, but as HE said, his ass. Duh. Your showing your ass to us, yes, we are (were) looking. He never turned around to show us anything else, but did you all know that some people can bend over, walk sideways while pleading for someone to keep looking at there white cheeks........all at the same time going down hill on a rock road. Youth is amazing.
I told Chuck he should go over and beat the shit out of the little fuc-er to defend my honor, but Chuck did not think I was offended enough. Dam.

So we found a dirt road into town. We can just ride the ATV down a wash and PRESTO there is town. In all different directions to. Quartsite itself has changed a whole lot in five years. There are building house's all over the place. New Stores. It is still RV city here, but I think that is what helps fund this town.
Anyway, we are in La Posa West. It is a short term (two weeks) area. We are amoung other campers (All very nice people and Pancho has a friend to play with) in a brush part of the desert. I like this as it keeps the dust down as it does get windy here in the afternoons and evenings. But the sky is clear and it is pretty. The people across from us are feeding the coyotes, so we have to be extremely careful with Pancho. These coyotes are pretty used to RVers feeding them, so they are not scared of humans. They stay back about 20 feet from what the neighbors say, but 20 feet is just a short dash and grab for my little dog, so I keep my eyes peeled. Pancho thinks he wants to go tear them apart. He has been pretty upset that Chuck and I are not letting him kick some wild coyote butt!!! Chuck and I are pretty sure it will not turn out as he thinks. While I have been writting this, he is crying to go out, pushing on my leg and begging to go out. The answer is no. No outside.
So here we are and will be for at least a couple of weeks.
We will post pictures when we take some. Yes, I will make sure to TRY to get them in here in three days time.
(we know I should not make any promises about keeping up with our blog now don't we!!!)

Take care of each other and hug and kiss who you love.
Chuck, DeeDee and Pancho

Christmas in Deming

2007-12-31T20:46:00.000-08:00

Trying something different this time

We are putting our Christmas pictures on a slide show this time. You get to see more pictures that way.
Just before Christmas Chuck went in to have his stints checked. I guess he figured he needed another one, cause they put a new stunt in his heart. Hay, I am starting to call him Stint boy. Long as it keep the old cuss breathing I guess we are OK. The only places now for stints for Chuckie is his brain and his right side groin.

I developed a cold on Christmas and for the last several days I have been laying on the couch watching T.V. and/or napping. It has been a good life. Eat, sleep, hack your guts up, eat, sleep, etc. etc. Not all bad. At least I did not get the stuff Gary had. His was from the other end and that lasted for five dang days!!!! I am always grateful for the small things in life.

It has been so cold here I am thinking of getting double padding for my bra so my nips don't freeze. Chuck and I have been sun people for two years now. This winter I am reminded of how white my skin really is. My tan has now gone completely away and all that is left is white and freckles. I can always count on them freckles giving me a little color. The splatter look.

Tammy Matthews sent Pancho a garment she made for him to help keep him warm. He really likes it. Thank you so much Tammy. Pancho is looking forward to wearing it mousing. He does not know yet that I am going to take it off of him when he goes outside to play. At this writing he is laying in front of the heater cuddling my softies inside shoes. Oh, no, he is biting the softies shoe of moms. Oh my, mom's feet smell is so so good. Better than YOUR moms feet smell. AAHHH, roll on back and bite it, no, roll ON it. OHHH, life is good. Ok, time to lick ones self. One needs to be clean at all times. Even when one is playing with softies shoes.

The people in the pictures are such. The long hair hippy looking guy is Steve. He is married to the even longer hair lady by him. Her name is Lisa. She is a wonderful artist. The Teenager there is Chris. Greys grandson. Chris will be leaving us on the 13th to go to a Youth Challenge program in Roswell N.M. WE are all hoping that this works for the little shit as we are all so tired of his Drama. Then there is Travis and Teresa. My son and his lovely bride to be. (Next year, no date set at this time, no hurry) Then there is Gary, my uncle. Then the other guy sitting on the couch is Keith. Keith is Greys friend and business partner. He did not bring his girlfriend as she had other family stuff to do. Then of course Chuck and I.
It was a wonderful day and we enjoyed each others company very much. As you can see there was lots of laughing.

Chuck and I are talking about hitting the road in another ten days or so. On to Arizona. So for now, that is about all there is to say.

Take care of each other.

Happy New Year 2008

November in Deming

2007-11-17T05:29:00.000-08:00

Hay Hay Hay.....it is the Ramseys!!! I know this is before Thanksgiving and I really do hope to post some more after Thanksgiving, however, it has been a great November for our family.
See these wonderful people below. That is my son Travis and his sweetie Teresa. I am not sure where they are in this picture, but this summer they took a road trip and I am sure this picture was taken by Travis somewhere on their trip.

Say Hello to the soon to be Mrs. Travis Tirsbeck. My son asked Teresa to marry him this month.

This is the ring that he got for her when he proposed. Nice ring huh. He has good taste. Teresa loves it. It is very sparkles on her finger.

Here is another view of it. You can see it a bit better. Three stones, the past, present and future. Teresa will tell the rest of her family on Thanksgiving. By the rest I mean her brothers and sisters and the kids. Her mom and dad know of course.

Ok, I thought I would show you what has been happening around here besides Pancho killing mice and rats.
This is Gary (woo woo, a man in a tool belt!!!) and his garage he is building. It is going to be a two car garage that will also hold his tractor and ATV and a Volkswagen he is rebuilding. (Well, he thinks he is)

We call this picture Praying to the Building Gods!!! Gary would kill me if he saw this picture.

He would kill me 2 times if he saw this one!!!! So I post it!!! Yes, it is the mean side of me. That is not his normal smile. He is making fun of me and my camera.

Oh Yes, This is praying to The building gods in hopes that Travis stays on the line while cutting. They are putting the sides on the Garage and need to cut each piece before they are screwed onto the building.

This is Garys house now that it is done. He built it himself. This is the front of it as you drive in the yard.

Oh, look at this!!! Travis and Chuck found this guy as they were putting out a Geo Cache.

Western Diamondback "Coon tail" is what it is called. I do not think it is so happy at this point. It is telling them to stay away cause I am going to bite you if you don't leave NOW. They left.

So you all, that is it for now. I can not show you any more pictures for now. Tonight I am making beef stew and we will have game night. During the day the guys are going to work on the garage getting it done and Teresa and I will be making rice bags for her customers.

There is a thing here in Deming called Christmas on Copper St. that is an art and craft show. I am going to put some of my paintings in it, but not for sale. The price I want for them is to much for the wallets of Deming people, but I want to display them for the feedback. Travis say's I need to sell some of my paintings. I decided that is true cause I would like to take a trip, and we need money for the trip. I mean a trip overseas. So I need to make my own plane fare and hotel, ect. ect.,
So until later.
Chuck and Dee

Back in Deming

2007-10-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Well, that is the title of this writing, but the truth is, we have been here for a couple of weeks or so. Sorry all for no pictures. We need to take some. Better get out the camera I guess. So this time we have not visual aids.

I personally have been having fun. I discovered that Deming has a really nice rock club. There "club house" is a rock hound dream home. All for the low cost of $10.00 a year and three dollars a day on the days you are there to use the equipment. Lots of grinders and buffers and a nice place to do silver smithing and as one guy does, gold smith. I have been grinding my rocks off, but I have not used the silversmith stuff. Prices of silver is high right now, and will be for the rest of my life. But it is close to Christmas and I am working on my presents to give now. The presents this year are not silver. So, I can not say anymore than that cause my relatives and friends are a lot smarter than I am and WILL figure out what I am up to. So for now I will take pictures as I go and post them AFTER Christmas.

Chuck has not had it so good. Since he is the one who takes care of all the stuff I do not, he has the wonderful job of fixing broken things. Ones he can not fix, or doesn't want to, he has to pay for it to be done. Like the truck. Now, Chuck can do a lot of things as we all know, and working on a diesel Truck is one of them. Unfortunately, we have no garage. No truckie things to take off that bolt or that big thingy underneath or a way to put the truck on a rack. So he has had to pay. In Oregon something went wrong with the Clutch master clutch thingy. Anyway, he knew what was wrong and told them, they said, "Yep, your right.....that will be $400 plus dollars". NOT EVEN a discount for telling them what was wrong in the first place!!! Oh, well.
Then, here in Deming, something went wrong with the front end and there goes another $700.00 plus. So, as far as I am concerned, there goes over a thousand dollars I COULD of spent. Chucks not smiling either.

However, there is some good things chuck has been doing. Like helping (supervisor position) Gary with his two truck and one tractor garage. He has also been hiding Geo Caches around here also. He has hid two so far, but I think he should hide more.

We both have been doing the doctor thing. I am walking around with a nice size chip out of my nose from where the doctor has done a cancer biopsy. No results are back yet, but it will be fine. Then Chuck and I went to a new heart doctor in Las Cruzes yesterday since we are not going to South Texas this year. WE had to wait FIVE hours in the office cause the doctor got called away on an emergency. This doctor is so dedicated to his patients that he still had people in the waiting room when Chuck and I left at Eight P.M. He see's any patient that will wait. What a nice, nice gentle man this doctor is. I can see why people wait for him. I was so proud of Chuck. Not once did he get upset with the waiting. I think towards the end I was getting more ansey than he was.

Anyway, more test and junk on Monday for me, and on the 14th for Chuck. Then our doctor wants us to get our colons looked up at. Yes Donna, I know, and we are going so now are you happy with us???? Donna is Chucks cousin who has just gone through H-E-Double toothpicks with her colon. She is now enhanced. Unfortunately, not the way she would of chose to be enhanced, but hay, she is with us and that is what matters. If you all got a chance to ever meet Donna, you all would just love her.
So for now We are making Presents, doing geo's, grinding rocks, being with family, teasing Gary (a family favorite pasttime) and helping Pancho with his great mouse/rat hunting.
I will Try and be better and get things on here before months go by. I just get so involved in the moment that I sometimes forget other things. Like posting pictures of our wonderful friends and our kids, grandkids and great stuff like that.
So until I get it together faster and write again so long. Take care of each other and tell your friends and family you love them in your life.
Chuck and DeeDee

We are now in Lafayette Oregon.

2007-09-02T07:09:00.000-07:00

We were suppost to be still in Sumpter Oregon at this point, but due to a difference of option between Dianna and I, we have left there and went on with our lives. Hay, people change and stuff and sometimes friendships end. So life goes on.
So we came to see Tracy and her family. Oh what fun!!! Nate (the guy Tracy is going to marry) has a son from a marriage when he was younger. So we have a grandson. It is a trip having an instant Grandson. He is a lot of fun and is so excited to have more Grandparents. He is a loving, accepting little guy. Funny as heck too.
These are some pictures of us at the beach. We went there for a day and had a lot of fun. This is between Newport and Lincoln City.

This is Kevin. Yep, eating. We had a picnic.

Kevin and his mom (Tracy) built a city of castles. Pancho is checking it out. Outside behind Pancho is lots of dinosaur's that are outside of the city cause of the mote. They could not cross it cause it was to deep.

Ok, no beach is complete without getting splashed. Yep, me splashing Kevin. That water is stone cold let me tell you!!! It must of been 45 degrees. Nate and Tracy went swimming in it. Even Pancho thought it was way to cold. He got his paws in it a few times, but no more. For a dog that likes the beach, it was torture. Not at all like in Mexico. I love that Mexican warm water!!! Oh, kevin got away with just a little water on him.

On the way home we did some Geo caching. These next pictures are of a place that Nate and Chuck discovered while they were caching and took us to see. These are all made of Metal and are for sale. None are less than $6,000.00. Yeah, they have been there for awhile.

This is really cool. It is bigger than we are also.

This is one of my favorites. A Pegasus.

Pancho and I went for a ride on a motorcycle. He was not real impressed. As you all can see he was watching what Kevin was doing. He LOVES Kevin. They play a lot and Pancho needs to know EVERYTHING Kevin is doing in case he (Pancho) is missing out on something.

Nate and Chuck did this Geo by themselves. This was going to be a fun place for us to take a picture of Kevin at. However, it did not pan out as it is on a very busy highway and you have to walk 100 feet on the road and we did not feel it would be safe for either Kevin or Pancho. There were berry vines, fast traffic and on a curve. Not good for kids, dogs or grandmas. However, what a cool place to stand!!!

Now, we all got to get out at this bridge. It is a covered bridge that was rescued by a family. Really neat place.

This is the bridge.

These are carriages on there property. They have horse's (we did not go and pet them as there was a sign saying please no trespassing) and do carriages. This was a great thing to see parked next to the bridge. Same time span as when the bridge was in its hay day.

This was a really big wagon. Kevin was much impressed with it. I was to. However, I would of loved a ride in the black one.
Ok, this is it. We are now getting ready to go to Tracy's. I am going to post pictures of Tracy and Nate next time. I will write more later. Sorry for waiting so long before posting.

The last of Moab.

2007-08-02T07:02:00.001-07:00

Hello and good tidings to all!!!
This is our last day in Moab. We head out tomorrow morning. So our computer will be down for about three days unless we decide to stop for a couple days along the way for some ATV exploring.
These next few pictures are what we have been doing this last week.
This picture is called Stick. It is a game that puppies play. Here is Pancho and Maggie playing stick. No one is ever the winner in stick as it is a chase and run game. Then some how the Stick in the stick game gets lost. No one can EVER figure out how that happens, but it is part of the game so we just accept it.

When we had gone out to ATV at Cameo Cliffs it was an all day trip. Lots of fun. However, upon returning to camp we noticed that someone had parked a rig really close to our camps. I am talking really close. All Chuck and I could say as we drove closer was why would someone park so close to us. Did they not know that there was other camping spots?? What fools, or morons would invade our personal space?

These are the fools or morons.

Maggie belongs to these two humans. This is Shelley and Tiffany. This is the surprise that no one was expecting. What a wonderful surprise to. Shelley is Wayne and Anna's son and Tiffy is the daughter in law. They are just as wonderful as the parents. We are so enjoying this family. They are so so nice and funny. Love that funny stuff. Guess there was no fools or morons!!! Joke is on all of us!!!!

Oh, see that little person on the white sheet? That is the other part of the family. Lydie Anna Rose. She belongs to Tiffy and Shelley. Oh, and of course she is Grandma and Grandpa's girl.
We are all relaxing under a rock and having our lunch.

Maggie. She is so so so cute. I just love this little girl. These people have until tomorrow to decide if they want me to take her off there hands. Somehow I get the feeling that Lidya will have the final answer and that will be a NO. They are the best of friends and she and this puppy hug each other often during the day.

Chuck walked out and got this picture of all of us eating and relaxing. I was not going anywhere as it was HOT and I was sunburned from the day before. We sure do choose places to stop and relax do we not. It is so beautiful here and what could be more perfect than a beautiful place to picnic with friends?? Ok, the most perfect would be to have our family here also, however, someone has got to work so we can be supported in our old age!!! (I think my kids are going to kill me for that statement!!)

These are the days now before Shelly, Tiffy and Lidya got to us. We are at Tusher Tunnel. Notice we are toasting the stop with Musties!!! It was blazing hot outside, cool in the Tunnel and refreshing with the ice cold Musties. AAAAHHHH.............

This is a canyon that Chuck and I went to searching for a Geo Cache. It was so pretty. It is a box canyon with a pool of water at the end of it.

This is looking down from one side. Actually, this is the side I accidentally dropped our water container off of. It smashed.

This is looking up from the canyon floor. Yep, no crows Pancho. (He has this thing about birds, especially crows, he will run after them as they are flying trying to catch them. Yes, barking is included. Damn crows!!)

Oh Look. Lydia Anna Rose sitting on her ATV getting her drink on. Yes, she was talking to me. She is so cute and so even tempered. The only time she cry's is when she gets her hair washed or some damn cactus jumps out and gets her. That has happened only once. It was a sneaker cactus. Chuck knows all about those kind to.

Cameo Cliffs.

This is a ride that Wayne and Anna took us on. Beautiful. Take a gander at the colors of these cliffs.

This is called Indian bath tub. Don't ask us why. The tub was dry. That ladder is heavy and there for the duration of time.

I dont know where Chuck took this picture at. I never seen it. Probley while he was in the tub.Do you all think this is a real indian art work on the rock?

This is a shot he took while he was in the Tub. Notice our little Quads in the shade down by the road.

Backside, Wilson Arch.
Wilson Arch is on the run we were doing at Cameo Cliffs. Pretty.

I am giving Duffers a rub down in the shade. She was so enjoying this rub down. If only the shade would extend to her nose!!

This was so cool you guys. It is an old house built into the rock. Old Corrals still in good shape to. Ready to move in. After you clean out the rat shit.

Part of the old house. Actually, this is the outside of the house. See, Windows and everything.

This is an arch we discovered. I know it looks like an eye, but we had a Mustie stop here so we all named it Mustie Arch.

Chuck went up to Mustie Arch and took this picture of us and the Quads below. That man really likes to be a mountain goat does he not!!! Heck, he gets some dang good pictures. Me, I was making the Musties. I have my priorities. (Chuck taught that to me years ago)

Looking Glass Rock.

Don't let my smile fool you. I was scared shitless to be up there. Notice I am holding onto the dog. Like the dog needed it!! Of course chuck did not get a picture (or he just did not put it in here) of how high we were, but look at the background on the other side of my leg. Yeah, that was high.

These next pictures are at a place that Wayne and Anna took us to called Fins and Things.
I really enjoyed this ride, although I did have to get off alot and walk up hill as some places were pretty steep. (Damm it I hate when I miss out on fun)
This is a fin. This is a picture of Wayne leading us on a downhill fin. It is a bit steeper than it looks, but so so much fun.

This picture is one I had to get off and walk up. Chuck is up and leaning forward on the Quad so the front tires will stay on the rock. Wayne is watching to make sure things go good.

This is a picture of the fins from a distance. NOW you can see how steep they can be. Pretty are they not.

On this fin it is called dinosaur rock. That is suppost to look like a dinosaur.

Chuck taking a picture of a canyon. See how damn close he gets to the edge.
Actually this it the top of Moonflower Arch.

Fins N Things.
Chuck going up a steep one.

I could not ride on this ride. Someone has to stay behind when one is riding shotgun and I am the one who got shot off. This is the rest of them coming down a really steep fin. Believe it or not I am a ways away. I had to really zoom in for this picture. It is times like this I wish I had my own Quad as sometimes I get to miss out of the fun stuff. Oh well, cry me a river, take the dang picture and stop being a baby!!!

This is Anna and Wayne keeping the front wheels on Chucks ATV on the rock with a rope. See, told you these fins were steep. See why I could not ride also.

Coming in for a landing!!! This is our last picture for this series. You all take care of each other and we will be up and running soon. Depends on what takes our interest and how long it takes to get to where we set up!!

More around the Moab Area.

2007-07-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Today was a hiking day. We went to Corona Arch, and the little one is bowtie. You will see them soon. Going in was interesting. This is a rail road we had to cross to get on the start of the trail.
We only had to walk 440 feet uphill from the car. That is not bad concerning some places you walk over a thousand feet up.

This is Corona Arch. It was so worth the walk. So pretty. We walked a mile and a half in and a mile and a half out. It really did not seem like all that long. Pancho put on a whole lot more miles with his hunting and running all over the place.

If you look way in the back, you can see Bow Tie Arch. This is some of the rocks were walking on. Niffty.

Here I am in my funny hat talking to a young newly wed couple from some country. I can not say the name. It used to be the check republic but now it is some other name. I can not keep up with all these countries changing there names everytime another war is done with. There accent's were awnsome and they were a really sweet couple. No, they are not small people, I was standing a a little ledge.

A closer picture of Bow Tie arch.

Now that is an even better picture of Bow Tie arch.

Anna thought these looked like two eyes. I think she was right. They were pretty cool. They over look Corona Arch.

This was a pretty cool sight. It was a tree growing out of rocks. There is waster there all the time (well, dribbles and that makes water) so this tree started with no soil. Nature is amazing.

On the way to Hurrah Pass.

This is another day. Notice these rocks. The canyon was like this a few miles down. It was very pretty.

One of our wonderful views from the ATV.

The Catacombs.

On our way to Chicken corners, there are these rocks called the Catacombs. There really cool, all these cave's going from one to the other. It was very nice and cool inside these catacombs. This was a beer/water stop coming and going, and chuck found a Geo Cache at each end of them.

Does this not look like a lizard head???

I think that Wayne is checking the calories in his beer, or maybe the alcohol content.
Or he might be crying cause it is gone.

The Stuck Jeepers.

See the mud hole?, they didn't. See the jeep? It was in the mud hole.
We stopped and helped these three kids out. They had gotten stuck the night before in this mud hole. To bad we did not get a picture of before, pulling them out and after.

ATV's to the rescue.
This is the end. We are putting the wench cables back in properly. All three of our ATV's hooked onto there strap and we wenched that puppy right out of that mud.

We were told by the kids we were there heros. It is a nice thing to help someone else. They were ALL smiles when that jeep came out of there. The girl looked about six or seven month's pregnant. Good thing they were going to camp for a night that night cause they had there tent.

Chicken Corners.
There is a reason this place is called chicken corners. See that walkway one must pass on to get to the other side. This girl was chicken and stayed at the other corner. Chuck is not a chicken and walked it. Him rooster, me chicken. cluck, cluck!!

This is a viewpoint from chicken corners. Very pretty. Very quiet. Well almost, we did have Pancho with us, and some nice people came riding in on their motorcycles. Of-course Pancho wanted to attack the motorcycles and the people to. I had to hold his little ass back. He can be such a beast!!!

MOONFLOWER CANYON

We (Chuck and I ) stopped here for a Geo Cache that was not here. However, this was interesting. This is a step ladder that the Indians used to get over the cracks and crevices of the mountains. It went up there a long ass way. No, I did not try to climb it, and neither did chuck. We discovered this after our long day in the sun going to Chicken corners.

If you all look carefully (or click on the picture to enlarge it) you can see the ladder and how far up it goes.

There were some writing on the walls from the Indians. Click on the picture to get a better gander at the writings. There are mountain goats and animals, and the large thing with the head is suppost to represent the canyon god.

Dead Horse State Park.

As you can see in these pictures the fires up North have been bad on the visibility here in the Moab area.

This is on the overlook at dead horse state park. You can see the Colorado River way down there. It is called Dead Horse cause a bunch of cruel heartless bastards (may there soles rain in hell forever with the horse's trampling them forever more in enterinty) trapped some wild mustangs and cut out the ones they wanted for saddle stock. The rest they left up there to die. The sign says they were left there by accident. I say yeah right, they were buckaroo assholes who had the sense of spit and were heartless ass's that did not want the horses grazing on land there cattle were one. Not a lot here in the sense of feed anyway. Ok, enough of my ranting, ya all get the point I am making.

This is another viewpoint. This is the area the horse's were stuck on.

So Anna and I put our bad feeling away (Dead horse hurt ones feelings ya know) and we went to a nice little table rock for a sip of Mustie's!!! Cheers!!!

Then we looked down and thought "Oh my gosh, we better get off of here"!!
No, not really, actually, this is another spot by the visitor center. We were doing a geo cache. Notice that in that blue area on the side of the mountain (yeah, on the slippery part) there is a trail!!! What FOOL is going to walk there??? OK, fine, my chuckie would for a geo cache, but we all know he is a rooster and I am a chicken so he will be walking alone!!

This is a very nice and pleasant picture. Just a little tree enjoying its life on a rock edge. Notice the dang thing growing OUT of the rock. These dang trees are just amazing.
So until next time, see ya all on the flip side. Take care of each other.

Moab Continues

2007-07-20T06:54:00.002-07:00

Hello Hello Hello,
Greetings to all of our friends and family, and new friends we are meeting from this blog. Our fun and adventures continue in Moab Utah. Today is the 20th of July, and that means it is Teresa's and Chucks birthday!!! Happy 63rd to Chuck and Happy 22nd to Teresa!!
I am going to start with our day yesterday and go backwards from there. Today is Friday and we are taking a day off of ATVing. However, it is a cooler day than it has been, so it might of been a good day to go. My back needs a rest however, and we are planning on having a steak Bar-B-Que for Chuck and playing a game of cards or Mexican Train. After riding in the sun all day, one does not feel like doing much, so today is take a break day. Although later this evening we have talked about going to Dead Horse state park to see the sunset. It is suppose to light up the rocks as the sun sets. This should be a sight to see.

(Remember, you can click on the pictures to enlarge them).

Klondike Bluffs.
This is where we went Yesterday. This is a footprint of a dinosaur . Anna and I talked about how amazing it is to walk were millions of years ago huge lizards roamed the earth and all this region was tropical. These prints were left as the animals came to drink from a stream that was here. There prints were left in the mud. Most of the slick rock we see are really hills of petrified sand dunes. If you stop and think about it, it is amazing how old the earth is.

We rode the ATV's for an hour or so, then hiked about a half of a mile to the backside of Arches National Park. We walked the rocks and gullies following Anna and Wayne to a beautiful scene. This is Anna and Wayne and Duppers with the beautiful scenery behind them.

Here is the Birthday boy. Before his birthday. His last day of EVER being 62 again. I was trying to make him smile and he was not having nothing to do with my comments until I told him to say Annal Sex. Notice his reaction!!! Hay, I can NOT help it, I am just way to full of myself. 'sides, anyone who takes me seriously, well, that will be one for the books!!!

Oh look. It is sweet little innocent me!!! As you can see I am not much into hair style, however, looking at myself is sort of hard. I appear to be getting.....oh, what is it called????....Happier!!!
I am very great full for the life Chuck and I are leading. How could I not be happy??? Great husband (most of the time) cute and loving puppy (most of the time) and wonderful friends (all the time) and at the present we are enjoying perfect (almost) health. God is good.

AAHH, a picture of Anna and I and the puppies. I am loving on both Duppers and Pancho. Pancho gets a bit jelious, but instead of bitting and having a fit, he just squeezes in. I of course love dogs and anytime I can get double loving I am in it!!! Anna watches to make sure I do not steal Duppers away. My foot is in a used to be water hole. These fill up at rainy season. Good for the animals I am sure.

This is what we were looking at. The rocks appear a lot more red with streaks of black, white and a pink color. Unfortunately the sun is washing out the colors.

This is Pancho. His favorite position. Hunting. As you can see, Duppers is helping to give instruction. He was after a hugh Kangaroo rat. Needless to say he did not get it. Anna and I love this picture of him. His little curly talk and butt hole peeking out. Ok, fine, a picture only we can relate to. What a pup, he is just to cute.

These rocks are what we walked out to in order to get to the end and see the sites. Gosh, it is so breathtaking!! That is wayne down there and a biker (bike cyclist) from Orange County California. He was not used to the hills of Moab, and was keeping us entertained with his rendition of what he was doing.

The canyon looking down.

Fins and cliffs. Chuck will get close to the edge, I will not.

Top of the World.

This was the day before the day before. We are at what is called the top of the world. Getting there was something fun. Sure glad we got the ATVs. What you can not really see here, (hay, I tried to get good shots) is that we are putting rocks (big rocks) by a shelve of rocks so we can climb up it without tipping the ATVs over. This is called repairing the road system.
Pancho is trying to tell me to stop messing around and get to work!!

This is a steep section that they were driving up. I have no clue why I think these pictures are EVER going to show what we do and see.

Anna going up a steepie with Chuck beside her in case the Quad tips over. I know, from this shot it looks easy, but really, she was on a ledge.

Top of the world. That is a thousand foot drop of your looking at.

Fly little one, Fly!!!

Long Canyon.

This is the day after the day after the day after. This was such a wonderful Place that Wayne and Anna took us to. This canyon is so pretty. At this rock face, there are two guys climbing. You can not see them. They are still on the bottom, but the canyon rock itself is so mystic that it warranted a Geo Cache stop and a rest for us.

This rock fell off of the side of the face of this rock and made for a great underpass. Notice how the end is wedged itself on the side. This is amazing in itself the way it fell.

Pancho and I are giving you all perspective on the rock.

Now for the ATVs. I wanted to make sure I got a shot of everyone coming through the rock. First is Dad and Dog. Pancho was worried cause I was not on the ATV. Chuck talked him through it though.

Next is Wayne and Duppers. She is so cute, her little head looking over the bars and lunch pack all happy and smiling.(Yeah, that is Waynes lunch pack!!)

Last but not least is our Gunny, Anna.

A majestic tower of rock in the Canyon.

AAHHH, cool shade.

These rock walls tower above you as you drive the narrow dirt road. It was so neat.
If you look closely you can see one of the rock climbers in this shot.

The Shaffer trail that we were on yesterday. Also known as Canyons lands National Park.

This is a pretty picture. Nothing special, I just really liked the trees and rocks going down in the canyon.

Duppers. See the little arch there??

This is the road we were on going into the canyon.

Shafer Trail.
This is the day after, the day after, the day after.....I think....
Notice not only the rock formation, but the big horn sheep there???
Today was a jeep day as ATV's are not allowed in Canyon Lands National Park.

Another shot as the sheep goes away from us.

Canyons lands National park.

This is a shot of where we are camped. This is in the early morning when Pancho and I went outside.

This is a river (the Colorado) in Canyon Lands.

These rocks have layers and layers upon layers.

These rocks are called the gobblins.

Anna is reassuring Pancho that I will be coming back into the jeep. Pancho just loves Wayne and Anna.

We just got some bad news. It appears we will have to be moving out of this spot by Monday Morning. The parks department is now making this into a campground. There is heavy equipment here now and they are leveling out spots below. No more camping on the Mesa on the rim any longer. How sad. This was such a beauty of a place to come. Chuck is talking to Anna and Wayne now letting them know what is going on and to see what their plan's will be. We will probley go scouting for some other free camping places this afternoon. There is a problem with the oil company's and the parks department. Apparently the parks department does not want the oil rigs showing from the road as this is a scenic byway. (They are now going to make it a National Senic byway) So the oil company's threw a fit saying what was the difference when there are RV's parked at the rim. It gets really busy on this rim from August to November. So in order to please everyone, no more parking RVs on the rim, and this is now turning into a fee area for group camping on the bottoms only. Wonder if there going to put potties in and how much they are going to charge. There is a campground up the road that is always empty. It is primitive camping with NOT a drop of water and they want to charge 12 bucks a night. No wonder if it empty. Same will happen here if they do the same with it.
Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!!! We will find other beautiful places to stay. Just a bit more off the highway is all. (making it a longer trip to town for supplies and laundry, no big deal)
So until we settle in again at a new spot, take care of each other in your lives.
Much love and good thoughts coming your way from the Ramblin' Ramseys.

More of Moab,UT

2007-07-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Y'all
If I sound a bit fun(!!) it is because Anna has introduced me to this great drink they call musty's. That means must have more than one. I am working on my second one in an hour, so I am feeling quite abit "Fun" if you get my drift. For those who do not know me very well, I am a cheap drunk. Always have been and always will be. I just do not drink very much, but when I find a drink I like, I go for it. So let me tell ya all how to make a Musty.
Pour a shot of Vodka and a spash into a glass
Put in ice to fill
Pour a splash of worchestershire sauce in
pour Clamato Tomato Cocktail in till almost full (it MUST be clamato, not V-8 as Anna says it will not taste the same)
Squeeze a slice of fresh lime and one of lemon in the glass. (throw the wedges of lime and lemon in the ice so you can eat them when your at the bottom of the drink...they are Really good!!)
Then put a heaping teaspoon of Clamato Rimmer in the glass and stir.
Now, we had no rimmer and I could not find any in a store, so I made up my own. When I am sober I can do things like that. Anyway, to make rimmer, use season salt, celery seed and ground pepper and mix together. Good stuff. the salt makes the drink with the snap of pepper and celery seed. Unfortunally, the season salt makes a bit to much salt, but when that is all that available, thats what you use.
Man, I sure have made lots of mistakes on this typing. Good thing I am not so drunk I can not see and realize what I am doing. At least (like all drunks) I think so.

Ok, enough of my bull-stuff, on with the blog!!

Let me tell ya all something. When you go ATVing with Anna and Wayne O'Neil, you go on TRAILS!! These two are die hard ATVers. We will leave here at 8:30 in the morning and not get back until 6:30 at night. I have learned to put some meat to marinade all day, come home cook it up and open a can of vegetables. We eat as we watch the beautiful sunset.

Anyway, this is a rest stop in the shade. Oh blessed shade. We love it. 'Especially since it has been any wheres from 100 to 107 during the day.

Chuck took this picture. Is it not pretty!!

Here is Wayne looking at the territory. Actually, he was trying to convince me (the resend chicken) to take the ATV down a short cut to home. When I finally agreed 'cause I thought I had worked out the way down, everyone else said NO WAY!!! Guess that learned us both a lesson. (Soon as I figure it out, I will let ya all know what the lesson learned was!)

Anna. Peaceful under the shade. AAHH.... the cold beer, shade, beautiful scenery......

The pups. AAHHH, water, shade, peaceful......yes, this is the life, cool dirt. Duffers, Anna and Waynes dog has been so good to Pancho. Pancho plays and she will sometimes (she is a lot older than him) and makes him feel so loved and important. She is such a sweet girl. Pancho is trying to get her to hunt more rabbits with him, however, he hunts ALL the time and she is trying to teach him to pace himself.

Man, this picture just does not show how steep this damm hill was!!! It was steep!! That is Anna going down it (Go Gunny!!) but like I said, this picture just does not do the hill justice.

This is Anna again. Once again, this picture does not show the steepness of the hill. However, if you look in the background, you can see where we came up (we were on that road down there, and by them cliffs in the backgound) from the valley floor.

I hope this picture helps some to let you all know where Anna and Wayne take us. This is Anna on the ATV on the side of a slick rock. Chuck is holding on the back of the ATV, and Wayne is on the side on the front. They are on a 45 degree angle, the ATV is in 4 low crawling.

This is wayne for a perspective shot. Is the area not just breathtaking!!!

Chuck coming down at a 45 degree angel. I sure wish the camera would take better pictures so you all could know what I was seeing. Oh wait!!! Look at the rocks behind him, Maybe that will help you to understand why I was walking and taking pictures!!

Another shot of rocks and steep hills. We were making up what the rocks resembled every time we passed some. This is Chuck on top of a steep slick rock. I walked down so I could get a picture of it. Notice how high up he is and I am down on the bottom. Believe it or not, I did not have to make the camera go all the way "out".

We are on top of seven mile rim. That is the highway going into Moab. Yep, high up. On top of the world. Needless to say, chuck took this picture as I do NOT get that close to the end of the rocks. Chicken Dee, yep, that is me. Alive and happy!!!

I think this is Merimack rock. Impressive is it not. We are at the bottom of that rock taking a shade break.

Other side of Mermack. Yep, Long ass day on the ATV but the scenery is so worth it. Thank God for Anna and Wayne who know these trails like they made them. Chuck and I would not of gotten to see as much if it was not for them. Although, I am glad we took today off so my back can rest. Gets bumpy on the back of that ATV.

This is a shade/beer/water break. (Yeah, I know I am the one drinking the water...hay, beer does not cut the thirst ok!!! besides tasting bad (american beer that is)

Uranium Arch.
This was a really nice Arch. The picture does NOT do it justice. There are so many colors in this rock that is it unbelieving.

We took a lunch break under this arch. It was so cool in the shade and cool rocks and so pretty, I hated to leave. Thanks to Wayne and Anna for bring us here. Just beyond words.

Dellenbaugh Tunnel.
This was a lot of fun. Chuck had gone down there first, but forgot the camera. I went and got the camera, but by the time I got back, he was out. So Wayne went in and I followed him with our camera. Look at the rock formations from the water flow in the winter.

This is in the tunnel looking out over the side where the water falls out. No, Chicken Dee did NOT lean over to get the shot. She put her arm out and looked the other way (so not to get dizzy) and took the shot hoping the camera had a good eye. Of-course, being it is Chucks camera it had a good eye. Thats called a shot of skill. Or Lucky shot, depending on where you are and who your trying to B.S.

Oh, that is me going into a tunnel and the Duffers and Anna following us!!! This tunnel was most welcome cause by then I was getting way to hot from the sun.

Chuck took this shot of me walking out of the Tunnel. Look at that. What a nice picture. The light coming in from the front of the rocks, dark in the background.

Look real close (or click on the picture and it will get bigger) and see the nesting dove.

Gemini Bridges /Bull Canyon
This was another trip. A different day. We went to Gemini bridges and to Bull Canyon. This is Gemini Bridges. They call it such as there are two arches side by side.

The formations on the rocks are incredible. This looks like a bird condo.

More rocks looking down from where we are standing. (Man, we stand on some scary stuff don't we!!)

Hay, Can you see us now??? This is Anna, Pancho and I on one of the Gemini arches. Duffers was under the shade of the overhang off to the right of us. I know MY kids are impressed I am out there, but to be honest, it is a real wide walkway.

This is inside of bull canyon. Anna and I are resting. They boys said "Cheese" and I cheesed it up. Anna would kill me if she saw this, but what the heck, unless Shelly, her son, tells her about it, she will know know until we are in Oregon... So Shelley....it is a secret!!! (ha ha)

Green River
This was a DIFFERENT day. We went to Green River. This was a ride (eight hours) into a canyon that was just breathtaking. On the rock walking is Wayne.

This is Anna sitting on a ledge looking at the green River. I would NOT go there. It was to scary for DeeDee's.

Pancho navigating the rocks to come to his mama. Gosh, I just love that little dog.

This is an Arch (Cliffhanger Arch) over the Green River. This is a chuck shot. One needed to get way to close to the edge for these shots. The biggest problem with these pictures are they were taken in the heat of the day. Meaning the camera washed out all the reds in the colors of the rocks.

This was our Lunch stop. In the shade of the overhangs (on the bottom of the rocks) a cool breeze blows. It is wonderful. I have treated to bring a sheet and lay it on the sand in the shade and take a nap. However, a good nap to me a at least an hour and a half. We never sit anywhere that long. Maybe a half hour.

Green River and the Valley. We are (of course) on the top of the mesa. We were down in the valley, but one must come up to go home. The scenery on camera just does not compare to in person.

Another Arch we "discovered" somewhere. Must of been in the green river bason as this is the series of pictures we are in. There are so many formations out here they can all kind of run together.

This is a cave in the valley floor of the basin. Once again a beer/shade/rest stop with water for the dogs and me. So for now folks, see ya in a few days. Soon we are going to trailer to Onion Mountain and ATV the Purple rocks. Until we Post again, take care of each other. Much love to all. Chuck, Dee and Pancho

Moab, UT First Days.

2007-07-08T16:47:00.000-07:00

We have arrived in Moab Utah. Jim and Jackie Nobles told us we would really like this place a couple of years ago before we had came to see it. They were right. We really like it here. The first day here we were the only ones on the mesa. Last year we were here in August and it was pretty warm. This year we are here in July and it is still pretty warm. Oh well, as warm and ends well..... tee hee hee
So when it is really warm out, this is how you enjoy the day. See Chuck. See Chuck relax. See Chuck keep cool. Thats all you all get to see of Chuck!!!

Pancho and I go for a walk in the mornings and in the evenings. We road the ATV around one of the "loops" I walk so I could know how far it is. It is one mile ... Ok, just a tinny bit more than one mile. But knowing it is a mile makes me happy.

On our first walk out, this is what we found. Yep, a riddle snake....Oh alright, it is a rattle snake. I was just trying to not scare ya all. Actually this was the SECOND one we found. The first was just a few feet from us, I had actually been looking on the ground while I walked and stepped right over the first one. So from then on I kept my eyeballs peeled. These snakes are small, but no less a threat to me. This second one was more aggressive than the first one we encountered. If you have a hard time seeing it, look above the stick in the grass. They blend very nice with the soil do they not??

Yesterday, Wayne, Anna and Duffers(their dog) came in with there rigs. Our plans were to meet them here. Last night we went on a wonderful short ATV ride in some beautiful country. We saw a big horn sheep from afar. We had spy glasses so we were able to see it pretty well. Sorry, no pictures last night.
But today we went on a 48 mile ride. This is wayne going by a huge rock that had slipped off the face of the cliff. I wanted perspective and I think we got it.

This is the way Pancho likes to ride. Back legs on the fattiness of my belly and his front paws up on Dads shoulders so he can see over Dad's head!!!

This is Dufflers, Wayne and Pancho at a rest stop. I just love this picture. Pancho is in his basket that is strapped on the front of the ATV. He would much rather ride between Chuck and I.

This is crusin Anna. This is a great picture also. She can sure ride that thing to.

This picture is for my Uncle Gary. Do not let Teenagers drive. This could be Chris!!! ha ha ha

Our destination was a mine that uranium was mined from. Unfortunately, since last year the mines have been blasted shut. However, I thought it was weird how it was not cost effective to remove the machinery from the sites, so they just left them here to rot. Oh, wait, metal does not rot!!!

I wanted to put so many more pictures in, but Chuck said eight was enough. There has to be a reason behind that therapy. I mean theory.
Oh, by the way, I have been published!!! Yeah, really and truly. In a book about RVing lifestyles. It is a book a lady put together and it has all sorts of tips, answers to questions people have and stories from people like me and Chuck who RV all the time. I tell what our experiences have been. AND....IF you can BELIEVE it, she did not censor the way I talk. Pretty dang cool in MY book....Oh, not THAT book, well, maybe so now that I am published!!! Anyone wanting to know more about the book, let me know and I can send you a link to her site.
Oh yeah, today was about 100 degrees and Yes it felt good to rest under the shade of trees (shrubs passing as trees) and felt good to get home and take a cold shower. We got a short but wonderful sprinkle of rain to help cool us off on our last eight miles or so, but the wind kicking up also was a pain in the eyes....and nose....
So for now, thats all folks!!!
Talk to you some more later.
Chuck, Dee and Pancho

Gunnison, CO

2007-07-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went out on the ATV and did some Geocaching. Not only did we get really nice tans, but we got to see some great country. Pancho has decided that he could learn to like this outdoor geo-caching on the ATV.

On one of our excursions we came upon these really neat bird nest's. You have to look carefully and peek under the ledge on one of the rock formations.
Is this not cool or what!!! The birds were not flying around, so we did not get pictures of them, but the nest themselves were worth the walk. On the other side of us was a nice little stream. Very nice place for the birds to raise their young.

This is the stream on the other side of the nest's. Pancho's first Mountain stream. As you can all see he liked it. Especially after being in the hot sun on the ATV. I put him in a deeper side and had him swim with a small currant after this picture to help cool him off. He enjoyed the heck out of it believe it or not. Right afterward he rolled in the clover and ran around then it was back in the water. Very fun times for the little dog!! In this picture he is getting rocks out of the bottom of the stream. (Or fishing)

This is the area we were in. Beautiful is it not!!! Colorado has so many little places like this. Most of them are public lands set up for mountain biking, ATVing, Motorcycle riding and of course horse riding and hiking. There are little camp sites all over the place.

This picture is part of a Granite Quarry. The Granite taken from here was used
in the building of the Denver Capital Building.

It is also were we found a Geo cache. It was interesting to walk on all the granite and look for our treasure.

This is called Signal peak and can be seen from anywhere in the Gunnison Valley. Yes, it is as steep as it looked.

Pancho at the top on signal peak. He is looking for something to kill. He had a lot of fun running around out here. Lucky for the rodents they are used to being hunted, so he had a no kill day. Have you noticed his brand new blue harness? It is to help him stay in the basket on the ATV. After our little accident with the old one, we got a stronger set up. Did I tell you about that? Oh, well, we had him on a small rope on his collar to help hold him in. He was loving it until he jumped at a rabbit and the dang rope broke. We ran over him with the ATV. So now he is a bit afraid of his basket (like it THREW him out of it!!) so we are slowly getting used to it once more. Now we have a lot better and safer set up.

This is my chuckle on top of the mountain. We were up pretty high. This is our rest spot after climbing to the top. We left the ATV on the bottom on the last rise as last time we took it up something like that, I had to get off and walk so chuck could make it up it. Scared the ga-geebers out of me watching Chuck slide sideways, back wheels not touching going down something so steep. Pucker up Chuck to!! So now we walk the real steep ones, the rock makes one slide like there was wax on them wheels!!

Although hazy, that is Gunnison way out there.

If any of your are WWII history buffs, check out these links.

Fifteenth Air Force

The 484th Bombardment Group

The 461st Bombardment Group

They are published by a fellow Geocacher that we met in Gunnison.

So for now, this is all today. I am painting a picture for my friend Val today and later we will go into town for supplies.
We will write more later. Take care of each other.
See ya
Chuck, Dee and Pancho

Albaquerque New Mexico to Blue Mesa Reservior, Gunnison Colorado

2007-06-23T05:35:00.001-07:00

Hello and good Tidings to all!!
Yes, we actually left Deming and are now on the road again. As I type this we are in Elk Creek Camp ground at Blue Mesa Reservoir outside of Gunnison Colorado. I am amidst as to why it is called a camp ground....oh, because we camp. No water or electric at the site's. It is 12 bucks a night to camp here, but if you have golden age it is 6 bucks. The water is great to swim in, although at the present, it is a bit cold. It is cold at night ( in the 5o's I think) but nice during the day. Yesterday it was 85.
Pancho is enjoying all the dog company here. Even though he is on a leash at all times, we go on lots and lots of walks.

Ok, now onto the pictures.
This was leaving the state of New Mexico. They say good-by better than any state I have seen so far. Notice how we are traveling this year. That is our rig behind the sign. Truck, RV and our ATV this summer!!

On Hwy 550 from Albuquerque to Gunnison Colorado.

And then, the sign into Colorado. If you look close at the above picture you will notice that we are parked between states. You can just see the Colorado sign below the Hasta La Vista. That person on the right side is Chuck looking for a Geo Cache. Pancho and I had to find it for him.

This summit was nice to see. Our Truck kept overheating on it. Chuck got a new radiator cap in Albuquerque as it overheated on way to there, hoping it would fix the problem. It helped, but our truck was unhappy.

These beautiful mountains are outside of Silverton Colorado. It is called Red Mountain. Gee, wonder why. That is snow on the peaks. I kept telling Chuck it was not snow, but just part of the mountain make-up. We all know by now the Chuck does NOT do snow and I was worried he might turn around if he thought he was in snow. Lucky my ploy worked!!! Pancho thought it was way to cold and stayed on my lap with a blanket around him.

Some views of Gunnison from one of the Geo caches that we did in Hartman Recreation Area.
This is just outside of Gunnison. I just love this valley. We are in some really cool rocks. I will get pictures of them today when we go back and post them.

In the distance there is the town of Gunnison.

Chuck and I love this cabin. No one around, the creek flowing by it. Plenty of room for our RV in the back. No for sale sign. Oh well, guess we will keep traveling.

Well, that is it on the pictures. So I guess that I will go for now and post more later. It is nice to be on the road again, although I wish I could bring the kids with us. Oh well, then we would all get tired of each other.
So for now I say good-by and we will post more in about three or four days.
Take care of each other.
Chuck, DeeDee and Pancho.

Here is a site that may interest you'all. My cousin sent it to me.

Remember When

About to hit the Road Again.

2007-06-16T16:25:00.001-07:00

Hay there everyone!!! We are leaving here on Wednesday (really, for sure this time!!) and I wanted to show you all what we have been doing here. Besides Laundry, boiling in the heat, chaffing in the wind, vacuuming the dust, etc. etc.

This first picture is the Entry way at Gary's house. Travis our son did this. Isn't I nice!!! I love it.

Now, let me warn everyone before you go on that some of these pictures are not for the faint hearted. They show an actual death. Pancho has been fed raw food since he was a little tyke and really takes it to the extreme now. He likes his raw FRESH. So be forewarned.

Ok, Pancho starts his day. (ok, sometimes this is his SECOND waking)

He rubs the sleep from his eyes as we have coffee.

Now it is time to jump on Mommy until she gets up (that is IF mommy is sleeping in) and then it is time to take her outside and listen for sounds. Very important this listening for sound stuff. Hence the need for big ears that go forward. That is so sound can bounce into them....the ears that is.

Once a good sound is established it is time to dig. Sound is very important as I said before.

We have established the first dig hole. The first dig hole is NOT, I repeat, NOT the last hole dug. See, first hole is the begining of where rat's and mice start in and go out of there little holes and tunnels.. One needs to follow them with lots of tunneling to get the the payload.

Are you paying attention?? Notice how deep the hole can go. There are several holes and dig's going on here. What happened in the hole pile is that the little Kangaroo rats jump out of the small holes and hop/run like the wind. Pancho does not ever catch them. They are FAST. So he has learned to let them go if he is on to the big game. Today was the big game day.

Ok, the faint hearted can leave now.

The end. Food. Fresh and warm. Notice how big this rat was. Pancho has kill to a science. One quick behind the head bite and it is done for the rat. This one was a big male. Pancho has to check that fact out. I was going to show the picture of him eating it also. Maybe the next posting. I want people to beg for that one!!!

This is what I did this week. I am doing oil nows also besides watercolor. What do you all think?
For Gary I did a cowboy opening a gate. I will post that one later. So, that is it for now. I will post as we travel. Take care of each other you all!!

The End

Finally a day off

2007-05-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

Have a
Safe
Holiday!!

Back in the US.

2007-03-22T04:16:00.000-07:00

Well, we officially arrived safely back in the Good Ole US of A on Tuesday, the 20th 2007. We crossed the border at Los Indios, Tx without a hitch. Turned in our paperwork and buzzed right through.

We are temporarily at First Colony RV park in San Benito, Tx. Lots of stuff to do, Laundry wash truck and RV make some repairs, do the dreaded Federal Taxes and probably a dozen other things that haven't been done in awhile. So will be busy for awhile.

It is definitely good to be back, not that Mexico was bad, just nice to have good electric, water and so on.

Phones get reactivated today. 3/22/07

Later Guys,Girls

Chuck, Dee Dee and Pancho.

2007-03-18T05:00:00.000-07:00

Mon, March 19th
Arrived in La Pesca about 11:00 this mornig our time. What ever that is........We have 3 differant clocks and none of them read the same. I think that the computer and Sat clocks changed to Daylight saving time somewhere and the other is what we go to bed by....I don't think that Mexico knows that there are new rules for daylight savings time...

Anyway we will be crossing to the states in the next day or two. We will enter somewhere between Mc allen and Brownville. We are planing on Los Indios, we will see how it goes.

Headed for Tampico today Sun, 18 Mar 2007.

Veracruz to Costa Esmeralda.

Veracruz to Costa Esmeralda was another short day and we were set up in the Playa Norte (North Beach) before 1: PM. We will stay 2 days. Some locals came in to camp for the weekend. Saturday more locals came in. All of them camping in tents. Must be some of the more well todo Mexicans. They have nice camping gear, new cars, and lots of beach toys....

After leaving Catemaco, we headed for Veracruz. It was a nice short day and the roads weren't that bad. Found the Campsite.Campamento El Rey which is right on the ocean. The plan was to stay 2 days then head North.

Later in the afternoon a caravan of birders (11) moved in..........Voltage dropped to less than 100 VAC, so we changed plans and left the next morning.

2007-03-13T06:48:00.000-07:00

Isle De Aguada to Catemaco.

This the Tepetepan River behind our camp.

Some local fisher persons.

I thought this was quite interesting. I is concrete and it is textured like branches.

Our Casa.

The pool.

And the slide, It's tiled.

Here is a beautiful Church in town.

This one is Laguna de Catemaco. (Lake)

One of the many birds here. This one flips crabs over on there backs and stabs them with his bill, then eats them.

After leaving Uxmal we headed for a small town called Isle De Aguada. It is a very small fishing village located just North of Ciudad Del Carmen. We spent 3 days there and enjoyed it very much. The place we stayed was called Freedom Shores. We met 2 couples that were temporarly traveling together. John and Barb, and Wok and Robin...Get it? Rockin Robin....OK, anyway they were very nice people all of which are full time RVers. Wok and Robin are from Australia.

On Monday 03/12 we hit the road again and planned on getting to Catemaco, and we did. However it ended up being a much longer day than we anticipated. We arrived a little after 6:00 PM. Set up and walked into the village and had a wonderful dinner. Total 76 pesos. We both had Polllo, Dee's was some kind of Pollo Crema, which she said was very good. I had Pollo with a spicy red sauce which was also wonderful. We are staying here.

Kabah and Sayil 03/07/07

2007-03-07T17:29:00.000-08:00

We did another archaeological site. It is not as "finished" as some of the other sites, but it was very interesting, and the best part is we got to bring Pancho in with us.

The site of Kabah is located in the Yucatan Peninsula, south of the city of Merida. This archaeological site is famous for its palace with hundreds of carved stones representing the Mayan God Chac. (Rain God)

This is how the Mayans stored their water in times when it did not rain. I will just let you look at the next two pictures and get a better idea of what they did instead of me explaining it to you.

I thought this rather cool. These are what the ruins look like before the smart people come and put it all back together again. Putting these building back like they were is like putting a puzzle together. Only it takes years not hours.

This is an arch way on the road to town. There are several little town's (ruins) around. The place we are staying at now Uxmal, was the Hugh city, these are the suburbs.

This is another site they are still working on. Notice the finished, half done and rocks on the side's??

This one is another site that has been restored. I do not know what this was used for, I am thinking it was a housing complex.

This would of been the Governors house since it is the grandest structure on this site. On the bottom levels are housing for the staff.

Sayil is a ruined city of the Mayan civilization in the state of Yucatan, Mx. Sayil is in the southwest of the state, south of Uxmul. The site is small and quiet. During the Late-Classic period the city had 9000 inhabitants. El Palacio (670-1000 AD) is with its 85 meters long facade and three stories the largest building in Sayil. Remarkable are the Puuc-style columns, which recur everywhere. The palace was built in various phases; wings were added and platforms were designed, which were filled with stones and mortar to increase stability.

There is also a temple and a stela. Don't ask us what a stela is. We do not know what it means. We will try and find out and let everyone know, but until then, we will all have to remain on pins and needles.

Pancho really liked this place as it had lots of Iguanas. Unfortunately for him I would not let him off his lead so he could not chase them. Mom's can be a bummer.

This a a front view of the Temple.

This structure is in the jungle a few meters away. (ha ha, I laugh at the few meters!!! It was a long walk to discover these things, but it gave Pancho and me good practice on leash training and the proper way for him to walk with me)

This is a site they are uncovering still. I just love the way these banyan trees roots go all over the soils. That big leafy thing on the roots, that was a big air fern. Yeah really, they get Hugh here.

Now, cover the children's eyes on this one. They have a great imagine them boys did. Dream on. Maybe this is why the Mayans race died. Any women see that thing coming towards her ran. Hell, it this dude had trouble walking with that swinging, just imagine what it would be like when it was in a state of happiness. Anyway, my horse would of ran, so I know us ladies would of....there is a TO BIG rule ya know guys.

Just on ending, let me tell you that we walked about a 1/2 mile to get to this thing. Had I know that was about all it was going to be, I would of not wasted my time. Also, on some very very sad news. We went to a wonderful cave today. The best one I have EVER been to. The sadness comes from the fact that we both forgot our cameras. Oh I wish we had brought them so you could of seen the pictures. Dang, hate it when dumb things happen to smart people. So if anyone is in the area, go to the Lultun cave. It is so so worth it.

So that's it for now folks. We head out of here tomorrow to go to Isla Aguada tomorrow. That is a fishing village on the coast. Hopefully we will find some good deals there from the fishermen and have us a bar-b-Que fish dinner.

Hug and kiss your loves daily. Kiss you kitty and doggies to.
Chuck, Dee Dee and Pancho