Thursday, March 9, 2017

Long Day

Thursday, March 9, 2017

My location:  Saddle Mountain BLM near Tonopah, Arizona

Didn’t need to turn on the furnace for a quick warm-up this morning.  Already near 60 with a bright sun.  Didn’t get to sleep till around 11 p.m. last night, so woke up around 7:30 this morning.  Worried about those poor German Shepherds.

Didn’t get an early start on the day either.  It was noon and hot by the time we left to go back to the deserted houses to see it the dogs were there.  Of course, they weren’t.  Didn’t stop us from walking through the houses and calling out for them.  I brought extra water and some dog food with me just in case.

Thought I saw mine tailings, so we climbed this hill overlooking Saddle Mountain to the South.  Courthouse road goes towards the mountains on the right side of the photo and Salome Road goes East and West.

I didn’t know it at the time, but we would be coming from the mountains out on the dirt road you see below on the left.  It is the second one from the left.

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Needless to say, we did not enter this house.

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We left the abandoned houses and headed back home.  Just as we turned onto Courthouse Road, I saw a nice looking car coming up from behind, so I pulled over and took a quick shot as it went by.  It was a lucky shot too!  Turned out to be a great shot of a 1956 Chevy Bel Air 2 door hardtop.  Lot of pride and money in that car. 

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We turned off Courthouse Road into the first East entrance of the Saddle Mountain BLM we came to.  Couldn’t believe Miguel had an accident on this Jeep trail in the middle of nowhere.

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As we drove towards the mountains, I thought I could see a trail going up and over a pass, so we followed the Jeep road.

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Drove as far as I dared and then parked the Jeep and walked the rest of the way up the trail.  It was just getting too scary in the Jeep.  Just don’t want to get stuck out here in the middle of nowhere.  You can see the trail going up and over top right.

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Walked to the top hoping it went over and around the mountains.  But, not to be.  It was another dead end road.  Tired of these things.  It was a long uphill walk and I was dead tired by the time we got to the top.

There was a fire pit at the top.  Photo below is looking out to the Northwest.  Our RV is over to the left out of the picture.

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Looking to the Southeast through a valley leading out of the Saddle Mountains.

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Here’s looking directly South across the valley at another mountain in the Saddle range.  No road.   Can’t walk any further.  My feet hurt so much, I even wonder if I can get back to the Jeep.  Walked only four miles today, but they were all up and down miles.  Getting too old for this.

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Got home around 3 p.m. and took two extra strength Tylenols and soaked my feet in Dawn dish soap.  May not have helped, but my feet were a lot softer.  As I write this at 6:30, I feel much better.

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See you later.

12 comments:

  1. I'm glad you checked on the dog friends at the old abandoned houses. Hopefully, they found their way home. Lots of fixer uppers there! Pobre Miguel. ¡Que lastima! There must be a lot of place@ where the roads just stop. Love the dome you were near. It was really pretty. Take care of those feet! You're going to need them!

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    1. Thanks Dolly. It would be a bummer to be out here and not be able to walk. I'm sure those dogs found there way back home.

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  2. I left a comment on Wednesday blog - but maybe too late for you to see it. Get yourself some Epson salts to soak tired feet - and get some rest. 🌵🌷🌴

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    1. Good idea, Moonfly. Got to take care of them so I can keep going each day.

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  3. If that desert gets any greener down there they are going to be calling it the Emerald Isles just like Ireland.

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    1. It is beautiful this year. Hate to start heading home with all this beauty around me.

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  4. Like Al says it sure is getting green out here in the desert.

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  5. Unbelievable greenery. Too bad the dogs weren't there but maybe that is good news.

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    1. They did look well fed in my picture, so just hope they were just out on an excursion and not abandoned. Looks like there is grass everywhere, it so green this year.

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  6. Oh Doug, You're so sweet to go back looking for the german shepards in hopes to give them water and food. I think it's a good sign that they weren't there. I think that means that they went back to their nice, cool, bountiful home! :) The pictures of the mountains and the greenery are sooooo beautiful. I'm sorry your feet hurt so bad. Might be time to take a rest day and keep those guys soft for another day! :) Love you!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah. I mainly worry about them not having enough water, but dogs are resilient. My feet bounced back overnight, thank goodness and I'm ready for another day. No mountain climbing today though. Stick with the Jeep.

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