Nick climbs Black Mountain

 Today is the day Nick is climbing Black Mountain.  I've always wanted to but I have limitations that prevent such a climb.  

We got up at 9 o'clock and it promises to be a beautiful day for a climb.  No wind and cool and sunny.  Nick had a quick breakfast and I'm going to take the White Lion into get fresh water and dump tanks, plus move just a couple hundred feet up the hill to a large beautiful site.  Someone just left this morning early and I'm grabbing it 😊.

At 11:30 Nick headed out and I went into town.  Nick had a backpack with everything he may need in case he has to stay overnight for some reason.

Had no troubles getting into town and dumping tanks.  I've been having troubles holding water in my fresh water tank after filling.  For some reason, it pours out as I drive down the road so today I was hoping it wouldn't happen.  

Yuma met the next door neighbor while I was taking on water.

I forget his name but he is just one and a ball of fire.  Yuma had fun because they both love to jump.  The young lady who owns him is from California and is a full-time RVer while working.  Her name is Krissi and she likes to boondock so I gave her my blog address so she could check out the Borrego Springs area for places to boondock.

When I returned back to Darby Well Road I stopped at the huge site just up the hill west of my current site.  Nick took a zoom picture from atop the mountain to give you an idea.

I was very upset because I could see a trail of water following me home and when I got to the site, I only had 35% of the 100% left in the fresh water tank.  Too mad today to look further into it, so will do that another day when I'm fresh.

Plus, when I got home all the stuff that was on my table including my computer was on the floor 😡.  Luckily, it wasn't damaged, but I can't find my mouse anywhere.  Must have kicked it out the door when I stopped in town to do the dump and take on water.

I just got everything moved into our new site and the RV cleaned up a little and here comes Nick, tired but successful on his climb.

It was about 3:30 and Nick had climbed the nearly 3000 foot mountain and taken pictures and returned.  Here is how his hike unfolded.

Ran into a small herd of donkeys.

Heading toward the top.

Someone has been here before me.  Mexicans use this mountain for cover.

The following pictures are from the top.

Looking north towards the Ajo Pit and the town of Ajo beyond.

Looking to the east along Darby Well Road out to highway 85.

The White Lion in his new site.  The Jeep is parked just above it in the old site.

Looking to the northwest.  

Cow plops Nick climbed the other day.

Zoom in on the pit and Ajo beyond.

On the way down.  One last picture.

Been a long day and we're both tired.  Thanks for stopping by.

A lazy day

 It was very cold in the White Lion last night.  Got down to 34 and it felt like it.  Tonight will be another cold night, but I'm going to crack a few windows and leave the propane heat on for part of the night.

Got up at 7 this morning and turned on the heat so when I got up at 9 o'clock it would be warm.  The sun is out in full force and when I stepped outside I was surprised how nice it felt in the sun with little wind.

My brother Richard texted me this morning to tell me his son Jonathon was diagnosed with Covid 19.  He is a strong, so should not have any problems.

I just couldn't get excited about going anywhere today, so we just laid in the sun and relaxed all morning into the early afternoon.  I did manage to get my bedroom all cleaned and even made the bed. 😄  Did what little dishes we had too.

It was 3:30 when Nick and I sat down for a game of chess.  This was the best game we have played.  A lot of strategy went on and it felt like Putin against Ukraine.  All it took was one mistake by Ukraine and Putin swooped in for the kill. 💥  I mean checkmate!

Had dinner at 5:30, consisting of cheeseburgers and chips and that is our day.  Although it makes for boring posts, I do enjoy these relaxing days.  I think my clock is winding down a tad.

Thanks for stopping by.

Rain and cold equal laundry day

 This morning the clouds rolled in and we didn't get out of bed till 10 o'clock.  We knew this was going to be a bad weather day, so planned to do laundry today.  Now, don't go back and check when we last did laundry. 😱

Had a long leisurely breakfast indoors and it started raining before noon.  Just off and on.  We picked an off time around 2 and headed to town with months of dirty laundry in the top down Jeep.  Very cool today with a low of 34 tonight.  They have a very nice laundromat here and it is not busy at all.  Only complaint is there are a lot of broken down machines so we are lucky no one is here.

We had so many loads that I lost count, but we finally got done around 4 and by this time the rain was gone and the sun was peeking out.  

We folded everything and put them up and decided to play a game of chess before dinner.  Same results as yesterday, but we're both getting a little sharper. 😀  

As we were playing I kept wondering why I didn't have two sets of bed linen, so after the game I texted Dolly to ask if she had given me two sets and she said "yes".  Now I'm wondering if I left some laundry at the laundromat. 😰  

So, off I go to check to see if I had left a load behind.  Sure enough, when I went in, there was a lady there, and I asked if there was any laundry in a washer or dryer and she said "yes". 😨😀  I had left a load of clothes in a dryer and they were still there.  Now I have two sets of bed linens and a lot more clothes I would have surely missed at some point.

Nick didn't feel like dinner, but I was famished.  Had a steak and potatoes.  Time to finish this short post, have dessert and make my bed for tonight.

Thanks for stopping by.

Day of rest and Chess

 Slept in till 9:30 and didn't get up until after 10 this morning.  Really didn't have anything planned for the day, so we were moving slowly.  Oh yes, welcome to Twosday, 22-2-22! 😀

Wind again this morning and temps are lower.  Fortunately, the sun peeked from the clouds most of the time so lying around outside was comfortable.  

A few weeks ago, Dolly mentioned Nick wanted to play Chess.  He is a beginner and I'm an old pro who hasn't touched the game in more years than I can remember.  So, when in Walmart the last time, I bought a cheap set thinking the day may come when we would give it a try.  Today, is that day! 😊

The old man vs. the kid with Yuma laughing in the background.

Won't say who won, but it was a battle to the last play piece and maybe someone let the old man win, and maybe not. 😁 Anyway, it was fun and we're going to try to get a game in as often as possible.

At 3, we decided to head into Olsens Grocery for needed supplies.  Very nice store with everything we needed.  Going to get down below 40 tonight and calling for rain tomorrow morning, so we wanted to get that out of the way.

Cheeseburgers for dinner tonight and watching Creed II to finish the evening before dessert and bed.

Thanks for stopping by.

Bates Well Ranch in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument and more

 This morning Yuma made up for yesterday and woke me up at 7:30😩.  I threw a robe on and opened the door and he wasn't long before we were both back in bed😀.

Didn't really go back to sleep, but with it being cool in the RV, I laid there and read blogs and the news.  I should skip the news!

We had a nice breakfast, but indoors because of the coolness and wind.  Supposed to be windy all day and partly cloudy in the morning, but that didn't stop us.  We jumped in the Jeep at high noon and headed down Bates Well Road towards the Bates Well Homestead about 10-15 miles south of here.

We're at the north entrance (top) of the park

The scenery is beautiful, remote and rugged.  Being a windy day, we ate a lot of dust in our top down Jeep.

They certainly didn't live the lifestyle of the Yellowstone Ranch 😁.  All you get is two small rooms and some bright colors.

We walked around the ranch looking at the outbuildings.

The plan had started out to only go as far as the ranch and then come back home.  I had done the whole loop around the National Monument once before and knew it was a long long Jeep ride through the Sonoran Desert.  But I wanted Nick to experience it at his age.  Plus, he was doing the driving and Yuma and I could just take in the scenery 😊.

So, off we go for better or worse.

 

And it can be worse!

The only place to stop between here and the border on the Poso Nuevo Road is a watering hole for cattle.  We took some pictures and moved on to the border.

The final stop was right at the border at Quitobaquito Springs.  In Tohono O'odham it means "house ring spring".

Don't want to run that Stop sign!

As we headed home we had one last surprise waiting for us.

A crested Saguaro Cactus!

We arrived home at 5 o'clock after five long hours of hard driving.  Had another steak, potato and corn for dinner and went to work putting this post together.  I know there are a lot of pictures, but just take your time.  Don't have to look at them all at one time 😀.

Thanks for stopping by.