Snickers and Beans

On one of the few YouTube channels I follow a fellow traveler showed this cat she met who belonged to a couple traveling in their new RV.  You can imagine my surprise when I saw Snickers.  

This is a capture screenshot from the video.

Someday I hope to meet up with this couple.  They had another cat that was up in the window who looked a lot like Sinbad when he was young.  Both cats are around a year old.  

Yep, I think these are good people.

Beans has more color on the right side of her face 

but still there is that distinctive color separation down the bridge line of the nose.

I couldn't catch her in the same pose as Snickers and how could I possibly disturb this?

Posts to the blog will not be as frequent as in the past after this one.  

We are not moving around any, staying in the same area throughout the winter months.

Just know we are doing great and enjoying 70 to 80 degree sunny sky weather every day.

A Great Find

My hiking stick is pointing to just how the arrowhead was lying as I walked up this hillside.

I have a found a couple of  "probable" arrowheads in the past but this one left no doubt in my mind

This was the real thing.

My theory is the Indian shot and missed.  The arrow hit the rocks and broke off the tip of the head.  Now useless, he removed it from the arrow shaft and tossed the head to the ground.
No Thanksgiving turkey for him.

I thought about it that evening wondering if maybe I could find the broken tip.  I went back the next day and was able to find the spot where I found the arrowhead.  I looked around but no tip.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Two Sunsets

Junk Food for Beans

I buy high priced, quality, grain-free canned cat food for Beans.  She eats better than I do.  Our new home site which will be for most of the winter is over a hundred miles away from any major shopping areas.  This means I cannot buy the usual food for Beans.  I have to get what is available in grocery stores...crap cat food.  I got online and tried to find what was the least worst of the lot among brands like Whiskas, Nine Lives, Sheba, Fancy Feast, Friskies, etc  The more I read the worse they all became with none being any better than the others.  I gave up.  It's not like its going to kill her.  

It's just junk food.  I bought a selection of Friskies.  Now it was a matter of if she'll eat it or not. 

She gobbled it down and wanted more.

Well we all like our junk food don't we?

Hope, Arizona

Hope isn't even a town.  It stands at the fork in the road where highway 60 goes one way and highway 72 branches off another direction.  The name comes for the community's hope the town with take off with business interests.  Well that didn't happen. The one gas station and cafe that once was is closed. The only business operating was an RV park and a church.

That sign would read better Church of Little Hope.

As you reached the other end of what never was, there was this sign.

Adios Hope.

Miner's Living Ouarters

Around on the backside of the mountain from where the mine was 

is where the miners had built their living quarters.

All that is left standing is what was once the kitchen.

There were several of these slabs around the area of what once were buildings for various reasons.

I could find nothing to give me an idea as to a date when this mining activity took place.

Just hauling in all the lumber, cement and machinery alone would have been a major undertaking.

Well Google came through again.  I found it was the Desert Queen Mine from 1911 to 1942.  

Gold was the primary mineral.  Here is a link to the article I found.

Inside the Mineshaft

Wouldn't you know it, one of the few times I went out exploring 

and didn't have my flash light with me.

Yeah, it was dark in there.  

The you can't see your hand in front of your face kind of dark

And I didn't have my regular camera with me but the iPhone did quite well I thought.

This was as deep in I went and it wasn't until I saw the picture on the computer that it appears to be some timbers down.  A cave in or it was blocked off at one time.

This is down a shaft branching off to the side

.

I went in deeper to try and see what this was and what for.

I felt I had gone in far enough and headed back out.

Just follow the light John.

Abandoned Mine

Near Vicksburg, Arizona

Always a joy to discover these old mines.

Where the ore was rolled out, dumped through a grating and down a chute into a truck bed below.

There were several of these shafts around the entrance.

Tomorrow we go inside.

This is Your Life

Aguila. Arizona

On our way to our next home site I stopped in this little town for some lunch.  It hardly qualified as a town as there was just a gas station, maybe a small grocery store (I couldn't tell if it was operational or not) and a few boarded up businesses.  

Outside my window where we parked in a dirt area.

  He just sits there all day.  No vehicle.  

Everything he owns is right in front of him.

You just gotta know there is a interesting story there but I know better that to start up anything.

No doubt I'd regret it soon after the first few words were spoken.

Maybe there is another person there and they were away with the vehicle

I hope that was the case.

Tarantula Two

A few days later another tarantula walked by our home.

No more tarantula photos ladies.  That's it for now.

Taters and Beans

Whenever someone approaches the RV Beans runs off to a secure spot inside.  If we are outside, she usually wants in as fast as possible.  Then occasionally if outside, she'll just hunker down and is real still.  Well on this morning's walk none of the usual behavior occurred as this old guy and his dog came up the road.  Beans walked right up to them and to say I was shocked is an understatement especially considering this is the first dog she's ever encountered.

You can tell Taters isn't too happy about meeting Beans.

"Just make it go away, please"

Beans eventually gave up and walked away much to Taters' relief.  

Taters was a really neat dog, never barked but did give off a slight growl.

To look at the first photo Beans appears to be almost as big as Taters.  I've had cats all my life and I cannot begin to count them all.  But I really believe Beans is the biggest cat I have ever had.

You just gotta love the title to this post.

Tarnatula

I haven't seen one of these guys since way back in the 80's I'd venture to guess.

They are so cool to watch as they move much slower than you would think.

Their walk is robotic, like a mechanical device with weak batteries.

I believe this to be a male as it was small and females are larger.

Beans and the Cholla Cactus

Our home site has an abundance of cholla cactus all around.  I was taking Beans for a walk and wasn't paying attention when before I knew it we were in the middle of a garden of cholla.  I could only hope that she would get through okay as she's pretty good around cactus.  But unfortunately she got a loose sticker in her paw.  

This made her loose her walk funny and soon had this ball of cholla got stuck on her back leg.  Of course I felt real bad for allowing us to get in this situation in the first place.  I picked her up and we went back inside the RV.  Now long ago she got a sticker in her foot and it wasn't a pleasant experience trying to get it out as she kept biting at me.  This time she laid on the table and was much better about the whole procedure.  Yeah, it hurt but she didn't take it out on me.  

I really believe she understands I am helping her.  

I got several thorns out from her feet and in doing so she jimmied her leg with that big ball on it.  The ball stuck to the back of my hand and came free from her fur.  Much better it be on me than her.  Yeah, these things hurt and they secrete a type of poison that makes it hurt long after the removal of the barbed thorn itself.  My hand was discolored for a few days with blood beneath the skin but all is well now and we stay well clear of cholla cactus now.

Vulture Peak

This is our new home site for a week or so, just south of Wickenburg, Arizona.

It has everything we like: peace and quiet, room for only a half a dozen other campers spaced widely apart, nice temperatures, no wind, no bugs and weak cell service with slow Internet speeds. 

(no, I don't really like the last one)

Our nearest neighbors back up the road.

We are at the last spot just before the trail head parking area for the Vulture Peak Trail.

Vulture Peak.  I got about half way and turned around. 

I may give it another go on another day.

Old, Old Route 66

Our next camp after leaving the town of Seligman was I found on the original path of Route 66.  I had taken a "gravel" road down from Route 66 which I had been following to this secluded camp.

  

Some research revealed the route came this way and what I thought was gravel was the remains of the old asphalt highway.  Here you can see a few chunks still intact.

While taking Beans for a walk we discovered the perfect spot to pull in for a camp, completely enclosed within the shade.  It was only big enough for a car or truck.

The Little House on the Highway would not fit.

Inside was this.  Some idiot left all their trash hanging in the tree!  

The bags contained mostly empty water bottles.

Well the "idiot" returned later that afternoon in a small red pick-up, with no camper.  He looked a little scary so I kept to my part and he to his.  Hopefully when he left for good he would take his trash with him.  I certainly wan't about to go over there and suggest that to him!

DeSoto's Salon

How fortunate that your last name is the same as an automobile and your business is on Route 66.

The Chrysler corporation ceased production of the DeSoto with the 1960-61 model which this is.

I'd say they went out in a flourish pulling out all stops in the designing of this automobile.

If I Owned a Business

Great advertising for your shop.

I wonder if they have to move it so as to not get a parking ticket?

Don't you wish all burger places were like this?

Now if I owned a business I would have this sign in my window.