From the upper Sonoran desert in Congress, Arizona, rising temperatures had me moving on up in elevation with a change in scenery. Starting with the familiar 2500 foot climb up Yarnell Hill along SR89, “Where the desert breeze meets the mountain air”, to Chaparral, and then beyond into Juniper/Pinyon woodland, 10° cooler with company on friends’ 45 off-grid acres. It smells delightfully different.
A woke Friday morning in the desert to 77° at 8am. A good time to be moving on up into cooler temperatures. Stopped to fill the almost empty propane tank at B&B and left the wonky-only-intermittently-working tank behind to be either repaired or replaced. This struggle has been going on for a year now and I believe Manchester needs to step up. My guess, when the new regulations came out for horizontal use 5-gal propane tanks they answered the call and there are bugs in the valve system (like first updates on Windows). We shall see.
Quick stop at the dollar store in Yarnell finally yielded two boxes of chintzey kleenex. So why is it that Angle Soft TP bought at discount stores are wrapped loosely with less product for cheaper than other stores? Hmmm, maybe why I don’t usually shop at those places.
Parked in front of Gilligan’s along main street Yarnell and called in my order to go. Twenty minutes later I was sampling said pizza before bringing the rest to my hosts. It passed inspection as usual and I ate another piece later for dinner with my friends. Sadly, in the morning I suffered for that pizza as has been happening in the last several months with any pizza, one of my favorite comfort foods. I may have to eliminate it or try gluten free. I actually tracked what I ate for about a month and noticed that more than two slices of bread for a sandwich did the same thing, so, who knows, maybe another change in life.
It was after noon when I turned off SR89 onto Wagnor Road for the first nine miles, mostly paved, across the Hassayampa River bridge, through ranch land, much owned by Rex Maughan who also owns the Forever Resorts concession at several national parks and abroad. Crossed several deep dry washes so was glad there’s no rain predicted for a while.
Pulled in, parked and was distant visiting by 3pm. Took almost an hour from SR89 to go 12+ miles. Of course I do drive slow like a granny should.
Mary has 45 acres with a marvelous straw-bale house they built, plus a guesthouse, and multiple shops. Jerry says she owns it and he gets to live there. And he has ‘stuff’ spread all over. After dinner he gave me the Royal tour. Ford trucks, graders, grinders, and lift trucks, motors, generators, tractors, trailers, the bus conversion they lived in, and a fire truck. If he doesn’t have the part, he can make it. Tall and slightly bent at 80 he’s busy, on and off, all day and there just isn’t enough time to geteralldone.
Mary’s garden is a delightful piece of more cultivated green with flowers, ponds, vegetables, and outdoor art. The inside of the house reminds me of Berta’s in collections, antiques, miniatures, paintings, photographs, and arrowheads (some made by Jerry).
After Mary showed me a few places she thought would be good to park and offer shade, I chose a spot with the most direct warm afternoon sun. Thank goodness for a breeze. I watched around me to see where the shade would be better.
Going outside that night to turn off the inverter I suspected having a skunk neighbor. However, it turns out to be a pretty blue Phacelia flower that is carpeting a lot of the land right now.
The next day I dumped my holding tanks and moved into a shadier location. I am surrounded by some old and healthy Juniper and Pinyon Pine trees. Lots of shade to sit under for afternoon reading.
Distant views of the Weaver Mountains from a new perspective.
Now I just need to motivate enough to get out and take more photos of this beautiful place.
How long I’ll be here is hard to say. Current start date to return to work at Bryce Canyon National Park is May 10th. Of course, that could change again. I have to return to B&B in Congress to pick up my replacement propane tank. Yes, the manufacturer is coming through. Then it’s only another 20 miles to Wickenburg for my mail—including a replacement solar controller.
Although I am currently plugged into the solar system here to charge my phone and laptop I still need to work on the power issues. Thanks for the suggestions. A tablet just wouldn’t cut it for all I do on my laptop. I need to beef up the solar system. Hopefully, I’ll return to work soon and be able to afford that for next winter.
I can’t thank friends enough times for providing a place to park, though they may get tired of me. Or summer temperatures will rise some more and then I’ll have to be moving on up to higher elevation again. Guess I could live on the North Kaibab National Forest at 8000 feet next.
Think I’ll go sit outside in my Sonoran Desert yard, possibly in the shade of the overly trimmed Palo Verde tree that somebody even screwed a board into which makes me sad. But the beautiful world around me makes me smile.
