Thursday is town day, avoiding most working people’s weekend, and leaves me six days to play every week.  This retirement thing just might work out.  Especially if I only have to go to town every other week.  That’s my goal leaving more days to play.  I mean why is it, when I lived 2 1/2 hours from shopping I only went to town every 3-4 weeks, and now only 30 minutes away I go weekly.  Ugh.  Not my cup of tea.  Speaking of tea, note my new profile pic to match the rest of my struggling new Geogypsy brand on YouTube.  More about that coming.

Anyway, another reason for Thursday to town includes stopping at the dump weekly.  One 13 gallon bag, and sometimes something else, ranges from $1-$3, depending on who’s there or maybe a whim.  I don’t know.  It’s cheap enough.  That also being the southern direction for this town day about an hour away to Wickenburg.  It would be warmer 2200 feet lower in elevation so I took off early for me.

Prickly Poppies at the gate

Of course the road is being resealed, it’s summer around here.  Stopped along the way at Peeples Valley Market and bought local ground beef plus filled the camper’s propane tanks to refrigerate my groceries for the return journey.  Drove through Yarnell and took video driving down the Yarnell Hill on SR89 because I’ve wanted to for a long time.  Haven’t shared yet.  Made a thrift store donation of—dare I say—outgrown clothes, and bought a couple summer tops and shorts.  I haven’t needed summer clothes in many years as I usually wore a uniform.  After stocking up groceries for an anticipated two weeks, I returned via Congress to meet Gypsy for lunch.  Two hours later, I discovered the local laundromat closed.  Minimal hand wash would get me through another week.

Nice way to end a long day.

First of six days to play often becomes a down day, recovery sort of from all the running around from town day.  I’m not entirely lazy as I work on the computer and online.  Why do I call it work?  Not used to retirement so I have personal work that I’m going to start calling play.  What the heck, nobody’s paying me to do this, yet.  I loved my work for so many years it’s a hard habit to break.  OK, I will admit to a lot of reading on the couch, with my feet elevated.  And thus, the only photo taken, from said couch.

Besides, the next morning was another early rise to beat the heat as I met Joann at the gate around 7am for a day trip in search of flowering cactus.

Just the other side of Brushy Mountain from where I live, in the Lower Kirkland Valley a gravel sideroad caught our eyes.  We stopped regularly to take photos.  This is ranch country, horses and cattle.

                                                                           Hello handsome

A wake of Turkey Vultures alerted us to a small wetland.  They perched at the top of mostly dead trees, some exposing stretched wings to the morning sun.  There was very little water.

Growing out of a nursery tree

Yet enough to support the Desert Willow with showy blooms.

Back on pavement it was not long before a wide shoulder with a closed but not locked gate beckoned.  It appeared to be State Trust Land presumably “leased” to graze cattle. More about that in the video.

I was glad to see even sparse flowers on the Prickly Pear cactus though many were already gone.  Lots of pollinators doing their jobs.

We continued westward, downhill through a curvy canyon noting the limited shoulder parking for the return drive.  Certainly in Saguaro country and just starting to flower.

Another gravel sideroad drew us along 13 miles according to a sign, sometimes following the Santa Maria River/dry wash.  Almost turned around a couple times, but what’s just up ahead pulled us on.  Plus, even without looking at a map the direction would dump us onto a known highway.

Stopped at an abandoned ranch which I included in the video and saw more Saguaros covered with buds but only a few flowers.  Just a little early.

Valley below Bagdad

Sure enough, we ended up on US93 and went north a short ways then looped back to SR96 and took a left to Bagdad for lunch.

Turned around and closed the loop with an additional stop for yet another abandoned building (again in the video).

Once back on the road towards home, thought I saw a cristate or crested-like Saguaro.  Located high above the road without a good place to park I merely snapped a few quick shots.  Once the images were on the computer and I could zoom in an extremely wrinkled cactus appeared.  I was told by a Sonoran Desert Ranger friend it’s a wannabe cristate.

It took nine hours to cover 180 miles of fun and still had four days of play left to my week.

I spent the entire next day playing with photos and making a video of the previous day’s adventure.

Had to balance out all that sitting at the computer so dragged my butt out for another early morning walk.

Gone for 1 1/2 hours and barely walked half a mile.  I feel a little guilty even calling it a walk.  Especially as I’ve been watching two friends walk the 500 mile Camino de Santiago.  But for me this is good.  It would take me a lifetime to walk that far.

Walked west through the gravel pit and to the big wash that had just a little bit of puddle water.

Of course I took video and haven’t done anything with it, yet.  It’s an interesting balancing act carrying the big camera and using the phone for video, but I’m getting better at it.

Whiptail lizard

I am easily entertained by my window views and think I live in Lizard Land where there seems unlimited days to play.  So many different species.

The Gamble Quail strut by every morning, and if not within sight of each other call back and forth, and back and forth, and…  Repeat that show in the late afternoon.  Could be a nest nearby but I haven’t seen any little ones.  I continue to dream about summer travel.  Yet may have to be content with days to play on the ranch.  It’s not a bad place to be.

I know, I’m pushing the videos.  Trying hard to set some goals which include continued traveling on a limited Social Security income.  I didn’t plan for retirement because I figured I’d have to work until I die.  Seasonal employees for the National Park Service don’t earn retirement.  It was a trade off, but retirement reality is setting in.  I have skills and should be able to earn supplemental income doing what I love, travel, write, photograph, share stories, and now video.  So, I’ve taken on a new job called play.  And I’ll share more about that coming up.  In the meantime, I created another video introducing myself to the YouTube world.  And then ran out of days to play because it was Thursday, and you know what that means.  I didn’t make it two weeks between town runs because I HAD to get the laundry done.