Cap'n Bob & the Damsel

Wanderlust

Arizona Desert Mining Town

Desert Mining Town

After we took the dogs to the groomer yesterday, we had a couple of hours to ourselves. We decided to head over to an old mining town (and tourist trap) about 25 miles west of Wickenburg.

Unfortunately, when we got there after driving 28 miles on pavement and another 2 miles on dirt, we found that the attraction was closed for the day having been reserved for a photo shoot by some unknown enterprise. We noted a large number of California license plates on the vehicles parked there.

The cowboy that ran things told us that they didn’t have time to notify the media of the closing. He was very apologetic and assured us that if we were to come back on a normal visiting day that he would waive the admission and guided tour fee. I guess we will take him up on that sometime in the near future, before the desert heat gets too out of hand.

The place is called Robson’s Ranch & Mining Camp. We will probably take a trip out there soon.

19 Apr 2015 by Arizona Culture Entertainment Wanderlust

Moving the Travel Trailer

Moving Trailer

The big chore today was moving the trailer across the road to the new lot we bought. The new spot is not its permanent storage location, but we moved it there temporarily so the work of building retention walls and paving the RV drive around the house can be done. We had planned to tow the trailer to the lot across the road and had the blessing of the previous landowner, but now, it’s a moot point since we closed escrow over three weeks ago.

This is the first time that we towed the trailer with the new Ford F-150. As soon as we got the trailer electrical cable hooked up to the truck, the electronic readout in the drivers instrument console started reporting information about the trailer. Since I was busy with the move, I didn’t take the time to check out all the data there. I will consult the owner’s manual before the next time we hitch up the trailer.

04 Feb 2015 by Retirement Technobabble Travel Wanderlust

Wickenburg Weekend Bike Invasions

Bikers in Town

We don’t normally go out on the weekends, but today we had occasion to drive to the post office and then to deposit a check that came in the mail at the bank. We also did some shopping while we were in that end of town (Old Wickenburg).

As we drove through the old section, we noticed a lot of two-wheelers parked at the cafes downtown. We hear the bikes on the weekends from home, but rarely get to see some of the nice motorcycles in person. This bunch of bikers were enjoying some of the great Mexican food available at the only Mexican restaurant in old downtown. Click on the image to enlarge.

18 Oct 2014 by Arizona Food & Dining Photography Something Shiny Wanderlust

Gas Guzzler vs. Economy Car?

Big and Little Gas

On our way into Southern Cal today, we passed this RV that was towing one of those funny (and ugly) little economy cars. I guess the mindset being that if we burn x gallons per mile getting where we go, we can make up for it by cramming ourselves into our towed ride which gets beaucoup miles per gallon and tour the local area after parking the big dude in the RV park. I think that unless they drive hundreds and hundreds of miles locally, they may not completely offset each other’s gas consumption.

Now, don’t get me wrong – we all know the energy “crisis” is a complete fraud and I have no problem with consumers consuming whatever resources thy can afford. We do the same when we travel. It just seems to me that if you’re going to consume “precious” resources, that you should be towing a Hummer and not that pathetic little Nissan POS. Just sayin’.

29 Sep 2014 by Environment Travel Wanderlust

Baby Alexander David – Our First Great Grandson

Handsome Li’l Guy

Damsel and I welcome our first great grandchild to the world. The granddaughter gave birth to this beautiful li’l guy overnight. We already had a preview of his cute little face a few weeks back in the 3D ultrasound image.

We visited the new Mama-to-be and her sisters earlier this week, but we were too early to see the new baby. We plan to go back there very soon so we can see and hold him. We just finished a ten-day road trip and are resting from the effects of it, but now, we’re going to head back to Southern California next week and then to Northern California the week after.

19 Sep 2014 by People Wanderlust

Isolated Rain Showers

Rain Shower

We had a fairly long drive today, since we usually try to keep the travel time to under four hours. Today, we had an almost five-hour drive from Bishop, CA, to Kingman, AZ. Yay! Back in free America.

During the last few miles of the trip, we saw several isolated rain showers off to the right or left of our route. This one, was off to the south of I-40 as we passed through the outskirts of the Kingman area.

We looked on the NWS sites and think that we won’t encounter much more than a few showers on our way back home tomorrow. The route is good highway (I-40 and US 93) back home and mostly above the flood potential. We will see . . .

Click on the image to enlarge.

17 Sep 2014 by Arizona Environment Wanderlust

Manzanar

Manzanar Sacred Monument

On our route from Bishop, CA to Ridgecrest, CA today, we stopped at the Manzanar National Historic Site on our way south. This is a very important monument, reminding us of one of the most heinous acts ever taken by the USA (other than electing Obama).

It is a somber self-guided tour that takes the observer through the internment camp that housed over 11,000 Japanese Americans taken from their lives in America to serve time for what the Imperial Japanese did to foment WWII in the Pacific. The bombing of Pearl Harbor and other acts by the Japanese did nothing to warrant gathering the descendants of Japan ancestry and housing them, against their will, in this nightmare desert camp. Manzanar was the largest population center between Reno and Los Angeles, albeit it was a city of an unwilling population.

The image above is the saddest reminder of the sordid acts of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Administration; the graveyard at Manzanar with mostly unmarked graves other than one of Baby Jerry Ogata, an infant that died in captivity here who was as American as you and I.

We have been here before, but the sight of the residual camp always causes us to break out a tissue or two. Click on the image to enlarge.

16 Sep 2014 by California Culture Wanderlust

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