Exploring In A Different Direction, Boosting The Local Economy and Still Waiting On Amazon.

Our Location today is North Ranch, Congress, Arizona, U.S.A.

When we are practically asleep at our Computers we know that it’s time to get to bed before we start wearing our Keyboards. The only thing is getting to bed that early also means that if we sleep undisturbed that we’ll be waking up that much earlier in the morning. 

Taken at 9:00 this morning.

At 7:00 MST the sun hadn’t even shown itself so I managed to open the Window Shades and get some things ready for breakfast before sitting down at my Computer to get an early start on my morning reading. Since Kathy needs more sleep then I do she didn’t come downstairs until nearly 8:00 but it was still as dark outside as it was when I got up. It was going to be another Cloudy Day. We finished our morning chores and after having a lite snack that we called lunch we were out the door before 11:00 heading in the direction of Wickenburg. 

Vulture Peak

As mentioned in yesterday’s blog Kathy had been pouring over many of Al andKelly’s past posts in Travel with theBayfield Bunch, describing places to see many of the Local Sites. One such site was down Vulture Mine Road where one could hike out to Vulture Peak. We stopped at a few places along the road noting RVs doting the landscape in the desert and one of those stops was at the Vulture Peak Trail. The people at that location were keeping more then a guarded eye on us which made Kathy feel quite uneasy. A decision was made to skip the half mile hike and return to the main road. We continued down to the 5 Mile Marker before turning around and heading back towards Wickenburg. 

One of the things that concerned Kathy was that we kept coming across State Trust Land signs saying No Trespassing, Permit Required. These areas reminded me of the Washboard Road Date Creek Road that we took to get to Skull Rock on Tuesday. As I explained to her those were meant more if you were setting up camp not just checking the areas out. 

Radio Tower

Back to Wickenburg. Love the rolling roads and mountains.

We were back in Wickenburg before noon but we were far from hungry. We needed to return to the NAPA Auto Parts Store. When we picked up the Pigtail Plugs on Saturday I needed other supplies but had not written them on our Shopping List. Today our complete list contained a mixture of things from food stocks to hardware. We found the Sealer and Glue that I was looking for. Kathy had also been scouting the shelves herself and came across a replacement Steering Wheel Cover the perfect size for our truck. It is a Ergonomically Designed soft grip that increases the thickness of the steering wheel which eliminates any Tendonitis in the arms. 

He's just singing the same old song.

Family Photo.

Our next stop was an address with the name of a business and the GPS would not except the address as existing. Trying to do it the Old-Fashioned Way (Reading Numbers on Buildings) we followed Wickenburg Way until we were heading out the far side of town. Turning back around Kathy was certain that she had seen the place the other day. As soon as we rolled out of the Round-About there it was. No Numbers on the Building and no parking available in the area. 

We ended up parked in the Municipal Parking Area in the center on the Historic Section. Walking back to Wickenburg Way we started exploring many of the small collectables shops and we even helped to bolster their bottom lines. 

Around 2:00 we were starting to feel the need for a snack but we didn’t want to go overboard so we stopped in at Bedoian’s Bakery & Bistro. We had enjoyed our snack the other day so we returned to try something different. We were refreshed by the Ice Tea but we each enjoyed a Spinach Salad with Goat Cheese, Cranberries and Nuts. It was enough to carry us for the rest of the afternoon. 

The Sun trying to come out.

This guy was serving his sentence.

We continued walking through the Historic Section stopping at a few more shops and seeing a few interesting Characters on the street. Our final stop was The Old Livery Mercantile. Don’t let the name of businesses fool you because this should have been our first stop today. We managed to scratch a few more Christmas Gifts off next year’s list. When it came to paying they were amazed how we used the Tap System. In Ontario we’ve had this system for over Five Years but out here in the southwest they are just starting to catch up. 

We had to be at Jones Ford by 4:00 for an Oil Change, so that’s where we headed. It helped that we got there early because I had to explain that the Truck’s Odometer was in Kilometers not Miles and how to print out the tag for our next Oil Change. When the Service Representative looked at the truck he just looked at me and said “You’ve been driving the Backroads”. (Was it that noticeable?) The Oil Change was done by 4:45 and the truck had been freshly washed before we left at no charge. 

We stopped at Taco Bell where we had a couple of Tacos for our supper. As we were leaving we saw what was the only Sunlight we’d seen all day. 

Slightly used boots.

This Bench is a Time Capsule.

We drove back to Safeway where we restocked our Fridge and Pantry with Produce, Meats and other Supplies. 

The Sun setting below the clouds.

Getting back Home at North Ranch just after 7:30 there was no package waiting for us. After unloading the Truck and putting the Groceries away I checked my E-mail to find another message from Amazon telling me of another Delivery Delay. The Clock is Ticking and we are rolling out on Saturday. Thanks for following along, feel free to leave a comment and click on the pictures to enlarge them. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

The World's Great Proverbs

Old habits die hard.