Hit it and Quit It...... Gunship Style

27-Feb-2019

Conyers Ga.

The hardest working Gunship around.... Get on the Scene!!

We have been  rolling hard the last few days.

We managed a short hike at Lake Tanakowi State Park near Wills Point Texas.

We spent the night at the First Monday RV park near Canton Texas, outside Tyler.

Catfish and Chicken fried Steak at the Buttermilk.

We stopped in Monroe La where we had the best crawfish I’ve ever had.

We ate a mess of them. 

There is no doubt if you are in Monroe,  you should stop at Cormier Cajun Restaurant

We ended the day at a WalMart parking lot in Conyers Ga.

If all goes well we make Hatteras Island and the brand new bridge today.

Cormier’s Cajun Restaurant.... Monroe La

Soyonara Sonora Dogs........ For Now

25-Feb-2019

Odessa Texas

Looks like we’ve eaten our last Sonoran Dog for awhile.

Truth is I haven’t had one since we left Tucson.

I know they can be had in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area but we’ve been enjoying some fine dining.

And the odd cocktail where appropriate.

After almost a month and a half in Arizona its time to turn the gunship for home.

We said goodbye to our friend Mary and her pup Gwen Stefani and rolled out of Scottsdale yesterday morning.

We had a great couple of weeks there enjoying company with good friends, seeing the sights, restaurants, and even some hiking.

But the gunship does roll, and roll we must.

We hit it hard through the snow covered  Superstition Mountains then rolled along the Gila River till we made contact with I-10.

Westward to Las Cruces, a quick pizza,ravioli and beer and we were off again. Blew through El Paso on a Sunday afternoon with nary a slowdown. 

Finally called it the end of a long day in Odessa Texas. Back in the west Texas Oil fields.

The camera is tucked away but here’s a few shots from a variety of phones.

leaving the palm trees of Scottsdale

Gwen Stefani in repose

Where did all the people go??

Superstition Mountains east of Scottsdale

Leaving Arizona in the distance...... We’ll be back.

Buscando Maricopa Joe

21-Feb-2019

Scottsdale Az.

We’re still hangin with Mary and Gwen in fashionable Scottsdale AZ.

This is a most civilized local to spend your time.

The visiting gang has left to go back to work (except for Chris who is no longer encumbered by the employment economy- Yeah Chris !)

Miss Sciency and I have returned to the trail.

Maricopa County has a great number of parks within an hours ride of Scottsdale.

Tuesday We did a trail at South Mountain Park and ate at Jimmy Johns.

Yesterday we did a trail at McDowell Mountain Park and ate Pad Thai and Curry at a great little Thai place.

Last night we went out to the Elks Club for happy hour, shuffleshot, and a real good time

It’s raining today (second time since we arrived in AZ).

Catching up on the blog, practicing the guitar, eating cold pizza, and thinking about what to grill on Mary’s new Weber this evening.

If things go well, I might be able to sneak in a nap 

Shenanigans in the Desert

18-Feb-2019

Scottsdale Arizona

The blog has been AWOL the last week or so as we have been living the life in Scottsdale.

Staying with our good friend Mary and her pup Gwen Stefani.

We’ve been seeing the sights, eating good food and having the odd cocktail.

We were joined for a few days by other friends from back east and things got a bit crazier.

Funk bands and electric scooter riders late one night was a great bit of fun.

Good to be with old friends again.  Especially since we are now a bit older.

It’s  little cooler with some rain the forecast today so we’ll probably hang around the house.

Won’t be too long before our trek east begins in earnest

Here’s some photos of the recent merriment

Casting Bronze Bells at Cosanti

Carol and Mary

Miss Sciency and Mr Natural

In the mountains east of Phoenix near Tortilla Flats

Our homage to the many Flaming Volcanos we enjoyed at the Honolulu restaurant so many years ago.

The restaurant is gone, having been leveled to create an off-ramp to the Washington D.C beltway 

White Rabbit

Untitled Number Zero

First Class seafood in Scottsdale- Believe it!!

 

Game of Thrones...... Gunship Style

9-Feb-2019

Goodyear Az

Estrella Mountain Regional Park

Maricopa County Az

We’ve been making our way from the frontera (borderline) north toward the bustling desert metropolis of Phoenix.

We plan a rendezvous with friends that could involve potable beverages and comestible delights.

Anyway, we stopped at Estrella Mountain Regional Park to do a hike around.

Turns out we arrived just in time to participate in an Archery class.

So we ignored the hiking boots and put on our best Peter Pan tights...

Kidding.

We had a great time updating our rusty archer skills and playing with weapons and children at the same time.

No children, nor small furry desert animals were injured during 

Afterwards we went to the movie in a big fancy recliner and full bar equipped theater and watched a movie.

Civilization can be rewarding.

Cue the  Theme Music for Game of Thrones

Neither a Church organ nor a Hammond B-3

Organ Pipes Cactus National Monument

Ajo Az

8-Jan-2019

We are back on the trail sleeping once again in the  Cobra Gunship.

Took us a while to remember where all the stuff was.

Our first night back was one of the coldest ever.

We ended up pulling out the sleeping bags before the night was over.

Making coffee on the JetBoil stove was chilly.

Organ Pipes National Monument is in the southwest corner of Arizona near the Mexican border.

The Sonoran desert ecosystem has incredible biodiversity.

There’s also a lot of different stuff growing all over the place.

Much of it has stickers and thorns.

Some of the living stuff has fangs and poison.

We tried to steer clear of that part of it.

Anyway  here’s some photos from time on the trail

Citizen Gendarme..... Quelling the Caravan Invasion!!

8-Feb-2019

Lukeville Az

America is currently on a heightened state of alert.

Apparently hordes are flooding over our southern borders.

Given our current proximity to the southern flank, our love of American, and are desire to maintain safe and legal supply of Mezcal, we thought we could help.

The following picture narration tells our tale.

We started near the town of Lukeville. U.S. Customs and Border Patrol maintains a border crossing as well as significant presence in the area

They also maintain some border fencing, This one up the side of the mountain.

We also found bunches of students who apparently come to schools in the US each day from Mexico then return each evening to Mexico




Time to get started 
We decided to setup in the Ajo Mountains where we could have a great vantage point. 

The invading caravan quickly gave away their location with their cooking fires.

Apparently it takes quite a bit of fire to cook tortillas.

In a short time we located a caravan working up a wash.

Unfortunately we lost sight of them. We decided we needed a higher vantage point so we worked our way up the mountain.

After a couple of miles of hiking we relocated the invaders.

It seems in a very short time their ranks had actually grown.

We were ready to call in CBP, ICE, The director of Homeland security  and MANY others when we decided to take a closer look

Clearly the LL Bean Hiking Boots,  REI backpacks, Gander Mountain Hiking Sticks, Camelbak Water bottles , Colombia Sun Hats, and Patagonia Jackets were a clue.

Turns out this caravan was nothing but Gringos. As pale skinned as you could imagine. Walking around in the desert just like us.

Minus the Hiking Sticks and the fancy water bottles. 

We did check them all for passports and ask them to name all 50 states. They failed at both. 

Ultimately we figured they couldn’t be part of the invasion caravan because it was the middle of the day on a Thursday. 

We knew that any invaders in the US would be at work at such a time.

So, in the end our vigilance turned up no invading caravans. We did enjoy a nice hike in the beautiful Sonoran desert.

In the end we were left with a simple question regarding this whole debate. 

Much like a small town in Southern Arizona.