back to bisbee III—mucho eating, stuffed and stoned,independent ladies, honk and holler, no F150, mating and peanuts, and if

Made my annual pilgrimage back to Bisbee. Stayed three weeks at my friend Lynn’s place. Went out for more meals than I will for the rest of the year. We hit our favorites: Café Roka, Screaming Banshee, Bisbee Breakfast Club, and the Turquoise Valley café down in Naco. A new restaurant, Poco, opened up in Peddler’s Alley. We went there twice. Good food and some nice wines.

I asked Lynn if I could take a bath, ‘I haven’t had one for a year.’ She said, ’You probably need one.’ Sounds kind of strange but I just don’t get opportunities to take baths with this lifestyle and I sure miss them. I’ll be back to the Sun Shower bag by the end of next month.


Got back to taking Lynn’s dog, Chica, on morning walks over in Old Bisbee and the Mules. We either walk up 1,200 stairs or so and go down a few hundred more or do a few hundred stairs and then go off on the trails in the Mule Mtns. above town. One morning Tim Davis (a volunteer I met last year at C of R) met us with his dog Abby. That excursion took us 3 hours. The dogs sure had a good time! Tim and his wife are volunteering at the Gray Hawk Nature Center along the San Pedro River this winter.

I pulled my silverwork out of the two stores that were carrying my work and placed it in Jewelry Designs by Owen (http://www.jewelrydesignsbyowen.com). Best jewelry shop in Bisbee and David has his bench set up in the back. They already sold one of my pieces!

I was in town for the second Saturday in March so Lynn and I went on the gallery walk. Some nice stuff out there. First time I saw examples of high dynamic range photography. I know, I know, I’m way out of touch. It’s an eye catcher. Sort of a cross between a painting and a photo. I like it. I even liked a few of the photo surrealism pieces. I filled out raffle tickets at two of the galleries and guess who won? THAT was a pleasant surprise.

Jon Wick used to have a jewelry store in Bisbee and did some stellar work. Now he is making custom knives. I stopped at his shop and checked out the steel he was forging for Damascus blades. I knew it was time intensive but I had no true idea of just how much work it takes to make up the blanks. Then you still have to cross cut the bars and forge the blade. Jon also puts a lot of thought into the tang and handle designs. Each knife is a functional work of art. http://www.jpwickbladeworks.com


Lynn made me get a carbon monoxide alarm. I had been procrastinating for a few years. Could be a lifesaver. She also had some pet resistant screening left over so I had the screen door on the casita replaced with it. Onyx sure had trashed the old screening.
I finally got a chance to watch Avatar on DVD. What a stellar movie. THOUROUGHLY enjoyed it. Have to get a copy at some point.

I recently read ‘The Honk and Holler Opening Soon’ by Billie Letts. Letts is a masterful storyteller and I thoroughly enjoyed the storyline, setting, and characters. Definitely a memorable read.


Got in a couple hikes with David Owen—one up to China Peak in the Dragoons and the other up Miller Canyon in the Huachuca Mtns. Tim did the Miller Canyon one with us and he brought Abby since I had Chica along for that one. Definitely was ready for a beer after each of those hikes.

Meadow and Mesa had to stay in the casita for these three weeks. Mesa practically lived out in the window cage. When we get to New Mexico on the first, I’m sure I won’t see them for hours. I gave them catnip and some canned food every day. Stoned and stuffed seems to work.



Lynn took me to see two places that friends had built down along Border Road (the fence is pretty close). These are two pretty independent ladies. Cynthia used bricks for her buildings and Patty used straw bales. I was quite impressed with both places.

Check out this link that Barb and Jim sent me from Canada. It’s about frazil ice in Yosemite—pretty cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9V9p4mFEYXc


Well, I didn’t end up with a ’04 Ford F150, short bed with a 5.4L engine. I ended up with a ’04 Dodge Ram with a long bed and a 5.7 Hemi engine, 4wheel drive (a MUST) and tow package. Quite a bit more truck than I wanted but it was $4500 under Kelly Blue Book ($11,700), came with a 30-day warranty and had been well maintained. I’ve been in places to camp up spur roads in national forests that in no way could I have gotten in there with this Dodge. So it is going to be somewhat restrictive to the places I’ll be able to access but maybe with the extra power I’ll be able to get to other places where I couldn’t have gotten into with the Jeep. We’ll see. Doesn’t really matter since this truck is what I have to work with. All those who stick to campgrounds and graded roads have it much easier. But they miss all that I experience with the way I do it.

On the way home from the dealer, I pulled out to pass a car just to see what kind of power the Dodge had. Thought there must be dilithium crystals under the hood and I was going into warp drive. QUITE a change from the Cherokee. Though I am pretty surprised at how much I feel the casita when towing. Didn’t really expect that.

I looked at my pocket day planner and got a chuckle. I had marked April 1 as the day to set my watch ahead. The day I drive out of Arizona.

March humor—mating and peanuts
Staring at an empty cage, a zoo visitor asks, "Where are all the monkeys?"
"It's mating season," the keeper replies. "They're inside."
"Do you think they'd come out for peanuts?"
"Would you?"

Here’s a classic—‘If’ by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head
when all about you men are losing theirs
and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you
but make allowances for their doubting, too.
If you can wait but not be tired of waiting,
or being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated, don't give way to hating,
and yet don't look too good nor talk too wise,
If you can dream but not make dreams your master,
if you can think and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with triumph and disaster,
and treat those two imposters just the same,
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
and stoop and build them up with worn-out tools,
If you can make one heap of all your winnings
and risk it on one turn of pitch and toss,
and lose and start again at your beginnings
and never breathe a word about your loss,
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
to serve your turn long after they are gone,
and to hold on when there is nothing in you
but the will that says to them "hold on,"
If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
or walk with kings nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
if all men count with you but none too much,
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
with 60 seconds worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
and which is more, you'll be a man, my son.

RVwest article ‘Following a Free Spirit’
FOR INDEX OF POSTINGS GO TO JULY 2006