December 15 -- I'm Now A Resident of Arizona...

Well, at least if having an AZ driver's license (albeit temporary until I get my permanent one), license plate, title and registration for Tundra II, and registered to vote in Arizona makes me one... :o) It's a strange feeling as I've been a "Californian" all my life -- but being an "Arizonean" just feels MORE right. Especially with that Arizona license plate and its saguaro high-desert landscape on the back of Tundra II. But before I can officially call Faranuf "home", I have the travels of 2015 to experience and enjoy...The sunrises are memorable here in Portal, especially in this location where I'm at the broad "portal" (hence the name of the town) of Cave Creek Canyon; this was taken just before sunrise --

And looking south from my front yard in the direction of Portal Road, you can seen Portal Peak and my neighbors across the street, or maybe you CAN'T see them  ;o) --  

Then the tops of Cave Creek Canyon's massifs are lit by the rising sun, and another day begins in this glorious section of SE Arizona -- 

I have breakfast at the Rodeo Grocery and Cafe and ask if the cook is making biscuits and gravy, as that's been recommended by "folks who know" -- alas, not today...But what I have is still mmm-mmm-good. I chat a bit with Nancy, the proprietress, who loves living in Rodeo (otherwise she would never have moved here, right?) then head south on Hwy 80 to Douglas, about 50 miles away. The land between Rodeo and Douglas is grassy and open; it's been called "the Serengeti of the southwest" due to its open-savannah look and abundant wildlife -- 

Peregrine Falcons have been seen soaring among those buttes, and the whole area is raptor-rich. There is even a bit of railway history here, as the path of an old railway line parallels the highway; it used to be the rail route between Bisbee, AZ and El Paso, Texas; the town Rodeo came into being as a stop along the railway -- 

Once in Douglas I stop by the Wells Fargo for cash for the trip to San Pedro, drop by the title company to have my RV mail forwarding service paper notarized (my mail at both the San Pedro and Portal addresses will be handled by them, so folks won't have to chase me around the country with late bills to pay), go to the Arizona MOV for Tundra II's title and registration and get my AZ license plate, then stop by Wal-Mart for a few things for Faranuf and its 2015 tenants. The drive back, going along the same route as I came, is spectacular, with the Chiricahuas on the left growing from foothills to the spectacular massifs of Cave Creek Canyon. One can see why birds from Mexico would use the Chiricahuas as a "land bridge" for their northernmost range. Once back at Faranuf I have more things from Kim Murphy's place waiting for me, but I have no time, so put them in the garage for future "picking through". Thanks Richard and Gaye, though -- they're the caretakers for Kim Murphy's place and have been helpful in furnishing Faranuf. So now it's 0539 on Tuesday, Tundra II is packed and ready to go, and Faranuf is about as ready for its 2015 tenants as it will ever be. One last observation -- while on the back deck after sunset last night a female Northern Flicker came to the house, went to a post on the back porch, flew to the roof, then took off. I wonder if the torn screen on the 2nd bathroom facing the back is due to the Flicker? The adventure continues... 

December 14 -- Visitors -- And More Furniture -- To Faranuf

Actually, my wildlife visitors started a few days ago, when a coyote crossed my driveway as I was coming in, then 2 Coues (white-tailed) deer scampered off near the garage.  And then the Javelina...It was COLD on the morning of the 14th. The previous owners had installed a weather recording system on the back porch -- but it needed new batteries -- but there was frost on the ground, so it was at least below freezing. And up in the mountains, well, here's a shot I took just after sunrise with the 500 f/4 lens + 1.4x TC, of the high Chiricahuas --

And here's the sunrise view from the back porch; the sunlit mountain in the center distance is the photo above -- 

What a view!  I can't imagine EVER getting tired of it. And with clouds, the light changes, and throws the soaring rock formations into dramatic light-and-shadows...The view from the front porch, while not as eye-catching, still has the mountainscapes of the Peloncillos -- where a jaguar was last spotted in 1997 -- 

You can barely make it out, but an inversion layer actually makes the San Simon Valley, which lies to my east, colder than this area; you can barely make out the clouds sitting in the valley. I got quite a lot accomplished the day before, and even started to "accommodate" the astronomers over at Sky Village, a few miles to the north of Faranuf down Foothills Road, but positioning my motion sensor floodlights around Faranuf more to the ground so as to cut down on the "light pollution" they would otherwise cause, diminishing the night sky viewing. (This section of the San Simon Valley has some of the clearest, and most unobstructed, views of the night sky in the country, so a community of houses, each with their individual observatories, has been established here.) Most of the furniture, linens, silverware, etc I had gratefully received from the house of Kim Murphy, the long-time rang er of Portal who had recently passed away. He was a fascinating person; here's a short bio (click on the purple link) along with a photo of him with a bear cub. His family was selling his house and giving away many of his possessions, so as I had no furniture in Faranuf I obtained his bed frame (wooden, hand-built), a movie poster of a Rex Allen movie, signed to Kim by Rex himself, and various tables and lamps -- including a lamp that Kim had strung with arrowheads. Reading the bio now, I'm sorry I missed the opportunity to meet him, but am grateful that I'm able to use many of this things. And as he was a protector of wildlife, that might explain the visitors I had in the afternoon; things started with this one -- 

Taken with my 7D MK II and 500 f/4 from the back porch door, it's an 8-point buck. He first took a drink from the water feature -- it's the round concrete feature he's standing on -- then munched on the bird seed in the trays to the left -- 

Wonderful. And he gave me a final portrait shot --

Heck, I don't even have to leave Faranuf to get good views of the wildlife to be found here! As I was using Kim's possessions, I invited Richard and Gaye Borgert (mentioned at the end of Kim's bio) to lunch at the Portal Cafe where we enjoyed a delicious repast and talked about subjects as varied as the Salton Sea (Gaye had spent past years in Palm Springs). I had obtained a couch from a longtime resident in Portal that was in the back of Tundra II, so Richard helped me carry it into Faranuf, and looking around the inside things seemed to be getting much more comfy -- good for the tenants to come in 2015...It was just after Richard and Gaye had left that I noticed bird activity in the back yard. So I took out the 7D MK II and 500 f/4, and shot from the open back screen door -- 

Canyon Towhee

Cactus Wren

Mrs. Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Vesper Sparrow

Wow. My "yard birds". I had NO idea...How will I be able to leave Faranuf and Portal on Tuesday, heading to spend the holidays in San Pedro, then back to Overton -- and not come back here for possibly a year? Well, it will always be waiting for me...I finally put Kim's bed frame and head board together, and it will be ready for the mattress I ordered from Costco (memory foam, queen size). I should think Faranuf's 2015 tenants should be "happy campers" with what I managed to obtain. So today the 15th it's off to Douglas, 55 miles to the south, to obtain title and registration for Tundra II, pick up a few things at a hardware store such as work gloves, lettering for the front gate with street address and "WOLFE", shower curtains, and a few other odds and ends...I end this post with the photo of Kim Murphy with a bear cub. Rest in peace, Kim, and thanks...

December 11-13 -- Last Days At The Cowboy Room, And I Move to Faranuf...

The house on Faranuf Trail (which will be called plain ol' Faranuf from now on) officially became mine on Thursday, December 13 at 4pm. My friend and real estate guru, Helen Snyder, and I drove in Tundra II 50 miles or so south to Douglas, where I signed the papers at the title office -- and compared to the endless paperwork that had to be signed when I sold the San Pedro condo, it was a chapter compared to the condo's novel. While in Douglas I also applied for an Arizona driver's license at the motor vehicles office. And there was only about 3 other people in the office; what a change from the madness at, say, the San Pedro DMV! I had my baseball cap on, so I had a bad case of "hat hair" for my license photo -- and also a double chin, now where did I get THAT from? -- and got instructions on how to apply for Tundra II's title and registration. I had to make a few phone calls, including some to the CarMax in Henderson where I bought Tundra II; the SmartPhone I bought at Wal-Mart has become an invaluable tool here in the sparsely-populated section of Cochise County. After my visit to the motor vehicles office, Helen and I went to a supermarket catering mostly to the Hispanic population in Douglas where we picked up groceries and had GREAT burritos for lunch, then we headed back to Rodeo where I relaxed for a few hours then had dinner at the Rodeo Tavern with Helen and friends Peg Abbot and Dodie Logue to celebrate my becoming a "Portalite". And the next morning, the 12th, I took some last photos from the Rodeo side of the Arizona/New Mexico border -- and the clouds gave me a colorful sendoff --

Looking south along Hwy 80 and Rodeo

Looking north up Hwy 80

My first day at Faranuf -- the keys were mine. It was a thrill, and I took in the backyard view -- 

But Helen and I had some furniture to check out, down the street at a house whose owner had recently passed away, and we -- with the help of 2 caretakers staying at the house -- moved a wooden bed frame, dresser, dining table, kitchenware, towels, linen, and lamps to Faranuf, for use by the renters during 2015. It was Pizza Night at the Rodeo Tavern, so before heading down to Rodeo I took a drive along Foothills Road, which part of my 4 acres fronts, and got a sunset silhouette of the classic profile of the desert southwest, the broad portal of Cave Creek Canyon -- 

Today -- or rather, last night -- was a landmark time for me -- as I FINALLY got what I would call a good night's sleep. I'm trying Valerian, a natural product that is supposed to help you sleep. Well, so far -- it works, and for that I am grateful...It was a day of vacuuming and putting together the furniture for Faranuf. And for the first sunrise greeting of Cave Creek Canyon -- 

That's a photo, taken just after sunrise, of one of the massifs lining Cave Creek Canyon. It was taken from my back porch using the 7D MK II DSLR with the 500 f/4 lens and 1.4x TC added. The 500 f/4 is not only an excellent lens for wildlife, it's a pretty darned good telephoto landscape lens, too... My backyard visitors began to pay me "welcome" visits. The other evening I had a coyote amble across my driveway, and then 2 Coues deer scampered between the garage and Portal Road. Well, it didn't take long before some "ubiquitous" residents made their presence known --- 

I used the 500 f4 + 1.4x TC for this Javelina, too. They'd knocked over a tray with bird seed and eaten what had fallen on the ground, then casually walked around my back yard area. I have no problem with them wandering around my property -- just as long as they "behave"... ;o) There was a Christmas dinner tonight at the community hall in Rodeo, but I had too much to do at Faranuf so didn't go. The weather was looking a bit ominous around 5pm, anyway --- 

Looking east to Peloncillo Mountains

So now I'm caught up with the blog, and here I am on my MacBook Pro laptop...

December 9 and 10 -- Tundra II Goes To Portal, And A Chiricahua Retrospective

It's December 11, and I'm back at the Cowboy Room at the Mountain Valley Lodge and RV Park (click on the link for the lodge's webpage) in Rodeo, New Mexico. "Tundra II" handled the 600 mile-plus trip from Overton, Nevada like a champ -- and I found that fog lamps, which I didn't have with Tundra I, work well on a dark country highway for seeing off to the sides, in case of any sneak deer attack... ;o) I have a lot to do during my 5 days here in Portal and Douglas, AZ -- sign the closing papers for Faranuf, get an AZ driver's license, title and registration for Tundra II, obtain a PO Box at the Portal post office, check out some furniture for Faranuf -- and possibly get a Chiricahuas hike or two in. And once I'm in possession of Faranuf, starting Friday, December 12, I can stay there, though I'd have to "camp out" with sleeping bag and Therma-Rest pad. But still, Faranuf will be MINE, and I know it will be -- as the Eagles sing -- a "peaceful, easy feeling"...Here's a random observation that occurred on the trip down here yesterday. I stopped at the MacDonald's in Boulder City, Nevada for my usual on-the-road breakfast of the 2-burrito meal (and great hash browns) plus the fruit and maple oatmeal, and got to talking with the young cashier at the counter. Glasses, hair sticking out on the sides, from under his Mickey D's cap, slightly nerdy-looking, name of -- well, we'll call him "Noah". We got to talking about caffeine and other stimulants like Monster energy drinks, and he said he can't take caffeine or energy drinks as he gets a bad reaction that will send him to the hospital. Then I learn he's taken himself off of his ADD medications -- uh, OK, I can kinda tell as he does seem a little hyper... And this kinda ties in with another encounter later at a Subway, when the sandwich guy said he's marketing his own energy drink -- called Aperture -- and plans to go to conventions and other places to push his product. So if you hear about an alternative to Monster and Red Bull energy drinks named Aperture in the near future -- you first heard about it here! Yesterday's sunrise along Lake Mead's Northshore Hwy was colorful as usual --

And as I was concentrating on getting to Rodeo as soon as possible I didn't stop to take photos, so here are a few from Portal and the Chiricahuas from past trips -- 

Faranuf at sunrise

Faranuf's back yard and the view (!)

Cathedral View at Vista Point

The view along Portal Road in late April

Moonset On Cathedral Peak from Sunny Flat Cpgd 

Portal Peak From Road to Portal

Panorama from Barfoot Lookout

A Frozen Winn Falls

A Sunlit "Grotto" Along Greenhouse Trail

Ok, Up and At 'Em, time to start what will be a very busy day...

December 8 -- Tundra II At Gold Butte's Little Finland

What an amazing place Little Finland is -- if there is any place that should automatically go on your "bucket list", this is it. I'd visited Little Finland a few times earlier this year, and it is a place that deserves repeat visits as there is so much to see -- and miss. Not that it's easy to get to; you really need a 4-wheel-drive vehicle, and not go after a recent rain. You'll see why the latter in a moment...The Gold Butte Byway is paved -- rather roughly in spots -- for the first 19 miles or so, then at Whitney Pockets turns into a wide, well-graded dirt road. Still, there are those spots when it crosses a wash and you have to slow down. The byway winds tantalizingly through the desert landscape --

The way to Little Finland is marked only by GPS markers and the occasional "Gold Butte Byway" signs, so you have to know which road will get you there. Most of it is in a wash, which is why it's advisable to wait for dry conditions before paying Little Finland a visit. But once you're in the wash, the route is fairly obvious - and the scenery splendid --

Entering the wash

And then, Little Finland is right in front of you ---

It really does look like a spaceship made of rock that has just landed in the middle of the SE Nevada desert -- 

You can park up on a hill that is level with the top area of Little Finland. Here's Tundra II at that tiny parking area, seen looking north along the "battlements" of Little Finland (hence its name) --

Fins, spires, hoodoos, holes both tiny and large -- Little Finland has it all, and is an experience quite different from, say, the Valley of Fire.; Little Finland is fanciful, otherworldly, quite unlike any other place you've seen. I'll "turn off" the commentary now, and just imagine these scenes are in front of you... 

Petroglyphs incised in the rock at Little Finland

It's in this area pictured in the last photo that you find a large hole in the rock, and you look through it, gazing upon what very well could be another world, or dimension; your mind really does become quite fanciful here -- 

The view looking the other way -- 

And the "shelf" where the hole is located -- it's in the wall on the left, behind my 500 f/4 lens -- yes, I lugged it all over Little Finland, and it had its uses, soon to be revealed -- 

One of the most fascinating sections of Little Finland is an area where the rock is weathered so that it forms holes, and in the shapes, sizes and numbers of small holes the images look like a "housing complex" from a fantasy land -- 

 I took the following shots with my 500 f/4 lens, which I'd carried along with me in case I came across any birds; I didn't, but used it for closeups of the bizarre sand sculptures --

More views of Little Finland -- 

I left with regret, but I had a long way to drive back to Overton. The route back along the wash was uneventful -- except for when I got off track, but returned to the byway without too much trouble, and finally arrived back at the junction with Gold Butte Byway -- 

But Mother Nature wasn't done with her spectacular displays. The setting sun cast its glow on the Virgin Mountains -- 

I kept on looking back at the setting sun as I was heading east, and I managed to time my crossing the bridge over the Virgin River as the sunset colors reached their peak, and turned the Virgin River in a molten lava flow -- 

Just before heading onto Interstate 15, I took one last photo of the sunset -- 

Chalk up another memorable day in SE Nevada, and the glories of Gold Butte...