GLORIOUS VIEWS...

In the beginning of Nov. '07, I got real adventurous and went out to the ranch by myself for a couple of days. Bill stayed home to go to a Clinton Anderson horse clinic. Just me, my pick-up truck, (we call her Sophia) and the open road...

Highway 87 from Fountain Hills, up on to the Rim, then eventually to Highway 60 to Quemado, NM...then the 26 miles of gravel road to the ranch.

It's a nice 5 hour drive.

A lot of folks couldn't imagine me out there, in the middle of nowhere, 26 miles away from the nearest town (of apx. 200 strangers) with no one else in sight. I did have a means of communication...satellite phone in the car, which I actually got to work on the property. I checked in with Bill when I got there (the both of us glad we could get the car phone to work) and then before heading back to civilization.

(The car phone no longer works on the property, however...more on that, later.)

It was a little nippy at night, getting down to near freezing, and stubborn me, I didn't hook up the battery or turn on the propane. Truth be told, at the time, I might have been adventurous to drive out there, but was not brave enough to start messing with the battery connections, let alone the propane tanks.

So I ate dinner out of cans...yes, cold corn, green beans, cold tuna and chicken. I read by the dining room window until it got too dark to read. Then I briefly went outside, took in the glorious display of stars and the Milky Way blanketing the heavens. Going back inside, I snuggled up in a sleeping bag, turned on a flash light and continued reading.

Not a lot of "conveniences" out in the middle of nowhere...
(short of the indoor bathroom and at those temps, glad to have it!)

But it didn't matter, I was on my ranch, and loving every minute of it. Even though I nearly froze my toes off the next morning! I had to prop my feet up against the dining room window the next morning to try and get a little warmth into them!

It was all worth it though, because I believe that for my bravery I was rewarded with a glorious sunset.