MORE GLORIOUS SUNSETS...

Pictures are worth a thousand words...so I won't bother to write in this blog, I'll just let the pictures explain how things are out on the Santa Rita...

BABBQ...

What is BABBQ you ask? It stands for...Bulls Against Bar-B-Ques!
When we got to our place this weekend the first thing we saw was that the T-Square near our driveway wasn't just leaning over as it usually is...no, it was all the way over in the dirt. Didn't think much of it because the cows have been pushing on that sign for the last two years. But the cows were obviously getting a bit more aggressive.

So, up the driveway we went...only to find yet another one of our piers knocked over. Bound to happen, we'll probably have to take them all out and start all over again. Okay, onward, around the bend in the driveway...our little trailer was in sight... but where was the little Weber kettle we had bungied to the trailer???

Ah, we found it, and all of our outdoor furniture strewn about in the meadow on the other side of the trailer. Pieces here, pieces there. It seems that cows have a craving for anything that is made of rubber, or black plastic because they ate the bungy cords, and the plastic flex wire covers off the water trailer.

And we pretty much know who the culprit was because there were a plethora of big, deep hoof prints in the dirt. It had obviously been raining at some point and the ground was pretty chewed up. So as we were trying to put the kettle back together, and the furniture back into place...Bill heard a rustling in the trees. Rustling and snorting....and thats when he saw the big black BULL in the trees just beyond the trailer. Oddly enough we had not seen any other cows in the area. We did see some later that weekend however.

This big black Bull was obviously on a rampage against BBQ's because when I went over to Bill/Joan and Tom/Darlene's place...their BBQ was in a couple of pieces, strew about, obviously no longer tucked neatly under their trailer. (We tried to gather up the pieces and put them under the trailer) I also went to Tom's place on Lot 1 and his BBQ Grill was tipped over on it's side!

This Bull was obviously zeroing in on BBQ's! Even though we've had a lot of cows roaming on our property, we've never seen the kind of destruction this Bull created on our properties.

HARNESSING POWER...

As the slogan once said...We're cooking with gas! The propane tanks are filled, the water tank is filled, and we even hooked up the solar panels, and they worked like a charm!

So that's the skinny on our last four days...now here's the expanded version...

Got into Quemado about dinner time so we stopped at the Largo for a burger and grilled cheese sandwich. For being about dinner time, there just wasn't a lot of folks in and around Quemado.

Noticed a new business...The Green Door Store, across the street and up Hwy 60 a block or so. Not sure what that business is about, but the waitress at the Largo seemed to think it was a plant place. The El Sarape restaurant is now called something else, obviously under new ownership, but forgot the name. It was just pretty quiet.

Did notice that the new convenience store was opened, but we didn't stop it to see what was up there. We heard there's just a lot of bad blood in town now with that new convenience store being opened up, but one thing is for sure, it dropped the price of diesle by a quarter, and has kept gas prices competitive in town.

When people have to share town folk's money, like the new convenience store/gas station is having to do with the older establishments like the Country Store and J&Y Auto....neither one of them will come out a winner, and possible both will end up losing their businesses due to the "sharing" of the customers dollars.

We tried to get water at the water company in Quemado. If anyone is in need of water in the future, please feel free to stop by our place. We've got a hose hooked up, so take what you need. Whatever you do, don't bother Barbara at the water company. She is the water companies ONLY employee at the moment. The other guy that was helping her quit in May and it will probably be weeks before another person is hired. Also, they have leaks at the water "faucet" at the water company. And Barb is just plain tuckered out with all the work, and she also got stepped on in three places by her horse. She could probably still out-sprint me to the corner, but yeah, just don't bother her, for anything.

Instead....definitely go see the great folks at Catron Concrete for water. It's Town water, potable, and it's 10 Cents a Gallon. They also have a larger hose to fill your tanks up with so our 500 gallons took a mere 15 minutes if that to fill up. Nice folks, really nice folks. We probably paid more for the water than what the water company would have charged us (more talk about that one evening around the campfire perhaps) but it was just worth it.

The folks at Sierra Propane are just fast and efficient. Not terribly talkative, but they definitely get you on your way in minutes. And since they are the only game in town for propane, enough said.

Now, on to the solar! This is a great little system that we picked up at Harbor Freight for $150, I think, on sale. We did get the warranty, which brought it up to $200, which I think was the normal price. Bill just noticed that I think he said he saw the unit for $100 on sale now, which runs for the next month, I think. This little unit kept the battery charged. Great unit, highly recommend it so you don't have to run your generator to charge up your battery.

More later...we're just trying to collect ourselves...do some laundry and readjust to the change in altitude.

Good, but tiring four days out on the Santa Rita!

QUICK WEEKEND...

All is as we left it on the Santa Rita.

It's been a long 6 months since we last visited and we could only hope that everything would be alright when we arrived.

We didn't get into Quemado until almost 7:00 p.m. NM time, where we stopped in The Country Store for a few supplies that we had forgotten to bring with us.

Namely...cookies and batteries!

The cows were grazing happily in the meadows along SR 601 and the road, overall was in good condition. It hadn't rained or snowed recently so it was pretty dry, and we didn't pass a car at any time on SR 601.

We pulled up at the T-Square and we heaved a sigh of relief. All was as we left it.

Once we got everything unpacked I went across the road to check on the neighbor's place, and while walking back to the T-Square I took the picture of the road looking north. I love how the setting sun highlights the palisades.

I took a walk on Sunday morning, at about 7:00 a.m. going over to visit the property just to the north of us. Looks like some building is going on there. There was a good use of barbed wire to keep the cows from damaging the structure going up.

It's slow going out on the Santa Rita. But in our own ways, we're making progress!

SATURDAY MORNING....

The time has come. It's is 7:19 a.m. and Bill is still sleeping.

I'm thinking we'll be lucky to get on the road by Noon.
Fortunately I believe I'm a bit lucky so maybe, who knows, we'll be on the road by 10:00 a.m.

Bill needs his sleep, so I'll let him sleep. His body clock is still getting adjusted to his working the afternoon shift, which I think is working out pretty well for him.

We'll get to the ranch when we get to the ranch.

We'll find what we find when we find it.

And not a moment before.

We just won't have as much time to walk around in the meadow or go visiting this afternoon before the sun sets. And it means that the visits to the neighbors places will be on the way out on Sunday.

And who knows...maybe Cowboy Carl will show up out of the blue like he always does. Something tells me he is looking out for our places when he's out there. He always seems to show up when we're just driving around.

If we do get to talk with him, I'm hoping that this time I'll be able to snap a picture of him. He'll make a great "cowboy study"....a pencil portrait, I'm thinking.

I'll report on the findings just as soon as we return.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON'T SUCCEED...

Try another weekend!

I requested 4 days in a row off from my place of employment...and it was granted!

Unfortunately then came a turn of events...no, make that 2 turn of events. Bill's back is still "iffy", and he's also working nightshift!

No, wait...make that 3 turns...sheesh...am I the only one getting dizzy from all this turning?

When I originally requested the 4 days off, Bill was supposed to have Friday off, and and per his normal schedule, Saturday and Sunday off.

Ah, but then came the request for second shift personnel, which he volunteered for, and then came the "oh, sorry, you can't have the Friday off because there's a mandatory 50 hour work week being imposed through at least the month of May!"

In a word, lovely.

Between Bill's back issue, and the fact that he has to work on Friday night...if he can even drive for 5 hours..we won't head out to the ranch until Saturday morning, probably late Saturday morning.

But if he's not up for it....I'm going alone, and I'm heading out at the crack of dawn if not earlier on Saturday. If I knew I was going to have to go alone, I'd head out on Friday, but Bill can't drive the Jeep to work, so I have to wait for the truck to be available.

Yeah...it's always something.

But we or I will make it out to the ranch this weekend. I'm certainly not going to have four days off in a row, over a weekend, and just sit around the house, in the "getting hotter by the minute" Valley of the Sun.

Oh no I won't...absolutely will not. I'm going...and hell hath no fury and all that!

Hopefully we/I will find everything just as we left it out on the Santa Rita.

Stay tuned!

3 DAYS OFF...

I got a very unusual 3 days off in a row from my job so Bill and I attempted to head over to the ranch. There were supposed to be thunderstorms in the area on Saturday and Sunday, but we didn't let that deter us.

What did stop the trip over was Bill's back. He said he had pain when he woke up,especially when sitting, and it only worsened as we drove. We got as far as Payson, an hour away, and that's where the decision was made to head back to Fountain Hills due to the excrutiating pain Bill was in by then.

The trip to Payson however was somewhat eventful. We stopped in at the Casino so that Bill could stretch out his leg and back and we both needed to use the facilities. We managed to win $27 after only being in the building for about 15 minutes!

I won another $8 on a scratchers ticket the night before. Ironically, I guess this could be considered my "lucky weekend"...even if we didn't get over to see how things were at the ranch.

This weekend was definitely just the opposite for Bill. He said he hasn't had this much back pain in the past 4 years. And all this happened after going to a back specialist for the past two months, in hopes of shoring up his back to put all these back problems behind him for good. Unfortunately the four shots he received only made the problems worse!

All things happen for a reason...I just hope this reason is a good one! It sure doesn't seem like there is a good side to any of this. The $35 won't help make Bill's back pain any better, but it at least put a smile on his face! But at least I was able to use the $35 on new ice packs for his back!

I was kindly given 4 days off in a row next month so we could spend time getting our water tank and propane filled, but that's a mute point now. I'll just have to go over by myself for two days to make sure all is as we left it. I can only hope and pray that all is as we left it.

Unless we get a miracle in regards to Bill's back we obviously won't be making any progress in 2010 either.

AND NOW IT'S APRIL...

Heavens...where does the time go? It probably goes off on vacation, relaxing peacefully, waiting for the rest of us to catch up!

I've requested the weekend of the 17th and 18th off (but who knows if it will be approved!)so that Bill and I can head out to the ranch for an overdue and much needed visit. We hope all will be as we left it, and as Jay and LouAnn last saw it in December. The weather has supposedly been beautiful, into the 60's during the day, but still dipping into the teens overnight.

And of course...the winds have come, blowing at seemingly a constant of into the 20 mph range during the day. Sometimes gusting into the 30's and 40's. The "Alert" is a constant bar across the top of my weather bar, and the little tree icon looks to be in high wind mode constantly.

We're hoping to make some progress this summer, because we got absolutely nothing accomplished last year. It's going to be a busy summer, at least for a few days... going into town to get water, refill the propane tanks, getting the little solar system we bought hooked up, and possibly talk to some people in town about services like putting up fencing.

Hopefully our first weekend trip to the T-Square this month will be relaxing, and then during subsequent visits this summer....let the work begin!!!

IT'S MARCH ALREADY...

How time flies...

It's March already and I thought we would have been able to make at least one trip over to the ranch by now.

The weather is not cooperating, and soon "the winds" will come, if they haven't started already.

I'm absolutely chomping at the bit to get over there. Maybe at the end of the month, or hopefully some time in April. I figure it has to warm up eventually.

And if not in April, definitely, most definitely in May.

I've got too much PTO saved up at work not to be able to spend a full week, if not more at the ranch.

HAPPY TRAILS, HOD...

A nice man by the name of Hod Holdcroft, and his lovely wife, Barbara were our first contact with properties for sale in New Mexico. Hod and his faithful dog drove into Quemado from Fence Lake, met us outside the Largo Cafe, put us in his pickup truck, and took us out to see the area that is known as the Santa Rita Estates, or what we landowners call the Santa Rita.

I remember that he drove fast along the 26 miles of gravel road to the Santa Rita. He was used to driving that type of road, seemed he had been in ranching for quite a spell.

The first stop we made was at the property we ended up buying, then he drove us up to the top of Moreno Hill for the "overview" look at the entire Santa Rita. He told us a little about the area, and showed us another property, then drove us back into Quemado.

We stopped in at the Largo Cafe for a piece of pie. If you've read the entire blog, you know that we signed the contract to buy the land over that piece of pie. Hod certainly wasn't a pushy salesman, we chatted, ate pie, then he asked if we'd be interested in any of the property.

The rest is history in regards to us and the property.

We kept in touch with Hod and Barbara after they had moved from Fence Lake to another area of New Mexico, then Utah, I believe...and somewhere in that time we were told that Hod had cancer. But Hod didn't quit...he fought, and fought, and endured treatment after treatment. Enjoyed his time with Barbara, playing golf, enjoying NMU football games, and apparently loving a good steak and drinking wine.

We just got an email from Barbara this morning...Hod passed away today. I'm sure he will be missed by the family and friends who saw him on a daily basis, but he will be missed too by those whom he helped make a big dream come true.

Thank you, Hod...it was a pleasure meeting you.
We wish you Happy Trails...on the other side.

WINTER WONDERLAND!

Thanks SO Much to Jay and LouAnn from the White Wolf Ranch for all these amazing winter photos of the Santa Rita covered in a crisp blanket of snow. Absolutely stunning! The photo above was taken from the top of Moreno Hill (aka: the big scary hill)


Snow Storm...The land will be blanketed soon!


Fog Forming...As Sun Rises


Fog on SR 601


Glistening Snow at the White Wolf Ranch


Snow on the Junipers


Icicles...Where there's a will, there's a way!


Fog Burning Off As The Sun Rises Higher


Fog Finally Burning Off


Winter Wonderland!


Looking Towards St. Johns At Sunset

As of 9:50 a.m. MST on Friday, Jan. 8th, 2010...it's currently 18 degrees at St. Johns! Which is where the plumes of steam are coming from that you can see some 50 miles away northwest from the Santa Rita. The power plant is probably our only reminder that there is civilization out there beyond the Santa Rita.

Happy New Year to one and all! 2010...The Year To Begin...Again!

HERE'S TO PROGRESS IN 2010!

On this first day of the New Year - 2010, who can guess what the year will hold. We can only hope we all have safe journeys to and from the Santa Rita, that the weather is always wonderful (okay, that could definitely be a bit of wishful thinking!) and that winds never get above 10 mph.

Bill bought me a log cabin magazine for Christmas, and he has been looking at different companies and packages once again. Guess he's thinking we'll be winning the lottery soon or something!

Looking forward to getting out to the ranch as soon as the weather gets nicer for travel, and walking about on the property. We have to wait until it warms up a wee bit more, as we are not as adventurous as Jay and LouAnn from the White Wolf Ranch. We are also looking forward to their report of the Christmas excursion to their ranch.

Here's hoping everyone has a safe, happy, and prosperous New Year!