Out Arizona Way
#31
(08-18-2019, 08:05 AM)cn nutbar Wrote: Don---I've been enjoying your adventures,thanks for sharing and please keep them coming

Thank you kind sir. I shall continue as best I can. I really missed writing them, and so stay tuned, got a lot more to talk about.
Don (ezdays) Day
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#32
Just going though my photo files I found these of some cactus we have had around some of the houses that we've lived in. The first one was taken in 1998 right before we moved from Scottsdale to Wickenburg. The second one was taken in 2014 in the side yard of the house we had when we moved from Wickenburg to Surprise. I'll take a photo of our current front yard which also has a bunch of cacti in it. Gotta wait for it to cool down a bit though.... Icon_rolleyes Note in the second shot, those long white things on the ground are what's left of blooms that have already fallen of that cactus. The blooms only last one day, then whither and fall off.

   

   
Don (ezdays) Day
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#33
Got part of one that I did a few years ago:

Ducks and such

This may be kind of a strange subject, but it's something that is part of the norm now here in our part of the desert.

One thing that always brightens our day is driving by the many man-made ponds and lakes we have here and to see the different kinds of wildlife that are hanging around. We have no idea where they come from, but for the most part, like many  “winter visitors,” they supposedly head back north during the summers. Still, there are a few that like it so much, that we are seeing a smattering of them all year long. Come fall though, and wow, there seems to be more of them than those people we call, “snowbirds.” We have Canadian visitors along with others from the colder states that show up about the same time as the ducks and geese do. Canadian geese, Minnesota ducks??? Don't know for sure, but they probably are following the crowd, coming in flocks. People come in motor homes and trailers while the birds do what birds do and fly here. The long neck geese are our favorites, flying from pond to pond. Sometime there’s just a pair, but most frequently, there can be twenty or so, honking as they fly by in a typical V formation. I don’t know if that’s their way of staying in touch with each other, or just telling everyone else to get out of the way. There are others, like the multi-color mallard or those tiny brown ones. Some even look black, although at a distance it’s hard to tell. We drive by one pond where there is this pair of striking pure-white birds and we always slow down and gawk as we pass. Seems that they like our weather so much that they are here year round. I looked them up and they are probably Peking, or Long Island ducks, although I though Peking Duck was… oh, never mind. Frequently, we need to stop and wait, since a pair and their chicks might chose to waddle from one side of the road to the other, I guess the feeding might be better there, or they have some aversion to the crowd of different ducks around the pond. Fortunately, the road is not heavily traveled that time of day and they can afford to take their good old time, and always do.

Every time I see them cooking duck on TV, I cringe a bit and go check to make sure all our little friends are still there.
Don (ezdays) Day
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#34
OK, this one is a bit long, but it's one that was published back in 2010 and I couldn't seen doing any editing:

Yuma prison

Some years ago when we had our own manufacturing business, we have several opportunities to spend time in a few local jails and prisons. No, no, not that way, we were on the up and up; it was just part of our business. We manufactured custom control and monitor systems and some of them were installed locally and throughout the country in these types of institutions. Today’s prisons are a far cry from those of yesteryear, but one thing was common, not too many of the people that were confined there, actually wanted to be there. It usually takes extraordinary measures to keep things so that they stick around. I remember one time where we had to go back and do some service work on one of our systems. During the construction phase of the project, we had unlimited access to the control room where our equipment was being installed and we could come and go and work as we needed to. After completion, the building was handed over to the County and the jail became occupied by the staff and some rather reluctant prisoners. This time, things were a bit more secure; we only had controlled access to our system. Peggy and I stood waiting for the gate to open to the sally port. Once inside, we were confronted by another gate that would not open until the gate behind us closed securely. It is a bit creepy to know that your freedom is in the hands of the press of a button by a guard. Obviously, things had changed since we were there last. Once inside, we went about our business of working on the system, when suddenly there was a disturbed “guest” causing trouble in the cell area. We were now on “lockdown,” unable to leave until the prisoner was literally dragged from his cell, stark naked, and taken to a more secure area where he could not do anymore harm to himself or the facilities. After that incident, Peggy decided that this was her last field service trip to an occupied jail of any kind.

One prison here, where guests can now come and go as they please, is the Arizona Territorial Prison in Yuma. This prison opened in 1876 and housed several prisoners that had the dubious honor of building this structure themselves. As the prison population grew, so did the prison itself. Now, at this time, there was little between the prison and civilization but open desert and lots of cactus. Still, that didn’t deter some from trying to leave without getting permission first. Of the over 3,000 people, including 29 women, incarcerated there over time, 26 did manage to successfully escape. From reports of the day, it appeared that things were humanely run, but it was still hot and crowded and not the same as the prisons of today. Air conditioning was simply the breeze that would blow through the open iron-strap cell doors, while the plumbing facilities was a pot at one end of each cell. Punishment for breaking regulations was administered by placing offending guests in the “dark cell” which could be inhabited by as many people as it could contain. Escaping prisoners that were caught were shackled to a ball and chain. By 1909, overcrowding with no room to expand forced the prison to shut down.

For the next five years, the facilities were used as a high school, then as a haven for hobos until the depression where it housed many homeless families. As time went on, the walls and outbuildings were used as a source of building materials for the townsfolk. This, along with fires, railroad construction and the ravages of the hot Yuma summers, left only the main gate, guard tower and the cellblock areas intact. After years of neglect, what was left of the prison was restored and turned into a state park.

Today, it is possible to visit the park and the attached museum to get a feeling of what life was like back then, although with the encroaching town and nearby freeway, it’ll be difficult to sense the isolation. The site was used during the shooting of several western movies including, “The 3:10 to Yuma.” The prison sits on a hill overlooking the Colorado River, not far from the center of old downtown Yuma. If you wanted to visit the prison, I would suggest that you wait until sometime in July or August when the temperatures are pushing 120 so you can get the real feeling of the kind of life they endured.
Don (ezdays) Day
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#35
Just a few things about the time we spent in Wickenburg:

We lived in Wickenburg for about four years. Even now, there’s lots of open desert between Wickenburg and the nearest large town, Surprise, where we live now. Wickenburg gets lots of traffic though since it’s on a major highway between Phoenix and Las Vegas. There was this small restaurant called, “Cowboy’s” tucked in off the highway. It was once a gas station converted into a restaurant many years ago. One thing though, as with all older gas stations, the restrooms were accessed only from outside. Oh, and you need to know that there was also a large tree in the parking lot right outside those restrooms that was probably older than the building. One morning during breakfast, a couple of travelers that looked like they were up all night, opened the door and the first thing that the woman asked was, “where are the restrooms?” The reply that brought a surprised look on them both was, “Go outside to your left, behind the big tree”. Yeah lady, we are civilized here in the west and we do have indoor plumbing regardless of what those cowboy movies show. And yeah, there were hitching posts outside as well because, even to this day, Wickenburg is a cowboy town.

Wickenburg was our choice because it got us away from the big city life. Our house was on the edge of a hill and it backed up to a large wash. We owned about five acres and saw a lot of desert animals roaming around during our time there. Coyotes were a menace as they spent most of their lives chasing the proliferation of rabbits that also ran around as they pleased. We saw deer out back plus javelina, some fox and much to our dislike, gila monsters and rattlesnakes. A few Gaugers can testify to that. One day while Sumpter250 and Ray M. were visiting, a rather large rattler curled up against our patio door. A cop came by, snapped it in two with a hoe and threw it out back. Before we knew it, the desert cleanup crew in the form of turkey vultures, did their thing and it was gone. Another time, we had pack rats and I had spread some poison bait around. Apparently, one snake swallowed one of these poisoned rats and wasn’t feeling well. I chased it down the hill an shot it with a BB gun. When we went back later, the only thing left was a head and a rattler. I had a feeling that there were a few birds or a coyote that wasn’t feeling well that day either, but that’s the way of the desert. After our fight with the fourth rattler and a bout with a scorpion that left my finger looking like a hot dog for a few weeks, we decided that maybe living that close on the edge of the desert really wasn’t for us.

We drive up to Wickenburg occasionally to get some good Mexican food at “Anita’s Cachina”. They put in a highway bypass a few years ago and so went the Cowboy Restaurant. There’s still hitching posts all over town and the old “hanging tree” is still the major tourist attraction. If you’re ever in Wickenburg, be sure to stop by the museum, one of the best western museums around. Oh, and if you’re hungry, try the #3 at Anita’s, you won’t be disappointed.
Don (ezdays) Day
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founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#36
Don, I've been enjoying your articles.  Your last one covered most of the reasons why my wife and I never pursued the idea of moving to the southwest after retirement.  Found this sign at a rest stop on I40 in eastern CA.


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Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains

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#37
Thanks Tom, here's a few shots of things I took around our house in Wickenburg:

First, a few reasons why we left. This is a gila monster, it is poisonous and once it bites, it doesn't let go. We found this on our front step.

   

Second are a few javalina crossing the road in front of our property. Javaina are kind of like pigs and are mean suckers. They will chase you if you get too close. We first spotted them trying to recreate out back in the wash. Two were participating, the third one just was looking on and wondering when it was his turn I guess. Waiting

     

The next two shots are reasons why we probably should have stayed. No explanation is needed:

   

   
Don (ezdays) Day
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#38
Hello Don---love your stories.My brother Jim attended the University of Arizona many years ago where he received his Doctorate of Sociology and he taught Criminology at the U of A after his graduation.I visited my brother a couple of times and later my wife and I vacationed in Arizona on two occasions---beautiful memories for sure.Being from the "Great White North" where the most dangerous snakes are the harmless Garter variety I was always cautious when we would go on walks in the desert.Thankfully the only rattlesnakes we encountered were in well sealed enclosures at the desert museum.
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#39
Here's a Garter snake I encountered on one of my train-watching adventures.Even though these snakes are harmless and probably more frightened of me I didn't stay in that spot long after I took this picture

   
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#40
(09-04-2019, 10:20 AM)cn nutbar Wrote: Here's a Garter snake I encountered on one of my train-watching adventures.Even though these snakes are harmless and probably more frightened of me I didn't stay in that spot long after I took this picture

I'm with you, like Indiana Jones, I don't like snakes, or trust them either. Can't tell one from another so I stay clear of them all.
Don (ezdays) Day
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founder of the CANYON STATE RAILROAD
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#41
One of my boys was bitten by a garter snake.  He and some neighbor kids had caught one and were passing it around.  My son happened to be the unlucky one.  Quick trip to the doctor for a tetanus shot and all was right with the world.  When a garter snake was spotted in our back yard many years ago I made the kids mow the yard for the next month.
Life is simple - Eat, Drink, Play with trains

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#42
(09-04-2019, 10:11 AM)cn nutbar Wrote: .....Being from the "Great White North" where the most dangerous snakes are the harmless Garter variety......

Gee, Ed, you forgot about the Massasauga rattlesnake, the only venomous snake in Ontario.  They're found mainly on the eastern side of Georgian Bay and on the Bruce Peninsula, but there are also some in the Wainfleet area.

Wayne
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#43
(09-05-2019, 09:13 PM)doctorwayne Wrote:
(09-04-2019, 10:11 AM)cn nutbar Wrote: .....Being from the "Great White North" where the most dangerous snakes are the harmless Garter variety......

Gee, Ed, you forgot about the Massasauga rattlesnake, the only venomous snake in Ontario.  They're found mainly on the eastern side of Georgian Bay and on the Bruce Peninsula, but there are also some in the Wainfleet area.

Wayne

See, see, now you know why I never come up to visit you guys..... Crazy  Hmmm, come to think about it, not too many come down to visit us either.... It's gotta be the snakes fault. Eek
Don (ezdays) Day
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#44
Having grown up in and around the Everglades you get over your fear of snakes and gators and scorpions and such real quick or else you will go nuts.
Mike

Sent from my pocket calculator using two tin cans and a string
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#45
Doc---I hadn't thought about the Massasuaga rattlers---I believe they're on the endangered species list and are very rarely seen in southern Ontario although I was surprised when you mentioned Wainfleet which is close to our home turf.Probably our bigger concerns would be ticks (lyme disease) ,mosquitoes (west nile virus),and poison ivy.
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