Fort Huachuca, Arizona (GA38)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 22nd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

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The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails Soledad Canyon RV Resort at Acton, California. I’m expecting to depart here March 27th.

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

 

 

In 2012-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

 

 

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

 

 

 

This entry was posted March 3, 2012…

 

 

 

Yesterday Mary and I left the motorhome at the VFW parking lot in Sierra Vista, Arizona and visited the museum at Fort Huachaca (Wha-choo-ka) about 5 miles distant.

 

 

The fort was established in 1877 so the Army could protect settlers and those on their way to California from the Apache Indians. With the exception of a brief seven month shut-down, it has been in continuous operation since that time. It has been the home of the famous Indian Scouts and also the Buffalo Soldiers.

 

 

Here’s a Wikipedia link about the history of the fort…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Huachuca

 

 

The museum had lots of old photos, prints, paintings and statues. However, the museum was very dimly lit and the photography was difficult at best.

 

Here are some of the photos that I took…

 

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see the other 58 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/FortHuachucaArizona

 

 

Last evening we went into the VFW for their Friday night fish fry, While there we met both the manager and the commander. The manager told us they are…membership-wise..the largest VFW Post in Arizona and the third largest in the World! I guess it helps to be right night to a major military base. Also unusual about this Post was everyone was very friendly. A general rule of thumb is…the smaller the facility…the friendlier they are. Just goes to show there’s an exception to every rule!

 

 

This marks the end of our visit to Sierra Vista, Arizona. We’ll be moving along this morning.

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW…!!!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2012/03/03/people-are-history/

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

 Yesterday was mostly sunny and 84 degrees. Forecast for today is partly cloudy and 68 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee, Washington and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!

Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2017

Bell Starr’s Silverado Ranch, Arizona – Part 1

Yesterday Mary and I drove the motorhome the about 35 miles from Sierra Vista to Belle Starr’s Silverado Ranch about one-half way between Bisbee and Douglas, Arizona.  The way the crow flies…presumably in a straight line…we are only four miles from Mexico. Bisbee is about 5,500 feet and Douglas is about 4,000 feet in elevation. Being about one-half way between the two…I’m guessing we’re at about 4,750 feet in elevation.The below Google Earth images show our location…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

Here’s a closer view of the ranch. We’re parked where I’ve marked in yellow…

Looking in from the entrance gate you can see our motorhome in the distance…

Once inside the gate you see this sign…

And the donation box…

A closer view of our parking spot where we have an electrical hookup…

Here’s the view from our dining room window…

This 40 acre unique property is owned by an 85-year-old woman every bit as unique as the property she owns.

I’m going to save telling you and showing pictures of her and her unique property for a very near future Blog. Enough for now…

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

PEOPLE ARE HISTORY

Shakespeare said, “There is history in all men’s lives.”  Thomas Carlyle thought all history is biography. The past is a record of people and societies interacting

.  We visited Fort Hauchuca Historical Landmark yesterday, just 20 miles from Tombstone where I read these words: History must have a human face. It must glower at us from under bushy eyebrows. It must laugh at us from a snaggle-toothed mouth. It must refract the depth and candor of the human experience.  I can say with certainty, the people from Fort Huachuca and Tombstone both reflect that candor. What fascinates me about these two places, so close to each other and intermingled in many ways, is so much of valor and honor at the fort, and killing and disregard for human life in Tombstone.

Two gamblers argued at the Oriental Hotel. Short shot Storms and the faro dealers barely raised their heads, just went on playing while they removed the dead man to his bed.

The fort was established in 1877 to protect the settlers and travel routes to the West from Indians and bandits.  Ed Schieffelin, a prospector heard about the fort and decided to prospect the desert near by to be protected from hostile Apaches. A soldier told him, the only thing you’ll find out there is your tombstone. He filed his claim and named it Tombstone. The claim proved good, others came and the town took its name from his claim. And it turned out to be an apt name for the town considering how many died violent deaths and are buried there.

Leslie killed Killeen over a disagreement about Kileen’s wife. Leslie married the widow. He was a cold-blooded killer. The “cowboys” were mostly cattle thieves and ranchers didn’t want their hands called cowboys because of it. Alvord was a lawman, later turned outlaw. Bands of cowboys would slip over the border into Mexico and steal their herds. The only good Indian was a dead Indian mentality was prevalent. When whites killed Indians, it was to protect their women and children. When Indians killed whites, they were murderous, massacres, when in reality they were trying to protect their own land and scarce food supplies.

 

Whitside was the first commander. And the early days were rough and ready to be sure.  The honorable part came later.

 

 

The curator of this museum used the men’s words to describe their situation, and I will follow up on another day as the signal is painfully slow.

Last night we had dinner at the 3rd largest VFW post here in Sierra Vista, with over 2,000 members, also a result of being right next to Fort Huachuca. Margaret,the post manager,confided to us that the building used to be a bus station and that it is haunted. They have ghosts, apparitions and wierd things happening at night. They had Ghost Busters  try to remove them.  They still have ghosts. Margaret says she warns all employees and most of them have had encounters with the ghostly apparitions at the post..

This was a big, friendly, well run post, the food was delicious Friday night fish-fry and I chose a table where a couple sat without anyone near them to talk to. We sat down, introduced ourselves, and Allen and Jo were from San Jose. He,  a former San Jose Policeman who also knew where Murphys and Angels Camp are located. He used to ski at Bear Valley. For those who do not know, that is my stomping grounds. It was way fun.

 

 

 

Fort Huachuca, Arizona

Yesterday Mary and I left the motorhome at the VFW parking lot in Sierra Vista, Arizona and visited the museum at Fort Huachaca (Wha-choo-ka) about 5 miles distant.

The fort was established in 1877 so the Army could protect settlers and those on their way to California from the Apache Indians. With the exception of a brief seven month shut-down, it has been in continuous operation since that time. It has been the home of the famous Indian Scouts and also the Buffalo Soldiers.

Here’s a Wikipedia link about the history of the fort…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Huachuca

The museum had lots of old photos, prints, paintings and statues. However, the museum was very dimly lit and the photography was difficult at best.

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Here are some photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

To see the other 58 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/FortHuachucaArizona

Last evening we went into the VFW for their Friday night fish fry, While there we met both the manager and the commander. The manager told us they are…membership-wise..the largest VFW Post in Arizona and the third largest in the World! I guess it helps to be right night to a major military base. Also unusual about this Post was everyone was very friendly. A general rule of thumb is…the smaller the facility…the friendlier they are. Just goes to show there’s an exception to every rule!

This marks the end of our visit to Sierra Vista, Arizona. We’ll be moving along this morning.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

Empire Ranch, Sonoita, Arizona

Yesterday Mary and I drove the motorhome  from Lake Patagonia about 40 miles to the Empire Ranch near Sonoita, Arizona. The ranch house was once headquarters for a cattle ranch that was more that 1,000,000 acres. It’s really out in the toolies about 50 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona and on the high desert grasslands at about elevation 4, 500 feet.

Here’s a Google Earth image…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…

Here’s a Wikipedia informational link about the ranch…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Empire_Ranch

Here’s another really good link about the history of the ranch…
http://www.empireranchfoundation.org/RanchInfo.htm

Today the ranch is about 45,000 acres and under the protection of the Bureau of Land Management. Here’s their link…
http://www.blm.gov/az/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/ncarea/lascienegas.html

Many Western movies have been filmed on the Empire Ranch. Click this link to see the list…
http://www.empireranchfoundation.org/PDFdocs/WesternsFilmedAroundEmpireRanch.pdf

Here are some photos that I took…

As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view...

To see the other 40 photos that I took, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/EmpireRanchSonoitaArizona

After the about 1.5 hour visit to the ranch, we drove about another 35 miles to Sierra Vista, Arizona where we are parked at VFW Post 9972.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust