It’s early summer in Ajo these days.
That’s what it feels like to me. I recently packed away the remainder of my summer clothes in the “closet” in the Perfect Tow Vehicle. I figured I wouldn’t need them for a month or more. I find myself this morning rooting around in the PTV for some short pants and a sleeveless top. In my mind January is meant to be like this!
It’s fun having good friends right down the road.
Ann and Bill hike the wash up to our campsite, or the crew and I stop at their campsite on the way into town. It’s a bit too far for Spike (old), Bridget (gimpy), and me (old and gimpy) to hike. I do think I could hike it easily, but I don’t hike anywhere without my trusty crew!
Ann and Bill are the couple that I met at Dome Rock, Quartzsite, last year. We kayaked the Wiliamson River (north of Klamath Falls, Oregon) together last September.
I enjoy their company and the crew gets along great with beagle Sammy and dachshund Julie.
Bridget and Spike trot up to visit their canine friends.
Ann makes custom stained glass windows for RV doors.
The one on the left is in the door of Ann and Bill’s new Cedar Ridge travel trailer. I’ve seen it in person and the photo does not come close to doing it justice. These are replacement windows. The ones above cannot be purchased because they are made-to-order, one-of-a-kind. To see and read more about Ann’s creations, go to her website, Little House Stained Glass.
Ann is working on a new order right now. Whenever I stop at their campsite, I go over to her work table under the awning to see the progress she’s made.
Have you seen the new Shopping List and Links page?
It’s up at the top, replacing Readers RVing Resources page. As you may already know, as a WordPress blogger, I’m not allowed to put ads (Amazon widgets) on my blog. However, I am allowed to put HTML links within the text of my blog. The Shopping List and Links page is a way to represent Amazon and still stay within WordPress rules.
See this link?
If you click on a link inserted in a post (like the one above) or on a link you see on the “Shopping List and Links” page, and then you buy something, Amazon pays me a commission. You get stuff in the mail and I get stuff in my bank account.
Win-win!
“Shopping List and Links” is a work in progress. More products will be added, including those readers suggest, as long as the products are available through Amazon.
This is so much fun!
Scenes of the Sonoran Desert, southern Arizona
[slideshow]
rvsue
Nice pics…..this weather is great, but I do hope we get some rain. It always smells so good in the desert when it rains.
Aren’t you glad you had to dig out summer clothes? Much better than looking for more winter clothes to layer…….lol
Pat in Ajo
Hi, Pat…
I thought I saw some rain clouds the other night, but, alas, they moved on. It’s cloudy tonight, not looking like rain though.
Shouldn’t your first link on the shopping page be a general link to Amazon….? So if I want to shop for anything at all I can do it thru RVSue………!
You’e right, Rod. Since you wrote your comment, I figured out how to put a general link in the righthand column and in the text. Nice of you to plan on shopping through my blog …
I love the shopping list/link page. It definitely is a great way to bend the “rules” a bit. Hey, if we’re going to buy the stuff anyway, why not let someone, besides Amazon, profit a wee bit? Well done, you! The Benchmark maps are next on my list to purchase.
I appreciate the encouragement on my little monetizing efforts, DeAnne. And you know I’ll appreciate any income I obtain through your map purchases!
I just started following your posts because I am trying to learn more about how it is to travel with multiple dogs. We have 3 beagles (thus I really enjoyed Sammy!) but no RV yet. Within the next year or so, I hope that changes and that we can follow in your pawprints. Thanks for sharing your journey!
I really like the special stained glass creations. I could just see having my own 3 beagles in stained glass in our RV that we don’t have yet. Now THAT would be special!
Hello and thanks for following!
I notice you used the pronoun “we” so it shouldn’t be difficult to travel with your 3 beagles. Aren’t beagles great? Sammy is a heart-stealer.
If you’re ever in the market for stained glass, go to Ann’s website and let her know.
Best of luck in the coming year making your dream come true!
I have an Amazon account and card and now I can help you when I order??? This is great!!!! I was confused at how to get there at first so I just clicked on the link for the first item. From now on I will do my “shopping” that way. I am so excited for you and I have a great excuse to buy STUFF.
Love you!
Hi Pauline!
I looked up my Amazon earnings report and I saw $16 was deposited in my bank account. I was so happy, you’d think I won the lottery!!!
I’m not entirely certain I’ll get credit for purchases made through that roundabout route. I’ll have to wait and see, once someone makes a purchase of something I haven’t linked directly to. I’m asking Amazon support for more instructions on how to make a direct link to their catalog.
Love you, too!
Never mind my other reply, Pauline. The general Amazon link is up!
Your shopping link looks great. I remember Ann Bill Sammy and Julie from the kayak trip down the river. Sammy was standing on the back of the kayak. You and the crew were floating….(it’s a good thing you can’t here me chuckle).
Ann’s stained glass work is absolutely gorgeous. What a great idea. How neat to personalize your Casita/Burro home. Are you thinking about a window for your BLT?
Ann’s work is beautiful. I won’t be ordering one for the BLT for a reason having nothing to do with Ann’s windows. I get tired of things very quickly. I haven’t “decorated” the interior of the BLT, and I never will.
If I hung a painting by a master worth millions in the BLT, I’d be wanting to change to something else in a short while. I’ve always gone minimalist… I’d want a new window every month!
I picked up the package today… Cool! Next time I buy fresh veggies, I’ll try it. Thank you very much!
I love your pictures of the desert. What on earth is that tree-like cactus in the slide show that is just before the picture of Spike looking off to the right? It is beautiful. I can hardly wait until I can explore the desert areas!
2016 just can’t come soon enough for me. Ah to be far away from negative wind chills, and to be looking for sleeveless tops! Thank you for giving me hope that that day will come.
katydid, south of Chicago
That beautiful cactus is the dreadful cholla! It lets loose balls of thorns that are very slender and can stick to your clothes and penetrate the skin. They are the bane of canines. We try to stay clear of them. If we walk by one, I’m scanning the ground ahead of us so the crew doesn’t step on their thorns. I’ve passed up campsites due to the chollas being too numerous or too close. Keep that in mind when you come out to the desert!
Reading your last paragraph, I could almost feel the ache I once had as I thought 2011 would never come. 2016 is going to be a fantastic year for you, Katy!
Sue, we are in Q. What would you suggest we see and do? Do you go to Mexico for dental care?
Maybe some readers will answer that question for you, Nan. I’m not a good one to answer because I’ve only been once and I didn’t stay long. I’ve never been when the big tent is up. Enjoy!
I have “Get a passport card” on my long to-do list. I need to go to Mexico for teeth cleaning and to get another pair of bifocals. If I break the lens on the one pair I have, I’m going to be fumbling around . . .
We’re in Q too…definitely TONS of shopping to do here…big tent, rummage sales etc. Also visit the mineral & gem show. Plus there are also tons of little hikes/outdoor things. For example the hike to Q mountain (and the mine nearby).
And we go to Mexico for dental. In fact I just did a 2-part blog post on this. Hope Sue doesn’t mind me posting the link here:
http://wheelingit.wordpress.com/2013/01/16/getting-dental-work-in-mexico-part-i-clarifying-myths-facts/
Nina
I can’t believe all the things I buy on Amazon, and didn’t know you had a link! Good Grief !! I will go through your links, and if I buy something that isn’t directly from you, I’ll let you know, so you can ‘see’ if it counts!! I’ve always thought people ‘on the road’ could be successful at ‘drop-shipping’, and I guess this is a bit like that! Congratulations on the additional source of income! Thank you for posting about the stained glass, too! Today was kinda ‘bland’, until I read your blog!!
I’ve put up a general Amazon link so we’re set to go! Thanks for planning to shop Amazon here. Glad my blog perked up your day!
Oh how I like that idea of digging out shorts. Although I did have the windows and door open this afternoon and only one layer, no shorts yet.
After doing stained glass for years I switched to beads when becoming mobile. Her work is beautiful.
Yes, Ann’s work is lovely. Well, the sunshine is gone today. It’s so dark that I can’t charge up the laptop and aircard. I’m writing this down at the Ajo library.
The Darby Road Desert has a lot of personality due to the plant life. Love Ann’s stained glass work and done while RV’n. I enjoyed the photo show.
Hi Mick! The Sonoran Desert is much more interesting than other desert areas the crew and I have camped in. Not only the different plants, but also the rolling, sometimes rugged, terrain.
I kind of like the stained glass window idea. A Sonora desert scene with a Saguaro cactus, a jack rabbit, wild burro, soaring eagle and maybe Willie E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner right in front of my Casita and PTV. With a coiled Mohave Green rattlesnake in the bottom right hand corner of the window as a personalized signature of yours truly. Maybe a couple of buzzards sitting on the cactus waiting patiently with the Arizona sun off their left shoulder and if there is still room a desert tortoise pointing the way to The Lost Dutchmans Gold mine.
Great ideas, Joe, for about nine or ten windows!
Aghhhh. My fingers are aching! Too much. How funny. No buzzards please.
I’ve seen Ann’s work for Casitas and it’s absolutely fabulous. Glad you had to pull out the shorts. Kinda validates why you’re in Arizona, right?
It rained last night and today is very cloudy. But like you say, this is Arizona! It will be sunny again soon.
You mentioned the “dreadful” cholla tree, wondering if that is the shrub that produces the thorns they call “goats head?” If so, they are terrible! They will even poke through your shoes, imagine what they do to a dogs paw….
Goats head are harder & bigger than cholla. Cholla are very fine, not easy to see the tiny thorn but you sure can feel them. One needs a tweezer to pick them out.
Haven’t encountered goatsheads here. The crew picked up some in Idaho.
Hi Sue,
I’ve been following your blog from the beginning and have enjoyed everyone of your posts. I’m one of those followers in the shadows……reading, chuckling, smiling, and oh no’ing (new word) as I read through! This year my husband and I are snowbirding here in Arizona and have stopped at several of the locations you have mentioned in past blogs. In fact one of the locations we stayed at we met another of your followers “Rattlesnake Joe”! We truly enjoyed meeting Joe and and his wife Kate! It does make it special when out in the middle of nowhere and run into people you know or get to know due to common interests. I don’t know how many times a person has come over and said hello because they see what state we are from or they come over because of our canine crew Pudge and Frankie. What fun………
I have purchased a few items in the past which were recommended by your followers. The new shopping list and link for purchases will be a nice addition and I’m sure I’ll use it.
The stained glass windows are beautiful and look like a labor of love by Ann. What a talented lady she must be!
We are just around the corner so we may run into you when out and about. Keep on blogging Sue and I’ll keep reading something I truly enjoy!
Merle from WA
Hello Merle and Leo!
Was that you I met on the Darby Well Road as I was driving into town? I saw two people in a car coming the other way, waving with big smiles at me. Maybe we’ll bump into each other down at Olsen’s grocery!
Yes, Ann is very talented. Thank you for planning to do your Amazon shopping here. And thanks also for reading my blog. Nice to hear from you, at last! Come out of the shadows more often!
Bye jing, that was us coming down Darby Well Road returning home from a day trip to the Organ Pipe Cactus Monument area. I’d say your probably right about Olsen’s grocery…..though your more then welcome to drop bye! .
Hi RVSue,
Just wanted to let you know…
When anyone clicks on any of your Amazon links a cookie is set on their computer. This cookie lasts for 24 hours. Whatever they may purchase from Amazon within 24 hours of clicking on your link, you will get credit. Doesn’t have to be the item that the link was for… doesn’t matter what it is – you will get credit for it.
Hi Mitchell… After you wrote your comment, I figured out how to post a general Amazon link and I revised the last paragraphs of this post. Now the link will always be in the righthand column. Thanks for the information about cookies. Good to know!
Wow, summer clothes. I’m trying to stay warm! It’s below zero here!
Forgot, I was going to say, the stained glass is great and a great idea for earning some money while on the road.
Hi Donna!
“Summer” rain last night! Nice of you to give feedback on Ann’s stained glass and my monetizing efforts .. .
Hello again from St. Monica, CA, end of Route 66. One of my fave photos is S & B headed to the Creek Side trailer for a visit. Gives me impression they think YOU are the off-leash pet trotting along after THEM! Wonder why your awning is down? What criteria do you use as to putting it up or not? I love screenrooms. Would one be useful in your travels? I always thought of it as a clever way to get some sheltered outside space — a people crate, if you will.
Hi Gayle!
Good question . . . I don’t have the awning down because I positioned the BLT so the sitting area is shaded in the afternoon. In the morning I want the sun to warm the area where I sit.
I enjoy my awning, but like all awnings, you have to strap them down and be mindful of the quirky desert winds that pop up out of nowhere.
I’ve considered a screen room. I hesitate because it’s one more thing to carry around. The couple camped next to us at Red Mtn SP had theirs damaged by a surprise wind.
So far we haven’t encountered many insects to need one. The jury’s still out on screen rooms for the crew and me . . .
You know how the kids like to snuggle down under the quilt? Well that’s how I feel about my Sun Screen. You can see through it easy but it guards against the harsh desert sun. It sort ah gives ya that snuggly feeling. I got the brown to match the desert turff and my light brown desert mat like yours. Love my mat…$48.00 at Walmart. Carefree Sunscreen at Camping World for $109.00. The Sunscreen is left hanging about 5 inches from the ground. The wind blows it but doesn’t hurt it and the screen kind of dampens the force of the wind so it doesn’t hurt the awning. These Fiamma awnings are pretty darn tuff and I don’t worry about mine that much. By the way you can put up the awning about 3 and a half feet from the BLT to give you a little shade but makes your awning really strong against the wind. Maybe you can get some credits from Amazon for these two must have RV items. The Sunscreen is no hassel, goes in and comes out like a breeze and folds up into its own little bag for storage.
I would like to hear you evaluate the Wave 3 heater and it might make a good link to Amazon
Great post as always.
Ron
Excellent idea for the shopping page, Ron. I’ll add the Wave 3 heater. Kinda limited what I can do today with the clouds hiding the sun! I’ll review the Wave 3 on that page…. for now, I say… I love my heater!
Wow – love the stained glass – my greyhound Molly would love to be immortalized in glass (to go with the trailer name and decal – ‘the Greyt Escape’) – but then the cats would get even more jealous.
Ill have to remember your amazon links – I certainly shop there often enough!
Glad you’re enjoying the warmth – we’re in long Johns up here in Oregon.
Greyhounds are such graceful animals. I’m sure your Molly would make a great subject for any art form.
I appreciate your plans to help support the adventures of me and my crew through shopping Amazon via my blog.
Stay warm in your long johns, Anne! (That’s a wish, not a dig! 🙂 )
Thank you Sue for posting about the stained glass windows. They are beautiful, and I am sending the link to family out it California. Enjoying your site very much. Am interested in how the Amazon thing works, and will definitely link through your list when shopping there. Please keep the photos and stories coming……Thank you from Indialantic, Florida!!
You’re welcome, Janet. I also put a link to Amazon’s homepage in the right hand column.
Thoughtful of you to send the link about Ann’s windows to your family . . ..
LOVE LOVE LOVE the stained glass RV windows! Have put this website on my Shopping List for new RV… Thanks RV Sue 🙂 I’ll let them know you referred me when I place my order.
That’s wonderful, Candace!
What a joy that stained glass is! I can imagine some of my vintage trailer buffs who need windows to replace ones in our ‘relics’ would truly LOVE something like this (others would not, as it isn’t original).
I too am an amazon junky. Will go thru your link!!! Hopin’ for the best and some jingle in your pocket!!!
Hugs to you and the crew!
Nice of you to plan to shop Amazon through my links, Barb. Yes, Ann’s work is lovely.
Sue,
A suggestion for your Shopping List Page. At the top of the Page list all the items as an index which when clicked will take a person to the detailed description and purchase link that you now have on the Page.
I like the Page a lot and think you have a good idea but it is going to become cumbersome to find what you may be looking for as the number of items grow, which I assume you want to happen.
You read my mind, Ed. I threw that page together thinking it needed an index, maybe with categories. Thanks for the encouragement.
The cloud cover is thick today and I’ve been online a lot draining my batteries, so I can’t work on the page much today. I won’t be replying to comments the way I like either.
Are you enjoying out little rain shower? Woke me up this morning, sounds so good on the roof.
Pat in Ajo
Surprise, surprise! Rain! I love it!
Do you want to move out to Darby Well? I’ll help you find a spot if you do.
Thanks, I would appreciate the help. I want to around Feb 4th. You know how it is, paid here until then.
I need some open spaces, can take parks for only so long.
Thanks
Pat in Ajo
Okay, Pat. We’ll get together “around Feb. 4th” and find a primo campsite for you. It’ll be fun!
We will be leaving around that time. Nice spot here!
Beautiful pictures, Sue! Thank you for sharing my windows. Making them outdoors in the desert is so relaxing! Having our neighbors come over is so enjoyable; the dogs, Bill and I love it. I make windows for all types of RV’s, not just Casitas. I think I have met Anne and Molly a long…. time ago at a Casita gathering. Molly is so nice. A perfect lady.
Your windows are a big hit! I hope interested people will bookmark your website.
The rain last night was a treat. The crew and I took a walk this morning, everything fresh . . .
Ann, would love to see your stained glass windows they are beautiful. We are just around the corner here on the Darby and would love to meet you as well.
I am so glad you added the shopping page/link. I will be sure to use it!
Just love the picture of the cute little beagle looking up at you and the one of Spike and Bridgett trotting off to see their friends! I wonder if our furry friends know how darn cute they are. Love the Amazon link. I buy online alot and will use it exclusively. Hope it “pumps up” your cash flow.
Gorgeous windows!! Love ’em. So happy you’re enjoying your time in Ajo. We’ll get there (eventually). Hoping around end of Feb in the area.
Nina