SOMEWHERE SOUTHWEST OF LARAMIE & NORTH OF ROUTE 66
With the high price of fuel Barney is in a state of semi retirement. Still, when there is work to done or adventure to be had Barny is a willing and faithful partner.
Saturday was the first morning the day started without the need for a light jacket. I gave Barney a few minutes to warm up and then backed the old truck to the gate. By the time the sun was cresting over the distant mountains I had the brush and assorted junk that accumulated over the months of winter piled high above the bed sides.
Next came a hearty breakfast of oatmeal with wheat germ and flax seed, toast with a touch of butter and strawberry preserves, and a cup of hot mint tea. After a quick shower, shave, and a hug and smooch from my wife it was off to the office.
On the way I stopped by the rodeo grounds, the site for the city clean up collection point. Trustees from the local jail had Barney emptied in half the time it took me to load it so I made it to the office with ten minutes to spare.
Saturday is a short one so by 12:30, after lunch, we were on the road. I worked in the yard cutting the brush (they were weeds when my wife cut them a few weeks ago) with a hoe and Barney was again put to work.
By 3:30, after a fuel stop, $20.00, we were ready for the next project. This time it was back to the office and moving trailers to the back of the lot.
Supper at five and then it was light duty for Barney. My wife and I made a trip to Walmart for a weeks worth of supplies so the really challenging part for the old truck was to get us back alive, not an easy task with heavy traffic.
The next morning there was church, a quick check of Barney’s vitals (oil, water, etc.), and then off into the Cerbat Mountains to experiment with the camera before the Fun Run this coming weekend.
These mountains present the quintessential portrait of an Arizona landscape. As such they give the golf course in Kingman a unique setting.
Since my last trip into this section of the mountains a gate has been added along with paved streets, curbs, and bladed lots. It is times like these that I struggle with depression as some of the finest real estate on Earth is used for growing houses. 
After wandering back toward Beale Springs, Johnson Canyon, and a few other favorite spots, it became obvious these to were not longer havens and oases from the urban desert.
So, I wandered back to town, followed the new road along the golf course into the canyons near the old Stockton Hill Road, broke out the camera and the tripod.
These are the results. Barney in all his glory – mud spattered and worn. As you can see this old truck is not in danger of being lost in a crowded parking lot.
Until next week –
