2/23/2009 - 2/28-2009

Another week gone. Actually it flew by. It is hard to believe we have been here for a month already. The weather is beautiful (70’s & 80’s with lots of sunshine). This is the perfect climate for doing things outdoors.

Wrangler Dave has had a great week/month working on his roping, horsemanship and then trying to put them together when roping cattle. I worked a lot of horsemanship this week (Bob is such a great teacher and so patient) both on the ground and on horseback with a couple of different horses… Too Tall and Uno. It has been extremely satisfying and exciting to see each of the horses progress in different ways. Of course most of the time I am not sure if Wrangler Dave is teaching them or they are teaching Wrangler Dave… maybe a bit of both. We spent hours just working the horses very slowly, putting them through all types of exercises to help them get better in the areas where they need help.

Too Tall saying, "you want to do what!"

I was also able to watch Bob as he put shoes on Banjo (one of Bob’s personal horses). It is really interesting to see how the foot is formed as it grows and how shoeing can change the entire formation of the hoof. While I have learned a ton, there are still tons and tons of things to learn about ropes, horses and cattle. I will never be bored!

Taking a break after some very stressful work!

(Wrangler Dave, Mike Goyins & Cowboy Tom)

As for Biker Arda, Willie, Vicki and Arda did some hiking at the Cochise Stronghold (4 hours long) up the mountain and they had a blast. Unfortunately Vicki slipped and scrapped her arm. The good news is that her right arm matches the biking-scratches on her right leg (you will have to ask her about this story ‘cause Wrangler Dave is keeping his mouth shut on this one!

Biker Arda making sure Wrangler Dave didn't burn dinner!

They also took the truck and went over the Dragoon Mountains on a back-road. It took them over 2 hours to go about 20 miles. Arda and I did that last year and it was just beautiful. The beauty in the desert is a rugged beauty, not like the north where there is lots of green grass, etc. – of course we don’t have the snow either.

Today (Sat) Biker Arda and I are packing as we leave tomorrow. We are just lazing around doing a little bit at a time because the sun and temperatures are perfect… too perfect to work very hard. Tomorrow we leave for Tucson where we will see Laurene and Roy who are friends of ours from Canada. After that we are heading towards Globe (Biker Arda still has 20 miles to cover - where she was snowed out last year). I guess I better leave room for Biker Arda’s 2 Cents Worth.

Biker Arda’s 2 Cents Worth

It has been a while but don't let that fool you that I have nothing to say... I just don't always write it down! We are coming to an end of our stay at Goldminers campground. For Dave I'm sure that it will be sad since he has been doing what he loves to do for the last month. For me I have had a good time here but I'm very excited about moving to the next place. I have done some great bike riding. Had some wonderful walks with Jean, she just has a way to keep you smiling. But overall during the day could be very lonely (remember I'm used to going to a supermarket every day). So I have decided that when we come back here next year I will have to get involved in something... I have a whole year to decide what. I have some ideas but still have to think about them some more.

This past week has been wonderful with Willie and Vicki here and other than just sitting around and visiting we have done some great things. Like on Tuesday we hiked the Cochise Stronghold. We started the trail from the Stronghold campground and it took us 2 ½ hours to get to the top that is the east/west Summit. After a picnic lunch we started back down again which went a lot faster, only 1 ½ hours. The weather was warm, in the high eighties so it made for a perfect day. I enjoyed every minute of it. On the way home we visited Dave at the ranch so Willie and Vicky could see him in action...

We also went for a trip to Tombstone but instead of taking the highway we took the back roads through the mountains. When I say back roads, I mean a one lane primitive road (maybe I should say path!). But the views were beautiful...

Around 4:00 pm we would usually get together for cocktails. I'm sure Dave could smell them ‘cause he was always home shortly after that... Last night we had a wonderful spaghetti dinner that Willie cooked for us while Vicki and I sat outside... Then this morning the Van Hoof's left again, direction Tucson, but we will meet up with them again in another week or so.

2/16/2009 - 2/22/2009

It has been a full week since I updated my web site because my HP computer broke down. The case that holds the screen cracked. Even though it was only less than 2 years old, it was going to cost $200 – $300 minimum to fix it so I bought a new one. It has taken nearly a week to get the new one running with all the software I use but here I am again.

Wrangler Dave has been roping, horsing around (horsemanship) and doing ground work (tying cattle) for the past week. It is amazing how each individual activity on its’ own is demanding but when they are combined, they almost seem impossible. There are so many things to remember to do at the same time. This is a never ending journey.

This has been a great week for Biker Arda as she has been celebrating her birthday all week. It started last weekend when Cowboy Tom told Arda that we would celebrate her birthday last Sunday. We went to Sierra Vista to do some shopping. Wrangler Dave got new boots and Biker Arda got a new camera case and chip to going along with her new camera. She can now take over 3000 pictures before she has to upload them to her computer. We also went for a steak dinner at the Chute Out in Benson after shopping… many thanks to Cowboy Tom for the dinner. We actually had the entire restaurant to ourselves for most of the dinner (Tom said he reserved the restaurant) before they realized that they had not unlocked the front door.

Yesterday (the 21^st) we went to the Chiricahua Mts with Willie and Vicki (Arda’s cousins from Petawawa) where we walked several trails… it was a gorgeous day! The scenery is so beautiful we couldn’t resist taking more pictures.

Cochise's head - lying down.

Arda & Willie exploring some small rocks.

Vicki hanging on for dear life.

Willie and Vicki bought steaks for Arda’s birthday so we grilled them along with mushrooms and potatoes. We had a great time but I sure am glad Arda’s birthday is over for another year!

The weather is so nice (temps in the 70’s) it is hard to believe that winter is still going on in the north. So for y’all who are still in the north, our sympathies go out to you!

By the way Petra, the BBQ works great... haven't burned a meal yet! Thanks again.

Happy trails to the next blog.

2/13, 14 & 15/2009

Time for another update.  We have been busy the past couple of days.

On Friday I was working again with Too Tall and he is teaching me lots.  The good news he isn’t able to tell Bob all the things I do wrong but it is a great learning experience.  We did a lot of roping and took several calves down and did some ground work which was exciting.  This is just like peeling an onion.  Once you have one layer peeled, there is another.  It seems to me that it will be very difficult for anyone to learn everything about animals and roping so I have a lot of catching up to do.

We also went to Karen’s (Bob’s sister-in-law) for a Mexican dinner and install her computer.  The dinner was excellent as she is a great cook.  The computer took a little longer than we thought but in the end it worked well.

On Saturday Tom and I went and got 40 bales of hay ($13.50 a bale) and some supplements for the horses.  After we finished this chore we picked up Arda and went for breakfast.  We then went to Benson to do some shopping and then go to a horse auction to get Arda a horse… just kidding about getting a horse for Arda but we did go to a horse auction.  We left and came back home for a barbeque which turned out great due to the new grill Petra bought me for Christmas… it is perfect for what we want it for.

Today (Sunday) Tom declared this Arda’s official birthday so after church we went to Sierra Vista to do some shopping.  I gave a camera to Arda earlier this week so Tom bought her a camera case and a bigger chip so she could take more pictures.  He also treated us to steak dinner… even though it wasn’t my birthday I got one too.  I also bought her a new vacuum for her birthday so she can now fly around the trailer…

It is not time for Biker Arda’s 2 Cents Worth…    

Here we are another week in Pearce Arizona. We seem to be settling into a routine here. Dave goes to the ranch in the morning to do what he loves to do.... I usually start out my day by going for a walk with Jean (the manager of the campground here) we do about 4 miles and when we get back I go for a bike ride. This should get me back in shape...... On Wednesday I got an early Birthday present from Dave, A new camera..... I'm very excited about that since my old one broke last fall. I used Dave's camera when I wanted to take pictures but to have my own is so much better...... Also new this week is that I learned all by myself how to upload pictures on Facebook.  So for those who have Facebook I'm planning on putting pictures of this trip on there and for those who don't have it, you should sign up so you can see them there. And now I should go and do some house cleaning.... Till the next time.

Temp = 61^o

2/10, 11 & 12/2009

Here is another update. It has been a funny week weather wise as Monday was a little cold but we were able to rope and ride without any problems. This week I am working with Too Tall who is a nice horse that needs some rides and ground work which I have been able to do.

Tuesday we were going to go to a local ranch and brand 3 wild calves but this area received 3” of SNOW – yuk! This was the first time in 5 years since they have had this amount of snow in this area. This made the ground too slippery for the horses to do their job (running down cattle and holding them in place) so everything was cancelled this day. I spent the day with Bob and Tom fixing a computer that Bob is giving to his sister-in-law. It only took 2.5 days to fix this computer as it was definitely old and sick… but not now! Here are a couple of pictures taken on the day we got the snow...

Wednesday and Thursday were pretty much the same… lots of roping skinny cow, ground work with the horses, and roping cattle while riding. One can be a good roper but if they are going to be a good hand, then they also have to be able to have good horsemanship too. The weather is also getting warmer with each passing day. It will be in the 70’s by the end of the week, not that the high 50’s or 60’s is bad, especially when there is no or little wind.

2/09/2009

Another day at the ranch as they say... I am really am enjoying this!  We spent the morning roping and it is coming along.  With any luck I should be ready for the branding in June if I keep practicing on the skinny cow.  The afternoon was spent working on horsemanship which helps the horse and Wrangler Dave.  I just can’t get over the number of subtleties there in both roping and horsemanship.  I don’t think I will ever learn them all.

Apparently there was/is some confusion about the quiz we ran (it may be the last since I can’t seem to remember everything).  The picture was of 2 cups that Arda had set over the heat vents so they would warm up before adding coffee.  It is an old Dutch secret that is now in the open.  Most people in the US would just add hot water beforehand to heat the cup but you know Biker Arda…

In addition to going for a 17 mile ride in the wind (22 mph), Arda cooked a big pot-roast for dinner with potatoes, carrots and gravy and then her home-made Chip Ahoy cookies from the Dollar Store.  It was delicious!

Tomorrow we are going to brand 2 calves…

2/6, 7 & 8/2009

Yes I have been slow in getting my blog updated but that is one of the privileges of being retired… you can do most things when you want.  These past few days I have also been set straight about my blog.  If you are going to be a cowboy (as in Wrangler Dave) I am supposed to call it my TALLY LOG.  In days past and even today, many cowboys carry what city slickers call a small note book in their pocket.  They use this to write ear tag numbers of cattle that they want to take note of or other pertinent information.  Also when counting cattle they note the “tally” in their “tally book”.  So I guess from here on out this is my Tally log.

The past couple of days Wrangler Dave has been doing a lot of roping which also requires a lot of horsemanship.  We have been practicing on live cows as well as skinny cows.  It is amazing the number of refinements one has to make with each loop thrown… they are getting more and more subtle and just require a lot of practice.

Friday night we went to dinner at Betty’s (Bob King’s wife) sister’s place (Karin) where we had an excellent Lasagna dinner and Pineapple Delight for desert.  We played cards which for some reason Bob won.  We are still trying to figure that one out.

On Saturday Tom, Arda and myself went to Tuscan to Campers World to pick up a few items that we needed (wanted?).  We also had to pick up 2 new tires for Biker Arda’s bike as she had over 4000 miles on the old ones and then wondered why she had flats the last couple of days.  The store would not put them on the rims so Arda opted to mount them on the rims herself.  She did a good job and did not pinch the tubes… at least that we can see so far.

Saturday night we met up with Willie and Vicki (Arda’s cousins from Petawawa Ontario (an hour north of Ottawa Canada), Tom, Bob & Betty and Karin and went to the Chute-out in Benson for a steak dinner.  I would recommend this to anyone who likes steak as the meat is first quality.

Sunday morning we woke up to rain on the plains and snow in the mountains.  It was really neat to see the sun shining on the snow and then part-way down the mountain it changed to rain.  The rest of the day has seen intermittent rain with sunny periods.  The temps have only gotten into the high 40’s… gee winter is rough!  We also went to church again this morning. It is always interesting to go there as there are about 50 people with a lot of elderly people (yes some even older than us) and a lot of young children but very few in between.  We had the blessing of the throats this morning because St Blaze, the patron Saint of throats, was celebrated this past week.  Everyone in the church was blessed.

Gee I almost forgot we had 2 correct answers of thousands of responses submitted to our quiz earlier this week… remember this picture?  Well Mary B. and Arda’s sister Ellen both guessed correctly so the tie breaker was the time of submission which was unfortunate for Mary as she won first prize.  And now for the BIG surprise… Arda and I decided that since Mary is so quick and intelligent it won’t take you long to learn what we like to eat and drink and when so we are going to stay at your house for the 2 months we are back in GR… you know, sorta like a B&B.  Mary if this doesn’t work out for your schedule we can find another time to do something.  Sorry to disappoint you Ellen.

As an added feature to Wrangler Dave’s Tally Log, we are adding Biker Arda’s 2 Cent Corner.  It is not clear how often this will appear but it will be there sometime…

BIKER ARDA’s 2 CENT CORNER:

I can't believe we are here for a week tomorrow. The time has gone so fast... Dave is on his last day of cowboy school already. This week has been just great, with Dave gone all day it gave me a chance to get things organized in the trailer the way I want to..... (How do you like my shoe closet????)

It also gave me a chance to get used to the fact that this is going to be my home for the next year. As much as I love the fact that we are going to travel all year and see this beautiful country of ours, it is still a big adjustment to know that this is your home. I don't think Dave has a problem with this at all, so it must be a woman thing. I do have to say though that it has many advantages too. For example, I started house cleaning at 2.00 pm and was finished at 3.00 pm that included washing all the windows inside and out. Cool eh....It is also amazing to find out that we can do just fine with a lot less space and many less things... But I have also come to the conclusion that I could not live without a coffee pot and a microwave!!!!

All in all there was lots of time left over to get back into biking, and it will even be more fun next week when my butt doesn't hurt anymore.....

Well these are my thoughts and two cents for week one of our adventure...

2/05/2009

 Today was another beautiful day with temps in the high 70’s but we also had some wind.  Mike Goyins joined Cowboy Tom and I today so we spent the day roping calves.  Mike   is a long-time cowboy (he is excellent at starting colts) and bear hunter from Helena MT who spends his winter in AZ. 

 

We had a blast as we got to throw many different loops at real cows.  This adds a couple dimensions to the roping as one now has to position the horse on a calf that is always moving and then throw the right loop so the calf is caught.  Add the wind in and it becomes a challenge but that is reality.  My arm is about to drop off but Bob King tells me he has lots of super glue…

   

Arda fixed her flat on her bike by putting the old tube back in.  When she put the new tube in she pinched it so it is now trash.  She biked about 15 today with incident… she really does enjoy biking.  She also made us an excellent enchilada dinner… what a chef!    

  

More tomorrow.

2/03/2009 & 2/04/2009

This is a report covers 2 days.  

 

Arda has been doing lots of cooking this week as Cowboy Tom has been joining us for dinner each night.  I may pay him just to come to dinner every night as she is cooking some really good meals. 

 

As I  leave for Cowboy School every morning, Arda is sitting in bed drinking her coffee and working on a puzzle.  She has been really happy to get back on her bike the past couple of days.  Today she was going for another ride and had 2 flat tires.  Since these tires have over 3000 miles on them from her trip last year, it is probably time for new ones.

 

Wrangler Dave has been at Cowboy School for the past couple of days.  Lots of roping, riding and trying to put the 2 together.  I can tell you I have found muscles that I didn’t know I had!  Here are some pictures Arda took today…

Cowboy Tom throwing a Hoolihan loop on Hillary. 

                                        













Wrangler Dave throwing a heel shot on Hillary

Temps today were in the low 80’s.

2/02/2009

The first day of cowboy school.  What a blast!  This year our friend Cowboy Tom from Minnesota and me are the only students.  Cowboy Tom brought his own horse who is a fully trained bridle horse.  The horse I have this year is called Uno which I also rode last year.  Uno needs a lot of work but not as much as Wrangler Dave. 

  

We started the day out roping Bob’s skinny cows.  Bob is teaching us some new loops this year that are more complicated and much prettier when thrown correctly.  We then did some pen work with the horses which helps them learn to lead better.  Then came lunch, which was a welcome pause.

 

In the afternoon we saddled the horses and I think I trotted and loped   more this afternoon than I did in 4 weeks last year but it was fun. After a couple of hours of utilizing various training techniques, we released the cattle into the pen where we proceeded to rope them until the end of the day.  I am very tired so it will be early to bed for me.

 

Arda did the washing this morning and then went for a bike ride of about 13 miles.  This was her first ride since October of last year. 

 

Temps today in the mid-60’s.      

2/01/2009

Arrived safely in Pearce AZ where our friend from Minnesota (Cowboy Tom) was waiting for us. Trailer is all set up, Arda has really organized the inside and now I have to do the outside. I will be a Bob King’s Cowboy School with Tom this week so the organization of the outside and under the trailer will have to wait another week… so sad!

This afternoon (Sunday) Willie (Arda’s cousin from Petawawa, Ontario) and his wife Vikie visited us for a couple of hours. They are staying at a trailer park in Benson AZ which is about 45 minutes from Goldminers. They are coming here on the 20^th of Feb so we will get to spend some time with them before everyone scatters to the wind.

Arda cooked a great spaghetti dinner tonight which we shared with Tom.

Temps today were around 70… not too shabby in my book.

It is time to put this to bed (or is that Wrangler Dave) as morning comes early.

Take care.