3/23/2009 - 3/29/2009

Back again... not in the saddle but in the truck on the road. 

I have to regress a little as I forgot to tell y'all about the dinner party Arda put on.  She made dinner for 10 people and invited them to our trailer.  Well the good news is the weather was great so we were able to eat outside at the Goldminers' picnic site.  Arda made BBQ (the only complaint was mine... she didn't make enough to have left-overs), 7-bean casserole which was a great success, rolls and Sidne brought a "weed salad"... at least that is what Dan Moyer thought it was.  All of the food was delicious.
  

Arda and I spent 4 days in Willcox where Biker Arda did her thing... biking.  She went all over (at least where she could find paved roads which wasn't always easy).  She also did a lot of cooking for the cowboys... at least for Cowboy Tom, Wrangler Dave and Dan Moyer (Dan didn't eat with us every night as he didn't want to impose).  I will say Dan ate with  us enough to get Biker Arda interested in a new hobby - leather braiding.  So now it is off to the leater stores and web sites to get Biker (or maybe Braider) Arda some stuff to work with.
   

During this time, WD just watched Buck Branaman's roping clinic.  I learned a lot and am anxious to try some of the things I saw and heard.  The last night in Willcox everyone went out to dinner at the local hotel which had the best restaraunt in town... there were 10 of us altogether.  Buck picked up the tab which was totally unexpected and much appreciated.  He then left for the Phoenix area where he was starting another clinic the next morning.

Arda and I planned tp leave Thursday AM headed to Amarillo TX where we planned to meet up with our friends Lynda and Fred Weekly whom we hadn't seen in 20 years.  After listening to the weather reports, we called Lynda and Fred and said we would come to Arlington TX on Sat so we could avoid the snow and ice storms in the Panhandle of TX and north.  It was a good job we did because many of the roads in that area were closed and we would not have made it.  So we head to Arlington with 25 - 35 mph, gusting to 45 coming from the side... it would have been great if it was a tail-wind.
  

We got as far as the Lordsburg cut-off when we blew a tire on the trailer.  There was a little damage but nothing significant.  We put the brand new spare on and headed to Los Cruces, NM.  There we went to Discount Tire and had 4 new tires put on and the spare put back in its proper place.  I had planned on replacing the tires before we headed to Alaska so it wasn't too big a deal.

We arrived in Arlington on Saturday about noon, set up camp and called Lynda & Fred.  They came and picked us up and we spent the rest of the day with them.  We had some awesome Spring Greek BBQ (it was as good as I remembered it) and Mexican food for dinner at El Chico's.  This was also very good.  All in all we had a great time with Fred & Lynda... sure is nice to see old friends.
  

Speaking of old friends, we'll see our GR friends around the 9th of April all being well... please make sure the snow is gone by then eh!

3/23/2009 - Pictures

For those of you who are interested in looking at additional pictures of our Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 saga, you can go to... http://picasaweb.google.com/DaveTole.

Enjoy!

3/16/2009 - 3/22/2009

We spent a couple of very casual days riding around the campground (Wrangler Dave and Biker Arda) and taking in a couple of short hikes... just relaxing and enjoying ourselves.

Well as usual things on the road change.  We woke up on the morning of the 18th thinking we were staying at the campground for another 2 days when we would head to Goldminers for a couple of days.  We (Wrangler Dave anyway) got a rude awakening when he found out he was less right than usual... Buck's Clinic started Sunday the 22nd and not the 23rd as Wrangler Dave thought.  This meant we had to move to Goldminers on the 18th so WD could have a couple days of roping and riding.  So we packed up and left.

Once at Goldminers Biker Arda set off to bike.  She had a couple of 15 - 20 miles rides over the next few days while WD was out playing (oops I mean working really hard).  She even got a lady to start riding her bike for exercise... imagine that!

On Saturday PM we headed to Buck's Clinic in Willcox, AZ where we will stay until Thursday when we head out towards Dallas to see some friends before heading north.

WD is also working at adding a bunch of photos for people to look at if they so desire... stay tuned.

Take care until next time.

03/09/2009 - 03/15/2009

Time for another tally entry... remember this is no longer a blog but a cowboy’s tally book.

It has been a fun filled week without doing too much. We left Gold Canyon on Monday (3/9/2009) and headed to Casa Grande. We wound up at the Sunscape RV Park because we joined a RV club ($50) where you get ½ off at member parks. In most cases this means we stay with full hook-ups, internet, etc. for less than $15/night.

We did some biking (Wrangler Dave did less than Biker Arda) around the camp-ground. I did a couple of trips of about 3 – 4 miles… pretty good eh? Of course Biker Arda did a couple of 20+ mile trips (show off! J). We also spent a day doing nothing… well I did my taxes which took all day but they are done. We had another day of “doing nothing” but I fixed a couple of things on the trailer and on the truck while Arda cleaned inside and did windows outside… glad we weren’t busy!

We did take a day (Thursday) to visit Willie and Vickie in Tucson. We wanted to see their new rig… it is a nice one which I am sure they will enjoy the space. Slide-outs make such a difference. They are in a very nice campground (Beaudry’s) but it is fairly expensive – everyone has to splurge once in a while. Arda and Vickie picked some lemons and found a few grapefruits as well.

Saturday (14^th) was departure day. We headed to Safford where there is the Roper State Park, a very nice park with a 32-acre man-made (as most are in Arizona) lake about 30 feet deep. The lake is stocked with catfish and rain-bow trout but I have not seen anyone catch anything of any size. In addition to Red-wing Black Birds, and Finches here is another species found here. I am not sure what they are but I will find out.

If you ever travel in this area and go near Globe, one stop you should make is at the Hog Haven Steaks-BBQ-& More Restaurant. Arda and I stopped here for BBQ on a Sunday but they only serve breakfast on Sunday’s as they are busy cooking for the following week. Their biscuits and gravy are really good… even Biker Arda thinks so. We also stopped here on our way to Safford to sample their BBQ. We both recommend their BBQ Pulled Brisket… it was excellent and for those who like a little more spice in their life, try the spicy sauce.

Last night (Sat) we went to church in Safford. It was different to say the least as they have given up music for Lent and they had the Catechumens in attendance which extended the service. It is interesting to go to the various churches to see how they celebrate Mass.

Today we had to move to a new campsite as they only had 1 available last night for 1 night. That is ok with us because we think we have the best campsite in the park. Looking out back we have the lake and mountains and out front we have more mountains with snow on them. It was weird coming in last night as the storm was coming over the mountains bring snow to the upper elevations and we were sitting in 65+ degree weather.

We are here until Thursday when we head back to Goldminers for some more cowboying… Another view of our campsite from across the lake.

Happy Trails…

3/1/2009 - 3/8/2009

Well sports fans Wrangler Dave is back... or should I say he has an internet connection again. I’ve spent the last week attempting to “hook up” to the park’s web sites but to no avail. This is a beautiful park but their internet service leaves a lot to be desired. It is not just Wrangler Dave who is having a problem all those around us are too. Oh well so much for technology.

Last Sunday (3/1/2009) Biker Arda and I left Goldminers and headed to Green Valley Resort to visit our good friends from Canada, Laurene and Roy Swanson. Well we got to the park and had a surprise waiting for us… the park could only accommodate us for 1 night instead of 3 due to a “booking mix-up”. As our friend Dick O vertgurf said, "We wore out our welcome before we even got there". Personally I think they were able to put a longer term “tenant” in this spot. So the next day we packed up and headed 6 minutes north to the casino. While the camping was free, Biker Arda managed to make a donation for each night… imagine that! We did have a good time as Laurene and Roy plus Willie and Vickie came over on Tuesday for dinner. After a quick walk to the casino, Arda made her famous chicken enchiladas which went over well. So having 6 people for dinner in a RV is doable.

On Wed AM we left Green Valley and headed for Gold Canyon where we are staying at Canyon Vistas RV Resort. We decided to stay here for 5 days as the area is beautiful with lots of things to do.

On Thursday we rode our bikes around the campgrounds while looking at the homes they sell here. Prices start at $55k and go up to around $90k with an annual land-rental of around $4800. In the afternoon we went to a trail-head and walked 2 miles (about 2 hours up and 1 back) up to an area with small waterfalls and pools. It was gorgeous! Well worth the walk.

We also saw houses that start in the $860's so we drove through a more affordable neighborhood, or so we thought until we saw a sign starts in the $400's. Does this seem like a housing crisis?

Friday we decided to drive historic route 88. It is paved up to Tortilla Flats and then turns into 22 miles of wash-board. What a beautiful drive. We did the tourist thing and stopped at all/most of the attractions. The Gold Field Ghost Town was OK but it was very commercialized and most of the buildings were not very old… just made to look that way. There are a few original items that made it a worthwhile stop. Of course the fudge and brownies didn’t hurt either. Wonder why Arda is smiling in this picture... could the sign behind her have anything to do with it?

Saturday we took it easy and went to a huge tent sale (actually 4 buildings about ¼ of a mile long each. We did manage to purchase a couple of things that we really needed… a change purse and new purse for Biker Arda and a sewer connection for the trailer. That evening we went to a church in Apache Junction where they had 9 masses on a weekend… 4 on Saturday and 5 on Sunday. It was so packed when we got there we had to sit in an entrance way and watch on TV.

Sunday was a BIG day for Biker Arda! She finally finished her bike across America. I drove her to the tunnel east of Globe so she could ride the stretch where they were forced to be shuttled last year due to a snow storm. She rode the entire stretch which included a couple of very steep climbs… over 1800 vertical-feet. That chapter is now closed for Biker Arda but I am certain she will find a new one to open soon.

Well that is all for now as we move on tomorrow… not sure where yet but it will be somewhere.

Y’all take care now and we’ll see you soon.
Temp = low 70’s