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

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.

1/30/2009

More driving and sightseeing. We should reach our destination tomorrow. The temps have been around 50 degrees and just beautiful. We travelled a short distance on the same route Arda took last year on her bike… she even remembered so I guess her memory is not all that bad – HA!

Arda was tired of the Wally-mart pictures so she took a couple more… here is the most exciting one!




Tomorrow Sunsites AZ…

XXX miles.

1/29/2009

Another exciting day… driving, sitting, looking at scenery and staying at Wally-mart. We did finally get out of the cold as we stayed in Amarillo where it was 50 degrees when we got there. I also had the truck and trailer washed as I was carrying more salt and mud than trailer.

403 miles.

1/28/2009

Arda and I woke up bright and early this morning to find about 6” of snow on the ground, the truck, the trailer, etc… Oh ya, the water pipes in the trailer were frozen too… We were thrilled to say the least – HA! In addition the temp was only about 11 degrees. It was a lot of fun (?) cleaning off the trailer slides so we could close them enough to get underway with the hopes that the temps would soon warm up and melt the ice. Well we are sitting in Tulsa and the temps are still below freezing as they were all day. We thought driving just over 500 miles south would solve the cold issue but not to be. Oh well tomorrow is a new day with new chances…

Driving today was terrible. Score card - Weather 27 cars and 7 trucks in the ditch… Drivers zero! What is even more frightening is we saw 13 cars and 3 trucks in the ditch in the first 2 hours during which we drove about 35 – 40 MPH.

Mary H. – Thanks so much for the comfort food as Arda calls it. It was excellent although I have a couple of very minor suggestions. First, because the snacks are so good, I am not getting very many miles to the handful… we’ve eaten them all in 1.5 days. Second, if you ever make some more for us (please, please) could you double up on the M&M’s and chocolate covered peanuts. That way there may be a few left for me after Arda gets her hands on them (I’m in trouble if Arda reads this). In any event, they were excellent.

Tonight we are in a suburb of Tulsa and yes you guessed it – at Wally-mart. At least it is clearer tonight.

We also have a quiz for you sports fans… can you guess what this picture is all about? I’ll give you a little hint – it is Arda’s doing. First one who gets it right will get a BIG surprise from us!



Anyway another good day!

503 miles.

1/27/2009

Well Arda and I started our next adventure today, Tuesday January 27, 2009 at 12:26 PM as we said goodbye to our house on Bridge Town Ln. We picked up the trailer at 9:30 AM, loaded it and took off… 30 minutes later than plan but then we started 30 minutes later so duh!
Driving was good until we got further south in Illinois where we ran into snow and a little hail so we decided to stop at our favorite campground Wally-mart in Mattoon which is about 100 miles north of St. Louis (our original stopping point).

Yes there really is a Wally-mart out there as I took the picture from our trailer door but the snow obscures it a little…


We have the generator and heaters running so we are snug as a bug in a rug with one exception… our water pipes are frozen. Hopefully we will hit some warm weather tomorrow so they can thaw out.

As I write this Arda is busy organizing our trailer… oh joy! Actually she does a great job.
Till the next time.

348 Miles