February 21st - 27th

Well buckaroos, here is the Wrangler again.  For some reason this year it is getting more and more difficult to write in my Tally Book... must be all the good times we are having with Cowboy Tom and Steve & Penny Dail.  Of course the Olympics being on TV every night hasn't helped either.

Let's start with last Saturday... the day Arda started to celebrate her birthday and yes it lasted until last night, one week later.  Saturday we all went to Sierra Vista so Arda could pick out her birthday gift from Tom.  He bought her a Wii game called sport resort and guess what?  Vicki, Penny & Arda spent all Sunday afternoon playing the different games... was our trailer ever rocking!

Sunday night we went to dinner at the local Mexican Restaurant (L' Esperanza) where 11 of us helped her celebrate.  We ate an excellent dinner and then went back to our trailer where Penny had a cake for Arda.  Of course Penny wanted to celebrate all week.

Here are some birthday pictures... Arda's & Arda's Parties

Monday dawned at last with Arda and Penny in trepidation as they were starting a week of Cowboy School with Bob King.  I don't think either of them  were all that thrilled but once they started, they has a blast... even with their sore tail bones!  Bob is a great teacher and very, very patience but of course he had to be with these two!  By the end of the week Arda was looking very relaxed in the saddle (now if we could only put it on a horse! Just kidding) so that she was trotting and loping around the arena.

Thursday the ladies were so committed to riding (or was it because Bob told them they had too) that they rode for a couple of hours in the morning before we headed to the Tucson Rodeo which is in its 85th year.  We met Arda and Gerry any Willie and Vicki at the rodeo grounds and enjoyed a very good afternoon with the temps in the low 70's with a slight breeze.  The rodeo was also good.  After the rodeo, we went back to look at Arda and Gerry's new motor home (very nice!) and then we went to dinner where yes, once again it was a celebration only this time there were two Arda's celebrating - double trouble.  They both enjoyed the strawberry shortcake and the restaurant crew sang happy birthday to them.  It was a fun time.

Here are some photos from the Tucson Rodeo... Tucson Rodeo

The Wrangler didn't ride until Friday as it was girls' week, besides I had to wrangle my taxes which took a couple of long days.  I did go one day and watch... it was amazing to see the progress both ladies made.

Every night we got together to eat/share dinner and watch part of the Olympics.  Penny also provided dinner for all on 2 different nights... she can cook for me anytime.

Saturday we went to the Tucson Studios where many of the western movies were made.  There are over 300 movies that were made on this site.  We wandered from one set to another which was very entertaining.  Of course it wouldn't do to walk past the ice-cream store without stopping in... ice-cream is a magnet to Arda and Steve!

More pictures from the Tucson Studios where over 300 movies were made... Tucson Studios

On the way home we stopped at the local Mexican Restaurant again... they really do have good food.

Well that is it for this week.  I hate to do this to you but I will be adding more pictures later as I have over 600 pictures to sort through so I can put the best out here so check back later in the week.

Until next time, keep your loops open.

February 13th - 20th

We had a busy week with Wrangler Dave attending Cowboy School along with Cowboy Tom and Steve Dail (Tom's friend from Colorado).  We worked a lot on getting our balance while riding which in several instances turned out to be a good thing.  One thing Bob did was change how I sit in a saddle so I am so  much more relaxed & comfortable.

Arda, Vicki, and Penny had a chauffer by the name of Willie who drove them to Bisbee where they met up with Arda (1) and Gerry.  They spent the day wandering the streets, drinking coffee and eating.  Fortunately they didn't find a lot to buy as it is a very artsy town so we saved a lot of money  :-).

The weather has been great so every evening we had cocktails outside the trailer.  Once the sun went down, we headed inside as the desert cools off very quickly.

Steve and Penny have not had TV since they were here so they have brought their dinner over so they could see the Olympics.

Last Sunday we played tourist and went to Bisbee (saw the big hole in the ground) and then to Tombstone where Cowboy Tom treated us to a stage coach ride around town.

Yesterday (Saturday 20th) Arda started to celebrate her birthday with dinner in Sierra Vista at the Texas Longhorn.  The video shows her sitting on a saddle while the restaurant yelled "yipee".  Be sure to have the sound turned up when you watch this.

Arda has at least 2 more birthday dinners... tonight at a Mexican Restaurant and  Thursday when we go to the rodeo.

Well that's it for this week.  Keep your loops open until next time.

February 8th - 12th

Sorry for not getting this done sooner but there wasn't much happening last week.  The Wrangler wound up in bed for 3 days with a cold and then just lazed around trying to recover for this week at Cowboy School.

In the meantime Arda visited with Vickie and Willie van Hoof, Penny and Steve Dail (friends of Cowboy Tom) and of course, Cowboy Tom.  She did a lot of walking and a little bit of bike riding but she is having a good time.

That is all for now... more next week with pictures and until then, keep your loops open.

January 31st - February 7

Another week gone by and the weather is improving each day… as in getting warmer and dryer.  Arda’s cousin Arda 1 and her other cousin Willie along with his wife Vickie were here all week to there was lots of things to do, besides visiting and talking that is!

Gerry, Arda 1’s better half was in Phoenix and Las Vegas at an equipment show as he owns a gravel, and road construction company in Petawawa.  He is not sure if he bought anything or not but Arda and he did buy a new motor home while they were in Phoenix… it is huge and beautiful!

In the meantime, Wrangler Dave has been learning how little he really knew about horsemanship.  Bob has focused on this for the past 2 weeks and I have stiffness where I didn’t think there were muscles… do you think that is the problem?  On Friday started practicing our roping on Bob’s calves as preparation for Saturday we branded them.  It was a gorgeous day, blue sky, light wind, and about 72 degrees so what more could one ask for. 

Today is “Super Bowl Sunday” and we are having about 12 people coming over to the trailer to watch the game.  It should be fun as everyone is contributing something to the food.  Even if the game is a bust, the food will be great!

If you are interested, there are some pictures to see if you want to follow this link…  Family + Branding

That’s all for now.  Keep your loops open until next time. 

January 24th - 30th

Another week gone by with lots happening and nothing happening.  I had a couple of days where I could ride and rope a little.  The ol’ bod sure needs some flexing exercises.  I have some muscles that I didn’t even know existed.

Bob’s focus is on horsemanship so I am learning a lot about how to balance on a horse and know where each foot of the horse is at all times.  If I live to be a hundred, I may get it or not!  There is so much happening at one time it is hard to concentrate on any one of them.

On Monday, Arda’s cousins, Willie & Vickie and Gerry & Arda from Petawawa arrived at Goldminers… what a fiasco that was as there was no “room at the inn” or so we were told.  After lots of haranguing, etc. there were 2 spots available – one with no sewer but with electricity & water and one with sewer and water but no electricity.  We ran an electrical cord from Willie’s rig to our so at least he has electricity.  Unfortunately this may be our last year here as the owner is not putting any money into the park and it is going downhill fast.

Arda has also been biking on my new bike as hers has a flat and she played a little on the leather sewing machine… there is hope for the Armitas yet!  Arda also went with Bob’s wife and a couple of other ladies to sew quilts for Haiti.

Today it is beautiful with lots of sunshine and clear skies so we will kick around the trailer and do some of the small chores that come up.

I hope to have pictures nest time but take care and keep your loops open until next time.   

January 19th - 23nd

Finally got to Bob and Betty’s yesterday and they are doing well.  I also was back in the saddle again yesterday and it felt great but I know I will pay for it tomorrow.  This year the focus is on horsemanship.  Getting the feel of the horse so you know where his feet are and what they are doing.  By placing their feet in the correct position and asking the horse to do something at the right time is the objective as this helps the horse perform.  Bob is not only a tremendous student of horsemanship, he is also an extremely patient and good teacher.

The weather was a little strange last night… for here anyway.  We had winds of 35 mph with gusts up to 50 mph along with about 1” of rain.  They are forecasting higher winds and a lot more rain over the next 3 days so we will see.  The old trailer was a rockin’ and a rollin’ last night but I can’t say it was a motion that puts one to sleep.

Wednesday was another beautiful day… mid-fifties with a light wind, just perfect for riding.  It never ceases to amaze me how much I don’t know.  Working on horsemanship really does bring a whole new dimension into “cowboying” for me.  Ray Hunt, Tom Dorrance, Buck Brannaman, and others have talked about getting a “feel for the horse” for years but Bob King is bringing a whole new meaning of this to me.  Being able to sense/feel what the horse is doing and where my energies are going (right or wrong for the horse) really is helping me focus.  What is amazing is that also carries over to everyday life.  Being aware and sensitive to others and what they are doing, what message through your energies you are transmitting, and how your respond to the actions of others.  COOL!  Weather forecast includes 60 mph winds so we will see… might have to batten down the hatches.

Thursday dawned cloudy and windy (60 mph gusts).  Fortunately the area we are in did not receive the drowning rains (up to 8.5” in some place) or the snow (Flagstaff has receive 68”, yes you read that right, 68” of snow in the past 5 days and 41” inches predicted over the weekend).  We did have the winds though which were not fun.  I did manage to rope for a couple of hours in the AM and do a little, and I mean very little, ground work in the PM and then I called it a day.  That evening the winds picked up even more and the trailer was rockin’ so much that along with the news casts about potential tornados (west of Tuscan), Arda slept in her evacuation clothes.  What a sight but I am not going to divulge what they are so you will have to ask her.  J

Friday morning found us with the wind gone but we had rain, which is a welcome site for this area at this time of the year.  We are under a “winter blizzard warning” as they are forecasting 1 – 3” of snow tonight.  I must have made a wrong turn somewhere on the interstate and would up back in Michigan with all this kind of weather.  Due to the lousy weather, we went to Benson to do some shopping.  I guess that is better than having to do it on a sunny day when I could be horsing around.  We had a busy afternoon… Arda exercised on the Wii (shook the trailer almost as bad as the wind) and I took a nap to conserve energy for Arda J

Saturday morning and the sun is shining although it is a little cool.  We are not going to do much but we will set up Arda’s sewing machine in the back of Cowboy Tom’s trailer… no more excuses for the Armitas – at least I hope not.

Well that is it for this week… keep your loops open until next time.

January 5th - 18th

It has been a long time since I wrote anything in my Tally Book so it has been really hard to get started but finally here I am. This adventure must start out with Sydney… as a new granddaughter, I just can’t resist. Ain't she cute!  Here are a couple of pictures of Sydney's Baptism...

On to our travels, the first 2 days/nights were spent travelling south trying to get out of the cold weather. We ran into snow and freezing rain going around the south end of Lake Michigan. We ran out of it just south of Chicago but it was still cold – around 9 o which was not good. Stayed 2 nights at our favorite campground – Wally Mart in Benton Il and New Boston TX respectively.

We arrived in Texas at our good friends the Hunters (1/7/2010) and it was still only around 9 o but we were toasty warm in our home on wheels. After spending a night and part of the next day with the Hunters (we had a great time and really enjoyed meeting Kathleen and Leslie) it was time to head to Arlington (still cold).

Arlington (1-8 – 1/14/2010) wasn’t much warmer, at least for several days when it did start to get up above freezing and into the 50’s during the day. We arrived on Friday and on Saturday Linda & Dale Niedbalski (they used to be neighbors of ours with Linda hanging over the fence watching Arda and I in the pool… she said she just wanted to make sure we were safe but…) picked us up at the campground. We went to Pat and Buck’s place for a reunion of sorts with a number of friends whom we hadn’t seen in over 22 years. The McCormicks, Bachs, Weeklys, and Reeds were all there. What a neat time we had reminiscing and re-living the “good ole days”. Of course, the food was also great! We (Arda and I) are extremely grateful to Pat and Buck for hosting this.

On Sunday, Marguerite came over from Mesquite to have dinner with us. She is such a neat person! We had a lot of laughs especially when Arda and Marguerite were playing on the Wii game… it would have made a good movie for America’s Funniest Home Movies.

On Monday, I took my truck into a GM Dealer to have an oil change and have them look at why the “low coolant light” was coming on. Well 4 hours later I had the oil changed and they found that the transmission coolant hoses were leaking. They didn’t have these in stock so they ordered them and when they came in, it took another day and half to install them. Guess which dealer I won’t go back to! In the meantime, Arda went biking (yes the weather had started to warm up by then) and that evening we took Lynda and Fred Weekly out to dinner that night for Chicken Fried Steak… we owed Fred a dinner for his birthday. It was the best CFS I have ever had!

Tuesday we had a wonderful dinner with Jeanice and Don King. Jeanice lived with us for a while when we were in Arlington so it was great to see her again and catch up. In addition to being a beautiful young woman, she is also a great cook! Arda and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  Un fortunately we (Arda that is) didn't take any pictures...

Wednesday Bachs came to dinner. We had purchased their home on Wembley Rd where spent 4 years of our lives. I didn’t realize there was so much to catch up on even after we had just seen them the previous Saturday but there was. We enjoyed a great meal that Arda put together… she is really adapting to our mobile lifestyle by cooking up a storm.

Thursday was a double whammy day - as in good. The Astons came for lunch and Mary brought fresh baked oatmeal cookies for us… needless to say they didn’t last long. Al and I both worked at S/C and came down to Vecta in TX at the same time. He left Vecta and went on his own for a number of years so it was good to catch up. Mary recently retired from UTA (college) and they stay in TX part of the year and in Canada the rest of the year.  The second whammy came when we went to dinner for BBQ with the Niedbalskis and Weekly.  Below are the Niedbalskis...

Friday was moving day. We headed south to Crockett TX. Yes, it got its name from Davey Crockett who travelled through that area on the way to the Alamo in San Antonio. We visited with Chuck and Genie Lindberg. Arda and Genie rode across the US together when Arda did her Bike for Cancer trip. They are an extremely nice couple who live on a lake in a very beautiful home… a slice of paradise. They are also great hosts so we will have to plan to spend more time with them the next time we travel their way.

Saturday we headed to Sun Sites AZ. We had originally planned to take 2 days but we decided we didn’t want to push it so we took 3 days in total to reach Sun Sites. In addition, Arda wanted to backtrack on the bike route she took so it took a little longer. We stayed in Kerrville at Wally-Mart, TX and then at a truck stop (another first for Arda) in Van Horn TX. Monday we arrived in Sun Sites where we will be for a couple of months.

That is all for now. The next update will be in a week or so but right now I am heading off to Bob King’s to do some riding.

Keep your loops open.