Apricity West 2

November 26, 2021, Friday

Wickenburg graffiti…

Another Friday night Fish Fry at the Elks, but the special on of the month is steak - it was delicious.

November 27, 2021, Saturday

FINALLY got to see the 2 Man Roping contest in Wickenburg, the Team Roping Capital of the World!! We drive by this place often and look down from a distance upon all of the horse trailers, campers, horses, cattle and cowboys! 

I know that some of my readers will understandably be upset about this event, but today was the day to check it out - up close and personal. We were looking for a place to park Gracie and pulled up next to a trailer and asked the nearest cowboy if it was OK to park there. He said it wasn’t a problem and we started chatting. 

He was atop his 9 year old, 14.2 hand horse, Dawg, and offered us Easterners a chance to climb aboard. 

It was quite the climb - I thought I was going to pull the saddle off as I tried to hoist all of me onto the saddle. I must say it is a wide seat to span as well. It wasn’t pretty, but I made it (with a mighty push from Rich from the rear) - for this photo op. 

We came to find out he was from Colorado with his 2 young sons and the small horse, Cactus.

When they warm up with their horses for the contest, the arena is full of different size, shape, gender, age, abilities, and occupations (I imagine) of riders. It isn’t like driving a car, so the horses were very aware of who and what was happening around them. There are no lanes or speed limits - everyone is trying to practice lassoing, stopping, starting, even backing up their steed amongst a whole bunch of others doing the same.  Oh and the machine that rakes the dirt is doing his own symetrical  pattern - like a zamboni machine does on the skating rinks. And so many of the riders were holding/checking out a cell phone in one hand and the reins in the other. 

 

The fees are $75 per horse, and $175 for 2 rounds of roping. Our cowboy was a “heeler” (back legs) and his partner was a “header” (horns of the steer). It is a timed event in which the announcer declares how long it took for each to rope their end of the steer - header ropes 1st, then the heeler. They release the steer immediately.

We watched one of his rounds and he lost grip of his rope so it counts as nothing. We missed his second attempt, but he seemed happy with it when we said goodbye.

This young boy and his adult partner had the fastest time we saw - he was the “header.” Pretty impressive!

It was a great experience and I know we will return for more while we are here. Next time in full regalia?!

BARNSTAR BREWERY 

The owner, Sandy, taking one of her last loads of glasses over to her house to wash!

Rich felt the need to go over to Skull Valley for the closing day of Barnstar Brewery. He was nostalgic since he had gone there every weekend for 8 years while working at North Ranch. 

Later she was sipping on her champagne when he approached her to congratulate and wish her well. I asked her if it was true about the amazing things they were supposed to have accomplished (won spelling bees at the Kremlin, wore the green jacket at Augusta, rode horses to victory at Churchill Downs, cliff dove in Acapulco, climbed Everest (without oxygen), ran a 2 minute mile and  swam the English Channel) before “making great beer”. She confessed with a smile that it was said with fun and jest - they were just joshing around. They will continue to live at the ranch now and when people say they will stop by to say Hi, she says they can meet her 2 new Dobermans. So I asked if the mini-horses were still there and she said she would never sell her “children,” but she found a perfect home for them - someone who has young children and takes in foster children who have mini-goats to help them learn the value and responsibility of owning animals. Seems like a win-win situation. 

 

We bought a growler for cousin John as he had been to the brewery with Rich many times. 

 

November 28, 2021, Sunday

Today’s big event was our friend Keith Bisel being inducted into the Pickleball Hall of Fame. 

I first heard of this sport in Florida about 3 years ago when they installed courts in Heritage Harbour though it began 50 years ago. It seems like every place I go now, I hear of it. It is a mini version of tennis played with smaller rackets and small wiffle balls. 

About 60 people showed up here for the ceremony from our park as well as from parks in Surprise. Two types of people get inducted - players and contributors. Keith is a contributor although he has played in 2 tournaments and won gold in both of them. His passion as an educator is to teach/coach new players wherever he happens to be. 

He and his wife, Roberta, have traveled across the United States numerous times and he met and reached out to numerous interested people who wanted to learn the game. Keith has recorded every person he taught in a scrapbook and he is up 4,280 students since 1994!  

He received a personalized jacket, two rings (as one was from 2020 - which didn’t happen - so they got another one inscribed with 2021), a framed certificate for recognition of his dedication to this sport.

He was so moved that he choked up on his brief speech and his wife had to read it for him. It was quite the ceremony as many attendees told stories about Keith that stirred your heart. After learning the basics, the main thing to remember about this game was to have FUN! 

 

November 29, 2021, Monday

Did I mention that I ordered a Ukulele? Denny, who sold Rich the guitar, said his wife wanted to start up a group to learn ukulele together. Sounds like a little fun and a lot of challenge, so why not? Well it arrived today and the hardest part so far has been tuning it and keeping it tuned. I have learned 3 chords and can play You Are My Sunshine...

November 30, 2021, Tuesday

I have been trying to clean up/improve Rich’s website (www.RichArtCreations.com) and it is nightmare to do on my laptop with limited wifi, so I did most of it on my phone. However, some things really have to be done on the laptop so I bring it with me when we visit John and Eileen. It is amazing that he has already had visitors from Dublin, Ireland and Zhengzhou, China on top of those on this continent!

Another lunch at the Wolfhound today. 

If you recall, we got together with Rich (artist) and Pat for his 77th birthday when we first arrived in North Ranch. Since then Pat has had some health issues and her daughter wants her to be closer to her, so they moved in to Glendale, outside of Surprise. They are very sad about it because they have such wonderful neighbors/friends and a view of sunrise and sunset. The new place seems to be enclosed on all sides. I see both sides of this, but it was sad to see them pull out...

 

December 1, 2021, Wednesday

Can’t believe it is already December! The new dance shoes are working out well for Line Dancing. Anything to feel lighter on my feet.

 

December 2, 2021, Thursday 

Broke out the water colors today - first time in a while. There isn’t a better backdrop than sitting at the picnic table in the shade of the camper under the bluest of skies to try to create a masterpiece! Ha - nothing worth sharing here though...