11-22-2020 – NOT SO CLEAN AND POOPED
This might be the shortest blog piece yet. I am pooped. It seems like being a Snowbird means hitting the Arizona sand running and not stopping until you head back north in the spring. We no longer got here Saturday afternoon before hooking back up bright and early Sunday morning for a clean shooter jackpot in Ben Avery. Sign ups ended at 8:45 and shooting commenced at 9:00. Cindy and I were among the last to sign up making us among the last in the go order. I was number 91...Cindy took the last run at 94. Making this the biggest shoot I've been too. Hurry up and wait took on a whole new meaning. It was a good 2.5 to 3 hours between stages. I opted to use J'Lo as my shooting horse. There was a couple looking for a shooting horse for a client. J'Lo would fit the bill perfectly. Whether they take her or not is another thing. You never really know what catches a persons eye. Even though this was a low stress – low stakes shoot, I think I was more nervous than I've been in a long time. I hadn't shot off J'Lo much the last year due to focusing on Jack.
I don't know when my youngest boy got all grown up. I'm use to traveling and going about life pretty much on my own. I walked around the corner after situating the dogs expecting to start tacking up two horses. There they stood...tacked up shin boots and all. Blake handed me the reins grinning: “Is this what it's like being a shooters bitch?” Why yes it is, boy. Now fetch my guns.
We knocked a barrel down on our first course putting us out of the money. J puts you wherever you point her and I pointed her right at it. I reached out with my toe and stretched far as I could to set it back upright but just couldn't get it done. The pressure was off. The next two runs were all for fun and J'Lo ran awesome.
It was dark by the time we pulled out of Ben Avery. We were all wore out and ready to be home. The hour and 15 minutes back to Aquila felt like 12. We pulled into the Shell station in Wickenburg and Blake drove the rest of the way. I am not a night driver, even before I qualified for the senior division. We tossed the horses some food and water and crawled into bed. Tomorrow will be spent preparing for the another long haul to the Helldarado Shoot in Tombstone. Yep – pretty much hit the sand running and no slowing down until spring...but oh so worth it.
11-23-2020: Free quarters and stiletto's for Blake
It would not be a snowbirding adventure without a trip to the West Plaza Green Laundromat. I'm not sure what the “Green” part represents. What I do know is that I suck at doing laundry in one. I got the washing part down for the most part. Not so much with the drier part. I found an empty dryer that wasn't marked “out of order,” which in itself is not an easy task. The majority of the machines in this place are marked as such. A large sign on the wall states: “Mechanic on Duty.” Apparently this particular mechanic is union. He's always on break, out to lunch or in a team building seminar learning how to properly conduct oneself in a diverse workplace. He sure as shit isn't working on any machines in this joint!
I loaded our clothes in a bottom dryer beneath one already spinning. I entered my dollar in quarters and pushed the button. Nothing. I pushed a few more buttons, removed and reinserted the lint drawer...which was as close to a “reboot” as I could imagine with this thing. Still nothing. I hit the change return. Nothing. I gave it a little kick before going in search of the attendant. Said attendant was likely in the same meeting with the mechanic learning how to handle your feelings when you choose to become offended by anyone and everything.
Who knew it required a college degree to operate a clothes dryer. I purchased another 4 quarters and went back for a second round of “are you smarter than a clothes dryer.” A young gal doing her laundry beside me noted my frustration: “You have to push the arrow pointing to your dryer before you put your quarters in. Like this, see?” Holy shit...the girls a freaking laundromat genius. I had been adding time to the guys dryer above mine. I found the guy and told him he might want to check his clothes before they spontaneously combust.
We were hungry. We went to the Mexican cafe a couple doors down from the laundromat. We both ordered burritos. Mine was supposed to be mild. Blake's was supposed to be spicy. I cut into mine and that's about as far as I got. A sort of grayish green colored substance oozed out. It tasted worse than it looked. By the look on his face, Blake's was as bad. We asked for to-go boxes with the intent of giving them to the dogs and thought better of it. They both ended up in the Safeway trash bin. It was the closest thing to a hazardous waste container as we could find.
Somewhere in between laundry, toxic green ooze and CVS for a bottle of Excedrin, we stopped in at the local goodwill to kill time. One row was dedicated to gaudy, flamboyantly adorned six inch stilettos. “Hey, I know! Let's dress you up as a drag queen for the Helldarado Talent/No Talent show!” I thought it was funny. Blake didn't at the time but I bet with a few beers??
The dryer had just ran out of time when we got back from the toxic waste site. The clothes were only partially dry. The situation required more quarters and more time wasted in laundromat hell. I asked Blake if he had a dollar for quarters. I had a five but didn't want to carry that much change around. With the national change shortage going on, who knows what might befall a person if they are found with pockets full of coin! I'd likely be arrested and my quarters confiscated along with any and all rolls of TP found in my possession.
The nice young gal from earlier, thinking we were short the coin needed, offered to give us all the quarters we needed. She had lots of them out in her truck! Really! She'd go get them..we could have all we needed! It took me a minute to realize her exuberance was directed at Blake . Come to think of it, the little gal at the Coyote Den was way more animated than I've seen since arriving with my youngest offspring. Huh...that boy's becoming more of an asset on this trip each day. I wonder what Pa and Boy will think of him should we meet again?
I took Blake to NRS. He gawked like a kid in a candy store at all those rows and rows of colorful ropes. After a little shopping at Safeway, we stopped at Rancho Rio, a large roping facility. We sat in the bleachers and watched team after team rip down the arena in an attempt to turn a steer. Blake got a little twitchy with roping withdrawals. Blake's never been much of a spectator. He stood all he could before deciding it was time to get back to Aquila and help Dave set up pens.
Tomorrow will be the start of a long week. I'm looking forward to the shoot and visiting Tombstone again. I think it will be more fun than last year as we get to ride our horses from the livery into the town of Tombstone. If that doesn't pan out...there's always Margaritaville...and margarita's make everything better.
