Our updates for all of you

Last performance of the event on Sunday the 27th was the 8-up draft hitches. Really the showiest of the draft shows are these long teams. For shows like these many teams are truthfully accidents waiting to happen! With so many horses in relatively small spaces and not always, but some owners keeping their horses "hot" (on a grain and sugar buzz) for a more spectacular effect. At this show the teams were brought in individually worked, then all brought back together for the final judging. When we worked with Larry in 2000, they ran them all together at those locations. Above shows the effort involved in getting something this long and connected primarily by leather straps turned, in this case from the left to the right for the right turn. Kinda looks like an "S" doesn't it? They all got together and made the turn though. The guy on the left in the photo is the driver with all those reins in his hands. Guy on the right is there to help when the team stops. He ...

After the Barrel Racing, but while the course was still set up. Another race was run, this was supposed to be a $2,000.00 wager between the two participants of what was faster, a two mule team or a four horse team. Above are the mules as they were running hard! Below, the 4 horse. There was no way four would be faster! Too much to move!! Below is a 4 horse Clydesdale team "docking", or backing in a small pathway and knocking off a board on the last two cones without running over any of the others or knocking off a tennis ball set on the front four cones. This maneuver is often done in today's big rig deliveries. It is pretty difficult with four or more horses! You have to be able to have the team stop and move sideways as well as forward and back to be able straighten or turn the wagon. These guys made it though even if they look all crossed up in this photo!

Last Saturday/Sunday, Stacy and I went to the Draft and Mule show in Sandpoint for the second year. We both really enjoy it and I like all the memories it brings back of our summer of 2000 as me, Stacy and Laura were the 'crew' for our late farrier and his wife that had a team of 6 Percheron draft horses. We traveled with them in our 5th wheel trailer to the 4 big shows he did that year. They always slept in the barn with their horses, we slept in our trailer in a whole lot more comfort! I only took photos on Sundays performance because it was so windy on Saturdays with blowing dust and dirt everywhere. It was still better than last years rain though! So what's with the top photo? Early on in the 12:30 PM performance this wagon had a team of Mules and was going through the course for points in the "Gamblers Choice" obstacle course. When the team was coming to a set of cones and the driver was slowing them down, the mules had slowed abruptly and the driver went f...

Three photos taken on the Wyoming, Idaho, Montana trip. Above are some of the actual Falls of Twin Falls Idaho. Stacy and I had passed through the area on many trips. Even stayed in the town in 1993, but we'd never seen the Falls. We came across them by accident driving around in the town from the convention center while looking for the Wal-Mart. I'm glad we did! Below was taken at where else? Yellowstone National Park. I took many photos on the day we spent driving around the park. I liked this one for the steam rising. We saw more Buffalo than anything else as far as wildlife went. I really liked being there in the late summer almost fall for the lack of bugs! Over the years we've been there on various trips from late spring to mid summer and had to always deal with being eaten alive by all the bugs. This was a great time to go and I'm actually looking forward to the next time we go there. Below is a nice photo (I think it is anyway!) I took on the "Going to th...

The final photo taken on our trip was at our own County Fairgrounds that also has a free RV dump. While we have an RV dump at home too, it's nice to just drive up, dump and go home. So the trip was over and a few days after I gathered up all the trip statistics I logged as we went along during the trip. Started 8:25 AM on Wednesday September 9th, 2009 Ended at 12:35 PM on Sunday September 20th, 2009 1,879 miles from start to end. Most miles in a day, 398 miles on day 1 least was about a mile each round trip day during the Juvenile Justice Conference Usual travel day was around 200 miles Least expensive Diesel fuel, $2.61.9 in Jackson, Wyoming (who would have thought!) Most expensive, $2.87.9 in West Yellowstone, Montana (expected it to be expensive there) Maximum speed of the entire trip 69 MPH. Even with 75 max posted in Montana Stacy and I really love the 28 foot Wilderness Travel Trailer. While not as much storage room as our 10 year old 30 foot 5th wheel, it is perfect for us t...

Stacy checking to see if Yellowstone Lake is cold or warm from all the underground volcanic activity that the caldera is famous for. It was cool by the way. Below, leaving the Grizzly RV park and heading home Saturday the 19th. Above is the valley as viewed as you head out of the town of Ennis, Montana. Below Stacy made lunch for us at a stop along the way.

Above. On the road, truck stops are often the best place to stop. Our truck being a diesel often means fueling where the Big Trucks do! Here in Montana. Cheapest Fuel was $2.61.9 per gallon in Jackson Wyoming. Most expensive was West Yellowstone at $2.87.9 per gallon. Pretty well averaged about $2.75 a gallon in most places. Above is our site at the "Grizzly RV Park" in West Yellowstone Montana. A very nice, very large facility. An RV 'resort' that was for mostly RV's but also had camping cabins and tent sites available. For the area, $55.00 a night was 'cheap'. We'd stay there again if in the area. We spent a full day exploring Yellowstone on our way back from Idaho Falls and meandering home. In 8 different trips we'd never spent much time there at all. It was a lot of fun. Above we saw more Buffalo than anything else. Just a week later and most of the people were gone so it wasn't very bad at all. Below was a classic Yellowstone traffic s...

Above and below are photos of the "Chapel of Transfiguration" in the Tetons National Park. The day before the wedding of relatives Stephanie and soon to be husband, Christopher. The price of being married in this little 1925 chapel? Starts at $500.00 for one hour. The minister and the admission into the National Park are both extra! Above. I thought that a photo of 'duck butts' as they were feeding would be interesting! Below is Sandy taking a photo of me taking a photo of her! Everyone should have one of these!

Above, me and Stacy and Sandy got up waaaaaaay early to be able to drive out and get the Tetons in the sunrise. Above is a later photo, we were out well before sunup. It was breezy and COLD then, but later in the day it was in the 80's and HOT. Above, after the sun was up we drove to the Tetons Park. Sandy taking a photo of the Tetons from this stop. Above at Jenny Lake in the Tetons, Stacy points out her then soaked right foot after slipping and stepping into the cold water at the lake. Below is a photo of reflections at Jenny Lake.

Another view of our campsite at the Lewis and Clark Caves in Montana. Our trailer is a 28 foot long Fleetwood While we were walking about in the area before packing up to leave, a group of 5 of these powered parachutes came by, one at a time, following the river. All but one were single seaters, one was a two seater. I wouldn't mind flying a Ultralight aircraft, not too sure about one of these though. It was fun to see anyway! We stopped at Old Faithful on the way down to Jackson, you can't go through Yellowstone without stopping!!! We couldn't believe how crowded it was. Looked like mid summer, not almost fall! There was a lot of information about the park "going green" and we saw this Toyota Prius all decked out with logos. We had just missed the geyser going off so we had lunch at a bench near the trailer and then headed on to Jackson, only to get delayed in very heavy construction on the 191 highway between Yellowstone and the Tetons. Several miles of all t...

Top photo- 8:20 AM Wednesday Sept. 9th, 2009 Getting ready to head out on our adventure. Leaving on our trip to a wedding, a conference for work, and our first real vacation since 2006. Rest stop along the I-90 in Montana as we're heading towards Jackson, Wyoming First night out was at the Lewis and Clark Caves State park in Montana. Above was the early morning view out the picture window at the back of the trailer. Below was a little later that same morning and shows more of the campground. No hook ups, but large sites and almost vacant, it was a really nice place to stay.

Since May 1st is Mayday, would today be 'September Day?' Last Thursday I picked up the repaired Solstice, $368.00 for repairing "Andy's" scratches and where he actually bit the front wheel well metal. I was pretty happy about the cost, I don't think in California it would have been anywhere near that inexpensive for what was done. Hopefully the neighbors will still chip in for half of it. It's money neither of us should have had to spend! Car looks good though, I'm happy. Next week we'll be venturing out and traveling over the Jackson Wyoming area for niece Stephanie's wedding on the 12th in "the little (' expensive ') chapel in the Tetons." I know I've mentioned this trip in a couple of posts, and now it's almost time. This is her second marriage and she's feeling that he's her soul mate, and the guy she should have married the first time. They've known each other for many years. Stacy and I hope the bes...