St Fancisville, LA

I have been without internet for several days but nothing exciting has happened so nothing was missed.

Since Wrangler Dave is no longer wrangling, he will ride off into the sunset to retire... bye to all who have been reading this.

Arda's web site is still the best place to bet an update.

Day 24 - Navasota, Tx

Arda (do you think she is happy in what she is doing?) left for Cleveland TX early this AM (8:00 AM) while I am staying in Navasota for a couple of days because there is a roping competition and rodeo in the next town (Brenham) on Sat that I am going to go to... gotta get my fix again!

 

John Lindberg and myself took Chuck Lindberg's (no relation) truck and parked it at the post office in Richards for him. That way he could ride with Genie for 20 miles or so and then be on his way.

I also want to share the contents of an e-mail that Arda received from a couple we met in Michigan last fall when we were camping. They do not know us from Adam but we were talking and they made a very nice contribution to Arda's Bike4Cancer effort. They are currently in Florida visiting their cousins who would like to meet Arda and cheer her on... she will be staying overnight in their town. This just blew me away as I know people are supporting Arda's efforts but here she is many miles from home and these people (virtually strangers) are spreading the word of her quest and bring additional support... people are amazing!

Back to Wrangler Dave... I threw a rope yesterday and boy was my arm stiff because I had not done anything like since leaving Benson AZ. It is also difficult to find something to throw at as there aren't many skinny cows standing around... I think there must be one in my future.

The rest of the day was spend getting caught up on my "to do" list and other fun stuff... actually I did not mind having a day with not much to do for a change - it was relaxing. Also the maid must have come by the trailer after Arda left because the bed was made, dishes done, and everything cleaned up... do you suppose Arda could have done this before she left???

Temperature = 88 (muggy and wet)

Day 22 & 23 - Navasota

As usual I am combining 2 days of blogs when Arda is off for one of them. Yesterday (Tuesday) she rode from La Grange to Navasota (about 70 miles) where unfortunately there is not much to do although that may not be too bad as it is her rest day. I had driven into Navasota the night before and am staying at the Municipal RV Park just outside of town. The price is right ($10/night) and it has full hook-up although the internet is sporadic at best… I guess one can’t have everything. At least Arda will have all the facilities of a hotel without the maid service.

We ate with the ladies last night as Linda cooked Mexican food which I had asked for (wasn’t I lucky!). She is a great cook as I have not had a bad meal yet (I will be surprised if I do too) and last night was no exception.

Also joining us for dinner was John Lindberg (Jeanie’s husband) as Wed. is their 25th wedding anniversary.

The ladies on the tour gave John and Jeanie a special tribute by doing the “beaver”… you’ll have to ask Arda for an explanation and maybe she will even give you a demonstration – HA!

Chuck, Genie’s husband from Crockett TX was also here and put us all to shame by putting on a tremendous wine and cheese party for the ladies which as you can see, they made short work of it. I just decided to grin, bear the shame and enjoy myself…

It was also a time to clean and get bikes ready for Thursday’s ride. Here is Beaver Sue enjoying herself while cleaning her bike…

 

On Wed we just took it easy in the morning with a leisurely breakfast, getting caught up on e-mails, blogs, and other paperwork like taxes. Arda cooked once again (yippee)… nachos this time and it wasn’t even Sat. night. After lunch we headed back to the hotel with stops at the post office and where else but Wally Mart where we met 5 other ladies from the tour doing their shopping. Arda did her internet work and we had a drink with several people before heading to Ruthie’s Pit BBQ.  Not only was the BBQ great (pork and beef) Charles Henley the pit boss is a riot. He is a real character who kept it up from the time we walked in to the time we walked out. This is a “don’t miss place” if you want great BBQ, are near Navasota and want to talk about horses (yes he even has some of those but not to eat).

Tomorrow Arda is off to Cleveland TX while I will stick around for a roping contest and rodeo in Brenham TX on the weekend.

Temperature = 87 (humid as storms are all around us).

Day 21 - Bastrop

Last night was pretty good in the Wally Mart parking lot until they started dumping wood chips about 5:00 AM in the area right next to me. The good news is they quit after 3 trucks so I went back to sleep until 7:30 or so. Since I was at Wally Mart without electricity, I decided to go to Starbuck’s for coffee (I could have made my own in the trailer but ok, I was lazy today).

Arda headed to La Grange and I was off to Navasota where she will have another day off. As I was driving to Navasota, I got a phone call from her asking me if I wanted to meet her for lunch in La Grange… she obviously wanted another free lunch from Wrangler Dave! We decided to meet at her hotel and then go from there. Being Monday, not much was open in this town of about 4000 people but we found a small coffee shop (Latte on the Square) where we had a nice lunch. They also have a very nice square...

When we got to the hotel, 2 people on a tandem bike stopped to talk to the ladies. They had read in the paper about Woman’s Tour and were interested in it because they were avid bikers, all be it tandem bikes. They immigrated from Israel about 29 years ago to Huston where they live part-time. The rest of the time they live at their ranch in La Grange where their 3 grown children visit them. The ranch is called Sabra (I think that is how it is spelled) and is very beautiful. The bike is in front of their ranch.

I am staying in the Municipal Camp Grounds in Navasota. It is not as pretty as Kerrville but it is cheap with full hook-ups. As Arda is off the next couple of days, I am not sure when I will post another message but I will be back.

A lot of bull just down the road from where I am staying...

Temperature = 91 (getting a little warm)

Day 20 - Following Arda

Another beautiful day. Each morning as I set my GPS I try to take as many back-roads as possible but sometimes that is a chore as the GPS wants to take interstates and state highways…

Today was a long ride for the group as they had to cover 95 miles from Blanco to Bastrop… funny it only took me about 4 hours to cover the 159 miles they took 2 days to do. Arda and Jan set out on a mission today as Arda and I wanted to visit our friends Sandra and Shawn Bucklin in Austin. They had twins 3 weeks ago named Cash and Carry (oops that should be Cara) and are just beautiful. Grandma Bucklin (Dawn) is also there helping out. Anyway, Arda and Jan covered the 95 miles is 7 hours… amazing. Here they are at mile 89 looking fresh as the road side flowers.

Arda and I went to Austin (about a 65 minute drive) where Shawn and Sandra cooked some great Texas steaks on the BBQ and we sat outside to eat as it was another great spring day in Texas. Arda was a little late getting back as I couldn’t pry her away from the babies… look out Steve and Jenny!

Another great day!

Temperature = 87

Day 18 & 19 - Kerrville TX

Yesterday was really nice as Arda and I spent some time together. We were really lazy and got up late, had a leisurely breakfast and just generally putzed around until after lunch... we even had lunch at the trailer if you can believe it, Arda cooked again... grilled cheese sandwiches.

After lunch it was off to the bike shop where Arda picked up a few items like a new carrier and bike bag as her old bag was too small for all the goodies she carries. She also picked up a small recorder so she won't forget anything ever again... if she remembers to use it that is.

We also had a great Mexican dinner at Mamacitas with Jan, Jeanie, and Phyllis. If you are ever in Kerrville, TX I highly recommend it if you like Mexican Food.

This morning started early as Arda had to be at the hotel (yes she spent the night with Wrangler Dave) around 7:30 AM. We made it in plenty of time but I went for a coffee in the hotel and locked the truck. Needless to say I was not very popular when I showed up several minutes later. It worked out as Arda was ready to leave with time to spare.

As Arda and company were pedaling down the road, she left behind a few chores for me like shopping, a sink full of dirty dishes, an unmade bed (she must think she was in a hotel, and my most favorite chore... cleaning the turlett! Lots of fun eh!

As for general cleaning, I decided to suck it up and buy a dust buster as picking stuff off the sofa and other upholstered areas was tedious with only your hands to do it with.

I repacked the truck as stuff was all over the place because Arda just keeps buying - HA!. The TV and Dish tuner were installed today... yes the TV still works just fine no thanks to being dropped 5'.

Now I am going to have some nachos, send in my taxes and just relax tonight. Tomorrow I have to catch Arda again in Bastrop.

Temperature = 83 (very pleasant as the humidity is low).

Day 17 – Catching Arda!

I spent the night in the Lost Maples State Nature Area after visiting with Arda, Jan and Jeanie and a few others at Fox Fire Cabins. The park was less than a mile from the ladies' lodging. It was another sleepless night as the wind picked up and shook the trailer all night long even with the stabilizer jacks down. It was so bad I was concerned about the ladies having to ride in this the next day but it slowed down some and it came from a direction that actually helped them... at times.

There are 2 routes from the park to Kerrville and guess what? The ladies did not follow the published map (I did not know they were going to do this - do you suppose there is a message here?). I also picked the wrong route... surprise! Surprise!

I did have a nice drive into Kerrville as a lot of the time I was either crossing or going over 1-lane bridges on the Guadalupe River. There was once again a lot of beautiful scenery.

I "found" Arda and many of the other riders in the bike shop of all places! She had a screw missing, I've been telling her that for years, only this time it was from the mirror on her bike (sure what else - duh). She also bought a new carrier which I installed for her.

After a great lunch at "Mamacitas" (bet you can't guess what type of food this was...) we went back to the hotel where she checked in, then we went to the trailer to clean-up and then back to the hotel for a very nice dinner.

Tomorrow we are going to relax and do some of the running around that needs to be done so don't look for my blog until Saturday after Arda leaves town.

Temperature = 78 (high humidity)

Day 16 – Chasing Arda/Arda was caught!

Well, no phone and no internet… oh well I guess all you fans will have to wait for an update but don’t hold your breath waiting!

Well the day started early after spending my first night in a truck stop. No, it wasn’t the trucks as much as the 2 hour time difference I went through yesterday. I was on the road at 7:20 AM, which was all right, as it made it easier to catch Arda… not that I had to try too hard.

I followed the same route as the ladies took on their bikes. It was pretty and well worth the extra 3 hours driving. I took some pictures of the Davis Mountains but they sure don’t do the scenery justice. It was interesting to see the topography change from desert to mountains to plains and then back to mountains (the Texas Bad Lands). The further east I drove, the higher the temperature, and humidity. Spring also went from east to west where the eastern portion is in full bloom and green while the west is just starting.

It was cloudy most of the day and there were times when I was driving in the clouds themselves but the funny part was I never had rain. I had mist (not while in the clouds though) several times but no real rain. You can see the mist in the distance...

I understand what Arda has been talking about with the chip and dip roads… believe it or not my mileage when down by .2 mph while on it, not that it was great to start with.

As for the wind, I stuck my hand out the window and sure-‘nuff, there was a headwind… just kidding, as I am not as dumb as I look – HA! The wind was rather kind today but there were times as you drove through a pass it would swirl and the trailer would shake like crazy. After one episode, I went back, to make sure everything was ok and found the NEW TV on the floor… only a 5’ drop. Let’s hope it still works, as I don’t think warranty covers dropped TV’s.

I caught up to Arda about 4:30 PM at the Fox Fire Cabins in Vanderpool, TX… nice place and I am sure she will tell you all about it. I left and went to the Lost Maples State Park where I am writing this. Tomorrow I’m off to Kerrville to meet Arda where she will have Friday off.

Temperature = 76

Day 16 – Chasing Arda

A good day but very different. I was up and at ‘em at 6:15 AM to eat breakfast, do my homemaker’s duties, get the trailer ready to travel, and most important of all, dump the grey and black water tanks… good for another week or so!

I decided since I had 2 ½ days to catch Arda in Kerrville, I would take the same route she took from Silver City through Emory Pass. Well I am very happy I did for two reasons: 1) it was beautiful… pictures don’t do it justice and 2) Arda was right (can you imagine that) about the height of the pass and the proof is in the picture on the right. Arda put a height of 8828’ on her web site but the map shows a height of 8228’, which I had used on my blog. Well my blog is now changed. Since she gave me the map, does the right cancel the wrong (after all it was her map)?

I wasn’t as lucky as Arda coming down from Emory Pass. I had a headwind all the way down and once I had descended about 3000’ it flattens out and I had to work really, really hard to keep the pedal to the metal to maintain my speed… boy am I tired!

El Paso made me realize why I dislike large cities… I hit the rush hour and it was stop and go with everyone cutting in and out of their lanes… must be mellowing (a euphemism for getting old).

I stopped by one of the many copper mines I saw along the way... there are a lot of old mines in Arizona where they have started to re-cycle the tailings because with new "leeching" processes and the cost of copper, they can get additional copper from the mines. It is amazing how deep the mines go into the ground...

Just past Ft Hancock TX, I saw at least 24 cop cars going east and west (no not all at once) on I10 within a distance of 20 miles. There were state police, local sheriffs, and border patrol so I am not sure if they were having a convention somewhere or just having fun catching speeders. The border patrol had also set up a checkpoint where all the vehicles had to drive through. The guy doing the checking was waving everyone through as fast as he could… go figure - so why bother!

Temperature = AM in Benson, AZ 43 and PM in Van Horn, TX 82.

Day 9 & 10 - On the Loose

I am behind in my blog because not much happened on Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. I basically spent the most of Tuesday just getting things done that I had neglected like washing, got the truck trailer light socket fixed, lube, oil and filter for the truck, getting the trailer hitch fixed and a couple of errands at Wally-Mart.

Wednesday I went to Bob King's to hang out and spent a big part of the day riding and roping with Bob and another cowboy from Colorado by the name of Dan Moyer. Dan is a neat person who is also a rawhide and leather braider which is quite a skill. Dan buys his own cows, skins them out, prepares the hide and then makes a number of cowboy and horse items from the leather.

For example, a reata (leather rope) sells for about $20 per foot (minimum of 60 feet) and takes about 50 man hours to complete.

Here is Dan saddling one of the 3 horses he brought with him. After the Brannaman clinic he will be heading for California to sell a couple of horses.

Temperature = 78

Day 8 - On the Loose

As I didn't have a lot to do today, I got up about 6:30 AM, had breakfast, drank some coffee and did my e-mails. I then headed to Tucson which is about 45 minutes away to return the trailer hitch I bought to fix the over-all tow height of the trailer. I also bought the part to fix the trailer light socket on my truck. At $75 labor to install an $8 part it seems to me that I can do this myself... at least I hope so!

This afternoon I went to Bob King's place to see what was going on. He has sold 2 horses and the people were there to pick them up. They spend the winter in Mexico and then go to Wyoming for the summer where Dick he owns 80 acres and looks after the cattle for a ranch. Dick started roping about a year ago and has worked at it very hard to become very good at it.

Bob's new saddle is awesome. It is so light yet strong enough to be able to use roping. If anyone who is a trail rider wants to use a western saddle that is very well made, then this is for you. If you want additional information, contact Bob King at http://www.ranch-roper.com/.

Tonight's dinner was great... fried chicken and brown rice (prepared by Arda for me) plus Garbanzo Chick Peas and a cookie from a local Mormon deli. Arda is really something as she has prepared meals for me AND undertaken her bike 4 cancer quest... I am a lucky man!

Temperature = 82

Day 6 & 7 - On the Loose

A couple of slow days as Wrangler Dave is having withdrawal symptoms because he has not been on a horse for over a week now.

Yesterday I went to Sierra Vista (the largest town in these parts) to a Best Buy for a new TV. When I removed the old one from the shelf, all I heard was rattle/rattle so I guess it really didn't make the journey back from Silver City. I took a side trip to Tombstone which was very busy with tourists. I came back to the trailer to hook-up the Dish TV but I guess I will have to have the installer come out...

Today I went to Our Lady of Lourdes Church. It is an older church and was pretty busy. It is really strange to drive around and see all the stores (except Safeway and Wal-Mart) closed. Even the restaurants are closed on Sundays, including the DQ. I spent the day cleaning the trailer and just generally taking it easy.

For those of you in the know, you can see from the picture that I am wearing my "ranch t-shirt"...

Temperature = 78

Day 5 - On the Loose

Well Arda and I parted ways again this morning. She was heading east to conquer Emory Pass at 8828 ft. and I headed west to the city of Benson where I will attend a horse clinic next week. We are going to give it another try - when we meet up again in Kerrville TX on April 3rd.

Here are the ladies getting ready to hit the road... do they look ready to conquer the mountain?

I too had an exciting day… 3 new tires plus the new spare we bought last fall are now on the trailer. I used one of the old tires as a spare. The side-walls on the old tires had started to crack from the sun and their age so it was time to replace them.

TV is not working after the trip back to Benson… looks like I may have to buy another one. The one we had is a really old one so not too much of a loss except we didn't want to do it just now.

I have an appointment next Wed AM to get the trailer plug on the truck fixed. I broke the small plastic part that holds the trailer socket in and of course you can't just buy the broken piece, you have to buy the whole unit. The part is $13 and the labor is $80... go figure.

I took the hitch in to be fixed as it did not have a deep enough drop so the trailer did not ride level… it should be ready next Wed. I bought a $100 part that I will now return as Jake at the machine shop came up with an old hitch he will cut down. Thank goodness there are still some people skilled at fixing vs replacing things.

The SKP park in Benson is nice but sterile (meaning lined up in rows with no trees) if you know what I mean.

All in all… a pretty good day.

Temperature = 83

Day 4 - On the Loose

This was the day I met Arda in Silver City, NM for her day off. We stayed at the Royal Wal-Mart (best price and rooms in town!) and we always wind up spending money there.

We did not do too much other than enjoy each other’s company, visit the “old Silver City” center and enjoy a great Mexican Dinner at Jalisco Café… if you are ever in Silver City and enjoy Mexican Food, this is the place.

I think the trip is finally getting to some of the women as you can see in the photo on the left… not sure about them! What will they be like by the time they reach Florida… frightening thought!










Temperature = 77

Day 3 - On the Loose

This is late because I did not have an internet connection and Arda and I had other things to do…

Today was a travel day. I left Goldminers RV Park early in the AM and drove about 2 hours to the ghost town of Steins, NM where I met up with our friend Tom. This ghost town was a mining town built on the railroad line (not sure which came first – the town or the RR?) and was purchased about 5 years ago for $120,000 with the intent of restoring it and then opening it to tourists. Unfortunately the mine produced a lot of mercury so this had to be cleaned up before anything else… this is still in progress so who knows when it will be opened. The picture on the left is one of an original building that is still standing.

Next it was off to meet Arda. I actually met her several times as I passed her and then would wait for her if there was something of interest. As you can see, we both made it to the Continental divide… boy that was a hard climb! We met again in Silver City where everyone sat around in the parking lot telling stories and imbibing in a few refreshments before a delicious dinner that Linda cooked. Once again I learned a couple of things.

First I stand corrected. Mary Kay set me straight about the reference in a previous day about “relieving oneself by the guardrail”. It is actually called “Mary Kay’s Guardrail Tinkle Technique” (no pics folks - HA!). So now all Wrangler Dave readers know the rest of the story.

The second thing I learned was how to sing and dance the “beaver” (NO I was not a party to this shall we say activity). Unfortunately I don’t have any pictures (shame on me) and the women are really happy about that. If you are really interested in learning more, I am sure Sue Elliot will be more than happy to provide all the info you want and more.
That is all I am writing about in today’s log…

Temperature = 77

Day 2 - On the Loose

Today was a very relaxing day as I got ready to travel tomorrow. I am going to Silver City, NM to meet up with Arda... yes again! Arda has Thursday off so I guess we will do some sight seeing with Jan and Jeannie if they want.

Anyone want to dance the Watusi, well pick your partner and have at it but you better sit down before the music stops though.






 

I spent today cleaning the trailer (takes about 5 minutes ) doing laundry, flushing tanks and filling the fresh water tank. That about killed the morning as I did not get up very early and did not move very fast... I prefer to call it moseying around...

After lunch I went to Bob's to watch for a while and take some pictures. Here is Bob's new saddle. This is a further refinement of the saddle I bought. This saddle weighs about ~20 pounds vs mine at ~30 vs a standard saddle at ~50. It is stout enough to withstand the rigors of roping so it should be a very popular saddle. As Bob's new one squeaks I offered to trade him even as all the squeaks are gone from mine but he said he would put up with it... why am I not surprised!

Well I am all "hooked up" and ready to hit the road in the morning. I don't know about completing my blog once I meet up with Arda as I am sure she has plans for us... if she doesn't, I do.

Temperature = 77