On Thursday we were able to explore the full ramifications of doing without a “Toad.” That is, a small car that you tow behind your motor home so you can go visit the nearby towns and tourist attractions. It is a lot of fun riding a bicycle up into Zion Canyon and along the rim of Grand Canyon where all you have to dodge are the shuttle buses. It is quite a different thing to thread your way along a narrow highway with no shoulder bikeway and a 65 mile per hour speed limit.

Judy and I hopped on Path, the Green Dragon, our tandem bicycle. Unlike Ann McCaffery’s creation in the Dragon Riders of Pern, it took us a little longer than the time it takes to cough three times to pop over to Wickenburg. The first five miles was a little testy as I alluded to in the paragraph above. The second five miles along Highway 93 was a breeze. Wide shoulders, a rumble strip between us and the traffic and a romping downhill shoot right into town.

We first stopped at the Visitor’s Center and found out about things to do when in Wickenburg. Actually Judy did that while I was poking around a 1900 vintage 2-8-0 steam engine taking photographs and trying to identify all of the pipes and valves. Next we went to the museum. The museum was very nicely done. It is quite large considering the size of the community. One section was composed of window boxes they called time capsules of the people and events that shaped the region. The work was done by some first class model makers. The dioramas realistically portrayed ancient cultures around Hassayampa river, the discovery of the Vulture gold mine and the growth of the community around the mine. They have sections of the museum portraying the life of the cowboy, with a huge collection of cowboy gear; spurs, riatas, chaps, saddles, guns, holsters and scabbards. Many of the collections discussed the evolution of the equipment the cowboy used showing the influence of the Mexican Vaqueros, as well as the changing tastes of the men themselves. The styles were different for Texas cowboys and California cowboys. Guess which group were the showiest.

They have a huge collection of “Railroad Art.” These are paintings that the Santa Fe (ATSF) railroad commissioned. They hired a great variety of artists to paint scenes of the territory that the railroad ran through. This art adorned their calendars over the years. Judy and I were startled to find a perfect likeness of one of Gary’s Grandmother’s pastel chalk “paintings” of an Indian brave crouching before a small fire. We knew that Grandma Maudina Dinsmore often used calendars for her inspiration, and this certainly was the origin of the painting we have today in our RV bedroom. One of only two pieces of art we could fit in.

The museum also has full size displays depicting life in the early town of Wickenburg. It has a wonderful collection of antiques. We did have to point out that they missed one detail. The Provincial museum in Victoria BC has a similar livery stable with a horse in it. The Provincial museum is more realistic, however, because they thoughtfully added some petrified horse droppings to their display. I think the museum curator was genuinely appreciative of our thoughtful suggestion.

After a leisurely lunch at the Chaparral Ice Cream and Bakery shop, we found a park table and set up the computer and were able to get e-mail and check our accounts and makes sure our bills were getting paid on time. We then did a bit of shopping, loaded the bicycle trailer and rode back to the ranch. We had a nice ten MPH breeze at our back and the climb out of Wickenburg was gentle but persistent. We have survived one more test of our chosen life-style and enjoyed it.

On Saturday, November 6th, we packed up, ran through our check list and headed west. We got as far as Salome Arizona. A friend had advised us to check out the bluegrass festival this weekend at Salome. We stopped for an hour to check it out. That became two hours and finally an overnight stay. What a kick! No schedules, nowhere we have to be, no “back-to-work deadlines”…. I love it!

:Let me paint you a mental picture. Here is a flat parcel of desert at the edge of a small town that has four streets and three avenues. Perhaps fifty RV’s and tents of every shape and size are camped “Higelty-Pigelty” all over this twenty acre tract of land. Walking through the encampment you hear music floating on the breeze. When you trace the music to its source you find two RV’s parked nose-to-tail just far enough apart that their awnings touch. In the shade are a dozen people playing an assortment of instruments. There are guitars, banjoes, fiddles, accordions, concertinas, harmonicas, auto-harps and the inevitable string bass. This scene is repeated a dozen times over around the encampment. The music? It is most of the same songs I have been playing for four decades; western swing, bluegrass, hoedowns and ballads. I grabbed my guitar and stepped into the fringes of one of the jam sessions and had an absolute blast. I know some of you will find this next hard to believe. I was too shy to take the lead when invited to take a turn, but these are the most easy-going and friendly people you will ever want to meet. Am I hooked? You bet. These bluegrass and old time fiddler meets go on all winter long here in Arizona. Beyond the jam sessions there are more formal staged activities. Here they have a P.A. system and the different groups come and do their three songs and move on. At some of the festivals they have formal fiddling contests and competition between the various ensembles with prizes and all. We are planning to include these in our wanderings the rest of this winter season.

This morning we awoke to rain again here in Arizona. We packed up quick and made our way back onto the pavement before the encampment area had a chance to turn into a lake. We are now in Lake Havasue State Park, right on the Colorado River. We will be staying a full week and visiting with Judy’s Sister, Sonja.

Bye for now, and Judy and I send our love.