It was a race to get up into the cool pines and after a brief stop in Payson to visit with my cousin Ted and his wife, we were enjoying the below 100 degree temperatures. We were soon sitting under the pines having a cool one at the trailer. The girls puffed up our hair and reworked our makeup and took off the the Chuckwagon Steakhouse on Porter Road.
I will definitely be going back to the Chuckwagon for a steak dinner. We had barbecue sandwiches which were very good ("Not as good as the Stagecoach Day bbq"--direct quote from the Big Fig); can't wait to see how they cook a steak. It's all knotty pine inside with the big wagon wheel chandeliers. Very cute and close to town, just across from the turn off to Scott's Reservoir. I brought home a piece of Santa Clara pottery from the auction; but the print and frame I was bidding on got away from me because I'm too cheap. But the poetry was great! Extremely humorous and really enjoyed by everyone there.
Stopped at Circle K on the way home for refreshments and ice and the clerks behind to counter were staring at the sound coming from under the counter. I immediately recognized the voice to be that of Larry the Cable guy. I said "Are you guys watching Larry git-r-done on TV?" Without looking up the one kid answered, "Not a TV, just a tape. Won't let us have a TV here." Couldn't figure out why they had to stare at the tape player to enjoy the sound. This kind of reminded me of Ellsworth's story of the Circle K in Maricopa--did too, did not, did too, you're high.......(For those of you who haven't heard this story from John the Cop, ask him about it next time, he's always happy to share.)
Next morning I had planned on fishing until noon and with Daddy in tow and our fishing gear stowed, we headed to Woodland Lake. Dad hadn't ever been over to Woodland since the city has done the improvements so I was excited to share my good find with him. We gathered our stuff from the car and headed to the lake with a new cup of worms fresh from the Git-R-Done Circle K. I baited up our hooks and got ready to cast a long one out to the ledge I had caught from the weekend before. I even asked Dad to stand back so that I could get a good arm behind it. Before we had left Casa Grande, I had changed out my reel because the one I had been using was sticking. I had all new tackle on the string--it was weighted just right for those long ahh-inspiring casts. So I pulled back and let it go. It let go alright! Parts of my reel went into the water, other parts bounced on the metal dock. I was done fishing for the day. Daddy didn't fare much better. He cast out a rat's nest from his fishing reel. Apparently he'd been keeping it in the toolbox in the back of his truck for the past two years. When I checked it out, the handle was bent and it was full of Maricopa dirt. We gave it up and let those trout waiting for us in the lake have another day of freedom.
After a trip to Wal-Mart, Walgreens, Denny's for breakfast, looked at two trailer models for the lot, and a quick freshen up (whew!), we were ready for the matinee portion of our cowboy poets program. After Dad's big fishing excursion, he elected to nap rather than run with us, so we left him at the trailer to enjoy the quiet and the cool whispers in the pine trees. Marshall Trimball, our Arizona state historian, was the afternoon entertainment. I had read several of his books while completing my Arizona history class at UofP so I was familiar with his name and his works. Surprise, surprise! (You have to say this with a Gomer twang.) He put on a great informative show depicting little known facts of Arizona in poetry and song. He was so good I couldn't wait until the evening performance to hear the rest of the speakers.
The evening performance included Chris Isaacs (no, not the singer), Marshall Trimble, Rolf Flake from Snowflake, Kent Rollins from Oklahoma, Dave Stamey from California, and Yvonne Hollenbeck from South Dakota. By the end of the night, I was crying I was laughing so hard at the material these people were sharing. It was all in good taste--everyday events that they turned into poetry and song. A great evening performance.
Sunday morning Dad decided he needed to have a look at the canopy on the trailer and tweak it just a little so that it would roll and slide a little better. Randy and I had been up the previous weekend and had one hell of a time getting it up and down, but Dad was sure he could fix it with this long nail stake looking thing he had found. Gwyn, being the dutiful daughter, was on one end of the canopy and Dad was on the other end. I stood way back because I knew what I had dealt with before and wanted no part of it. Daddy climbed the ladder and pushed and poked with that long nail. All of a sudden that canopy roll started spinning--it threw old pine tree droppings and old rain water over the top of Gwyn. It finally stop spinning, fell into place and promptly ripped in half. Well, we rolled the pieces back against the trailer and decided at that time that yes indeed, we needed to call in a professional.
We were sorry to have to leave the cool air of Lakeside and head down the mountain back home, but last night, I spoke with Yvonne Hollenbeck after the show and she's going to be in Sierra Vista in November. You can bet I'll be planning a trip down there for the weekend. If I can't drag the hubby along, someone in the family will be in tow.
I'll remember this weekend for a long time. It was a great time with family and Mom and Dad really enjoyed themselves. Gwyn and I tried to stay on our best behavior and I don't think we strayed at all. Oh yeah, I was able to find another print of the picture I missed out on at the auction at the art show the next day. Randy's going to build me a frame and a trip to Micheal's should have it on the wall.
A watercolor by Steve DeVerse entitled "Watching the Slack." I have to add this to my list of good times.....
