Traveling with the Tombstones and friends

[Tombstone]

Well, believe it or not it that time of year again. That’s right it’s traveling with the Tombstones along with Appaloosa Honey, Horse Doc, and of course, Outlaw Cactus Red.

We always start the trip with the Tennessee State Shoot, so that is where this story needs to start. The Wartrace Regulators put on one of the best matches each year and each year somehow it just gets better and better. We had three days of shooting fun. They also made it a 12 stage match this year. The weather was just about perfect, well Saturday morning started out a little cool but turned out beautiful. Papa Dave, Whiskey Hayes, Randy St Eagle are just the front and faces but it takes a large and dedicated group to put on a match this big and make it run smoothly. Thanks to the entire Wartrace group, once again you all out did yourselves. The patterns were different and fun. Vendor row was great, Chickamauga Slim did a bang up job getting all the vendors. A special shout out to Slim from Lady T. They also allowed me to teach RO1 in front of JM Brown and I should receive my black pin shortly and then can do some RO classes and both Oak Ridge and Cleveland. (I thought that was going to be the highlight of the match, boy was I ever wrong)

The banquet was again hosted by the Bell Buckle Café. Ironically I had the same thing at the banquet that I had the day before at lunch, from roasted beast to the blackberry cobbler with ice cream.
 
I was also caught completely off guard and by surprised when I was asked to come up to the stage to introduce Last Kiss, Master Jedi Gunfighter along with Widder and  Kurpt Karl. It was a set up from the get go. I was recognized as the Jedi Gunfighter of Year. I was over whelmed and very humbled. I managed not to shed any tears on stage but got chocked up as soon as I got back to my table. To top that off my parents attended the awards banquet and got to see the presentation. I am still in shock and get chocked up just thinking about. It’s really hard to type with blurry vision. I want to thank the above mentioned for all the work that went into the presentation, Last Kiss pulled a page out of her vest and started to read it, heck I couldn’t figure out who she was talking about. A very special thanks to my wonderful wife Lady T, she was in the background working to design the most beautiful buckle I have ever seen. She also contacted some folks to get letters of recommendation and Testimonials for the Jedi Council. I was also knighted by Bill the Avenger and his ever present Light Saber. There are pictures floating around on Facebook if you do that Facebook thing. Rebecca Campbell Arrants is the FB address or page. She also goes by Lady T.

We left out of Wartrace Sunday morning heading west. The first two days are going to be taken up with driving trying to get through the flat lands. First night just past Little Rock, second night Elk City, OK. Hopefully it will not be too exciting so not much to write about but I will try to do a few short post until we get settled somewhere for a few day so we can ride the bikes and take in a few sights.

I sure do love this trip and BorderTown is my home away from home. Nothing like a week in Tombstone dressed cowboy the whole time and getting to see the  many friends we have made out there through the years. Joining us this year is Mongo, Long Gulch, Copperhead Joe, Whiskey Creek Johnson, Iron Maiden, Yazoo City Gal and Hombre Sin Nombre. Whiskey Creek beat me at the State this year so BorderTown will be a grudge match with shots of Whiskey as the final bet.
 

[Ocoee Red]

Congratulations Tombstone, well deserved .

Hope y’all have a great and safe trip.

And it was great seeing your mom and dad last night too!

[Uncle Ethan]

Congrats on Jedi Gunfighter of Year award. Well deserved.
Be safe and good shooting to you and all traveling. 

[Mister Badly]

Congratulations and safe travels.

[Jackalope]

Congratulations, Tombstone.  I'm super happy this happened for you! 

We hope you guys have a great time and a safe trip...keep us posted.

Jackalope

[Keystone]

YEEHAA & Congratulations on the well deserved honor of being named Jedi Gunfighter of the Year !!!

Y'all be safe and have a fabulous journey.

Hasta Luego, Keystone

[Fast Harley]

Congratulations, that's quite an honor.
It was really nice to see your Mom and Dad.
Safe travels.....tell us a story.
Harley.

[Steely I. Justice]

Congratulations on Jedi Gunfighter of the Year!!

You all have safe travels and good shooting at Bordertown.

Steely

[Tombstone]

Thankfully there is not much to report yet, that means the trip has been uneventful which is always nice. The first night we spent in a small town between Little Rock and Fort Smith. We pass a lot of historical places and rivers. I say historical because you hear them talked about in movies like Lonesome Dove and Hell on Wheels.

We drove to the Oklahoma/Texas border and are staying at a little RV park on the state line. You can hear the coyotes howling from two different directions. I figure they are talking trash to each other.

We have mapped out the rest of the trip; we are heading to Albuquerque tomorrow and plan to stay a few days. Hopefully we will be able to ride the Sandia Mountain again only this time maybe it will be a little warmer and no clouds. Two years ago the temperature went from 70 in Albuquerque to about 40 on top of Sandia Mountain at almost 11,000 feet above sea level. Wind was howling and clouds were rolling by.

After a few day rest and riding we plan to go to a little town outside of Phoenix to ride around Apache Junction and south. We plan to roll into Tombstone on Monday. One week from today we will be in the Town Too Tough to Die.

Hope for another uneventful day tomorrow and will write more after we get settled.

Harley we are keep our eyes out for those tall cows from a few years back but so far all we have seen are cows, goats, sheep, horses, a dead bobcat and some unidentifiable spots in the road. Wait, I did see a baby tarantula while I was walking the dogs today but Lady T said absolutely no more pets and double no to anything with 8 legs.

We will be staying at a campground connected to a casino so maybe you will be able to read about us winning the big jackpot while we are out here.

More later

[Hurricanecharly]

Congrats on jedi gun fighter of the year!
( beautiful  buckle!)
Slow jen aand I had a ball on our posse with you all at Tn state!
Safe travels bring me a shirt back!

[Tombstone]

I will try to catch up this morning.

We left out of Texola OK Tuesday morning heading west to Albuquerque NM. That has got to be the hardest city to spell or at least it is for me, thank goodness for spell check. The wind was blowing around 30 mph from the Northwest with higher gust. It made traveling hard and brought my mileage down to around 6.5 mpg. Even with a 55 gallon tank we had to stop for fuel a lot sooner than planned.

We crossed into Texas and the land of the windmills. Did I mention the wind was really blowing? They have to keep the windmill turning at optimal speed so they feather the blades and use breaks to keep them from spinning apart. In the high wind you could see the blades bowing quite a bit.

Didn’t see too much to report on, lots of Sandhill Cranes that were trying to fight the wind, Doc and Honey saw a bear that had been hit between the time we passed the spot and they passed it. They were about an hour behind Lady T and me. They also saw a horrible wreck that involved a class A motorhome and an oversized wide load semi. Apparently the truck had swerved into the motorhome as it blew by them. They were not far behind the trucks; they did not see it happen but passed it shortly after it occurred. There were plenty of vehicles already stopped including the truck. The whole side of the motor home had been pealed back parts and belongings spread all over the road. It really shook Doc and Honey up. It makes you realize how fast something like that can happen.

We rolled into Albuquerque about 3:00 local time and got set up, we plan to stay here a few days and do a little riding. Probably will ride up to Madras where they filmed Wild Hogs, (kind of fitting I think) and ride the Bluebird trail. May make it up the mountain but we have done that so not really pushing for it. Kind of cool here this morning in the high 30’s but should climb quickly as the sun comes up. I will let you know how the ride goes today. I think the ladies are heading into the historic district of Albuquerque for a little browsing in some of the old stores.  Lady T has a good customer down there that is a hat maker she wants to drop in to visit. Over all it should be a good day.

On a side note, when it is 37 degrees is not the time to find out you are out of propane. Thank goodness for the electric fireplace and a small electric heater Lady T keeps around. I will get my tanks filled as soon as the campground gets open.

I also forgot to mention yesterday, Lady T helps drive this monster rig and yesterday the low DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fuel)  light came on and Lady T got a little nervous so I told her to take the next exit and I would put some in the tank. Well the exit had nothing on it and ended up on a really small road. She insisted on driving and getting back on the interstate a few miles later. Of course I had a customer call so I was trying to talk to him and talk her back to the interstate. She did a great job and handed it like a pro. I think she could be a semi driver with a little practice.

More later

[Tombstone]

Yesterday dawned bright and cold. Low was 37 degrees and very dry. We put off riding until it warmed up. I also found out I was out of propane and had to have my tanks filled before I had any heat. Empty tanks require the lines be cleared and other work so I had plenty to do while we waited for it warm up. We headed out of Albuquerque west for about 15 miles to get away from the city and headed down south for a few hours. The straightest roads and flattest land I have ever seen. It was flat for about 5 miles in every direction then than bang, there is a mountain. We had mountains on three sides of us all day. Went to a little town called Mountainer, NM and had a late lunch at a dive restaurant that had a full parking lot even at 1:30. Great food of course, those are always the best places to eat. May not be the healthiest but most of the time they are the best.

From there we headed back North for a few hours and found the Turquoise Trail, I have no idea why I called it the Bluebird Parkway in an earlier post but it is the Turquoise Trail. Went into Madrid for a while, let Cactus see the local area. Crushed him when he found out that Maggie’s Place is not a restaurant and Marissa Tomei(sp) was not there. Had a few adult beverages at the Mine Shaft while we waited for the traffic in Albuquerque to settle down, we made it back to camp right at dark. Got to see the sunset first hand when we had to ride down its throat as it set and we were heading west. Road   about 250 miles and was in the saddle for about 6 hours. Plenty of ridding for one day. We went to the casino for dinner again last night. New Mexico does not allow drinks where the games are or games where the drinks are so I sat down and won $50 and spent nothing. I am ahead, bought a little diesel this morning with my winnings.

We packed up this morning and are heading west into Apache Junction, AZ as I type. We passed a solar farm being put in just outside of Grant NM, we honked and waved in case Unpleasant was there. We are running about 200 miles on the interstate then we hit back roads for about 200 miles. We crossed the Continental Divide at 7200 feet about sea level. Looking forward to getting off of the interstate. Hope we will see some critters other than the ones on the side of the road.

Got some work to do on the RV this afternoon then we will be ridding again tomorrow and the next day. We have three nights in Apache Junction and only a few hours into Tombstone. Looking forward to putting down roots for more than a few days. Still the ridding out here is awesome.

More later after we get settled.

[Tombstone]

It was a long day for all of us. We drove 8 hours to get to Apache Junction but well worth it to see the sunrise over the Superstition Mountains this morning. The trip itself was beautiful once we got off of the interstate. We took secondary roads from Holbrook AZ down the Mesa AZ. We topped out at 8000 feet and then dropped about 6000 feet over the next 3 hours. The drops and climbs put all the vehicles to the test and they all survived. The truck is worth what it cost at this point. They have 6 degree declines and inclines that run for 6 or 7 miles. It is tough going up and down. There are beautiful vistas all along the way. Not much wild life was spotted but at one point I think you could see 7 mountain ranges, each one taller than the one before it. Of course if they weren’t taller we would not have been able to see it. Dang it gorgeous out here. On side note, we woke up to 38 degrees in Albuquerque and drove into 97 degrees in Mesa/Apache Junction. It will not be a warm today thank goodness.

Got set up and did a little repair to camper, we really did not feel like getting out after that long on the road so fixed a little spaghetti for dinner, we ate had a few drinks and bid each a good night, everyone wanted to shower and veg out. I started to set clocks and realized it was all of 7:30 and really too early to go to bed although I really wanted to. Made it all the way to 9:00 before I crashed, pretty sure the others did the same. This time change is hard on an old man I tell you.

We are planning on riding this morning after everyone gets moving, I figure we will take Cactus up the Apache Pass with its cliffs and drops and many turn. I think he will be as impressed as Doc and I were last year. Hopefully we will see some more Big Horns this trip. Last year that was one of my bigger thrills since I had never gotten to see one in the wild, As a matter of fact the only ones I had evert seen were of the mounted kind. Should be a great day for ridding, visiting and making new friends.

Speaking of friends, I have been getting calls and texts from folks in Tombstone asking when we will get there. There is not enough time to do everything I want to do and this year we have had to cut the trip down by at least a week. Already looking forward to Tombstone but will wait until Monday so we can enjoy this part of Arizona too. I tell you all, this place does something to me. It seems so unwelcoming and still is one of the most beautiful places we go. I can imagine trying to settle this area back in the days we re-enact. As they say, everything out here either bites, stings, or sticks.

I will let you know how the ride goes, more later

[Tombstone]

Well, yesterday was a perfect day for riding however the road we wanted to ride, the one Doc and I rode three times last year, the road that took our breath away last year has washed out. That’s right, gone, closed. My guess is it is sitting at the bottom of a 400 foot drop. Let me start at the beginning , We got ready to ride up Apache Trail which is the road that climbs up and over one of the mountains. Last year I described it as a cross between the Dragoon and River Road except for the river there was a 300 – 400 foot drop with not shoulder. We were heading up Apache Trail and we passed a sign that stated the road was closed in 14 miles. We had passed some areas that suggested there had been a flood recently such as sand piled at the shoulders of the road, fresh scrape marks from equipment deep erosions; you know little indicators like that. I really did not think too much about it. We passed another sign stating the road was closed ahead but still figured it would be closed at the top where the pavement stopped. We made it to a very nice overlook that had a vista of Tonto Lake and the cliffs that ring that lake and asked a state employ where the road was actually closed down and he said he thought it was closed at Tortilla Flats. There is a nice restaurant/Bar/Gift Shop there so we headed on up. We got to Tortilla Flats and sure enough there was a gate blocking the road from that point on. There was a truck with two fellows in the truck coming through the gate so I went to talk to them to see how bad it really was. They stated they had not even made it to the top yet, they were working on the road about two miles above the Flats. They did not know how badly it was damaged or if it was even repairable. They were also working on Apache Dam which backs up Apache Lake. We were not going to be able to go that last 9 miles which were the most spectacular views and vistas. With sad hearts we returned to the restaurant/bar to commiserate on what we were going to do. We commiserated for a while and decided we would come back this morning at daybreak to see if we could see some Big Horns or actually any other wild animals and came back down the mountain.
 
We had another early night partly due to all the commiserating and partly due to this dang time change and are heading out this morning at day light. After heading up Apache Trail we plan to come back through and head over to Globe AZ and take a really nice loop that the Butlers Motorcycle Guide gives high marks for. I will let you all know how that one goes as we count down the days until BorderTown and Tombstone. Just a few more days here and then down towards to Border.

More later…

[Tombstone]

My God, I think I tried to kill us today. We rode for 9 hours with maybe two hours off for breakfast, fuel, and sights. I figure we were in the saddle for at least 7 hours.

It all started at about 6:15 this morning. I realize that some of you were already shooting down with Hurricane Charley and the Mountain Marauders but we are living on Left Coast time so the sun was not even up yet. We made it up to an over look that looked out over Canyon Lake before the sun came up. We got to watch the sun rise over the mountains and bluffs that surround the lake. Went on up to Tortilla Flats and came back down the mountain in time to have breakfast at 8:00. We ran back by the campers to shed some layers. Did I mention it was dang cold before sun up? We left the campers and headed for a nice ride I had picked out for the rest of the day. We rode to a small town whose name escapes me right now, fueled up and took some small roads that ran through the mountains. We passed one of the largest Copper mines I have ever seen. We rode for at least 8 miles and we still had not passed the last sign of the mine. As we were traveling through the area we passed a building that caught my attention. No sign out front you could see but I saw OPEN and a neon sign. It took me about a quarter mile for it to register but I pulled up in the middle of the road and asked Cactus and Doc if they were thirsty. Cactus had not seen the sign but Doc had. We turned around and headed back. Now in a past life I ran with a pretty motley bunch and best friend back then told me one time Tombstone (actually that was before I was Tombstone but I want to keep this simple) you will go into anything that looks like a bomb shelter with a beer sign, I told him I also like bars with line in the name, like County Line, State Line, Last Line, End of the Line, etc. Anyway this was a bomb shelter with a beer sign. It was a solid stone building  with no windows maybe 60 x 60 again I say with no window. One door and rock all the way around. Cactus asked if he should be carrying  and I told him that a place like this one would provide us with a gun if we needed one. Anyway we walked in to three families having an early lunch, no at the bar until we got there. There is just no telling what you will find when you are willing to stop and smell the …whatever that smell was.

Rode on for a few more hours and got to Globe AZ, we decided to take a short excursion up a small mountain road that should have ended in about 15 miles. It did not end. An hour each way and we were suddenly into 9 hours. Long day lots of beautiful scenery, and don’t every let me lead the ride. I seem to push the limits too far.
Anyway we have survived and have plenty of stories to tell. One more day here and then on to Tombstone.  I see that Mongo and Gulch have left for Tombstone, we will meet up them there I am guessing on Monday.
 
More later of course.