Sunday, July 3, 2011.

The first part of the Ennis rodeo was at 8PM tonight. We arrived early to be able to obtain good seats. They were the 5th row up in the center. Before the rodeo started young girls rode their horses around the arena to dry out the dirt. It rained today at around 5PM, so everything was wet. The rodeo lasted 2 1/2 hours and was very enjoyable. The weather was perfect because the rain storm cooled it off from the 88 it was earlier. The sky started turning a bright pink to the east as the sun was setting.
The very first rodeo in Ennis was in the late 1800s shortly after gold was discovered in Virginia City. People came over the high hill from Virginia City to watch horses run. On the 4th of July they would run horses, foot races and had a great dinner at noon. Ennis's Main Street had the first "bucking horses" corralled in Bill Ennis' livery barn.The riders mounted the broncs right in front of the livery stable and ran down the middle of the street with no time limit. The cowboy tried to ride as long as the horse was bucking. A barb wire fence kept the horses away from the people. No admission was charged because a hat was passed around to collect money for the rider. The saloon men donated heavily because they benefited the most from these contests. The biggest contests were on the 4th, but bucking contests were held any Sunday afternoon. The riders were just very good horsemen, not rodeo bronc riders.
In 1912 Larry Dunn built a round corral at the lower end of Main Street to house the bucking contests. Still there was no time limit and the hat was passed around for the contributions.The events included only saddle broncs and bareback horses with mane holding only. There was no calf roping or bulldogging. The riders would jump off the bucking horse onto the fence because the corral was small. The audience in those days was very small, just some boys watching about 20 or 30 men riding. The actual horse race was held up and down Main Street. Of course the McCallister family had the best race horses and won most of those races. In 1921 another corral was built just south of the baseball diamond. So after the ball games were over the people would then go to the corral to watch the fun. The first organized rodeo was put on under the hill here by Charley Manley and Tom Lane because they charged admission and the people sat on the sidehill watching. They had built chutes for saddling and mounting, but no pickup men to catch the horses after. But these horses were wild, not rodeo stock; so they had to rope them. This was an opportunity to show off the cowboy's roping skills.
Today there are special rodeo stock horses and many more events. Tonight we had Bareback Riding, Steer Wrestling, Tie Down Roping, Saddle Bronc, Ladies Barrel Racing, Junior Barrel Racing, Team Roping, the top 6 of Saddle Bronc perform again, Ladies Breakaway Roping, Junior Breakaway Roping and Bull Riding.
The Calf Roping was the most skilled and speed was the essential element. The calf was given a head start and then the roper and his horse lunged forward with a " piggin'string" between his teeth and his rope. He roped the calf, dismounted, ran down the rope, threw the calf down and tied 3 of the calf's legs together in a legal tie as fast as he could. After the calf was tied the roper could not touch the calf and The calf must remain tied and not be able to stand up for 6 seconds.This skill is necessary on most every ranch and is used to brand and ear mark the cattle. A good cowhand can do this to 100 calves in a day and still have time to go into town for a hamburger!
Steer Wrestling is like " trying to tackle a freight train by jumping off a cliff" as one rodeo contestant exaggerated! the horses are very important in this sport because they need to be able to run fast, at least 30 mph and help in outwitting the steer. The Dogger must time everything accurately to be able to wrestle barehanded a 400 to 750 pound steer to the ground. Another horseman called a "Hazer" runs his horse on the far side of the steer to keep the steer running straight. Then the Dogger must jump off his horse onto the steer and grab his horns to twist him to the ground. The steer must be on his side or back and all 4 feet straight. This skill is also necessary on most ranches.
In the Barrel Races the rider is dependent on the strength, speed and agility of the horse. It is a timed event where she must go around three barrels positioned in a cloverleaf pattern without knocking the barrel over. The barrel can be touched without a penalty. The skill here is for a good horse to be able to dig in to keep tight footing on the sharp turns. The horse must be able to bend in low and whisker close in making smooth turns around the barrels. on the home stretch they go as fast as possible to make up for any lost time. The timing starts at the point at which the horse's nose reaches the starting line and ends where the horse's nose reaches over the finish line.
The Ladies Breakaway Roping is similar to the Men's calf roping, but the ladies do not jump off their horses to tie the calf or steer. The rope must pass over the animal's head and then tighten on any part of the animal. Then the rope breaks away from a small string attached to the saddle. Legal catches are a horn catch, a half head catch or a neck catch. The catch is timed from the time the contestant leaves the barrier until the rope breaks free. This skill requires many hours of practice before it reaches championship level. This event's origin is unknown and this skill is not practical for use on a ranch.
The fastest rodeo event of all is Team Roping. The 2 cowboys on their horses must both rope the steer. The first roper, called the Header, must rope the horns of the steer, wrap the rope around his saddle horn and pull the steer so the other cowboy, called the Heeler, can rope the 2 hind feet. Once the feet are secure, the Heeler then wraps the rope around his saddle horn. This is called "take a dally". At this point the steer is stretched tight between both cowboys and the time is then clocked.There is a 10 second penalty for breaking the barrier before the steer and a 5 second penalty if only 1 hind leg is roped. This event seemed to be the most difficult tonight.
Bull Riding is the most dangerous event in the rodeo. The only rule is to stay on the bull for Eight Seconds! The problem is the bull can weigh up to 5000 pounds, can step on the rider, hook him, kick him with a hind foot or even mash him against the fence or maul him. When the cowboy falls off, the clowns try to distract the bull to protect the cowboy. The cowboy must hold on with only one hand with a loose rope with no knots. The event is timed from when the bull starts out of the chute until the cowboy falls off. if the bull falls, the cowboy receives a re-ride.
Bareback Riding must be done with a one-hand rigging and the cowboy's heels must be over the break of the horse's shoulders. The cowboy must not touch the horse with his other hand and must remain on the bucking horse for Eight Seconds. The cowboy with the wildest and most out of control ride will score the best possible score. The cowboy needs to be able to anticipate irregular movements of the bucking horse! The cowboy is timed from the time they enter from the chute until he falls off or the Pickup man pulls him off.
All of the contestants in these events were local or from somewhere within the state of Montana. It was an awesome night!!!!

Monday, June 27, 2011.

We've lost out on the log cabin because the home inspection revealed too many things that really needed to be done. So now we have found a Montana looking outside house with wood siding outside of Livingston on top of a rocky hill overlooking the Yellowstone River. The house has rights along with 10 other houses to a 73 acre island in the Yellowstone River for camping, hunting and fishing. the house needs to be stained, better paint colors inside, replace the pergo flooring in the downstairs bedrooms, replace the carpet downstairs (it has very little padding and is stretched), knock out the kitchen wall and produce a new footprint for it. The kitchen is way too small and has the same cabinets my first house on Crows Nest had. We will eventually have to replace the appliances as they wear out, because they are pretty old. And I'd really like a gas stove!
It'll be harder to decorate it Montana style because it doesn't have the rough hewn circular sawn hardwood floors or the log walls. The walls are sheet rock. Maybe I can paint the bedroom walls cappuchino and the downstairs hall a sage green. We need to replace the family room carpet; it looks like indoor outdoor carpet and isn't nicely padded.
Outside are many shrubs and rose bushes that probably need to be trimmed. They have planted yellow and blue iris and have several bird feeders. Some have residents. Where the foundation meets the ground is covered with flagstone. It has a 2 car garage also and is close enough to the house that the outside area could be enclosed into a breezeway or mud room. We could buy a greenhouse to put on the only flat part of the lot. The lot overlooks a farm with horses.
The owner of the Ennis RV Park suggested we buy caragana for a hedge and pots tells as a flowering shrub. The pine trees up here are dying from a pine beetle, so it's better to plant blue spruce or fir trees.
We ate at the McCallister's Inn again, but the same bartender that we had last time was off. we ran into him in the Walmart in Bozeman on Sunday afternoon. He has 5 children, 4 girls and 1 boy. The boy is right in the middle. They live around Ennis Lake and now is not the time to fish there. The lake is too full of melted snow run off.

Saturday, June 25, 2011.

Tonight we ate at the Sportsman Lounge, which is an upscale restaurant, casino bar and motel. Unique combination. Daddy ordered steak and a baked potato and I ordered salmon, garlic mashed potatoes and broccoli. Dessert was an Italian custard without eggs. It was like velvet! Can't wait to eat here again.
The rodeos here have some local bands and then a headliner also. At Three Rivers tonight the rodeo had Mark Wills, Mark Chestnut, Little Texas and Lonestar.

Friday, June 24, 2011.

We had the home inspection yesterday and were really surprised that the inspector found so many things wrong with the log cabin. So many that we cannot offer what we were originally going to offer for it. it needs about $20,000 worth of things, such as chinking in the logs, fixing the warped trim, staining of the logs, filling in the log cracks and sealing around the windows. Such a disappointment because I really loved the house! daddy is t Iredell of driving up to Bozeman, about 4 times this week alone; but that will change once we are in a house, because then we have the room to stock up on supplies and food.
Tonight we went to McCallister's Inn in the next town north of Ennis to eat dinner. They had a young guy who sang songs. I only recognized 1; a James TAylor song. Their food is really delicious! the place is a little hole in the wall. it is rustic with tables, rough wood floors, barn board walls, plywood ceiling and deer antler lamps. There were stuffed animals on the walls: deer, elk, bison, deer, etc.

Monday, June 20, 2011.

We arrived back in Bozeman, Montana, very late at night and took a taxi cab to the Sunrise RV Park. Sunday morning I called to pick Greta up a day early. Boy will she be glad to see us! She will get our undivided attention. But on Wednesday she will get spayed. That won't be her favorite day.
On Sunday afternoon we left Bozeman to go to Ennis to stay since we will have the home inspection on the log cabin on Thursday. We might as well stay down there to be close to the log cabin. That means we have to rise very early on Wednesday because Greta needs to be at the vet's at 7:30AM. It's an hour drive to Bozeman from here.
The Ennis RV park is extremely nice. It is very clean, level slots, pull-in slots and an awesome laundry with 5 he washers and 8 dryers. And boy do we have the dirty clothes, 2 weeks worth from before the trip to Alaska and from the cruise!
Ennis is a really neat old town. It has 2 gas stations, several restaurants, several antique stores, 1 pharmacy, 2 hardware stores, a new medical center with ambulance, a fairly new fire station, 1 sheriff to patrol the whole town, and several pizza places. there'd are only 3 real estate companies and 1 grocery store. But everybody goes into Bozeman about every 2 weeks to stock up on things. There is even 1 really nice quilt shop and a yarn store.

Friday, June 17, 2011.

Today is the last day on the ship. We disembark at Whittier, Alaska which is a town that is mostly hidden from the air by its fog and clouds. The US Army used this town during World War II to hide weapons from the Japanese. they never realized we were moving weapons and supplies into Alaska through this town. Remember how close Alaska is to Russia and Japan; close than it is to the mainland of the US. We leave Whittier on a bus to go to Anchorage to fly back to Bozeman, Montana and see about buying the log cabin in Ennis, Montana. we need to arrange for a company to come in and de-smoke the house and also find a home inspector to check all of the major units of the house.

Thursday, June 16, 2011.

Today is a sea day as we travel to Glacier Bay above Seward, Alaska. here the glaciers calve or break off of the main glacier and fall into the sea or bay. The noise is extremely loud when the glacier cracks and then you know soon you will see the ice falling. It is absolutely awesome!!!! We bought a picture to mat and frame of this very same glacier calving in a store in Juneau. It should be shipped to our house. With our cameras we cannot take a picture like this. First, we are not close enough to the glacier and second our cameras are not as fast as to catch the best shots. This one picture tells it all.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011.

Today we arrived in Skagway, Alaska where the gold rush produced a town. the man in control was Soapy Smith who was very crooked, but most of the gold diggers didn't realize it until it was too late. He pretended to be their very best friend and would offer them money to go back home after he had robbed them.
We have stayed here last summer for almost a week and thoroughly enjoyed the town.Today we decided to just walk the town and I hit the jewelry stores for the Alaskan charms that the ship provides to the stores to prompt a visit from it's passengers. I have all of the charms except for 2. Maybe I can order them online. I'll have to try when we return home late thus summer.
The sun is shining for the first time on this cruise, but it is still cool outside. I have picked up a cold from someone on the ship with a cough that wakes me up at night. Been buying mucinex to take each night, but it hasn't helped. Went to the ship's doctor and $160.00 later have a prescription for 350mg aspirin to gargle with and arithromiacin, 2 tablets every 12 hours. hope it works because I don't want to give it to Julie. John and Julie offered me her spires inhaler which seems to work somewhat. Therefore, the cold has brought my asthma on. Thrills!!!!

Tuesday, June 14,2011.

Early this morning we pulled into Juneau, Alaska and it is raining. We do not have a land tour planned because we have already been here last summer. then we saw the Mendenhall Glacier and toured the city. it is the capital of Alaska and you can only visit it by boat or plane. there are no roads I to Juneau because it is at the base of an extremely steep mountain range that separates us from Canada. That mountain range is not inhabited.
We decided to take a walk into town and visit some shops. Then we went into a local saloon that was family owned. Daddy ordered a beer and I had a hot chocolate.

Monday, June 13, 2011.

Yesterday was a sea day and very relaxing. We found the spa, exercise rooms, game room, pottery area, inside and outside pools and jacuzzis. We played pinochle with John and Julie.
Today we sailed into Ketchikan, Alaska which was the first city in Alaska. It is larger than Skagway and interesting. today it is 57 and drizzling. John and Julie took a land tour that included a fishing trip to catch salmon, octopus, crab and herring. they were cold, but said it was really interesting. We went to a logging camp demonstration that was interesting. The loggers were divided into 2 teams and the audience were divided into 2 teams to support them. The loggers shimmied up a big tree to cut it down and once down they stood on the logs in the river. And of course, the loggers displayed their muscles with many ohs and ahs from the audience.
Our only disappointment was we weren't in port long enough to do anything; just 3 hours. You need longer than that to really feel the flavor of the town.

Saturday, June 11, 2011.

Friday we took Greta to the Animal House Kennel outside of Bozeman, Montana to stay while we go on our cruise to the Inside Passage to Alaska with John and Julie Campbell.They have lots of dogs and Greta was excited. She will get spayed when we return on the following Wednesday. We left Bozeman Airport very early Saturday morning before the sun even rose to fly to Salt Lake City and then to Vancouver. In Vancouver we board the Princess ship the Diamond.
We have a room with a balcony. A bit smaller than the mini suite we had on our cruise to the Holy Land. John and Julie have a suite with their own butler, all the fresh fruit, h'ordeurves, sodas, beer and anything inside their mini refrigerator. They also receive free laundry service. that is a great plus! I'm going to wait until we return to the RV for our laundry. It is rather cool outside which is fine for us because we can then wear our jeans.
Vancouver has a population of 80,000 and is the third largest city behind Toronto and Montreal. The gas is 1.37/ liter. From Vancouver to Alaska is the largest run of granite in the world. The Frasier River is very important for salmon and herring and logging. All of the casinos in Canada are government owned. Vancouver is 45 miles from the US border. Their McDonalds and Denny's have a maple leaf logo in their signs to signify it is Canadian. Vancouver was founded in 1886, had it's first electric street cars in 1909. There are no electric buses and no freeways in Vancouver. The main street is separated by a grass median in which is planted every tree and shrub that grow in the aa. it is sort of a national garden but in the street instead of in a plot.