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Stampede Tour - On the Road posted by Dakota Livesay

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With the paper, radio shows and travel we’ve had people ask if we have any time to relax. As the picture shows, at least two members of the team are able to relax during the evening. We’re not quite sure where Dakota is. But I’m sure he’s working.

After a couple of days in Midessa, Texas we’re on our way to Abilene.

We’re spending a couple of days…actually four…in north El Paso, Texas at the American RV Park. American RV is a RV and Camper World dealer. In the back of their place they have a big RV park. As you can see, there isn’t much in the way of trees and grass, but, at $25 a night the price is right, and we’re provided with a hot lunch in the cafeteria. Next stop is the Midessa Oilpatch RV Park in Midland, Texas…Interesting name.

We’ve spent the last couple of days in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Sunny has wanted a Spanish style home. I believe we’ve found it. It may need a bit of fixing up, but it’s empty and ready to be moved into.

Incidentally, Bill O’Neal told us about a short story entitled “Stagecoach To Lordsburg” that was purchased by Hollywood and made into a movie simply entitled “Stagecoach.” It was the movie that made John Wayne a star.

We had fun over the weekend at the Tucson Old West Round-Up. Dave and Kristi Wilson, the people putting on the event are very nice people. They did everything they could to make it an enjoyable event.

The picture is of Sunny and Jake manning the table. We’re not sure where Dakota is…probable out goofing around.

Well, today we’re pulling out from Florence, Arizona to go to Tucson…about two hours…for a cowboy-Indian memorabilia show.

Last night we went to a spaghetti dinner at a friend’s condo complex. After dinner Dakota was asked to tell some stories. And the ham that he is, he couldn’t refuse.

Usually for us, except for going to church, weekends are like any other day…a workday. But, over this weekend we took time out to see some movies on DVD. I would like to do movie reviews of them:

The Holiday: A cute little movie that will bring happiness tears to the viewer’s eyes.

Casino Royale: A remake. The first half seemed to be mostly marathon chases…not in cars, but on foot. The message is whether the people are bad, good or government, if they cross you…kill them. No one was brought to justice in the courts, because they were just killed.

The Illusionist: When you watch this one, you shouldn’t do anything else. After the film was over we had to repeat parts to pick up subtle things we missed. A winner.

As the official reviewer for Chronicle of the Old West, expect to see some of these remarks on future DVD jackets.

We’re still in Florence, Arizona, and will be for about another week. The temperature the last few nights has touched the freezing point, and because of recent rains there has been a lot of moisture in the air. When we go on our walk in the morning some of the bushes look as if they have crystals on them.

Dakota got a new toy…an Ipod. What a marvel of science. That something the size of a credit card could contain all those songs is amazing. He’s busy selecting his favorites from our CD collection, and putting them in the Ipod. We’re able to plug it into Monty’s audio system and have some great music.

We continue our stay in Florence, Arizona, an Old Western town between Phoenix and Tucson. The RV park is actually in the desert, surrounded by all kinds of cacti.

The cactus that intrigues me the most is the saguaro. The big ones can be as old as 200 years. The mature saguaro grows some unique arms. I’ve seen books of nothing but pictures of weird saguaros.

You see holes in the saguaro. That’s where the Gila Woodpecker and Gilded Flicker make their nest.

The saguaros have spines, and during the recent heavy winds they would make a weird sound as the wind blew through its spines.

So much for today’s nature talk. Tomorrow we’ll talk about the human specie.

We continue in Florence, Arizona. The Florence area is full of Old West history. It’s in the desert area just south of Phoenix and the area is beginning to be a favorite for snow birds during the winter.

On New Year’s Eve we did something amazing…We saw the New Year in. This is the first time we’ve done this in years. Normally we’re in bed at a little after 9:00 pm. We say we celebrate with New York.

The RV park was having a small party with snacks from 7 to 9. We decided to go to it. When the party broke up, we were invited to join some of the people to play “Catch Phrase”. It was so fun that the next thing we knew it was 11:00. So, we just kept playing until 2008…We’re such party animals.