Brandy Trekkers: COWBOY POETRY YEEHAW

Hey there Campers;

I know it has been awhile since you have heard from the Brandy’s. We have taken several little trips and a huge trip to Kenya last year. It was a great trip but internet service was little to none existent. So, blogging was not going to happen.

Well, we got invited by our great friends, Bob & Nita Scurria, to go to Elko, NV for the Western Folklife Center hosting the 34th National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. We checked into the Double Dice RV Park and proceeded to the Convention Center to check out the sessions. Bob drove us around town to see the sites. We found a place for Lo to take his cowboy boots to get stretched.

Bob & Nita took us to the Pine Lodge Restaurant for a great dinner. It kind of reminded us eating at a restaurant in Alaska. Surrounded by dead animal heads. The booth we sat at had a photo scene of stuffed birds. Even though it was a steak house of course I had my regular “grill cheese sandwich”. It never fails me.

Today, we started by going to Valley Boot & Shoe Repair to see if Lo could get his cowboy boots stretched and tips put on. When I asked the owner the cost, he looked at us and said “well $10.00.” I could not believe it. It cost more than $12.00 just to have tips put on high heels in Cally.

We went to the first session that discussed cowboys Shepherding Stories from Basque West. I found this interesting because my boss at Mt. Zion Hospital was of Basque decent. She had told me many stories of her family life in the Basque area of Spain.

We continued to the next session called Breaking Up Winter. This included a Cowboy Celtic Band from Alberta, Canada. The harpist really made that harp sing out. It was not the typical harp sound. It was LIVE. There were two hilarious poetry reading by Yvonne Hollenbeck and Rodney Nelson. They both gave a version of cowboy laundry from the wife’s view and the husbands view. We could not stop laughing. The next band was Wylie & the Wild West Band. The music was fun and clap able. The leader also did some Chuck Berry moves. The current cowboy joke is “North Dakota is where Canadians go to Winter.”

We learn a new saying “Buck up & Hack it”. Yep I think that will work when people just need to deal with life.

We decided to have lunch downtown at McAdoos. This was an awesome place. We got a chance to meet a lady who had on an amazing pair of jeans. Now you know I had to find out where she got them. She got them in San Luis Obispo several years ago. Shucks!!! Oh well. My granddaughter, who plans to be a designer, will just have to make me a pair. Go Lani Girl. As we were finishing our lunch the lady with the amazing pair of jeans and her husband stop at our table to say good bye and show us her dog that has its own tailor. Yep!!! The dog has her own “tailor” who makes her outfits. Talk about a dog’s life!!! Woof Woof.

We went back to the convention center. Nita has us looking for the colorful boots located around the city.

We went to the next session for more cowboy Favorite Classics. There were several poetry reading by Ryan Bell, Joel Nelson, Randy Rieman, and Jack Sammon. The most impressive is these “reading” are not reading. These people get up and quote these poems verbatim. The poems were from Buck Ramsey, A.B. Paterson (Man from Snowy River), Dorothea Mackellar, etc.

After taking a break (you know I had to get my power nap in back at the Hilton 4 (our awesome RV) we came back for the Bizkala, Boise and Beyond show. It was singing and dancing of the Basque Culture. It was good to see how this culture lived. There was a country and western singer Adrian Buckaroogirl who should be on American Idol. She really could sing.