In Phoenix

Well, I got to Phoenix yesterday afternoon. Happily, Bev Crozier (Hunsaker) lives in Mesa so I have a friend I can sponge off of for a few days if necessary.

I went out to Main Street Billiards in Mesa last night and lost a few bucks. Oh well. The life of a ramblin' gamblin' man, I guess. I'm getting a little tired of playing in tournaments and finishing 4th when they pay the first three. I do it all the time!

I'm just hangin' out at Bev's for today and probably will go back to the pool hall and try another tournament tonight...maybe.

Who knows what I'll be doing after the show at the Queen Valley RV Resort Saturday? Maybe head home, maybe try to get something else going here. At least I don't have to run my furnace!

Driftin' south

Well, i spent the night in Page last night. I checked out all the bars pretty quickly as they were all within walking distance of the mall where I parked the house. I found one place where I could get a few pool games and no place to play music. I made a few bucks on the pool table and then went to bed.

This morning, I left Page and headed south on 89. You go over a pretty steep pass and through a cut that is more like a tunnel. On the south side, there is a scenic viewpoint. At 9:00 in the morning there were several Navajo ladies setting up vendor tables with jewelry and pottery. I'd say this is the best location for that in the area as all the buses stop at the scenic view and many of the passing cars do also. I was about ready to ask it they would like music!

The views here are fantastic. Miles and miles of red sandstone, canyons, sagebrush and sand. The only camera I have with me is a disposable film type so until I get stuff developed and scanned, I won't be able to share it all with you here. I will when I can.

I'm in Tuba City looking around for a while and then on to the Grand Canyon. So far I haven't really spent much more on this trip than I have made (other than the transmission, but I'm repressing that thought) so it has been a fairly inexpensive vacation to this point.

In Elsinore, UT

The Fruitland Gathering was a lot of fun but I definitely didn't sell $2400 worth of CDs! Actually I only sold five CDs there. I had done better at the bar in Nez Perce, ID.

I went to Pocatello Sunday to try and get in a pool tournament but they didn't have enough entrants to do their weekly tourney so we just played a few games. Here these guys were to enter a tournament anyway but they wouldn't play games for cash. I found one guy who was willing to play for.....$1.....a game but didn't get too excited about that.

I guess it's better than losing big like I did in Boise.

I stayed with Wayne Nelson for a few days. While I was there, we went out to visit an old friend of my Dad's. We had quite a good get-together that evening and it was nice to hear stories about Dad and the things he did.

Last night, I headed south. The traffic in SLC was as bad as any I've put up with and I was glad to get south of there and out into the open a little.

I stopped in Nephi, UT last night. There is one bar in town with one pool table therein. They wanted a $3 cover charge because they had Karaoke going on. There were very few people in the bar at all and no one playing pool so I told the lady they would have to pay ME to stay and listen to Karaoke and I wound up going to bed early. Oh well, nothing wrong with a little sleep.

Richfield and Elsinore both look about the same. Maybe no pool 'til I get out of Utah and into the real world.

Off to a Great Start!!

Ok, I left Camdens Tuesday morning (late morning) and headed to Boise. Just south of McCall, ID my pickup quit shifting gears correectly. I wound up driving most of the way to Boise in 2nd gear, watching my RPMs to try and not destroy my engine.

Wednesday, I took it to Bobby's Transmission in Meridian, ID (a suburb of Boise). They found that I had burned out my 3rd gear and we had to replace my transmission. So now, instead of being a few dollars ahead on expenses I'm in the red...$2400.00!

I wonder if I can sell that many CDs in Fruitland?

Still in Nez Perce

Other than the record cold temperatures (can you say: "Global Warming"?) I've had a great time this weekend.

I got to Nez Perce about 6PM Friday and got my camper set up in Charlie Camden's yard. I visited with Charlie and Kathy for a while and then Jeff Camden and I went to O'Brien's bar and played a couple of games of pool. A couple of the locals tried me for $5 a game so I made a little gas money and then even sold a CD so that helped even more.

There were at least 50 people here Saturday at the get-together for Charlie Camden. even though it was kind of chilly for these "southern folks" we still set up an outdoor stage and took turns with music and poetry. Charlie even got up and sang "Diana" while Bill Chiles, Bodie Dominguez, Jim Aasen and I accompanied him on guitars.

Once everyone got frozen out and most left, Bill Chiles and I went down to the bar and jammed for a while. Ok tips and I sold a bunch more CDs so it made for a very good weekend so far.

I went hunting with Jeff and Connie Camden Sunday morning and we saw a bunch of deer. Jeff was never in the right place at the right time so all the deer we saw are still out there! It was 0 degrees Sunday morning here! I'm using all my propane keeping the furnace running so much but at least the camper is nice and warm and my water hasn't frozen.

I think I'll stay here tonight and head for Boise tomorrow. The forcast is for a little bit warmer weather and I can sure use it. Already will have to fill at least one propane tank. Expenses, expenses.

Tell me more about Global Warming!

What a perfect day for me to begin a journey with it's ultimate(?) goal as the deserts of Arizona. It's 16 degrees here this morning with a dusting of snow. I am OOH...Out Of Here!

Headed South

I'll be out of here in the morning, headed to Nez Perce, ID to visit with my friends Charlie and Kathy Camden. I'm looking forward to seeing them again.

From there, I'll head down to Boise and see a cousing whom I haven't seen in 30+ years and on the 16th and 17th I'll be at the Six Rivers Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Fruitland, Idaho.

Anyway, the camper's loaded; food in the pantry and the fridge, clothes in the closet, CDs, guitars and pool cues ready to try and make me some gas money. What else could I need?

Maybe I'll see ya out there somewhere.

On my way south

I haven't posted here in a long time so here I am, trying to get back on track. There actually is a lot to tell everyone for a change.

Montana's summer seems to be over. Snow in the mountains, rain here in town and a little chilly. The cookouts are over at Parade Rest Ranch for the season and Virginia City is back to being a Ghost Town.

I bought a really nice camper last month and finally got everything wired up and working right. It's such a great step up from the old bed/closet kind of camper I've been living in for so long that it's almost like a real house! Even the furnace works. And I'm sure everyone around me will be glad to hear that it has a shower.

Ok. My itinerary for the next couple of weeks is as follows: Townsend Fall Fest this weekend. Then, next week, I will be heading over to Nez Perce, Idaho for a couple of days as I have been promising Kathy and Charlie Camden that I would stop in and visit. Then on to Fruitland, Idaho for the Cowboy Gathering there on the 16th and 17th of October. After that, I will be stopping in American Falls,Idaho to visit with Wayne Nelson for a day or two.

Sometime around the 20th, I will point my nose south and go through Utah to Arizona. My ultimate goal is an RV park just east of Phoenix where I'm scheduled to play on the 31st. Note to all...I REALLY would like to get some gigs between the 20th and the 31st! Anything to help with the gas tank would be very good!

Also, most of you know that I not only play pool but I also sell Nick Varner pool cues and other billiard supplies. If your computer is sick I can fix that. Now, I have a new product that I'm carrying with me (Mike Burns says that I sound like a mini-Walmart). I have been taking a nutritional supplement produced by the Reliv company for a couple of months now. Weight is down, blood sugar is down, headaches are gone...I'm thrilled and then some! So, I got involved as an independant distributor and I've got some of this stuff with me. Check out the info at www.relivingpartners.com . Just click on the Reliv Products button and check it out. Great Stuff!

I guess that's about it for now. Let me think...Talked about my trip plans, mentioned the camper, brought up the Reliv info; BEGGED FOR WORK! It looks like I've covered everything for now. See ya all out there somewhere.