2018 MULE DAYS (49TH Annual) - Vol 3

SATURDAY, 26 May:

This is parade day in downtown Bishop. We have gone occasionally, but usually we get out of town at least for the morning, by going up into the Eastern Sierras,  or visiting another neighboring attraction. This year we opted to visit the Laws Railroad Museum which is located just East of Bishop. 

We first had breakfast at The Village, which is located North of the Fairgrounds, in a cottage at the corner of See Vee Ln. and  U.S. Rte. 395. We all enjoyed  our choices which were very tasty and large portions.

We spent about two hours roaming the grounds of the Laws Railroad Museum. 

It consists of authentic buildings, relocated here from their original sites throughout the Owens Valley, are filled with objects of antiquity. 

I got a kick out of the display of a lady getting a perm.

A DATE FOR A HAIRDO

There is also quite a display of the rock crushing equipment in the late 1800. I had a good time wandering around and investigating and photographing some of this equipment.

The bottle collection was interesting also. There was a collection of CocaCola bottles which had stamped in the glass the location of where the CocaCola was produced. 

SALOON

A GAS STATION IN THE EARLY 1900s

DECAYING WHEEL

 I found this colorful lizard as well.

Finally it was time to return to the Mule Days activities. 

The wind had been blowing all day, and there were some rain clouds in the area. We ate once again at the Fairgrounds food court. Most of us enjoyed another Indian Taco. We went to the opening of the evening show, but after about 30 minutes it started to rain. Rather than get cold and wet we returned to the tack stall and called it a day. After rounding up all our gear we bid all farewell and safe travels home, we headed back to Big Pine and prepared for our departure on Sunday for home.

SUNDAY, 27 May:

We were off about 0700 for home. The drive down US 395 was smooth and pleasant. The traffic picked up once we merged with I-15, but all went well. We were home a little after 1300.

Once again we enjoyed our trip to Mule Days. The morning hikes in the foothills outside of Big Pine were a nice treat. As always it is wonderful getting together with Tina and Justin, and all of our Mule Days acquaintances.  This trip was made nicer due to the cool weather that we encountered. We are planning to return next year as it will be the 50^th!! (My first was the 25th)

2018 MULE DAYS (49TH Annual) vol. 2

THURSDAY, 24 May:

 We had a pleasant walk West of downtown Big Pine before breakfast. We walked up to where the road crosses the creek.

Big Pine Creek 1

Big Pine Creek 2

Indian Paintbrush

Lupine
Some of the events I enjoy are the driving classes. This morning the wagons and teams needed to maneuver around a course which also involved backing to a loading area, and loading and off loading a barrel. First there were the adult classes and then followed by the junior classes. 

Team Driving

Team Driving 2

As you can imagine, this little guy stole the show though he only placed third, I think. 

Junior Team Driving - Here you can see an obstacle (they have to stay between the poles.)

Junior Team Driving 2

Later DawnMarie competed with one of her donkeys, in the Donkey Driving Class and placed.

 

DawnMarie Driving 1

Mr. Earistable and DM

Another fun event to watch is steer stopping. It is a timed event, and you have to be quite accurate and quick with a lasso. It takes lots of  practice. This series shows a bit of the intracacies and athleticism of both the rider and the mule.  

Went with Tina to visit Barbara Couture, a vendor who usually has some nice Indian jewelry to show and sell.  I purchased a nice bracelet with turquoise stones. A real selling point was also that it was the right size for my small wrist. I was also interested in a pendant but she had none with her this year. 

The temperatures today were quite comfortable. This was due in  part to it being windy all day. Tonight we enjoyed Indian Fry bread Tacos which are made right in front of your eyes at the fairgrounds. I always look forward to this meal, as it is quite the treat, and delicious.

FRIDAY, 25 May:

This morning we supported the local economy by having breakfast at Country Kitchen, located in the center of Big Pine after our morning walk. It was good and enjoyable.

We took in most of the morning events in the Main Arena at Mule days: Donkey Barrel Racing, 

Long Ears and Long Legs

and Mule Barrel Racing:

Then there were the next rounds of the Steer Stopping, 

 and Team Roping.

Another interesting class is the Farm Equipment Class. Old equipment that was driven by mule(s). are displayed, and they then have to demonstrate how they work. It is a great way to learn how things used to be done in farming in the early 1900's and late 1800's.

 And a Junior entry in the Farm Equipment class. Children were often working the farm equipment.

In the afternoon George and I went to the City Park to browse the various booths set up there. Got some garlic from the Gilroy Garlic guys, some of the nice soap I like, and that was about it. I found my desired handbag back at the Fairgrounds. It is tooled leather and large, but not too large.

Justin and Tina cooked up dinner as we sat around and watched in the late afternoon.  We had beef and shrimp fajitas right off their grill. They were delicious. It is obvious that Justin loves to cook, and Tina does a great job as the first class assistant or maybe sous chef. J Again it was a very windy day, but that kept things cool once again and comfortable.

2018 MULE DAYS (49TH Annual)

2018 MULE DAYS (49^THAnnual)

TUESDAY, 22 MAY:

We were off early, 0500, for Bishop Mule Days in order to be a little ahead of the morning commute North. We succeeded. The traffic flowed through Temecula and onto CA 91 where it did slow and bunch up a bit. It was not long though before we passed the I-10 interchange and we could relax a bit. We were in Big Pine by mid-day checking into our motel. 

We made contact with Tina, Justin, DawnMarie, and VidaRose at their Tack Room before DawnMarie was off to show her donkeys in English Jumping and Pleasure Classes. I know it is hard for you to accept that mules do these things, but donkeys can do these events as well, though sometimes they can be cantankerous. I do not have pictures of these events as I was using Tina's camera this afternoon. DawnMarie works and trains her animals very well and it shows in that she gets a number of awards each year.

Traditionally in the evening we head for Amigos  for a delicious Mexican dinner. We usually get their Tuesday special of lobster enchiladas, but Tina suggested we try their Cancun Enchiladas. They were delicious. I think I have had them in the past, and they were as good as before. They were tastier than the lobster enchiladas.

After dinner we headed back to our motel, The Big Pine Motel, while the group went back to the animals to do some riding and   put the animals to bed.

WEDNESDAY, 23 MAY:

The morning was clear and cool. We enjoyed a morning walk East of town into a bit of the foothills. We always enjoy this walk as we can see and appreciate the lingering layer of snow in the Palisades region of the Eastern Sierra. 

Looking up at the Palisades Glacier

This year we came across a turkey vulture in the road that eventually flew up and roosted in a cottonwood tree. 

Turkey Vulture Looking

We also saw a couple of butterflies, and a couple of good sized lizards basking on the rocks. 

Lizard

Once back at the Motel, we enjoyed our breakfast of sweet pretzels, bananas, and coffee, before heading off to Bishop for the day. 

It was another day of English riding and jumping classes as well as dressage. I have no pictures of the dressage classes as I used Tina’s camera so I would not have to deal with sending pictures to her. J

DawnMarie showed donkeys in the English classes including jumping with Mr. Earistable. Then Tina had a round in the English Pleasure class with her mule.

DawnMarie & Mr. Earistable

Donkey - English Jumping

Mr. Earistable with DawnMarie 

Tina and Justin provided dinner of Chili and Corn Cakes. This they had prepared in Ohio, and froze to be consumed at Bishop. It was

delicious.

FAMILY FALL TRIP TO MAINE - 3

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 25^TH.  

Today was a travel day back to Freeport, Maine. We returned to Castine to clean up the headstones on my parents’ graves. We did a fairly good job of making the stones readable once again. This was all done in a light rain which continued through out the day. As we had made a number of stops on the way North, we did not stop for anything in particular on the way South. We did make a rest stop in Camden and actually found the three masted schooner, Victory Chimes, dressed for the winter. This vessel used to stop in Castine weekly during the summers, and we were well acquainted with its’ owner and captain that lived in Castine.

Tina had booked us into the Hilton Garden Inn for the evening. Thus we were within easy walking distance of L. L. Bean’s main store as well as their outlet store. We all did some browsing and buying here. I found a pair of hiking boots which will replace my older leather boots. Afterwards we had dinner at the Jameson Tavern which was very good.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 26^TH.

Today we went to Melrose, Massachusetts, to visit with my brother Jack and his wife Ellie. 

My Brother and I with Portrait of our Grandfather in the Background 

It was wonderful to see them both. We swapped family stories, took pictures, and enjoyed lunch at Turner’s Seafood Grill and Market in down town Melrose. I am very glad that we made the time for this visit as I had not seen them since 2011 when I went East for my late Cousin Priscilla’s 100^th birthday.

We returned to Westbrook for the evening as we had flights out of Portland the next morning. 

It was a great trip and we all enjoyed ourselves. It was wonderful sharing our memories of Castine and Maine with the family.  We are now plotting for the next family adventure to another national Park in 2019. Stay tuned.

Happy Trails and Memories to all.