Last weekend, Alan and I and our friend Lynn traveled up to South Fork, 90 minutes away, and spent much of the day enjoying the 2nd Annual South Fork Alder Ass Races. What fun! The donkeys, burros, asses, mules were having a blast; the people, dogs and kids were having a blast; Everyone was having a great time except for Zane Gray who was quite nervous……what WERE these strange critters? Did he need to herd them, attack them, or lick them to death? What’s a good Australian Cattle Dog to do? He did calm down eventually and enjoy himself.
The video below is of the start of the race. About a third of the entrants ran a beginner’s 3-mile run, and the burros didn’t have to carry anything. The ones with packs on went the whole 11 miles up and over a steep mountain. It took the fastest about 90 minutes. They carried a miner’s pack with pick, shovel and pan. There’s a whole circuit of these races, with the trifecta happening in Fairplay, Leadville, and Buena Vista. These bigger races include 30 mile courses, going above 10,000′. Quite a feat.
We had no idea Ass Races were a thing. I hope to see more.
In the video, I comment that “they got a poop!”. I’m referring to one of the fundraisers the organizers do. There’s a 100-square taped grid on the ground at the start, called “the dumping ground” and people buy tickets. If poop lands on a square, that person wins 1/2 the pot ($500 this day). A whole crew of volunteers then clean up the poop.
In other news, we found our juicer a few weeks a go and have been living on daily juice ever since. We mix it with my homemade black cherry kombucha. Yum. I’d forgotten how much I enjoy it for breakfast.
Now that the plumbing is done ðĪŠ and we are enjoying hot showers ð and hot running water ð°, Alan is continuing to work on electrical stuff. He’s wiring up his workshop and is about to start building its front wall. I’ve been slowly making headway with the stucco. All of the wall repairs are done and I am beginning the new sunroom wall. I enjoy the process: it is very mindful work. I make it in small batches which are easy to mix. I hope to get 2 coats done before we head out on vacation. It depends on the heat, as that wall sits in hot sun most of the day.
Yesterday, I went around the property and replaced a dozen No Trespassing/Hunting signs. This canyon is well-known for good hunting, so we have to be vigilant. We sold our Elk tag to an outfitter with the agreed contract that they will not hunt on our property. It is Bow season now. Rifle season runs from Oct. 1-Dec.31 with no breaks. I used Gorilla Glue to stick the signs to the boards we have screwed or wired to fence posts and trees. Unfortunately, there was some kind of strange reaction between the heat, the glue, the plastic signs, and my skin, and it ended up staining my hands a strange yellow-black. NOTHING takes it off. I have to keep my hands heavily moisturized and wear gloves for a few days and supposedly it will wear off.
I’ve been taking the dogs for walks down canyon to visit their favorite swimming hole. Even with the severe drought conditions, the creek is running well and this little pond is still 6′ deep. Zane jumps in from the edge, which is 5′ above the water (hard to tell in this picture), but Clair makes her way down and only dips her toes.
The new 1550 gallon cistern is done, with the downspout and filter system in place, and Buddha watching over it. All we need is rain. I still plan to insulate the tank, but the tarps I ordered are lost in the mail.
Finally, Pippin is happily sitting in our driveway, enticing us with lovely reflections to our next adventure! We leave for Sunset Crater, the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas (Cirque de Soleil “Love” show), and other points west in 2 weeks. We’ll be gone 2-3 weeks, seeking fall colors!
4Fords Journal 