FrankandLou



FrankandLou and Patrick, too
The Cottage on the Range
October 2010

 FrankandLou are long-time friends, who, on their way to their lovely home in Arizona, stopped by the cottage, on the Range, for the evening.  The Senator took them on a tour of the Range and Badlands, while me, the handy girl, was busy bringin' home the bacon.

They stayed for supper, and we did a lot of reminiscing.  They had not seen Patrick since he was just a little toot.  FrankandLou are big Vikings' fans, so Patrick thought that was great. 

Long story short. . .FrankandLou have a home in Gold Canyon, just ten short minutes from our condo fifth-wheel camper.  FrankandLou said, "We won't be in Gold Canyon when you visit, but just go ahead and stay in our beautiful home with mountain views."  Well, they really didn't say it quite that way, but that's o.k.

So we stayed at FrankandLou's for three nights. 

The Minnesota Vikings played the Arizona Cardinals while we were there.

The Vikings beat the Cardinals.



Patrick, waited in FrankandLou's driveway for Brett to show up.
After all, FrankandLou know everybody.
And they love Brett Favre.  Don't they?
Hello? FrankandLou?  Don't you?





Patrick sent off a quick email to Brett.
"Dear Brett, Come to FrankandLou's.
I'll be waiting. Patrick" 





And so he waited in the front. . .





And he waited in the back. . .



And then, this happened. . .



He showed up!  Brett Favre actually showed up on your back porch!



Sure enough, those are your chairs and your cacti.
And that does say Favre #4 on his shirt, doesn't it?



We are really sorry you missed all of the excitement, FrankandLou.  Brett thought your place was lovely.  Since you didn't have any ice packs in your freezer, he had to be on his way.  His "tennis elbow" was just killing him. Also, he said he had to send a few texts. . .

He might be back some day.  Now that he knows where you live.  As a matter of fact, we might be back some day, too, now that we know where you live!

Thank you, FrankandLou for the lovely, mountain view accommodations.  Next time we'll stay in our condo fifth-wheel camper, just down the road, but we'll surely stop by for a visit.  Or even better yet, how 'bout if we meet for a pizza at the "Garage?" 

from the range, peace,

kathleen

the handy girl

I'm Leeeee-vin On A Jet Plane. . .

"Don't know when I'll be back again.
Oh babe, I hate to go-oh-oh-ohohhhhh!"



Oh, wait, that's not a jet plane!
That would be a FLOAT plane. . .

 John Denver's famous "Leavin' On A Jet Plane" was the hit song in our house before we left for Phoenix.  I taught Patrick ALL the words to the song.  You see, I still had it memorized from the mid-seventies, when I was John Denver's #1 fan. 
My all time fave had to be "Country roads, take me ho-o-o-me, to the place, I be-lawwwwng. . . " I do believe Patrick thought I was crazy. 

Back to the jet plane, and leavin...The float plane pictured above was the only plane Patrick had been in, prior to the trip to Phoenix.  When we boarded the plane in Rapid City, Patrick let the pilot know he had only taken off and landed on water.  The pilot gave him a look like, "Let's hope there will be no landing on water on this trip!" 

Here are some classic photos of that first float flight. 

Swan Lake ~ Summer of '09. 

Grandma and Papa and Patrick take flight over the range.

Well, the other range, not our range.

It's their range.  The Iron Range.

The Photos:



The Crew. 
That's the friendly pilot in the background.

Ready for Takeoff

Papa

Gramma 

The Ground Water Crew.  The Senator and Bobby.

And they're off!

In Flight

The Fan Club

A safe return.  The Ground Water Crew awaits.



So, there you have it.  The Float Plane Flight. 

Now, on to the Phoenix flight.



First Jet Flight.  Rapid City to Phoenix.  Ready for Take-off.



He even got a certificate!



And a beverage of choice. . .








Phoenix, we have arrived.
Now off to see the soo-are-ohs!





 - Sing it with me now - one more time, for old time's sake -

"Country roooooads, take me hooooome, to the plaaaaace,

I be-laaaawwwwng. . . "

more to come. . .

from the range, peace,

kathleen

the handy girl

The Valley of the Sun - We Were There



The Superstition Mountains

Those of you living in and around Phoenix, relatives included,

Pah-Leeeeze

don't get all bent out of shape because we didn't visit you.  We were on a mission and only in town for two and a half days.  Most of the trip had to do with Wal-Mart, cans of oil-rubbed-bronze spray paint, and a crazy, but competent, carpet cleaner.

The details will follow . . .

More to come. . .

back on the range, peace,

kathleen

the very handy girl



Halloween Central

This was the happy, little Halloween scene outside the cottage,

just as Trick or Treating began.



The Front Porch



AND THEN THIS HAPPENED!

AND THIS!

AND THIS!

In the middle, is that "Leatherface" from the Chainsaw Massacre?

"Arrrgggghhhhh!  See you later, Mom.  I'll be back with candy."

"Hey, guys!  I'm commin'! Wait up! Jeeesh, what's the rush?"

Then "Go-Go Girl" and her little brother, "Spidey," showed up!

She was wearing little, white go-go boots.

Honestly, she had the cutest outfit of the whole night.

Speakin' of cute. . .

Here is a future college wrestling National Champion!

He's cute. 

He's tough.

He's funny. 

And, well, he's only seven, 

but he can wrestle like nobody's business. 

Here, he had just popped off his hairy mask to flash me a grin.

Right back at ya, Hudsy!

Here's the wrestling champ's "Lily" sister. 

She definitely has the cute factor going on too!

The Senator kept the fire roaring through the evening.



The handy girl passed out the candy.

(Those Longaberger baskets are still being put to good use.)

At the end of the night, Patrick dumped out all of his candy and separated it into two piles: "Can and Can't."  His braces dictate what he can eat and what he can't eat. I'll leave you with the Can's and Can'ts for this year.  I'm Halloweened out!

The Can's
(As I look closely at this picture,
I can see some "can'ts" I'm going to have to cull out of there.)

The Can'ts
(Grandpa, I know you are eyeing those Snickers and that Tootsie Roll!)

Just for the record, the werewolf boy brought home a lot more candy than what is shown in the pictures.  You see, as the night wore on, I ran out of candy, so I just grabbed a few handfuls out of his bag.  He wasn't around to notice. Problem solved.

from the range, peace,

kathleen

the handy girl

Halloween Preview ~ Part II



The Senator



"The Club" is having their annual Halloween Party/Costume Contest tonight. I am staying home.  People in bars with masks scare me.  I like the peace and quiet of my little cottage.  So I drove this crew to "The Club" just a little while ago. 

The Senator is in the middle.  Not telling you the others until tomorrow!

I just got a text from Ma Carlson.  She and Pa Carlson are at the Club tonight.  She said she had no idea who the Senator was until he took off his mask.  Ha!  Good!  The disguise worked!

Now she's texting, trying to get me to reveal the other two. 

She said, "Who's the blond?" 

I said, "Hmmmmm. . . "  

I just love to keep her guessing.

I will leave you for now, with a pix of the texting cowboy priest.

"Hi C.A., wish u wer here"

from the range, peace

kathleen

the handy girl

~Update~

Here is the reveal from last night.

Oh, look, it's the Ambassador, the Rodeo Queen, and the Senator



Halloween ~ A Preview

Booo-haaaaaa-haaa-ha!

You guessed it!  Yep, that is Patrick on the left. I bet you saw that little twinkle in his blue eyes, didn't you?

It's year two for being a werewolf, after seven years being a cowboy.  I love how he likes to keep it the same. Keeps it easy for me.

At school, the kids parade around the Great Hall in their costumes.  Here are some more faces for you to enjoy. . .

O.K. so you just got a glimpse of what is to come.  Halloween is tomorrow and this town does it up right.  We are preparing for our 3rd Annual Halloween gathering.  I cook up stuff, the Senator tends to the bonfire, and Patrick hits the streets with his buddies. 

More to come. . .

You're just gonna love it. . .

 

from the range, peace,

kathleen

the handy girl

It's Finally Here ~ The BBR ~ The Badlands Buffalo Roundup

The Buffalo ~ those little unassuming brown spots in the distance

They are out there.

Buffalo.

Badlands Buffalo.

800 of them. 

The Senator had been hired to find them. The big, brown beasts were hiding in every nook and cranny on the range that encompasses the Badlands National Park.

Did you know that almost three million people visit the Park each year? Many come to see the buffalo, if they can find them. 

You see, the buffalo don't really hang out along the "Loop Road," which is the main road most tourists travel when they visit the Badlands.  On the Loop Road, one can expect to travel on a winding road, and see lots of striped spires and craggy crevices, but not buffalo.  Oh, an occasional deer, antelope, or Bighorn sheep might be spotted, but not buffalo.

No, No, No, the buff like the wide open spaces of the western edge of the Badlands - The Range. And this is where the story begins. . .

The Senator spent three days, on horseback, helping a handful of ranchers gather the scattered buffalo.  A bunch of National Park workers, with walkie-talkies and BWP's (big, white pick-ups) helped also.
An early morning meeting established the days doings.  Then the riders headed off toward the horizon to gather up the beasts. Some days the guys traveled 25 or 30 miles.

And they're off!

There they are.  Can you see them?  On the upper, left side of the pix. 
Now go gett-em boys.  

They would gather some, move them, gather more,  and move them.  At strategic points, on top of the ridges, waited the BWP's.  The pick-ups would then move behind the buffalo and "push" them in the direction of the corrals.  The Senator said this was easier said than done, and he was glad he was horseback.  He wasn't particularly fond of the BWP's.  (Sorry guys and gals.)

The BWP's

 On to the corrals.  They are big. They are about ten feet high.  They are solid.  Let's put it this way, if you were alone and got caught in one, (why this would happen is beyond be, but I'm just sayin. . .) you would never be able to escape the confines of it.  I would liken the experience to something out of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." You know, the kids drop down into "no-where-ville," never to be seen again?  Ahhhhhh!

Seriously.  The walls are ten feet high.  No escaping.  None.

The Catwalk - the safe place to be

John Deere pushes the big wall.

Once the big buggers are in the corrals, they are checked for disease.  I guess they also do some sort of genetic testing, too. Then the buffalo are released, back to roam the range.

The Senator experienced three days of the roundup. I simply heard stories, each evening, around the campfire. Well, not exactly the campfire, more like around the kitchen table with soup bubbling on the stove. The Senator has all the details. I just got the big picture. Speaking of pictures, here are some more of them.



P.S. all of the pictures on today's post were taken by the Senator.
(I'm just sayin'. . . )

If I can get him off the range long enough, I'll have him add a post about his experiences on the BBR.  For now, you got a glimpse of a bi-annual tradition out here on the EDGE, no, I guess, IN the Badlands. 

from the range, peace,

kathleen

the handy girl