Day 5 - February 5. Today we started the day by driving (just the truck) out to Judy's yard where Sue is staying (these are the horsewomen we so admire). I wanted to talk about our tentative schedule and it turns out there is a barrel race near-by every day of the week (yes - every day)! Judy put us right to work and we each rode one of her horses through the "wash" and desert for conditioning. The yard is very nice and you drive through beautiful alfalfa fields and larger dairies to get there. The girls said, "it was the best day of their lives". We came back and the girls rode the mares. There is a larger barrel race here this weekend (Classic Equine) and the big rigs keep pulling in! That also means shopping and vendors - a teenager's delight.

Fun fact number 1 - I've been using Shipt (Target grocery delivery) for over 2 years. Turns out it even works here in Buckeye. I used the app and my groceries were delivered to my trailer today. This was my "best day" - LOL!

Fun fact number 2 - Doing laundry at a laundromat is EXPENSIVE! It took 74 quarters (yes, 74!) to wash and dry two larger loads of laundry. Plus, I somehow still ended up with one lone sock! We no longer have a priority of being clean and just might buy more socks and underwear since they are the limiting wardrobe item. However, I maximized my time at the laundromat by reviewing my graduate students' Equine Science Society meeting abstracts that are due February 12.  

Funny story - I thought I packed the horse trailer well. We were making dinner and Matalyn needed to add 1.5 cups of water to make this particular meal. We all looked at each other and started to laugh - we have no measuring cups! But, we had red solo cups so we Googled "how many ounces in a red solo cup" and the answer was 16. So, we got close, and measuring cups are now on our Shipt list. 

 

   

Day 6 - February 6. Saturday morning was filled with errands while the girls rode horse. I went to "Bales Hay Farm" and purchased my first few bales of Arizona alfalfa. Even though Chad was able to pack 40 bales in the trailer, I knew I'd have to buy a few bales here in Arizona. The bales are "east coast bales" with 3-strings and weigh close to 100 lbs. I was prepared for the cost - $12.50 a bale. It was a busy operation with several hay options, a feed store, and a mid-sized feedlot. We then watched a few Minnesotans run in the barrel race and the girls shopped. 

Later in the afternoon, we decided to go check out Victory Stairs, after a friend's recommendation. It's a hike that starts out with 300+ stairs (railroad ties) and then loops through some smaller mountains/larger hills. The view from the top is great! The girls really enjoyed it after not being too enthusiastic when I suggested it. I think we will go back and hike the full loop when we have more daylight. We finished the evening off with a fire with the 7 other Minnesotans who are staying here or who are here for the barrel race. They are a really fun group!  

Funny story number 1 - When I was getting the hay, the teenager who helped me gave me several "grade" options for alfalfa. I asked if the "grade" was based on crude protein or relative feed value. He just stared at me blankly and responded "appearance".  

Funny story number 2 - We were chatting with the other Minnesotans who are here and one of them kept saying that Montana looked familiar. I said we probably have mutual friends on social media. Her husband then said, "maybe you know my cousin in Becker, they have horses - the Gallus's". We all started laughing. Ellie Gallus is part of Montana's "Girl Gang". We certainly know the Gallus's and it sure is a small world.