Buckeye Arizona Adventure

Day 13 - February 13. It was a pretty "easy" Saturday. We went to Bales Hay Supply and bought 5 more bales of alfalfa. These bales should last us the rest of our trip (along with the grass hay we brought from home). Montana drove the truck and was all smiles! When we got back, the girls rode the mares, I made some crockpot chicken and bacon for lunch and dinner, and then we took a little break. In the afternoon, we went to Tractor Supply to fill up the propane tank (we have two). One tank lasts about one week. Our water heater, stove, and heater run off of propane. It's been pretty windy lately, and a little cooler than the past few days.   We then went to Hole in the Rock in Phoenix to meet our friends the Maiers who are here for a soccer tournament. It was a neat rock formation with a few short trails and was next to the Zoo and Botanical Gardens. When they were little, Peyton, Montana, Matalyn, and Addy were the "Zebra Spur Grils" and ran 4-in-a-line together...

  Day 11 - February 11. Today we went to a barrel race at Wayne and Liz's in Tonopah (near where Sue stays). This is a big outdoor arena with a standard pattern, but it has a side gate (vs. center gate). With the wide-open spaces, the mares were a "little wild" in their barrel pattern (nothing to "help" them turn). Montana and Gin were in the 3D (19.8) and Matalyn was one out of the money with Breezy (20.8) in the 4D; Pippa (21.2) was also in the 4D. The weekday barrel races are really relaxed and low-key with about 40-50 entries. The ground was nice at this arena, it was a little deeper and worked up well. There were 10 Minnesota horses running in the race (or about 20% of the entries)!  We came back to Buckeye and I got ready to give a Zoom presentation for Arizona Extension. It was so relaxing to sit outside in my polo shirt and talk about hay, especially since I could relate better to Arizona forages. The girls took a nap and then took the mares for a walk a...

Day 9 - February 9. Today we ran in a barrel race at our "home arena" at the Buckeye Equestrian Center. It was a nice and easy day with the barrel race starting at 2 pm (time onlys started at noon). Matalyn rode Breezy in the time onlys (exhibitions). Pippa had a great run and was 20.4 on a standard pattern; she was in the 4D. Montana and Gin also had a great run with an 18.4 and were in the bottom of the 2D. The splits here are 0.5 seconds between the 1, 2, and 3D and a full second to the 4D. Uncle Bruce and Aunt Gai came to watch and enjoyed the race. Uncle Bruce and I agreed Grandpa Lorenzen would have enjoyed seeing the girls run.  Observation - our gray tank only lasts 48 hours, then it must be drained (we have sewer hookup, so it's not a big deal). We can tell it's "time" when the shower backs up! We are trying hard to conserve water, but taking three showers a day, plus dishes and washing hands really adds up. Other than that, the truck and trailer a...

Day 7 - February 7: Montana and I ventured up to Sun City to see my Uncle Bruce and Aunt Gai. They have an RV and a newly purchased park model they are renovating. Their RV grounds has room for just under 1,000 RVs/park models and tons of activities. We had a great lunch and then drove about 5 minutes to see Gai's mom and dad, Larry and Mona  Kochendorfer. Mona gave me piano lessons for several years during elementary and junior high and Larry was a beloved coach in Colfax. They had an orange and grapefruit tree and Uncle Bruce showed Montana the ropes in picking them. The trees have thorns, so long-sleeves and a picker is required. We then stopped at Walmart and got more groceries, items we were missing (e.g. a knife, measuring cups, etc.), and socks and underwear to stretch out the time between laundromat stops.   Matalyn stayed back and watched the barrel race and got to meet one of her barrel racing idols, Amberley Snyder. The movie "Walk, Ride, Rodeo" is based on her...

 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 ...

February 3 - Day 3.   We left Stanley, NM early (7:00 am) so we could get to Buckeye Equestrian Center  in the daylight. We fueled up in Casa Blanca, NM, and we were running on fumes by the time we reached Flagstaff. We were very close to running out of fuel  (note: fill up again - it's pretty desolate between Casa Blanca and Flagstaff) ! The drive from Flagstaff to Buckeye had an elevation change of 6,000 feet and a 40-degree temperature swing. Beautiful snow the higher elevations that resembled parts of MN and WI, and then, desert with cactus. The Ram has an exhaust (engine) brake and it was pretty much on during the downhill descent from Flagstaff to Phoenix. Our last leg was about 8 hours and 500 miles; we spent $161 on diesel. Breezy and Gin actually drank a little, but Pippa still held out. We rolled into the Equestrian Center around 4 pm, found our RV/trailer spot (A-11), found the stalls for the mares ("Ropers Barn"), and then made a list of items we needed a...

Martinson's Arizona Adventure February 1 - Day1. We left Minnesota at 7:54 am. We stopped three times for fuel; twice in Iowa and once in Kansas. Our total fuel bill for day 1 was $178 and we had $8.25 in tolls in Kansas. Our overnight was at E Bar Z Stables in Salina, KS ($90 for runs and trailer electric). It was a great stop with a "barn" bathroom and shower (we were still winterized). The mares had outdoor runs with automatic waters and shelters. Including Minnesota, we also passed through Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas for a total of 640 miles and about 11 hours of driving. Chad drove all but 2 hours. The girls used their hotspots for school and I used mine for work e-mails. Unfortunately, the mares did not drink while in the trailer and we were concerned about Gin when we arrived at our overnight. she unloaded and basically laid down. She acted like a person who was lost at sea for 30 days and had finally found land! We gave her Banamine as a precaution; however, we th...