Getting used to the bronco ?

These folks can rope a steer before most folks can click a pic.

Boondocking in the desert, Congress Arizona.

When I woke up this morning, I made up my mind that going to Laughlin, Nevada, for the Hot Rod show was the thing to do. I seem to make most of my decisions when I first wake up in the morning; there must be something to that old saying about "sleep on it before you make a decision."

I left Congress Arizona late this morning, and got to the Lone Pine BLM boondocking area just north of Lake Havasu before lunch. It's pretty crowded here so I had to park down in the hole instead of up on top where the high class folks boondock. If you've ever stayed here you will know what I'm talking about. It's only about 70 miles to my destination of Laughlin Nevada, so I should easily get there by breakfast in the morning.

Now that I've "lived" in the bronco for a while, I've been working on a list of things I like and don't like about it. Fortunately, so far, the list of likes is longer than the list of don't likes, but I'm not done yet. I have spent enough time in the bronco to know that living in it is something you have to get used to; it doesn't just come naturally if you are used to living in something substantially bigger.

It was the same way when I moved from my house into the Arctic Fox. The Arctic Fox seemed really small, and hard to find a place to put everything. But after figuring out that I had more things than I needed, it was a lot easier to get comfortable in the Arctic Fox.

I guess the same thing will happen in the bronco, although the change is a lot more drastic. There's a lot of things in the Arctic Fox that I don't need, but there's still a lot that I do. But I'm still at the stage where I'm just starting to get used to living in the bronco. I'm still trying to make it more comfortable, still trying to find a convenient place for things, and still trying to get used to having my home with me wherever I go. This means that when I come back from the grocery store, I don't have to camp in the same spot I was camped at before going to the grocery store.

I'm still at the point where I'm learning something every day about living in the bronco. And I've got plenty of time to determine if it's a full-time lifestyle that I want to live or not.

 I'm still working on my like and don't like list, and with any luck, I'll have enough things in it to make a blog post in a few days.

                                                            Theboondork

Usually when I'm watching a team roping contest I can't get anywhere near the starting gate, there is usually 30 or 40 cowboys on their horses all around the starting area waiting for their turn. But since these folks were just practicing I was able to get right next to the starting gate. That's the Headers horse in the foreground, you can barely see the steer leaving the gate in the mid-ground, and the horse in the background is ridden by the Healer

It takes a lot of concentration, and a tremendous amount of practice, to do what these cowboys and cowgirls do. There times to rope and immobilize the steer is measured in tenths of a second, and the seniors had better be able to do it in 7 or 8 seconds to be competitive.

So what's the world record for chasing down a steer at full gallop, the header roping the steers head, the healer roping his back legs and immobilizing the steer so he can't move....... 3.3 seconds.

This cowpoke looks like he's not too happy with his ropes location.

I'm always amazed that these older guys can do what they do. A lot of them have been tossed off too many horses, and tangled up in to many ropes to have survived this long and still be competing, it takes a toll on you.... This guy is only 23.

I'm amazed this cowgirl could actually see what she's roping wearing her holey hat. She probably thinks all the steers are spotted.

This might be where all those holey cowboy hats are coming from.