Bluegrass festival,Casa Grande AZ

Last weekend we went to the Casa Grande Bluegrass Festival at the Pinal County fairgrounds. There are vendors with all kinds of 'stuff', from food, to tee shirts and jewlery, to metal sculptures etc. The groups sign up and play in the main building both Saturday and Sunday.

Outside the main building are more vendors and various other goings-on. One of the events was a woman with several beautiful parrots, photos below. I love painting birds so took several shots, hoping for the best. It was a warm afternoon and I got lucky. This is an annual event at the fairgrounds and also includes a big car show, with lots of rock and roll music to go with the muscle cars.

Happy trails....

Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch visit

No, this isn't an ostrich but a fun parrot. He/she had lots of friends who got up close and personal at the feeding site.

The second photo shows Roger feeding the big birds. They were practically coming over the top of the rail and Roger had to move fast to keep his fingers.

The third photo is a clutch of ostrich eggs in the 'family' location. Our guide said the big birds lay from 20 to 30 eggs, one at a time every other day during a egg laying period. They weigh about 4 lbs. each!

Our final shot is an over shot of the birds coming to the feeding area. They knew why we were there and were ready to do their part. This ranch is very near the foot of Picacho Peak near Casa Grande, AZ. The day was perfect, temps in the the low 70's. Just another fun day in the sun....

Happy trails....

Barry Goldwater training grounds Jeep trip

This is the entrance to the Barry M. Goldwater Range/training grounds/natural area. We had to watch a 22 minute movie warning of all the hazards in the area, and all the rules and regulations before we were given a 6 months permit to enter the offroad area. There were 4 Jeeps and 14 people on this trip.

Here I am at one of the stops. We were travelling with a group of rock hounds, not our usual Jeep tour group. Some were from our park and most from the Sundance Rv park in Casa Grande, AZ.

As mentione above, the B. Goldwater site is used for training for air force personnel. We saw various airplanes flying over and we were warned that some areas of the grounds were used for ammunition training. The 3rd photo shows an unexploded shell. We were warned to leave these things ALONE!

4th photo is one of many photos I took of the group travelling along the rutted roads and through the various washes, river beds etc. It was a beautiful day and no one had any trouble making the ride. While the rock hounds were hacking away at rocks, and carrying bag loads of same, I took photos, walked around and did some sketching. I even had a camp chair with me, so I got some second looks as those folks were working hard - but having a great time. By the load of rocks each Jeep carried out of there, I would say it was a very successfu trip! We sure had a good time.

A sunny, l0w 70's day in AZ in the winter time, what a life!

Happy trails....