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May 26 Arizona Biosphere 2 Bike Trip This is what we did for our Memorial Day weekend. We were just on our way to find Oracle, AZ and happened upon the Biosphere 2 site. It was a little expensive for the tour especially since our guide, Claudio, was Italian and very hard to understand! We came home and did some research on our own to try to learn more about the experiment. We did find it interesting that some of the biospherians had a different point of view of what some of the experience was like compared to the descriptions made by the guide. For instance; one of the female scientists opinion was they were often hungry, and had to reserve energy for each days work load. They had to grow their own food and maintain the environment. The group was only allowed one serving for each meal, but once a month they could have all they wanted. The guide said, "If they were indeed hungry, how could they have stayed for two years. They weren't held against their will." The property has been sold to a private land owner and no one knows just yet what his plans are, it is located in the foothills near Tucson and the area is becoming very developed just a few miles from the site. This is my very favorite time of the year for this area. We had some rain the day previous to the trip and the temperature was in the low 70's, absolutely perfect for a ride! May 23 New Mexico's Lincoln County War
May 21 Ruidoso Bike Rally The first road trip with our bike went well. We made the Spring Rally in Ruidoso, NM, now we know why most people wait for the Fall run, RAIN! The Capitan mountains were in desperate need of rain, so I guess I am thankful for the moisture. We were very lucky to get caught in only one storm while on the bike, and it was within just a couple of miles of the cabin we stayed in. I'm breaking myself in easy, I rode one 60 mile stretch on the trip over and made it to Old Lincoln and back. Since I did ride in the rain a ways, I did get my patch for the rally! HA Most of my trip was spent riding in a very comfortable Hummer. Wade is well pleased with his Harley. He really didn't want to trailer it part of the way back, but succumbed to peer pressure. It was a long ride, over 450 miles each way, and it was over 100* Sunday when we got near AZ. HE is hardcore. I personally think it's fine to trailer your bike to an event!  Old Lincoln was fun. The two teenagers that were in our group had a great time learning about the Lincoln County War and Billy The Kid. The art gallery they have in town was interesting and also a good place to wait out a Spring shower. Can't wait till we get to go again! May 13 The Indian, The Muslim And The Cowboy
Three strangers strike up a conversation in the airport passenger lounge in Laramie, Wyoming while awaiting their respective flights. One is an American Indian passing through from Riverton. Another is a cowboy on his way to Cheyenne for a livestock show and the third passenger is a fundamentalist Arab student, newly arrived at the University of Wyoming from the Middle East. Their discussion drifts to their diverse cultures. Soon, the two Westerners learn that the Arab is a devout, radical Muslim and the conversation falls into an uneasy lull. The cowboy leans back in his chair, crosses his boots on a magazine table and tips his big sweat-stained hat forward over his face. The wind outside is blowing tumbleweeds around, and the old windsock is flapping; but still no plane comes. Finally, the American Indian clears his throat and softly he speaks, 'At one time here, my people were many, but sadly, now we are few.' The Muslim student raises an eyebrow and leans forward, 'Once my people were few,' he sneers, 'and now we are many. Why do you suppose that is?' The Montana cowboy shifts his toothpick to one side of his mouth and from the darkness beneath his Stetson says in a smooth drawl, 'That's 'cause we ain't played Cowboys and Muslims yet, but I do believe it's a-come'n Off To RuidosoWe are taking our first trip on our Harley this weekend. Ruidoso, NM is one of our favorite places to visit. The cool mountian breeze is something I long for even though it is only May. The desert has a way of making you hungry for the smell of the pines, especially after a spring shower in the afternoons. The village will be bustling with the roar of Harleys for the weekend as it's Ruidoso's Spring Rally. We have made plans to stay in a rustic cabin and I can't wait. Some of my fondest memories are of the summer mountain vacations spent in 'rustic' cabins. Today's kids would probably go into withdrawls over no TV, IPOD, or video games. Maybe they would get bored enough to go outside and find their imagination, that would be a new experience! I'm looking forward to adding some more pictures when we get back. May 08 To All Our Family and Friends We have been staying out here at Wade's cousins farm, near Casa Grande for the last six months. For Arizona, it's great. Wade loves it and I'm glad to have my own space again. Wade is helping his cousins get their new property ready for the construction of a huge house. The house and garage take up 4 acres of the 75 acre plot they have. It's a big job and Wade is happy to do it. They have been hauling dirt and leveling for months. Wade takes turns going from the loader to the water truck. They are just about ready to get going on the actual construction. I'm glad to be out here in the middle of all this alfalfa even though "I get allergic smelling hay" (like Lisa on Green Acres, ha). When they water, the temperature drops all around where we are living. Rosie and the kids keep me entertained, and sometimes I help with the cow and pigs they raise. I'm not sure how much help I am, but I do my best. Taylor won Grand Champion for her veal at the fair and Tyler got Prime on his steer. The eating is good around here! I'll be better at posting here, so if you ever wonder what we are doing or where we are, check in. Leave me a comment if you like. I love to get responses. I think of you all often. Miss ya'll too! Gail May 05 Wade's.....A BLAST FROM THE PAST Storefront: At Wade's you can buy snow cones, tobacco By Joe Chapman jchapman@amarillonet.com If you go to Wade's, you can buy a snow cone. Or some tobacco. But that's it. Snow cones or tobacco. Wade's is a cigarette and snow cone stand at 204 15th St. in Canyon, and it's run by ... well, Wade, of course. Wade Young lives with his wife Gail in the southwestern-style house next to the stand, which originally was the lawn-mower shed. The big black bus that has "Wade's'' painted on the side of it and is parked next to the stand - that's Wade's mobile home. And the tall rust-colored sign that reads "Wade's'' that you can see when you come over the railroad tracks on 15th Street lets you know you're heading in the right direction to get to Wade's. Canyon Institution But most of the people who go there already know where it is because they're regulars. "I knew some people, but since opening the store, I know nearly every one in town,'' Young said. "It's kinda like tending bar, only no booze.'' Kids from nearby homes walk and ride bikes up to the window on the south side of the stand, get their snow cones and have a seat at a wooden picnic table next to the mimosa tree and morning glories. They know which is the side for them because of the big sign that says "Walk-ins'' and has an arrow on it. On the north side, people in cars pull up to the drive-through window on their way home to Hunsley Hills from their work in town and order a pack of smokes. At least, they can do so when the wooden sign by the drive says "Open'' - from noon till 9 p.m., Monday through Saturday - not "Shut.'' Sometimes it can work good for everyone in the car. "The adults stop by for a pack of cigarettes and get some snow cones for the kids while they're here,'' Young said. "We get quite a bit of family business. It's a strange combination, all right.'' He sells the major brands of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco and dozens of flavors of snow cones. He even makes a killer snow cone that has ice cream in it. "I plagiarized that idea,'' he said. He caps each one off with an upside-down plastic funnel to give it a coned top before handing it to the eager customer. "The best snow cone money can buy,'' he said. Flare For Decor The stand is decorated with metal plates of vintage products such as Coca-Cola, Optimo Cigars, Kool cigarettes, Banjo Tobacco and Hood's Sarsaparilla which "Purifies the blood,'' according to the sign. The fence next to the stand has a pair of snow skis and poles on it, to go with his house's southwestern style that reminds him of Red River, he said. His yard is spotted with peculiar sculptures Wade created out of old junk. He made a bird that looks like it came from "Alice in Wonderland'' out of a shovel, a rake, a pick and a few other parts. "It's my watch-bird,'' he said. "Like a watchdog.'' He welded a dozen horseshoes together and spray-painted them to look like an abstract flower. "It's a good flower. It blooms all year.'' There's a red pump jack that was part of the water system of a house he once moved. "It's my oil well. That's how I get out of work.'' "I always kinda like to recycle. If I walk by a pile of scrap, I see a lot of good things in there that I think would look cute. "I couldn't afford anything nice, so I have to build it.'' Like his bus. It was an old '56 Gillig military bus that he gutted, put a new engine in and had an artist friend paint his name on. "Something that big sittin' around, might as well use it as a billboard,'' he said. He's always had a knack for being creative and making things out of nothing, or seeing the potential in something others might miss - like turning a lawn mower stand into a strange-bedfellows business of cigarettes and snow cones. "It just kinda worked out that way,'' he said. "It wasn't really our plan. Sometimes the business tells you want to do instead of you telling the business.'' The Sensible Choice He and his wife moved into their house when they left Colorado in 1990. For a while Young had a paint and body shop, but "I got too old for that kind of activity,'' he said. "I needed something easier.'' He thought about putting up a building on the corner of his property, but then he eyed his lawn-mower shed and figured it'd be easier just to put a business in it, if he could think of one small enough to fit. "A cigarette store was the only thing I could think of that would go in that small a space,'' he said. He borrowed $5,000 and started it up three years ago. He added the snow cones for the summer months two years ago, and this winter he plans to start selling espressos and cappuccinos. "No, I guess you'd say it's kind of scary to dive off into something if you don't know what you're doing. But people tell you if what you're doing is right. They say, 'Yeah, I like that,' or 'No, I don't like this.' You can't be afraid to venture out and take a chance because it might be a good opportunity. You don't know.'' Wade's is an opportunity Young is glad not to have missed. "It's the kind of business, even though you work it by yourself, you're never really by yourself,'' he said. "There's always people to talk to. There's enough going on for me. "The best part is when I'm standing in line at Wal-Mart, and some little kid sees me and says, 'Mommy, Mommy! It's the snow cone man.' I'm bigger than life to those little people. That's the good part right there.'' |
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