Cowboy Up! or the Equine lifestyle

Skipping ahead, I was paid, housed and fed for 10 years of enjoying the wrangler lifestyle. I always looked forward to the time in Spring when the oranges were in blossom, that was when we made our trip south to become cowboys for a week. 

A little irony there as the 'riders' had to pay a lot of money to go on the ride while we, the wranglers, were paid for the experience. The riders had plenty of money so for them it was easy to pretend to be a cowboy for a week. During those ten years a lot of things had changed. During the first few rides a small number of riders had elected to bring their motorhomes with them by having a friend drive it. That gave the rider the that owned the motor home a soft bed and a place to take a shower. But it became a real headache for wranglers and th cooks, as the motorhomes started showing up early and parking wherever they pleased.  After a year or so, we passed a rule out to the motorhomes, no entry to the campsite until the wranglers had the mangers up and hay had been distributed. Yet each year brought more motorhomes and more frustration. Yes, I'm sure the shower in the motorhome felt great, but the wranglers didn't have a shower. We made do by filling a large horse trough with cold water, letting it sit to warm it somewhat. That horse trough became our bath tub. Or, when we were close by a small town, we would find a motel and rent a room just to enjoy a warm water shower. Those were the days! 

One of the riders, a nice guy and a Fireman from Hemet, Tom Morlan, also made knives, each one different and he would engrave it for you, sending the completed knife to your home. Over the years I bought enough of his knives so that I could give one to my son and one to each of my grandsons. A number of the riders formed 'gangs' of pretend outlaws or good guys. One such gang was called the Dalton Gang, another was F Troop. These riders were the kind we liked. They would unroll their bedding each night and sleep on the ground. They would also hang out with us with Dr. Bob, a dentist from Utah, playing his guitar while seated with some of Dalton's and some from F troop, on the plank we would use to get up to our bed truck. I think Dr. Bob was one of the Dalton Gang. 

We made a lot of temporary friends over the years. We ate a lot of Prime rib, steak and lobster, bacon & eggs, etc during those years. Bill, the one who invited me to the first ride, becaime one of my foreman back in the real world. Terry, his brother, worked for me as well, until I told my boss that he would be a good estimator. He became one of estimators  until our boss asked him to become the Manager of the Spokane branch. Bill moved to Spokane and became the Warehouse manager for his brother. And on the 50th anniversary of the ride, and my last one, we were given nice belt buckles. I looked online a few years and Googled De Anza Trail Ride and saw that they were still doing it. My orange trees have blossom, maybe I should Google it again?  

Rattle snake appetizers tonight. 

This was at our camp at Camp Pendleton

Our bed truck

     Happy Horses