Snake Valley Festival--Part One

Well, the much-anticipated weekend arrived! We went to a fantastic dinner at the Garrison LDS Church. Unfortunately I forgot to take any pictures--the food really was that good that I didn't think at all about photos. There was a wonderful array of dishes from many accomplished cooks.

Desert Boy was tired, so we weren't able to go to the music and cowboy poetry evening program, but the next morning we were up early to drop things off at the yard sale. 

There was good business at the yard sale, with lots of donations and lots of shoppers.

Nearby was a reminder of why the Snake Valley Festival was happening--to raise money for the Great Basin Water Network to help protect the area.

The size of the pipe is absolutely enormous (84 inches in diameter), the actual size some of the pipeline is slated to be to take water from rural Nevada towards Las Vegas. When you look around the rather dry valley, you wonder where that water is expected to come from.

Another morning stop was the pancake breakfast.

There was a good turnout for some tasty food. It's always fun to eat with community members, and some I haven't seen in awhile came.

The menu was pancakes, ham, eggs, and coffee.

I haven't eaten such a large breakfast in a long time!

We had to go back to the yard sale to see what else was there and found a fun bucket with kids' tools for Desert Boy and Christmas ornaments for all of us. We kept revisiting the yard sale throughout the morning and found some more treasures.

The Cub airplane flying around reminded us it was time for the parade! It's been several years since there's been a parade out here.

The Garrison Fire Department truck led the way.

Then came Partoun's, with a bunch of kids on the top.

We had one intrepid walker, carrying a canoe with a sign that says, "Where's the Water?"

This patriotic float brightened the street.

The old Jeep brought back memories of early days in the valley.

Following it was quite a contrast, a convertible with a bunch of waving folks. And although we didn't have a Princess contest, the pretty girl on the rear sure looked like a princess!

A golf cart was a perfect place to launch water grenades from.

The other golf cart wanted them to be first so they didn't get sprayed!

But following was one of the Baker fire trucks also spraying water.

A fire truck from Great Basin National Park was in the parade.

And then some horse riders, who were quite unused to riding with so many people around! They all did great, even the second grader!

We had no shortage of fire trucks, and the lights and sirens made the route seem very festive. 

This is a new wildand engine for the community.

The ambulance was all shiny.

The old Model-A Ford had to be jumpstarted, but it ran. My husband drove it, while Desert Boy, Grandpa, and his friend rode in the back. 

Desert Boy was so excited about throwing candy. One of the funniest things about the parade is that since we have so few parades here, the kids don't know what to do when candy is thrown. As a result, the street was littered with candy.

When Desert Boy realizes Mama is taking a photo, he smiles.

A parade in an agricultural community isn't complete without a tractor. Following it was an old loader, which didn't make the return trip through town. The parade route was go from one end of town to the other (all three blocks), turn around and go back. So everyone got to see the parade twice, from two angles!

The huge loader brought up the end of the parade. No one got in its way!

I jumped on the loader at the beginning of the parade to get a shot of heading into "downtown."

You can see the old loader just ahead of us. Things have certainly progressed in terms of technology!

And here you can see some of the booths and people downtown. We haven't had such a crowd in a really long time. 

There's more to the festival, so check back later for more photos and descriptions!

Setting Up for the Festival

We're planning on a busy weekend. This morning Desert Boy went over to help set up tables for the silent auction that will be held tomorrow--there are so many neat items.

We also set up chairs. We had to roll out the carts with chairs.

A closeup shows that Desert Boy is intent on helping!

All of this is for the Snake Valley Festival, which begins tonight with a potluck dinner (the yummiest Dutch oven fried chicken and potatoes in the world are provided) and then a music and cowboy poetry program.

Tomorrow we're going to get up early to drop off items at the community-wide yard sale at 7 am and at the silent auction, then go to the pancake breakfast and visit booths. Then comes the parade at 10 am--it should be a hoot, with the length of three blocks and an odd assortment of entries. After that, food booths, the silent auction, entertainment, film festival, and kids' games all begin and last for several hours. The entertainment includes a variety of musical and cowboy poetry acts that go all afternoon. Desert Boy might be able to sneak in a nap before we head out to a barbeque, dance and live auction beginning at 6 pm. If we still have some energy left, we'll go to the star program.

Sunday there's a mountain bike ride bright and early, a pancake breakfast, church services, film festival, and another star program. 

There's lots more detailed info at ProtectSnakeValley.com. We will be taking lots of photos--it might take a little while to get them posted because all the activities will keep us busy!

If you're close by, we hope you can make it, otherwise have a great weekend whereever you are!

Summer Fun: Cooling Off

It's July in the desert, and even though we live in the high desert, the temperatures have been creeping into the high 90s and even over 100. So we've been looking for ways to cool off and beat the heat. One way was an obstacle course with a water trap. Th goal was to swing over the pool without falling in.

The kids quickly learned how to get wet if they wanted to.

Then it was on to the boogie-woogie on the unstable spool.

Desert Boy met up with his little friend, Ava, and they decided to go for a walk with Ruby.

Desert Boy sure looks like he's enjoying life!

Of course, he's happy in most any situation, and will ham it up for the camera. 

Squirting Mama is always a great past time. I don't even mind when it's so hot.

But all things lead back to the swimming pool. It was easy enough to swing one person across, but what about two?

Too Good to Pass up

I was sent the following article, and even though it has nothing to do with the desert, I couldn't resist posting this bit of Americana. Be sure to check out the original posting, because the comments are very interesting.

No tall tale

Click image to enlarge

Teens find alligator in Iroquois River

Published: Tuesday, July 14, 2009 10:53 AM CDT

When Zach Ramsey, 17, and Casey Sonaty, 14, both of rural Newton County went fishing on Sunday they had no idea they were going to bring home a real trophy.

While fishing and frog spearing along the Iroquois River in Jasper County, near Rensselaer the two young men saw an alligator in the water.

They first shot the alligator with a fishing arrow from a bow, but the arrow broke and the alligator went under. The reptile soon re-appeared and the two then tried to spear it with a frog spear but could not penetrate the animal’s hide. The two realized they needed more firepower, so they left and returned with a twelve-gauge shotgun and were able to dispatch the reptile.

The alligator was six feet long and weighed approximately 150 pounds.

"It is pretty sure to say that this animal was raised by someone and got too big and was released" said Indiana Conservation Officer Allan Clark. "Being a cold-blooded animal, it is very unlikely an alligator could survive an Indiana winter in the wild," said Clark.

Since alligators are not listed as a game specie in Indiana there were no violations in taking the animal.

This summer there have been several reports of alligator sightings in other lakes in the area, but no reports of this animal were received prior to it being taken.

Original News Article with Comments

Relay for Life

On Saturday night I participated in a Relay for Life event. It was the first time I had ever been to one, and in fact, the first time it was held in Ely.

I was part of the team Great Basin Millipedes-We've Got Legs! We also had some hungry bellies, but fortunately Brian and Meg brought burgers and hot dogs and everyone else brought side dishes so we could get energy to go walking.

Andy, Roberta, and Carol are building their strength. Notice the tent in the background? Some people were planning on staying the night. I couldn't do that this year, but I imagine it would be fun--like a giant sleepover.

The bleachers and the track were lined with luminaries.

As you can see, our track wasn't an official track, but just a path in the grass. Participants of all ages walked around it.

Travis even took Dixie around a few times.

Here are three of my teammates walking. We had antennae to symbolize our millipede status. They also made it very easy to spot other teammates.

With most of the team present, it was decided it was time to put on the big millipede costume.

We shuffled along like a long millipede, our antennae bobbing in the wind.

We got lots of attention as people tried to figure out what we were.

"Great Basin Millipede Legs" (one sheet with the "We've Got" was misplaced, but everyone got the idea)

As I was leaving the luminaries were being lit and looked really beautiful. The money raised for this event will go towards trying to find cures for cancer. We more than double passed the fundraising goal, so I'd say it was a huge success!