I got to be home for almost two months over the winter...and I was thinking I'd get all my bookwork caught up (nope) write five or six new songs for the new album (nope, just part of two) get a guitar that needs some shop time repaired (nope) and ride my bike every day (it was ghastly cold here, and the wind just sucked the breath out of me when I tried cold afternoon rides)
But I did get some other things done, like rebuilding my website...not an entire rebuild, but I did get the look changed, and will get after rebuilding my online store another time...got my CD Gone For Colorado reprinted (another 2000 copies, this time with the winning seal from the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum printed right on the cover art) and booked some good shows for late summer and fall.
Got the Cowgirl camper serviced, tires rotated, and loaded some good stuff on my I-pod for the road. Spent some wonderful quality time with my sweet husband every chance I got. Got my horse's feet looking good for the spring (hubby helps keep him rasped for me while I'm on the road) and picked up my Grandad Fisher's 1920's saddle from DBSaddlery in Columbia, TN, where the fellow there put on new fleece, new saddle strings, and made it look great.
Got some filing done,and put away (still there is bookwork to do! I need a secretary!) Got a bunch of contracts out for summer and fall, and fished a bit on home rivers and a lake.
     As mid April approached, I was as nervous as a cat at a kindergarten cupcake party, worrying about all the family traveling to Oklahoma City to meet up with me for the Western Heritage Awards show. Performing? piece of cake. Booking? piece of cake. Having husband, sisters, friends, and Mom and Stepdad all there at once for an awards show? Not a piece of cake for me, and I was so glad husband Rusty was going to be there to take some of the pressure to "be entertaining" with the family. Not that they are not completely self sufficient...they are the greatest...it just made me nervous.
      I arrived in OK city and found the host hotel, got checked in, and took a long soak in the tub (had been a day and a half driving...showers happen in the Cowgirl camper, but they are minimal) and about the time I was headed down to find something in my vehicle, my family and a family friend pulled in from the airport.
We got them settled and headed off to find dinner, and during dinner, heard from friend Jeri Dobrowski, who did the wonderful cover art on my winning CD, she was stranded in Denver by a storm, and would not get out of there that night...was going to try in the morning again. Jeri was also going to shoot photos for a Persimmon Hill magazine article about me...much to my delight. She is a dear friend, and a photographer who makes everyone feel at ease.
     Later that night, she reported she could not get out tomorrrow either, and was going to TRY for Saturday, in order to get to the awards show.
    So plan B...I was at the museum, and my Mom was there with her camera, and she used to do all my photography, so we got a few shots. I had a sound check for the party Friday night at the museum, and saw a bit of the museum. Lunch was at the Persimmon Hill cafe in the museum, and then we went back to the hotel to rest up (I paced) and get ready for the party.
     I did a half hour set in front of the original plaster of the End of the Trail...I grew up with that plaster in a local park not far from my home place in Central California. In the mid 70's the National Cowboy museum got the funds to pick up the plaster from Mooney Grove Park in Visalia, CA, ship it overseas to have it cast in bronze, and ship the bronze to Visalia. Then the plaster was restored, and is now on permanant display in the National Cowboy Museum.
    Pals Waddie Mitchell and wife Lisa Hackett came in during my set, as did Michael Martin Murphey and wife Karen. Actor Buck Tayor and wife Goldie arrived, along with Red and Gail Steagall, and soon enough, here came my esteemed co-producer, Rich O'Brien and wife Valerie. I headed over to sign autogtraphs after my set, and then it was off to a great supper of ribs in a big tent next to the Museum. There, I finally got a sense of what I was her for.
 
I was going to be the first woman to recieve a National Cowboy Museum Wrangler Award for "Most Outstanding Traditional Western Album" and here I was...independant artist on my own label, and around me were some really neat folks who really care about our rich Western Heritage, and they were honoring Film, Literature, and Music...and I was an honoree!
     The next day, I had another sound check for the awards show, and while Rusty enjoyed a presentation by Buck Taylor and son Matt about Buck's dad, character actor Dub Taylor, the museum photographer grabbed me and we went off to do some photos. Sadly, Jeri Dobrowski was not going to get a flight out of Denver in time, but not to worry, this great lady named Carolyn, who could have been Jeri's sister, was there to fill in, and we got the photos we needed.
     Rusty and I had time to wander the museum, and take in the incredible exibits. This is a must see museum, folks. Well worth a stop in Oklahoma City, a truly Western place, and as friendly as any place I've ever been. When we reached the "hall of Great Westerners"and the room for music and film....there I was...rather, there my CD was, on exhibit as the 2008 Wrangler Award winner! Wow. Now it was really sinking in.
     I went back to get my things together for the Awards show, and left Rusty on his own to come back ...I needed to be at the museum for a media party, and then do another autograph session, so I took my clothes for the awards show with me.
     Got dressed in the bathroom backstage, curled my hair in the dressing room, got my makeup on, paced around ...went to the media party for five minutes, went back to the dressing room to change into a skirt that "walked" better, and then relaxed at the media party visiting with Don and Kathy Edwards, Waddie and Lisa, and other folks. The film interviewed me for a documentary about the awards and the museum, and we all did a group photo shot. I wore a black skirt and beaded black shirt jacket, turquoise and black boots, a hand rolled heavy silk turquoise scarf, silver and turquoise concho belt, and a strand of silver beads my Mom had gotten back in the 40's.
     Signed CDs in the lobby as guests for the awards show arrived, Rusty got there looking dandy, albeit sans his bow tie, but I got him tied up properly in a side room, and later, Waddie's wife Lisa snagged him and retied him even better. My family finally got there (late!) I was getting antsy...here they had come all this way, and now they were late...15 minutes late for the start of dinner, and most everyone was seated. I showed them to the table, and would have loved to enjoy dinner with them, but dinner was about 15 minutes late in serving since folks wer getting there late...so I had a couple bites of salad, half my petite filet,and some water, told Rusty to save my dessert for me for later and then needed to excuse myself and get backstage.
      The museum crew was fantastic, with director Shayla Simpson on her headset at the control booth, and two beautifully gowned ladies in the wings to get us onstage at exactly the right moment for our performances and presentations. I selected "Whippoorwill" from Gone for Colorado as my song, and found myself close to tears several times, thinking about my Mom sitting there (the song was for her) beaming with pride, and my sister, Louise, who was loking beautiful in her black gown and jewel toned teal wrap, and Rusty, in his Tux jacket and jeans,  our family friend Sally, who loves to be part of our family events, and step dad Milt, natty in his tux, too.
     As soon as my song (which was introduced by presenters Lynn Anderson and Don Edwards) was over, one of the gowned stage crew came to take my guitar from me, and gave me my WRANGLER AWARD. Now it was real. I had it in my hands. Rich O'Brien joined me onstage to accept his, as co-producer, and we made our speeches. I held  it together remarkably well till the last ten seconds, but did not outright shed tears...I was just so full of emotion....four years of search and research, writing, rewriting, working out the liner notes, the stories, and the way they fit together.
     Some people discouraged me form making such an album...they did not feel that a family history in song would work. But I was not making it for them: I was making it for my family and for me: this album was my way of leaving somethng behind for future generations, even though I have no children.
     So all of that was welling up in me as I made my acceptance speech...then went to have a photo taken with Rich, and then walked to my family's table, and placed the Wrangler in front of my Mom.
     After going backstage to get my guitar put away properly, I rejoined my family, and finally had dessert...or was that just dessert?
I have stared at the Wrangler Award with my name and the name of my album on it, and I realize it is a wonderful honor, one I don't take lightly...and now, it's time to get back to work on my next project.
 
  
     
 

Wow, I have missed blogging! The road has it's own challenges, and I have been concentrating on some other aspects....like expanding my "loop" of travel in the US.

So, in November 2008, I was most honored to be named the 2008 Western Music Association Songwriter of the Year...to date, no other woman has been awarded this one, and to have won it among some of my most esteemed peers, well, I am just beside myself. I've had several folks ask "What song did you win that for?" ...and maybe that is because I won "Song of the Year" in 2007 from the WMA for "I Hope She'll Love Me"
Songwriter of the year is for a songwriter who has been recognized by the music community for excellence in songwriting in general....for various projects, etc...not specifically one song or a group or songs or an album. Kind of like "Poet of the Year."
To that moment in time, it was the WMA Award I had most coveted, because it is non gender specific, and covers a body of work over several years.

But four years ago this coming June, I stood in the office of Scott O'Malley and Associates in Colorado Springs, CO, and looked in awe at the beautiful "Wrangler Awards" displayed there for Scott's great roster of artists: Don Edwards, Waddie Mitchell, Rich O'Brien, Sons of the San Joaquin, and I said to both Scott and my husband Rusty "I want one of THOSE"
I learned that the Wrangler Award is bestowed by an independent judging committee, through the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma City. The list of past winners is a who's who of Western Music, Film, and Literature, and that the music awards are for "Most Outstanding Traditional Western Album" and "Outstanding Composition" (for an individual song) and that last year, they added "New Artist" (still sort of a mystery, as the first winner was a country artist who has been in the business since the seventies) but that one did not interest me anyway....oh, I put in my submission for that, but what I wanted was the album award. The first time I tried to enter was in 2006 for my album "Cowgirlography," but learned that I had to be on a multi-artist label to qualify. I entered two songs, but no award.
     Then as I began work on "Gone For Colorado" I set my eye on the award, since in 2007, the entries opened up to smaller labels...like my own "Red Geetar Records." While my focus was to do the album to honor my family's history, I also wanted to inspire others to research their own histories, and create a memorable and different journey in song. And, I kept in mind that the historical aspect might just get it the attention it needed for consideration in the "Heritage Awards"   There were songs that cropped up, both from my own writing, and from other writers that I wanted to consider, but if they did not fit the project, out they went. I took a deep breath and contacted producer Rich O'Brien for his co-producing expertise, and his musical genius. I also told Rich that while I wanted his input, I wanted the project to be representative of what I was doing in my wiriting and vocals....I wanted the "honesty." Rich understood. Intimidated as I was to begin working with him, because of his wonderful reputation as a producer of Western Music,  once we talked things over, I felt I had made the right choice.
       The album was released the first day of 2008, to mostly great reviews and I knew it was working when folks started writing to me that it was a journey they understood, because it was similar to their own family stories.
     The day the Western Heritage Awards nomination forms became available, I entered "Gone For Colorado" in the Outstanding Traditional Western Album" category, as well as entering two songs for good measure. And as I did so, I sent out my "wish to the Universe" for a Wrangler Award for "Outstanding Album"  Every time I thought about it, I re-sent my "wish."
     Early last week, the Museum's representative called me to tell me I had won the Wrangler Award for "Most Outstanding Traditional Western Album" and that I'd be getting my Wrangler in April at the Gala in April 2009. And in addition to being the first person with an independent album release to win, I am the first WOMAN TO WIN! Whoooohooo.....we are celebrating at my house, and my family will be coming in from all over to share the fun in April in Oklahoma City!
http://nationalcowboymuseum.org/default.aspx

The Western Music Association has now issued the final ballot for the 2008 Western Music Awards show, which is held at the annual WMA convention in Albuquerque in November.
The first go round is the opportunity for artists to be nominated by their peers and fans for the various awards, and the second go round allows the voting membership to vote amongst the the top ten nominees in each category. In August comes the the Top Five ballot, and I'm pleased, humbled, and grateful to be nominated in three categories:
Female Vocalist of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year.

Of course, the rest of the top five ballot is loaded with the favorite and best of the world of Western Music, and because these awards are determined by the votes of fans and our fellow performers, the WMA awards are very special. Among the other nominees are my friends Dave Stamey, the Riders in the Sky, Wylie and the Wild West, Patty Clayton, Bill Barwick, poets Yvonne Hollenbeck, Pat Richardson, and Jau Snider, Sons of the San Joaquin, Belinda Gail and Curly Musgrave....and others!

I fly to Reno next weekend for a festival where I'll bill with pals Dave Stamey, Waddie Mitchell, Jon Chandler, and Pat Richardson. I'll see my little sister Susan while I'm there, and hopefully her great kids, my favorite and only niece and nephew, and her beautiful boxer dog, Rocky.

I've been riding Flipper the Wonder Horse while I've been home, enjoying early evenings along the shady backfield treeline and we walk along on the soft grass, me singing to him, him delighting me with his still quizzical and happy nature. At 21, he still tosses me a surprise once in a while, and is starting his fourth career in life now as a hackamore horse, next I'll switch him to the two-rein, and hopefully will have in in the bridle next year sometime...if he's ready. He certainly won't be the first ever Thoroughbred bridle horse, after all the vaqueros of old California didn't ride Quarter Horses...the breed did not exist till the 1940s. I watch most western movies and TV programs with tongue in cheek...the horses of the actual time frames were certainly not at all like the horses used in the movies these days! The vaqueros rode Spanish Barbs, Arabian crosses, Thoroughbreds, and other hotter bred horses. Not that the modern Quarter Horses and Paints bred for the Reined Cowhorse and cutting events are in any way cold blooded...on the contrary, they are as hot in some ways as any Thoroughbred or Arab, but over time, especially up in the rugged Oregon and Idaho buckaroo country, many ranches had some influx of draft breeds to add bone size to their herds.

Anyway, Flipper seems to like his new job, and I am having a great time remembering my past as a trainer of cow horses...it's coming back to me a little more every day. As fall approaches, the nasty green head flies and horse flies that can be so aggressive towards thinned skinned horsed that it can get dangerous, are starting to dwindle down, thank goodness.
I love fall in Tennessee...will be on the road in Colorado and Wyoming most of September and October, but I'm not complaining about that!

I had a couple of wonderful weeks at home with my sweet hubby and my Little Red Horse, Flipper, before I headed back out on the road, in mid June. First stop was in Edgewood, New Mexico for the Single Action Shooters annual End Of Trail event. These are the greatest bunch of folks you'll ever want to meet, and they love what they do. This year, the entertainer's area was reinforced and well protected from the fierce afternoon winds, and proved to be secure even in a monster dust storm. My pals Devon Dawson, Bill Barwick and Sourdough Slim shared the honors with, while I was there for two days of this fun get-together, and girlfriend Kip Calahan came in on my last day, so she was there to sing the duet part on "the Same River" with me, and I did some harmonies for her, too.

When I got done there I headed for Albuquerque where I played a show at Solid Grounds Coffeehouse, and cool little concert series in the gathering room of a church. It was hot hot hot outside, but cool and inviting inside, and the crowd showed up in spite of the heat and the Albuquerque Folk Festival going on across town. For the next couple of days I parked around the side of the house at my friends Jim and Ann Jones. Jim is an ace guitar and mandolin player, as well as a songwriter and performer, and I learned that Ann is a former opera singer! They ran an extension out for me for the Cowgirl Camper, and I caught up on some paper work and such for a couple of days.

Then I made an all day drive to a show in Arizona,  the saving grace from the punishing heat outside was the restaurant owner and his delightful young daughter, who sat in rapt attention. I did the whole show for them, and truly enjoyed talking with them afterwards.  You never know who you're gonna meet!

     I drove a couple of hours that night till I was at highway 10 again, and got a couple hours sleep before heading on into Newhall CA, where I visited my dear friend Sue, her friendly pack of dogs, and her lovely horse, a palamino  Warmblood cross mare that I have known since she was about 2 years old...she has become a dream horse for my friend, who shows her in the amateur jumpers, trail rides her, and loves her with all her heart.  We attended a Soroptimists function my friend  had  committed to attend, and then dropped in on my pal Michael Ripoll, where he was doing a show at Rattlesnake Slim's in Newhall.  The next night  my girlfriend and I had dinner with friends Bob and Marie, and then I did a show a Rattlesnake Slim's.

 In the morning Sue and I had breakfast at a favorite spot, and then I got up the road to Visalia, where the show was at Mavericks Roasting Company, one of my central valley haunts. Sons of the San Joaquin bass player and singer Joe  Hannah was there to sing "I Hope She'll Love Me" with me, and as  always, he brought the house down.  We had a  storytelling,  laughter filled late supper with host Gary Brown afterwards, and then I slipped off to my Mom's house for a half  night's sleep, since I had a four or five hour drive the next day to the next show in Fiddletown.

     This was my fourth  annual appearance at the Red Mule Ranch Cowboy Campfire Concerts  Chuckwagon Dinner, and the Scofields were at their best once again, putting on a great dinner, and pulling an enchanting evening together, even though California forest fires threatened to cloud the skies. Somehow, the night was clear, and the stars shone down on us.

     Spent a few days with my Mom, who is 80 going on 18,  she showed me her new skills with her new forklift (she has three now in different  sizes...if you met my Mom, you'd understand) and we moved the ancient wooden freight wagon  my Grandad and Grandma Fisher used to move into California back arounf 1918.  I spent  an afternoon wiring the spokes and wooded wheels securely to the metal rims so they would hold up during the move, and we reset it in in a new place of honor in the front yard. My younger sister came down from Reno just in time to help me jack up the wagon to put blocks under the wheels, and for the 4th of July we went to the Bramer Family celebration in Lindsay. The Bramers are lifelong friends of the Fisher family, and I saw my best childhood friend there, as well as folks I had not seen in more than 30 years!

We left the party fairly early in the evening, and I had the Cowgirl Camper already packed and ready to roll, so I could drive a couple of hours that night, since I had a show in Phoenix the 5th.
      Phoenix temps were in the triple digits, and my rig was struggling to idle in the heat, and I was switching from AC to vent to AC to keep from overheating. I found an RV park, since it was just too hot to do anything else, and plugged in so I could run the overhead AC, take a cool shower, and have a two hour nap before my show at Fiddler's dream, an acoustic (really acoustic...no sound system) show in Phoenix. The room was just wonderful, and the audience was so receptive.

In the morning it was off to Sierra Vista to see folk notable Dolan Ellis at the Arizona Folklore Preserve, and I did a 3 song walk on at his kind invitation. He is a champion for preserving folk music in Arizona, and he puts on a wonderful show.

Spent the night with some friends in Sierra Vista, and then was off to Rodeo New Mexico to stay a couple days with my girlfriend Kip Calahan, except Kip had been called away to California, where her father had been in a motercycle accident, and was in serious condition. (he is doing much better now) I was more than happy to stay at the house with Kip's daughter and two nieces though, till Kip got back. Got some writing done, and enjoyed just hanging out in one spot for the week.

      By the end of the week, I was headed to Willcox to do a show for their Western Heritage Days. I have met some terrific folks in Willcox before, and they were all there, as well as some new folks. The Rex Allen Museum is there, as well as the National Day of the Cowboy headquarters, and both are labors of love and dedication.

The next morning it was back to Rodeo to set up at the Rodeo Tavern...and was that ever fun! The folks came out in numbers for dinner and music, and because I knew ahead of time they would be having dinner, it was fine with me...andy they could not have been nicer and more responsive. Kip and her crew all came in, and Kip sang with me onstage, and heckled as only another singer can do, from offstage. We had a ball.
 
     The next two long days were pure hard driving back to Tennessee, so I could repack and head to Virginia....got home late Monday night, and left Thursday AM. First stop in VA was at the home of a fly fishing buddy, who was so delighted to have some one new to show his favorite fishing holes to. He and his brother, and their wives, hosted a house concert on the family farm. The evening finally cooled off by the second set, and ended with everyone (none had ever been to a house concert) wondering when the next one would be.
The next morning my friend , his son, and I headed to the Shennandoa mountains to catch some beautiful little wild brook trout. Ah, heaven.

      The coup de gras was getting to play at the Birchmere Music Hall in Alexandria Virginia, doing a half hour opener for the legendary Ian Tyson. Mr. Tyson was in especially good humor and spirits when I came in (they were doing their sound check) and after I did mine (it took all of 45 seconds with their top class crew) Mr Tyson and the "Gords" (his two backup musicians who are both Gordons) and I had a nice visit in the green room. They headed off to their hotel to freshen up, and I got my dressing room set up to get ready for showtime...and prepared for an opportunity of a lifetime.
      The Birchmere did not dissapoint...by the middle of the first chorus of the first song, I knew the audience was with me, and the sound was so superb....it was magical. Half an hour later I said my thankyous, took a bow, and walked off, with the audience calling for more....but it was not the time and place for me to take an encore. The were there to see Mr. Tyson. Meanwhile, sales were brisk in the gift show, and after the show, I was surprised to find that almost half the line of people waiting for autographs on CDs was for me. I was in seventh heaven. We had dinner waiting for us in the green room, where we talked recording and  being on the road and other musician things. Then we picked up our gear and headed out. I look forward to returning to the Birchmere!
    
Back home, I have been relishing time with hubby, we have fished one of our favorite rivers twice, and I have been riding Flipper almost daily.
    Later this week I head to Nebraska and South Dakota, for two shows...and then it's about ten more days of home time before I go out again. I love to go out and play, but this being home is getting me kind of spoiled....in a good way.                

The final stop on the spring tour could not have been at a more beautiful peaceful place, the Bar Lazy J Guest Ranch in Parshall, CO, which is accessible via highway 9, from Highway 70, and is near Hot Sulphur Springs. I had met, via an internet order of my CD "Cowgirlography", and delightful young lady by the name of Tamma Urich. Tammy used to live in Nashville, and had gone out one summer to work at the ranch, fell in love with the mountains, and moved there. Her husband is the head wrangler, and an experienced trainer and driver of the teams they use to carry guests on a tour of the ranch, plus he managed all the saddle horse operations.
Tammy sings around the campfire for the guests regularly, and once we got to talking, we became friends. The Bar Lazy J is owned and operated by Cheri and Jerry Helmecki, who went to a guest ranch where all was not so well, but saw potential for doing things right. They found that the Bar Lazy J was for sale, and jumped right in, and have been there for many years, with more than an 85% return rate....great for a guest ranch.
The first night was a steak dinner with great trimmings, and I was shown to a charming cabin right on the Colorado River. In the morning after breakfast in the dining room, Tammy was excited to take me for a ride to her "her country" and Cheri volunteered up her own horse for me to have a fine mount for the morning. We climbed a mountain, Tammy telling me the names of the peaks,rivers, and valleys. She was on a green horse, so I was glad to have Cheri's steady horse to help get her horse over the railroad tracks as we headed up. When we reached the crest of one hill, she told me that the rock formation was a popular bald eagle resting spot, and told that the natives used to tether a snared rabbit near the rocks, and when the eagles would swoop down to get it, they would run out and pluck a few treasured tail feathers from the eagle, which would not let loose of the rabbit.
Lunch was served in the screened porch dining room, and after that, we headed out for another ride to see some more country. What a delight it was to get to know Tammy, and I had chances to visit more with Cheri and Jerry. I did a concert in therei "saloon" room, and then went off to bed. After breakfast I headed back down the mountain towards LaPorte Colorado to see my pal singer/songwriter Gary McMahan, and then drove a couple miles over to Fort Collins to pisk up my stepson Andrew's elderly and very sweet Brittany Spaniel, Bullet.
Bullet and I drove two days together towards Tennessee, me poking pepto-bismol tablets into his mouth every couple of hours to control his.....well.....bowel movement suddenness.....and he was SOOOO happy when we finally turned the corner a half mile from home. Bullet was to stay with us a couple of days, and then go to stay with Andrew's mother for the rest of the summer while Andrew was in basic training.
Bullet was with us for 5 days total, during which he got a summer haircut, after collapsing with a heat stroke while Rusty was walking him. We put him in the bathtub and poured cold water over him for 20 minutes before he revived. We kept him inside, after all he had been in cool Colorado, and put up a shade tent in the back yard for when he was outside. Andrew's Mom picked him up, and he was wiggles and wags all over again to see someone else he knew and loved. She and I talked about how Bullet kept surprising us, living as long as he had, and I told her about the heat stroke.
About 10 days after he went to stay with her, we got news that he had suffered another more profound stroke, while riding in the car with her, and sweet Bullet was gone to chase birds around in heaven. We will all miss him so much, what an innocent, and happy way that dog had of looking at the world. Rest in peace, you good dog you.

After I dropped my sweet husband off at the airport in Albuquerque, I got the oil changed in the Cowgirl Camper (second oil change this tour...lots of miles this spring!) I headed north to the green of Mesa Verde, and to visit my friend, noted Western artist Veryl Goodnight. Veryl and I headed out to meet another wonderful sulptress, Patsy Davis, for dinner at a Mancos restaurant, and then we headed over to Veryl's gallery to look at one of her recent projects.
The next morning I was greeted by sleet, hail, and finally snow. I spent most of the day in the camper, catching up on bookwork and emails, and then spent a lovely evening at Patsy Davis's farmhouse with her and her beautiful dog, Emmy Lou. We talked music and art, and I was delighted to know I had a new friend.
In the morning, my dear friend, DJ Barb Richart called to invite me for lunch and a day at her rambling ranch near Mancos. Barb is one of those wonderful DJs who plays Western music to her eager listeners, and supports our music with every fiber of her being. It was my plan to spend the night at Barb's, but the weather continued to deteriorate through the afternoon, and by 5 PM, I had made a change of plans, and decided I'd need to head south, for a detour around through Santa Fe, instead of up and around Wolf Creek pass to get to my next stop, Trinidad, CO.
My concert hosts in Trinidad were Jim and Darlene Colt, at their delightful bed and breakfast in the historic hills. The ranch is simply "The Colt Ranch" and boasts the history of the now ghost mining town of Primero right in it's back yard. The Colts organized a fundraiser to benefit the Las Animas Sherrif's Search and Rescue sqad, who were there in numbers to help folks park and find their way.
I heartily recommend a stay at the Colt Ranch, meals were wonderfully regional and the company was outstanding.
Next issue....the Lazy J Bar guest ranch in Parshall, CO!

After my Washington dates and the drive south that took me through Moab, I picked up my husband Rusty at the airport in Albuquerque. We drove south east to Ruidoso, the beautiful mountain town that boasts one of horse racing's richest races, under sometimes snow covered peaks. We settled into the nice digs provided by the hosts of the gig I had there, a two bedroom condo, and I can tell you, after a couple of days of hard driving in the Cowgirl camper, I was happy to have a real bathtub and bed, and be able to move around freely! The next morning we headed for Rio Ruidoso to catch some fine fat New Mexico trout. The tiny river produced some fair sized trout, and we dodged some big thunder showers between runs. We settled in for Saturday afternoon to watch the Preakness, and it was great to see a class horse like Big Brown win.

The first night of the two night engagement was unexpectedly canceled, but we were still on for the second night, so did a radio appearance with my friend DJ Joe Baker (several times WMA DJ of the year, and the guy who keeps abreast of the Western Music charts like no one else. The dinner theater where I was booked is a great looking room, with a stage that rivals any theater's stage, and lighting, and a comfortable dressing room.

After the gig, we got things packed up for the next day, visited the Hubbard Museum, where my friend artist Veryl Goodnight's sculpture of two ladies, one riding atride, one aside, graces the entryway. I'll see Veryl next week. We looked around Ruidoso a bit more and headed back up towards Albuquerque, then further north west to Jemez Springs, and then the Jemez National Forest, where we....you guessed it....went fishing. We stayed at a state park campground the first night, after driving up the the Caldera to see the elk bedding down for the night in the preserve. The next morning we had a couple of miles of prime river in a canyon to ourselves. Beautiful little mountain brown trout show out to suck down dry flies and nymphs, and we had a wonderful long day of quiet, with the music of the water as a background.

We intended to find a different campground for that night, but ended up driving on up to Los Alamos, and Rusty called a great shot there....he got us a room at the Holiday inn...a long hot shower....ahhhhhh.

Today we visited the ruins at the Bandolier National Monument, where the Anasazi once lived in cave dwellings on the cliffs. We drove on through Santa Fe, and then down to Albuquerque. Tonight we had dinner at a favorite restaurant of mine in Old Town, and tomorrow I take Rusty back to the airport. He heads out tomorrow, and I go on to Colorado.

I got a call today from a concert booker and friend in California, who was worried about a rumor she had heard: someone called to tell her they had heard I'd been killed in a car accident in Bakersfield, CA. I assured he I was among the living, and an hour later, it dawned on me I'd better call my Mom, in case anyone called her to confirm the rumor. We reached Albuquerque, and my phone rang again and it was my friend Dave Stamey, who had also heard the rumor. It had really made the rounds on the California Western Music circuit!
Rest assured, all is fine here. Two more dates to play up in Colorado, then I pick up my stepson's dog, and tote him back to Tennessee for the summer.

Wow, my foray into Washington state absolutely exceeded my expectations, wonderful folks up there in the Pacific Northwest, and nice venues plus spectacular scenery to take in.

The new GPS I decided on is the Garmin Nuvi, and I splurged on the wide screen model, since the regular model was not available on that day at Best Buy in Visalia, CA. After a day or two of getting used to it, I just LOVE this new model! It's efficient, finds satelite signals quickly, and gives clearer directions than the late Lydia, my old faithful navigator that gave up the ghost late in April.

My hosts at the first stop, Cle Elum, WA, were Bill and Gerry, and Claire and Kurt, folks I'd met in early 2007 when I played at the Spirit of the West festival. They got hold of Sande DeSalles, the lady who had the vision to start up that festival, and with Sande's help, they put together a dandy way to fill up their little grange hall in Cle Elum, with some of the funds going to the Sparrows Club, one of my favorite organizations that helps kids in need of medical help. The following day I went for a lovely ride in the mountains with a neighbor of Bill and Gerry's, and got stuck in my first ever snow drift. I'd hacked and even foxhunted in light snow in Tennessee, but had never been in a belly deep drift before. The sweet little mare I was riding went down once she got belly deep, but was smart enough not to struggle. After she rested a bit, she lunged her way out....whew!
The following day I was treated to a fishing trip at Rocky Ford, a fine spring fed fishery that was loaded with 20 inch plus rainbows, and I landed one that measured 3/4 of an inch shorter than my 24 inch net. Whew! Nice fish were everywhere, but like the fish of the Frying Pan in Colorado, they are used to seeing people, so they can be maddeningly tight lipped. What they DID like to looks of were my favorite Arkansas pattern, Trout Crack.

For the next show I swung up to Lewiston Idaho, where DJ Tommy Tucker hosted a show at the Lewiston Community Center. After that was a show for the Spokane Folklore Society, and what a nice surprise I had there, two old friends I had not seen in close to 20 years came to see me!
After that, it was out to Whidby Island, to play in Coupeville....what a wonderful, beautiful venue, in a lovely church, and a great, enthusiastic audience.

Last stop was in Puyallup, where a couple of great folks decided it would beneat to have me up for a concert at the Fred Oldfield Center at the fairgrounds. What a great place, full of Mr Oldfield's western art, and the place filled up with happy westerners who gave me a wonderfully warm welcome, and, like the last stops, also made me want to return!

The next morning after a hearty breakfast, I was treated to a ride into the high country, on a perfect little saddle mule named Crisco (I had a choice of mounts, and chose him) Crisco navigated the steep and muddy places with typical mule carefulness, and I saw forest that is so deep and thick it's easy to see why Sasquach can easily remain unfound.

I drove away from Puyallup happy and smiling, and the next day stopped to visit my friends at Hamley's in Pendleton. The next day was a hard drive, but the end of the day had me in Moab Utah, one of the world's most beautiful places.
What a lucky life I have!