St. Paul Rodeo

McMinnville, OR

Hello Friends,

Calida and I were fortunate enough to spend the Fourth of July at the world famous St. Paul Rodeo. St. Paul is a tiny burg only about 15 miles away from McMinnville and boasts a population of 300 (a fact the rodeo commentators mentioned numerous times). The town explodes over the July holiday to host one of the largest rodeo's in Oregon and the country. Apparently this is one of the biggest purses you can get in Oregon and there is another Rodeo not too far away this coming weekend with another big purse that draws a lot of competitors so they can compete in both due to their close proximity.

In typical MCT fashion we were invited to the rodeo by a stranger who knew the MCT team was coming to town and had extra tickets he wanted to share since his kids enjoy our program so much. After exchanging a couple of emails we agreed to meet at the beer tent. It was an absolute gorgeous day on the fourth. While St. Paul is a very tiny town finding parking as the masses descended was quite easy. The rodeo began on the 31st of June so the carnival booths and rides were all in full swing by the Fourth and the sights and smells of a good old fashioned fair were abundant as we sought the beer tent.

With a Coors Light in hand we met our wonderful contact and his family. They have been coming to the rodeo since the mid-60's and their seat are kind of legacy seats you hold on to forever, much like a season ticket for college football. And great seats they were! Box seats right on the rail line nearest the chutes. We could literally reach out and touch the horses as they pass.

I should mention now that I have never been to a rodeo so I had no clue what to expect.

The event started with a nice procession of mainly rodeo Queens (think beauty pageant, not drag queens, though that would have been equally entertaining...) all on horse backs representing various other rodeos from around the region. At the end of the procession was a group of vets from various wars including a D-Day vet. It was a pretty touching tribute and nice to see especially on the Fourth. This whole process took a good fifteen minutes and then we got into the rodeo itself.

Over the next FOUR HOURS we took in 12 events ranging from bull riding and calf roping, to barrel racing and junior events. Each event had about 12-18 competitors however that was just for this program. Each event really has around 100 entries that are spread out of the four day event, so we are only seeing a little slice of the competition. We saw some great riding and even a guy who got thrown in the air from a bull (we later found out he broke his shoulder). But by far the most interesting events were the Model T "Pig-N-Ford" Racers and the Wild Horse Race.

In the Pig-N-Ford race you must do the following:

1. Model T-like crank start roadsters are assembled on the track.

2. A box of pigs is lined up next to the roadsters.

3. At the signal the drivers must run to the box and grab a pig (they were cute piglets)

4. With pig in hand they must crank start their roadster.

5. With pig still in hand they must then drive a lap around the arena.

6. Upon completing a lap they must deposit their pig, grab another, and repeat two more times.

I don't know how drunk you have to be to invent this event... Wow. It wasn't until afterward that we learned it was a big promo event as the roadsters had sponsor flags on them and is kind of like cheering for something on a jumbo tron like a boat or the like a sports game. Still these men who drive the cars and pigs DO THIS FOR A LIVING in the rodeo circuit. And they say I have a strange job...

The last event of the day was the Wild Horse Race and this was a real event with a purse attached. It is absolutely crazy and great. What happens is 10 teams of three line up in front of the chutes, at the signal they open and a wild, saddle-less horse comes running out. It does have a rope around it. It is then the job of this team to wrangle it, put a saddle on it, and get it across the line on the far side of the arena first. This all happens at the same time as ten wild horse coming barreling out of the gate and it is absolute pandemonium. I have a great video of it on the phone and I hope to share it soon.

All in all it was an amazing slice of America to experience. For the most part I enjoyed seeing the expertise of the competitors and cow hands that kept the event running smoothly. I should mention that they non-stop banter between the commentators and Gizmo the rodeo clown was down right PAINFUL and actually quite offensive at times. Not all of us think a bull looks and acts like our mothers and wish our wives were as nice as said bulls. Said once was sort of funny, the tenth time was aggravating. I wish they would just shut up and let us enjoy the events.

The night was capped as we took in McMinnville's fireworks and hit the hay to begin another week the following day - and things are going great!

Again, the internet is not so hot right now so no pictures, but as soon as we do I will post a lot!

The Adventure Continues - ML

Trees and Beaches

McMINNVILLE, OR!

Hello Friends!!!

Greetings from the land of my good old college days! Ah finally good-ish internet access again! At the Camp Crystal Lake, I mean, Trees Motel last week we had internet as long as no one else was using it, that got old as you crossed your fingers and hoped that there might be one bar of internet waiting for you.

The scenery was gorgeous! The redwoods are always awe inspiring and never cease to amaze me. Our hotel was right across the street from the Trees of Mystery! It's an impressive little tourist trap with a 70 foot Paul Bunyan who talks to travelers as they come close to the gift shop. Though his constant yabbering could be heard from the hotel... The gift shop itself had a little free museum show casing native tribes art work from around the world.

Right next to Paul and Babe (who was NOT castrated) was the path that lead to said mysterious trees. I am not sure if "mystery" is the word to describe these trees. To me "mystery" implies that we have no idea why or how they are there when actually we do, they are trees, they grow, all around the word. A better term for the tree tour would have been "impressive" because that they were. They had this one tree that was so large that 12 other trees were growing off of their branches! Another was shaped like a lightening bolt, and one had five trees fused together that formed what they called a cathedral tree and folks even get hitched there.

The main draw of the tour was the sky tram which was a little gondola thing that shuttles you above the treeline to a view area 750 feet up. From there you can see the Pacific to one side and nothing but Redwoods off the other. Impressive.

Another perk to our hotel (besides being bed bug free) was that it had this hidden path that lead down to an enclosed beach. The path is marked and legit, but no one goes down! One day Calida and I packed up a dinner and headed seaside and enjoyed having our very own beach to ourselves for FIVE HOURS! It was wonderful and the weather was gorgeous.

My last schedule week in California (for now probably) was a memorable one in many ways and it was a nice way to say "See you later - for now" to the great state of California.

The Adventure Continues - ML

By good-ish internet I mean I get good spurts of access so posting pictures isn't possible now. I promise, I have some great ones!

Once Bitten

Klamath, CA

Hello Friends!

I am surrounded by giant redwoods, the Pacific is only 1/2 a mile away, and a giant Paul Bunyan and Babe is right outside my window. Yup I am in Northern California. It is strangely fall like here right now with constant drizzle and grey clouds here, isn't it almost July!?

Last week went very well. We got a really great cast and now we feel like we finally have a good grasp on the show. The only small hiccup was performing outside. The stage itself was a portable elevated stage but backstage was on a baseball field and all of our costumes and set got ridiculously dirty. Also the only bathroom was a honey bucket, we were terrified that the toilet would eat a few costume pieces, thankfully, it did not.

I did get to experience a first last week - always something new on the road. On Thursday I started noticing small spots on my skin. I thought "Oh this must be like a mosquito or something" but over the next few mornings I started noticing more and more and some of the spots were merging into blotches. They weren't itchy or irritating just strange, "Hmmmm..." I thought, "I don't have allergies, I really haven't been outside, what could it be?". Then it dawned on me - "BED BUGS!!!!"

Sure enough after much online research it matched. I must have been lucky to only be sharing my bed with a few because some cases look just vile. I am happy to say the redness is going away and everything of mine has been washed. You can see in the picture of my hand some good bumps near my knuckles and wrist. I had more on my arms and back, thankfully none were in my swimsuit area.

Oh the joys of the road.

The Adventure Continues - ML

Snow Whiters

Lake Oswego, OR

Hello Friends Again,

Since I don't have any pictures (yet) of this past weekend exploits I thought I would share this picture. It is yours truly with the four Snow White teams I had the great honor of training earlier this month.

For better or worse they some how took my scattered and addled knowledge and are now full blown TAD's on the road. God help them. They are a great bunch and any town would be lucky to have them pull up in their little red truck!

The Adventure Continues - ML

Jelly Days and Napa Nights

Lake Oswego, OR

Hello Friends,

Back in the good old Pacific Northwest! I do love me this area and it feels great to see green everywhere and smell that fresh air (albeit the hotel is right next to the interstate, but hey, it's a Crowne Plaza so I can't complain too much). We have finished one week with Secret Garden and it went very well. With a crazy four days rehearsal and an audience of almost 400, I admit I was a little terrified as I took stage Friday (I was even losing my voice!) but when all was said and done the kids did great and as they always say at the home office, "No matter what, you will always have a show come show day."

Since we did have a Friday show we had all day to run-a-muck around the northern central area of California. What happened to be none too far from the front gates of Travis AFB? THE JELLY BELLY FACTORY!!!

Not gonna lie, anticipation was a bit high as we pulled into the colorful parking lot on Jell Belly Lane (that was a treat to be heard said by the GPS). Spirits remained high as did my many references of being in "Charlie in the Chocolate Factory" (all of which were lost of Calida, where is Kepler when you need him!?). Then we got to the line and the millions of screaming children and the wind fell from my sails faster then you could "Very Cherry" (There most popular Jelly Belly).

I know I am getting older and my old man gene is developing quite nicely, however, since a larger part of my job is child crowd control it is really hard to be in public places were children are roaming free liek "Lord of the Flies". After many glares from Calida to relax and enjoy the day off I let the little sugar addict spawns bother me no more, because it was tour time and it was FREE!

Oh but the the factory wasn't in production because they were doing their yearly maintenance...

So most of the tour was like this "To your right is where our Jelly Bellies are sorted in a cornacophia of color and joy, or at least they normally would be..." Still it was a free tour with lots of samples and tons of factoids so while I sound old and bitter it was still a lot of fun.

We left Jelly Belly and headed to Napa to enjoy another Team's show at the Napa Valley Opera House. The Opera House is gorgeous and their show was wonderful (It was Wiz of the West by the way). Afterward we got a bit gussied up and hit Napa at many a wine bars. Our favorite hands down was Carpe Deim. The owners did a good job at making us feel at home and the Napa Pinots were spectacular!

The drive Sunday was LONG! Ten hours on I-5 is never a joy though going past Mt. Shasta on the Oregon/California border is pretty (I am just glad to be doing it in the summer). The show is cast and spirits are high as start week two. The performances are outside so that will be interesting! Looking forward to seeing folks this week as I am near the City of Roses!!!

The Adventure Continues - ML

Daring Dining ~ The Griddle

Fairfield, CA (Travis AFB)

Hello Friends,

Last weekend during our drive from Missoula to Travis AFB down "scenic" High

way 95, Calida and I stopped for the night in bustling Winnemucca, NV. Our hotel, Winners, was straight from the 60's and considering the cheap price and lack of vermin and bullet holes I would consider our nights rest a pleasant one.

The morning sun kissed us awake and it was time to make for our last leg to Travis, but not with out a good morning meal! And boy oh boy were we in for some good eats!

Winnemucca is a one street town so all the local hot spots were easy to choose from. Our destination was clear: The Griddle.

We barely beat the after church brunch rush and grabbed a table in this nice greasy spoon. The diner was straight out of the fifties as a long counter greeted one on entrance and the color scheme was either straight from the 60's or is so faded that it just looks that way now. While the decor was a bit off putting the menu was spectacular. They had the typical cakes and eggs, however a whole page was dedicated to local specialties.

The fast and friendly service convinced me on the daily special, asparagus and Swiss Cheese omlete topped with Holdendaise Sauce. Calida opted for one of the menu specials an egg scramble featuring local Cajun sausage.

Needless to say, it was very very very good.

The 6 hour drive from Winnemucca to Fairfield, CA was pretty as (for the third time in two months) we drove over Donner's Peak in the Sierra Nevada's (That's an elevation of 7,200 feet on the pass - knowledge is power!). The week has been extremely busy since we are putting up a brand new show for the first time. When we aren't in rehearsal we are burying our noses in the scripts getting ready for the show tomorrow!

It's going to be a lot of fun and I can't wait to report it to you!

The Adventure Continues - ML

Summer Starter

Fairfiled, CA (Traivs AFB)

Hello Friends!

What a wonderful and BUSY past few weeks it has been in Missoula. The two weeks of training went very well (except for the no internet part, hence the lack of updates) and I am happy to report there are now 47 touring teams out and about the country for Missoula Children's Theatre. The Snow White teams were trained by yours truly and I had a wonderful time molding new tour actors in the way of the TAD, hopefully they enjoyed their time as well.

Calida and I made our two day journey from Missoula with little incident and are rip roaring ready to go to start teaching some Secret Garden which begins at 9AM tomorrow, so tonight is full of audition and teaching prep. So on that note, good night for now and here's to a great three months!!!

The Adventure Continues - ML