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Kings River Regulators |
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Wild West Extravaganza |
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The Road to Pahrump |
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Wednesday 9/16/09 0445 Left the ranch headed down the road to Pahrump.
First stop, the rest stop on highway 5 to get rid of the first cup of coffee. Second stop, the turnoff of highway 5 toward Wasco and 5 dogs.
A stop in Bakersfield to top off the gas then back on the road. One more stop in Mojave to change drivers and back on the road. Had a butt break at Barstow Station then down to Baker, turn off to Shoshone then here to Pahrump. Got in at 2:00pm.
Hotel is the Best Western, nice rooms and it’s only 90 degrees.
We’re going to hang in town tonight and hit the range in the morning. Fannies happy because there’s penny slots to play.
Pictures later.
Ok, at the Best Western there’s Wulfy’s sports bar with Duck Pin bowling, pool and great happy hour beer prices, 1.50 for 16oz good beers. Here’s a picture of Ramrod with the Duck Pin ball. More story and pictures tomorrow.
Thursday 9/17/09 Up early again. Breakfast buffet at the Best Western is free for guests. Scrambled eggs, sausage, biscuits and gravy, country potato’s, make-yourself-waffles and real milk.
Went to find the range, it was closed but it’s in an old gravel pit. Looks neat.
On the way back we stopped at the World Famous Chicken Ranch, that of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. The outdoor footage in the movie was the Chicken Ranch in Pahrump. Here’s a picture of the front. Here’s a picture of the exit sign. Leghorn Saloon. Then we saw a billboard for a museum that looked interesting. If it wasn’t so far out of town, we’d go.
While we’re here, we’re looking at RV’s. They seem cheaper and with less taxes. Here’s one Fannie fell in love with. I’m not too thrilled with it, no storage space.
More later.
Friday 9/18/09 First day of the match is over. It got hot early but didn’t get over 90 by the end of the shoot.
Last year there were 39 shooters, this year 75.
Lash and Penny put on some great stages and have a Wild Bunch category in the main match. You get to use your 1911 with two magazines loaded with 5, the cowboy lever rifle and your ‘97 stoked with as many shells as there are shotgun targets. Prior to the beep you load and make ready, magazine in and hammer down on empty chamber. As required, after the beep, pull your slide and shoot the pistol targets as everyone else, changing magazines on open lock to imitate the second revolver. Here’s Fannie trying her hand with the 1911. When your shotgun comes up, rack and shoot, no movement allowed with shotgun per SASS rules. What a hoot. There are two categories of wild bunch, modern allows two handed grip, modified 1911’s and traditional which is as it says non modified 1911’s. There are 5 competitors in the Wild Bunch category.
Tonight we’ve got tickets to the Melodrama put on at Boomtown, we’ll post after we return. Tomorrow is another day shooting then awards on the main stage at Boomtown, and the gun show.
Well I forgot to mention 23 of us had lunch at Sherri’s Ranch, a local bordello, and home to the best steak sandwich in Nevada. The “ladies” of Sherri’s were in the sports bar talking to everyone and enjoying lunch. Some of the shooters, and their partners, took the tour of the back rooms.
The melodrama was an amateur production and their first night. Lots of miss cues and forgotten lines but a great show anyway. You got to throw popcorn at the villain and dinner was included.
Tomorrow’s another shooting day so we’re watching Lonesome Dove and getting some rest. See you all tomorrow.
Saturday 9/19/09 Last day of shooting. Got hot early but a breeze came up to blow the smoke away.
The range has some interesting targets. A great bonus set up which has four knockdowns and a large hole in the middle. Here’s a picture of it. And a target with large holes in the middle, here. The idea is you don't’ hit the steel you shoot through the hole. Great training for spotters. SASS says you must “see” a miss to call it a miss. This target you can actually see the miss. Any hit on steel is a miss. Makes your mind do tricks though.
We’ve just got out of the hotel pool, yeah it’s rough, and are getting ready to go to the gun show then the awards. Then come back and pack the car for an early departure for home. It’ll be good to sleep in our own bed. More after awards.
Awards and miscellaneous pictures:
Lady Gunner 2nd Ladies Silver Senior Geo Kid 1st Silver Senior, 10th Overall Fannie Mostly 1st Ladies B Western, 7th Overall Ramrod 1st Frontier Cartridge, Fannie beat me, it’s going to be a long ride home
Our Hosts: Lash Latigo and Penny Pepperbox
Quotable Quote of the Weekend: Fannie, Penny and Ramrod talking about the temperature being 91 degrees at 7:30. Ramrod: But it’s a dry heat. Penny: Yeah, so’s an oven.
The car’s packed and we’re turning in to hit the road before it gets hot in Death Valley. We’ll post a follow up when we get back to the ranch.
Good night Mrs. Calabash where ever you are.
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