Theme Nights at Bandera

We had 3 different theme nights during the rally. I think, by far, the most popular was the pajama party. I don't think I need say more.....

Even Ronnie Furr and his wife, (our music for the evening), got into the act.

I guess we both like moose's!

But I think Diana was the hit of the party with her footed pj's.

 Another night was Fiesta Night......

And who says adults don't have any imagination? I think we just did not get to play enough 'dress up' as kids, what do you think?

We always have one night for really getting fancy......

Notice the tux....

and then notice these tuxes.......

Cowboy Church, Down on the Farm and the Tacky Fashion Show

There are several activities which occur every year. Here are the highlights....

On Easter Sunday a group of over 40 attended church at the Western Heritage Cowboy Church, the same one a group of us attended last year.

They serve breakfast before church every Sunday.

I really enjoyed the music. even though, because it was Easter, several of their members were out of town.

They even had a number of baptisms. They believe in full immersion and use horse troughs for the event.

Even the pastor keeps his hat on during the sermon. You do remove your hat during prayer though.

The first official activity of the rally is the Down on the Farm with Andy. Everyone dresses up for the occasion and we were served hot dogs and fixins'.

Sandra brought all her critters along.

There was a hay ride down to the river where the party was held.

We always have entertainment too. Keith Fitzpatrick, a local of Bandera, TX, is famous for his fancy trick roping. He's also pretty good with the bullwhip as well. Keith travels world wide giving exhibitions and entertaining audiences with his roping abilities.

I know he sure entertained us.

There was also the Tacky Fashion Show, which is held every year. Everyone tries to outdo everyone else as you will see..... 

This guy found himself in a pickle (barrel that is).

These two country hicks were on their way to New York City and they got all dressed up for the occasion.

Some of the fashion gurus.

I won't even try to explain.......You just had to be there. People just couldn't stop laughing at this one.

Bandera Dance Rally

The group of us arrived in Bandera, TX, for two weeks of fun and dancing with 160 friends at a singles dance rally at Skyline Ranch RV Park. Since we arrived a few days before the activities got under way, there was time for some sightseeing. The first day we took a trip to see the Texas Bluebonnets. But along the way we made a few stops.....

This bar and grill had some interesting and unusual items inside.

There were numerous parrots and other exotic birds, and some even talked.

This was one of the fancy Chinese pheasants.

And this peacock was sitting on the roof.

This room had an upper level with tables and chairs so you could dine with the parrots. And yes, the owner and his daughter also make pottery and sell it too.

On down the road we stopped at the Old Tunnel Wildlife Management Area.

 One of the main attractions, this old railway tunnel was built in 1913 to connect Fredericksburg and San Antonio. The tunnel has not been used for rail traffic since 1946. Today it is home to over 3 million bats. If you come at the right time of year you can view the colony of bats emerging every evening to go eat 25+ tons of insects nightly.

 

Next stop was the Alamo Springs Cafe.

They are famous for their hamburgers. You can get your burger on a jalapeno bun. Boy was it good.

They grind their own meat and make up the patties themselves.

After lunch we headed to Luckenbach, TX, made famous by Willie Nelson in his song. I don't remember this steer being here last year.

They usually have music every afternoon, as well as the evenings. In the evenings, the music is in the dance hall. Last year we came over one evening for dancing, but we never found the extra time this year.

And then it was on to Willow Springs Loop, a 13 mile drive full of Texas Bluebonnets and other spring wildflowers. Last year the Bluebonnets weren't blooming yet, but with the wet weather, all the spring flowers were in bloom.

More spring flowers.

Most of the creeks were full of water.

Site of the 1968 World's Fair, Hemisfair.

Another day a few of us headed to San Antonio. As many times as I have visited the Riverwalk and downtown area as an adult, I had never visited the site of the 1968 World's Fair. This year I walked the grounds of Hemisfair, the name for the 1968 World's Fair. The reason it meant so much to me was because I attended Hemisfair with my parents when I was 13 years old.

When I started looking back at all the pictures from this year's rally, I knew why I was so tired at the end of the two weeks. There will be separate blogs on many of the activities, but here are a few pictures of what went on every day.

 

 One evening Linda Wheeler entertained us with her singing while the rest of us line danced.

Every day there were dance instructions. It was beginning dance lessons in the morning and more advanced lessons in the afternoon. Here are Betty and Troy, our instructors, giving us a demonstration.

We were served breakfast every morning.

 As you registered you were assigned to a team. For the second year in a row, I was on the purple team. Every day a different team was responsible for preparing and serving breakfast, cleanup, social hour goodies and entertainment, and cleanup after the dance every evening.

 

Our goodies at social hour every day.

Waiting for announcements and entertainment.

If you wanted an evening off from dancing you could always join a few others for games.

Entertainment was the responsibility of each team. Some did skits, some sang, some had games, and some told stories and jokes. What was most fun was getting to know the other team members as you prepared your entertainment for your day.

Most evenings we danced to the music of Ronnie Furr. He not only does a great job playing other peoples music, he writes and records his own songs as well.

One evening there was karaoke.

The last two nights we had the Desert Rose Band.

More about the dance rally will forthcoming......

From Arizona to Texas

I'm only about two weeks late in updating my blog, but for my defense, I've been busy.

I left Benson, AZ, and headed east. My goal was the SI's Singles Dance Rally in Bandera, TX. But there were stops along the way. First, Rellene joined me in Benson. After spending the night in Deming at the Dreamcatcher RV Park we headed to Las Cruces, where Cheryl, who lives there, was joining us. While waiting for some more friends to arrive, Cheryl gave us a tour of Mesilla. The Village of Mesilla was incorporated in 1848 after the Treaty of Guadalupe made the area part of the U.S., and not Mexico. At one time it was the capital of Confederate Territory of Arizona. It was also the location of both the Butterfield Stagecoach Line and the Santa Fe Trail. Many historical figures, such as Billy the Kid, Pancho Villa and Pat Garrett, spent time here as well. It lost its prominence in the area when the Santa Fe Railway selected Las Cruces, another small village nearby, to locate in. I forgot my camera so I didn't get pictures.

By this time, Max, Mark, Nancy and Patty had joined the group, so when we left Las Cruces, our caravan was seven strong heading towards Texas.

Our stop for lunch was in Van Horn, TX. The two smaller vehicles are back behind.

Chuy's was made famous by John Madden, the sports caster. The owner even has a table especially for when Mr. Madden stops in. There is a variety of memorabilia from Mr. Madden on the walls, including one of his football jerseys from his professional days. They also have good Mexican food.

We spent the night in Ft. Stockton. Here is supposed to be the largest road runner in the world. Looks pretty big to me!

We drove out to the original Fort. Not much is left but a few buildings. We got there too late to tour the buildings, but still had a chance to walk around the grounds. This fort, like many in the old west, did not have the typical high walls around it like we are used to seeing in the movies.

The city's public pool is from a natural spring.

The old train station is now the Chamber of Commerce.