Cowboy Poetry Gathering ~ Day 3

It's a wee bit crisper this morning, 20 degrees, so we make it easy on ourselves and toddle across the parking lot to JR's for breakfast while the Jeep windows de-ice in the morning sun. We meet up with our friend Michael after breakfast and head out to the trade shows.

"Raku Vase with Horsehair"

http://www.etsy.com/shop/wyopotter

The shows are at 4 different venues around town. A couple were easy to find, two were not: one in a small hotel conference room and another well hidden up the stairs to nowhere at Stockmans. I'm an artisan and have done fairs for over 20 years. There is something to be said for having all vendors at one place. It focuses shoppers on the artisans not the task of getting to the venues. It may be a matter of what space is available for the trade shows, with so much going on during the week, but I decided to email the Western Folklife Center and make the suggestion anyway.

"Bareback Rider"

http://www.etsy.com/shop/3LPhotography

The variety and quality of the work offered was astounding: handmade saddles and tack, quilts, cards, clothing and jewelry, custom boots and hats, furnishings and frames, lamps and sculptures, plus all varieties of wall art from photography to etchings. Each of us came home with a treasure or two.

"Desert Rose"

http://www.etsy.com/shop/sedonaskye

We took the afternoon off to rest up for the evening concert. Carol and I discovered a great little Italian place for dinner called Luciano's near the center of town. The concert opened with poetry and stories and closed with Wiley and the Wild West.  Wiley is the consummate performer: he has a great voice, is an amazing yodeler and has more moves that Dwight Yokum and Mick Jagger combined. We were either rolling in the aisles with laughter or at rapt attention enthralled with lyrics that told amazing stories of the West, of ranching, of rodeo and the characters that made it happen. A perfect closing to a grand adventure.

"Abandoned House in Montana"

http://www.etsy.com/shop/GeorgiesLens

No early night for us though, we again decide to play the penny slots and both Carol and I walk away with pockets jingling. Still not tired we decide to pack most of our stuff so we can get an early start in the morning to head for home.  Dreams of horses and the prairie.

Cowboy Poetry Gathering ~ Day 2

Bounced out of bed at 6am and hit the showers, 5 hours sleep and fresh as daisies. As we head to breakfast we're thinking heatwave, who needs a down jacket, it's up to 24 degrees this morning! The dry cold of the desert creates beautiful ice patterns on the Jeep windshield. Definitely not the wiper strangling sticky mush we get with frost in northern California, but we still need to crank up the seat heaters and defroster and patiently wait until we can get a move on. The strategy for tomorrow ~ park on the side of the hotel that gets first sun. Wise women learn quickly!

"Morning Ice Crystals"

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PhotosFromMichele

Coffee and breakfast then we're off the the Great Basin College Theater to spend the morning at the "Song Swap" with Paul Zarzyski and Wylie Gustafson.

Wylie

We're entertained with stories, poetry, music and how the collaborative process works. Wylie's new album "Raven on the Wind" features a number of lyrics written by Paul. The audience was brought into a discussion of how to keep the Gathering, and this genre of poetry and music alive. One woman asked if either artist was mentoring young performers, another suggested bringing stories, songs and poetry to the schools to expose students to a way of life most only read about. It's powerful to have those you admire listen to you and take an idea into consideration that may become part of a solution.

"Raven"

http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaintingPrints

Our afternoon was spent at the Elko Convention Center for recitals, lectures and readings. Each of the presenters reeled in their audiences hook, line and sinker: making us think and leaving us with a desire to learn more. 

   

After a relaxing dinner we head out to the G Three Bar Theater at the Western Folklife Center. The best venue so far and two great shows: at 6:30 Acoustic Poetry with Paul and Wylie (can you tell we love these guys) and at 8:30 a triple threat: young and talented singer/songwriter Adrian, cowboy poet and story teller Leon Flick and singer/songwriter Dave Stamey. Both shows bring the house down. 

After the concerts we toddle back to the hotel, to wired to sleep we entertain ourselves on the visitor friendly penny slots. Too much fun!

So are you starting to get the picture? It's been a 10-12 hour marathon and we've come away more energized than when we started. We run into friends from around the West at the different venues. The contacts are "more drive bys than visits" according to my friend Margo, but we all understand, it's the nature of this event. The gathering is hard to explain, it just needs to be experienced. Put it on your bucket list!

Oh, did I mention it was going to be 80 degrees in Sonoma County today. This is early February, right?