After target practice today, we pulled over to the Everett Bowman Rodeo Grounds where a practice session was underway for an upcoming rodeo event. There are a couple of cowboys in the photo that are doing some calf roping practice. Click on the image to enlarge.

Happy Thanksgiving! Our dinner consisted of turkey breast, mashed taters, cinnamon carrots, green beans and Verna’s Thanksgiving Dressing all topped with her killer turkey gravy. We’re all stuffed now. Not shown are the dinner rolls and cranberry jelly. Click on the image to enlarge.

Cabela and Bay Bay try on their new Halloween outfits on a cool October night. Verna also tried on her Halloween stockings. Click on the image to enlarge.

Last weekend, Bob posted a panorama of a segment of US 60 between Harcuvar and Hope, AZ. He mentioned in that post that directly behind the camera line of sight there was a rock with native American petroglyphs on it. This is the petroglyph rock. Click on the image to enlarge.

We had our initial encounter with our new dentist in Arizona today. I observed several nice southwestern art pieces in the office and waiting area. I especially liked this rendition of a Native American sculpture that was hanging in the waiting area. Click on the image to enlarge.

Pre-season NFL Football returns to the tube tonight. We watched the Seattle Seahawks play against the San Diego Chargers in San Diego at 8PM eastern (5PM Arizona time) on ESPN. Verna and I tuned in an hour early for the pre-game show. There will also be televised games tomorrow evening, Saturday and Monday.

Before we terminated our California DirecTV service, we had the full-on NFL Sunday Ticket watch-anything package. We did not opt for it in Arizona since our viewing habits changed due to time at the shooting range and other weekend activities. Plus, it was expen$ive.

We’re huge football junkies, so watching the games is a time sink that takes away from blogging. It will continue intermittently right up through Superbowl Sunday in February.

We were on errands this morning to the west of town. On the way back, I took this photo of the historical marker dedicated to the infamous Wickenburg Massacre of 1871. The history of the actual perpetrators is still not known. Was it Yavapai, Mojave-Apache, Mexican impersonators or a wild story created by persons yet unknown (who may have gotten away with the loot).

Click on the image to enlarge.

Excerpt from Wickenburg-AZ.com, “The Wickenburg Massacre Site – An Enduring Mystery:”

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on the morning of November 5th, 1871, a stagecoach carrying seven passengers and driver was ambushed eight miles west of Wickenburg while en- route to Culling’s Well, Ehrenburg and San Bernardino. This event, which led to the death of seven people, quickly became the center of national attention. The driver and five male passengers were either killed instantly or died within minutes of the attack. Two wounded passengers (William Kruger and Mollie Sheppard) made a harrowing escape and were picked up by an eastbound mail wagon approximately five miles west of the ambush site after being pursued by nine members of the ambush party. Mollie Sheppard died from infected wounds some time after January 11, 1872. Of the eight souls involved in the ambush, only William Kruger survived.

Evidence, (some of which was circumstantial and conflicted), eventually led the Territorial Army to attribute the attack to a band of “Apache-Mohave” Indians from the Date Creek Reservation. This group, which would actually have been members of the Yavapai tribe, numbered at least thirteen; but may have been comprised of thirty or more. Yet, although the attack and its aftermath were investigated and heavily reported, many of the details pertaining to the incident are an enduring mystery. Many of the news articles were misinformed or speculative and were written by people who had no direct connection with the events of November 5th; but which served to inflame public sentiment against Native Americans.

[more]