Aunt Jean's Sheep Camp

My Aunt Jean was quite the cowgirl. She was always interested in horses and usually had one or two. I first learned to ride horses on her little ranch in Sarasota Florida. She loved everything Western. When she moved to Utah with her third husband they bought an old warehouse that was last used as a place to store honey. They restored it into the cutest western cottage you could imagine. Her husband "Patch" Peterson was a Western Sculpture artist. As part of their various restorations they found an old "sheep camp" trailer. A sheep camp is an upgraded version of a covered wagon. It could be pulled into remote locations and provide sheep herders a place to sleep and get out of the elements. They were common between the turn of the century and the 1930s. Jean and Patch restored the sheep camp. It even had a pot belly stove in it. I always thought the sheep camp was the coolest thing ever. I liked the fact that it was compact and small. It could go just about anywhere.

Aunt Jean died of breast cancer a few years ago. I was hoping to buy the sheep camp from Uncle Patch. It had sentimental value because Aunt Jean restored it and I wanted to keep it in the family. Plus I thought it was really cool. My Uncle Patch sold it off faster than I could imagine.

Ever since then I have thought it would be nice to have a go anyway, small, compact camper trailer. I figured I could never find a restored sheep camp. I found and purchased a 16 foot Airstream Trailer. It is small and very compact. It is hardly rustic. It has solar power, satellite radio, TV, DVD surround sound. It is really cool.

We are going to take it up to Lake Tahoe next week end for my birthday.

Reno Air Races

One of the fun things about living in Northern Nevada is the Reno National Air Races. It takes place at the Stead Airport just north of Reno. This year I went with Marla on Saturday. In the past I have gone during the week and played hookey. I know now why. The traffic and crowds were in incredible. But we did make it there in time to see the US Air Force demonstratoin team " The Thunderbirds". They were amazing to watch. The Air Force also had the F22 Raptor demonstration team and the performed a demonstration of the flying capabilities of the F22. The Thunderbirds were incredible in their precision and manouvers. The F22 performed what is basically aeronatically imposible. The Air Force guys were truely inspiring. An interesting side note is that my Dad flew in the Marine Corps demonstration flying team. The planes and times were very different back then.

July 2008 I helped move Sara into her new digs in Provo. She is starting law school and just finished her first week. She is living on the South East part of town. It is not too far from were Marla and I lived when we were first married 29 years ago. She has two housemates but she has her own bedroom and bathroom. Her front door opens up onto a large and beautiful city park. So far Sara says she loves everything about being in Provo and going to law school.