Tammys Tantalizing Tattoo

For the last two or three months Tana and I have been involved in a theatrical production that benefits Rescate the EMT and Emergency Ambulance service down here. It is a privately funded service and receives no government support. All its operating income comes from donations and fundraisers like this show. The nearest good hospital is about 65 miles away....if it wasn't for Rescate being on call 24-7, it could be disastrous for many people who get sick, hurt, or have a medical crisis!!! Many people came together and donated their time, money, and skills to ensure that this show would be a success. It's now over....and it was a terrific success....... what follows is a little bit of insight into our production of....

Tammy's Tantalizing Tactile Tattoo

or

You Don't Know Jack

Let the show begin...............

The setting is in the gold fields of 1800's Alaska at the 

Greasy Grizzly Saloon ...  

Tana is Fanny the bar maid who runs the Greasy Grizzly...Leonard the Mountie is the hero Dudley Duzrite who is looking for the villain Juneau Jack..

Fanny sings like a boid...........

I asked the producer if we could borrow that red wig for a couple days....she hadn't got back to us yet

I'm a grizzled old gold prospector who hangs at the Greasy Grizzly

Some friends who came to the show.....

The stage.........

Backstage with Sheriee, the props Nazi......

Yes, we had to do make up!! Don on the left was the Emcee and Jay on the right was a gold miner who shoots the bartender...Spike Desoda...

Yours truly with make up artist Carol who also played a bar room floozie.....

Les on the left is Keen Eye the stagecoach driver and Helen is his saloon floozie.....in real life they are together

 Backstage with Tana and Leslie, the Vamp.....

Willie the excellent sound effects guy....

Andrew, Spike Desoda the bartender and Debbie his real life GF and my floozie in the play....the guy in the background with the beard is Chris the villain...Juneau Jack....the girl in the red polka dot skirt is Candy who plays Brandy the town drunk....

Tryin' on Keen Eyes hat.....

Debbie....my bar room floozie.....

My interpretation of the famous Jeff Goldblum scene from the movie The Fly....remember he steps out of the teleporter machine and he morphed with a fly inside? and emerges with a flys head on his body...and he starts crying to anyone... "help me..help me...help me" Well, thats the scene....I guess you had to be there. Oh BTW my fly head is actually the fake butt that Tana wore in the play.

That's it folks....there were a lot more people involved than I was able to  show here.  I just never seemed to have my camera around when I needed it...this will give you an idea though....a good time was had by all.

Take care my friends until next time.....its gonna be awesome!!!
Peace to you all

Off the grid in El Colorado.....

The weather here is almost perfect warm and sunny just about every day.....the ocean is always blue and inviting so a few days ago we decided to trek to a remote beach village about 60 miles away to spend the day kayaking and lurkin' around exploring. Our trip started well and continued to be a nice drive for about 45 minutes until we had to turn off the main toll road onto a Mexican camino libre.....free road! Our road woes began immediately!!! 

Pedestrians on the highway...!!!

The last trace of civilization for about 40 miles......

Middle of nowhere with about 30 miles to go.....

Watch those shoulders....my truck isn't 4WD.......!!

Check this out!!! This ginormous pot hole is out in the middle of nowhere with no warning lights or signs and absolutely no ambient light of any kind around.....at night this is a disaster waiting to happen.....deadly even!!!!

Magnificent mountains.....

Beautiful scenery.......

Fantastic desert vistas.....

Our first look at El Colorado ......

Main drag in El Colorado.....about 10 families live here totally off the grid....no electricity, no cell phone service, no running water, no sewage treatment, no doctors, no schools, no stores, no churches....no nothing. The nearest store is about 40 miles away and its a gas station convenience mart. There is a picture of it above at the beginning of these pics....."Last trace of civilization"

The government sends in a water truck every week or so.....every house has some kind of barrel in the yard to hold the water. The black barrel in this guys front yard is for water.

This guy has a  water tank is on his roof and one at the side of his house too.......I don't know what the satellite dish is all about on the roof....there is no electricity out here.....maybe he has a generator??

I think its just for show..... This place is tucked in a canyon and surrounded by mountains....I don't think you could get a signal even if there was power???

This is the only bathroom in town and is used by everyone. It is outside and sits in the middle of town so everyone has convenient access.....

This is the only restaurant in town and is open only when there are customers in town....they opened  for us...only one thing on the menu...whatever they had....today it was gigantic fried shrimp with yummy grilled fish fillets, beans, rice, sliced tomatoes, totopopos which are corn chips, and a delicious fiery salsa. 

Unfortunately it was too rough to launch the kayaks. The beach break was at least 4-5 feet. Some kind of weather system offshore kicked up a swell so we just hiked in the mountains and enjoyed all the beautiful vistas. One of the locals volunteered to guide us through the mountains so we wouldn't get lost.

 Tana on the trail ascending a mountain to get to a remote beach on the other side.....

This is a live tree!!!!! At the very top of the pic you can see it's foliage. Our guide who was about 40 told us that this tree has only grown about a foot or two since he was a little boy...

Finally reached the top of the mountain and took our first view of this beautiful secluded cove....only way to get here is by boat or hike over the mountain like we did...!!

On the way down to the cove......

Sorry about the BW .....somehow the knob on the camera got pushed over to black and white mode....this will give you an idea though....you can see the beach in the background....this place was totally deserted except for us.....cool cool cool!!!!!

Well friends that's it until next time.....our trip home was uneventful and we arrived safe and sound and ready for a beer....no cervazas in El Colorado!!! Next time I'll bring an ice chest.

Take care my friends and peace to you all.....

Transitions.................

Hello my friends......long time no see............NO! we weren't abducted by aliens or had a collective out of body experience and came to in another dimension....although that would be pretty cool...nor did we forget about you. It's just that alot has been going on and our lives suddenly transitioned .....big time. In December 2014 we sold ZOSHA!!!!! YUP!! ......reluctantly, after much angst, and after searching for the right person to care for her which we found, we sold her. She likes her new owner. I can tell. 

My final glance at ZOSHA while walking off my old dock for the last time

Some of you might be thinking..."you traitor, you hoser, you hypocrite".....well, I'm the first to admit that sometimes my hypocrisy knows no bounds....I guess that I've let alot of you down by not taking ZOSHA to the places that I promised.....

In my defense there were a number of legitimate reasons that led me to this monumental decision but lets not dwell on past events but look forward to where we, you included, are going from here........
Tana and I have found a place to live on the Sea of Cortez on the West coast of mainland Mexico. We've been here almost eight months. The horizon is still calling us. It's just that we will heed its siren in some way other than sailing and you my friends can be absolutely assured that you will come with us.......

A new day begins over the Sea of Cortez......

    

Until next time......take care my friends....and don't judge me too harshly.....seeya.........

Barrancas del Cobre- The Raramuri....The Men of Light Feet.....

Among the myriad wonders of the Barrancas del Cobre are the Tarahumara Indians. They refer to themselves the Raramuri, men of light feet. This name pays homage to their remarkable long distance running ability. Both the men and women run barefoot and compete in 100 mile long running races with the men kicking a ball as they run and the women twirling a hoop...!!!! 

This a one of the balls that the Tarahumara men kick as they run the traditional races. It's hand carved of wood by local tribes people and is  about as big as large orange. We bought it from a man who had a small stand on the top of a mountain.

Tarahumara is the name given to them by the Spanish.  Today the Spanish name is the most common reference but the tribe itself does not like that name and prefer their traditional tribal name......Raramuri... . They are direct descendant's  of the Aztecs and still live in small communal groups according to their own traditions, ideas, and beliefs. Some still live in caves tucked away in the canyon. 
Unfortunately, their story follows the same sad, tragic pattern as the the indigenous peoples of the United States....one of being violently exploited, subjugated, and persecuted by a more powerful arrogant culture which viewed them as being sub-human. In the case of the Raramuri it was the Spanish that violated, enslaved, exploited, and murdered! In an effort to save themselves and their way of life, the Raramuri fled deeper and deeper into the canyons of the 
Barrancas de Cobre which made them very difficult to find and capture. They were saved by their geography.
To survive in the modern world of today they  farm small tracts of land and rely on a steady stream of tourists coming into the canyon who purchase their crafts. They are elusive and still dwell in the remote canyons in the mountains and only come down to our world when they have to. If you should go to see them remember they are a shy people, innately distrustful of outsiders. They do not like their pictures taken...ask permission first and most likely their response will be no!

A mother and children buying something at a tienda in Divisadero

This lady was trying to sell some of her handicrafts to El Chepe passengers at the little train stop in Bahuichvio which is a little more than halfway to our ultimate destination....

This basket was hand crafted by local tribal women. You see them weaving these baskets all the time while sitting under a tree or off to the side of the road . We bought this from a lady at the Divisadero train station.

Incredibly this is one of their trails into the mountains where they live...........

We ran into this somewhere along the way....nice !!! Look closely and you'll see the rainbow....!!!

Tana and I were trying to hike up to a small group of Tarahumara that lived a couple of hours hike away....at this point we are two hours into the trek and still haven't reached the halfway point!! shortly after this pic was taken my knee gave out and we had to turn back.....never did reach the village.

Here is a typical inhabited Tarahumara dwelling in the 

Barrancas de Cobre

Waiting for the El Chepe at the Divisadero train station....

The food court at the Divisadero train station....great place to grab a snack while waiting for the train. Tana and I ate here several times while in the canyon.....

We got back to El Fuerte about 10pm.....we had made arrangements for a taxi driver to pick us up when the train arrived...don't forget that the station is remote and about 10 miles outside of town!! He was there waiting for us when we pulled in about 45 minutes late.....I tipped the guy ten bucks. 

Pleasant and uneventful six hour drive home.

That's our trip. Thanks for sharing it with us. We will be doing another one shortly....just don't know where yet.....and you know that we will definitely share it with you....until next time

peace to you all my friends...