We went to the Desert Caballeros Western Museum today. The museum is currently showing their “Best of the West” exhibition, featuring the finest western collection of saddles and saddlebags, spurs and chaps, western memorabilia and plenty of western history. We actually saw a .45 caliber single action Colt Revolver that was used by Wyatt Earp.

The current exhibit isn’t the only show, however, since there are dioramas of the local history of Wickenburg, Arizona, including artifacts from the mining days and a mineral display. There were plenty of samples of exotic and rare crystals with a black light display of fluorescent minerals, all beautiful.

My favorite part, was the western art section where this colorful rendition of a Native American woman tending the flocks of goats and sheep. There were so many beautiful paintings and sculptures, many by very well known artists. Click on the image to enlarge.

If you happen to come to Wickenburg, don’t miss this great opportunity to take in the many beautiful art works and history of the region. You won’t regret it.

This will be the centerpiece on today’s holiday table. God bless those brave souls that paved the way to our freedom with their blood. Have a great holiday, everyone. Click image to enlarge.

Our new town features a very Western motif in the downtown area. The Desert Caballeros Western Museum is at the corner of Wickenburg Way and Tegner which is the intersection of U.S. Hwys 60 and 93, right in the heart of the old downtown area. The bronze sculpture in the center is called “Thanks For The Rain” and features a cowboy reverently kneeling next to his horse. Click on the image to enlarge Damsel’s photo.

By the way, if you’re interested in nerdy 3D images, we put an anaglyph image of the sculpture on the family site. You will need red/cyan or red/blue 3D glasses to view it.

We visited the South Coast Botanic Gardens today to view the exhibits of the annual bonsai show and sale. This Foemina Juniper is one of the many interesting and creative exhibits. Click on the image to enlarge.

We visited the Vulture Gold Mine near Wickenburg, AZ today. Once one of the best producing mines in Arizona, it lies as a relic of those days in the beautiful hills near Vulture Peak. This is the building where the bars of gold and silver were stored before shipping to town. Click on the image to enlarge.

However you and yours celebrate this time of the year, be it secular, Jewish or Christian, may you have a joyful and blessed holiday.

Click on the image above to enlarge.

After the visit to the Elite Sports Express firearms exhibit at Field Time in Westminster, CA, today, we went directly across the boulevard to the cemetery. It just happens that this is the place where my grandparents and step father are buried. We found their markers and left some roses.

Damsel took this picture of some of the roses we left on their markers. Click on the image to enlarge.

Although we celebrated Presidents Day a week ago, today is the actual anniversary of the birth of President George Washington, the first president of the United States, and the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War.

From WikiPedia:

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) served as the first President of the United States from 1789 to 1797 and as the commander of the Continental Army in the American Revolutionary War from 1775 to 1783. Because of his significant role in the revolution and in the formation of the United States, he is often referred to as “Father of His Country”.

The Continental Congress appointed Washington commander-in-chief of the American revolutionary forces in 1775. The following year, he forced the British out of Boston, lost New York City, and crossed the Delaware River in New Jersey, defeating the surprised enemy units later that year. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured the two main British combat armies at Saratoga and Yorktown. Negotiating with Congress, the colonial states, and French allies, he held together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and failure. Following the end of the war in 1783, King George III asked what Washington would do next and was told of rumors that he’d return to his farm; this prompted the king to state, “If he does that, he will be the greatest man in the world.” Washington did return to private life and retired to his plantation at Mount Vernon.

We often discuss the topic of parenting, or the lack of it these days. We look around our neighborhood and see a mixed bag of the products of modern parenting. Some families seem to have their act together, with well-disciplined and polite children and teens. Others, most of them in fact, are rude, inconsiderate and irresponsible. I have no idea whether they are ‘victims’ of California public education or not, but the schooling here doesn’t help matters any.

We like it when we’re at the range and see gun-owning parents teaching their children about guns and shooting them. Occasionally, we see a group of scouts and their mentors at the range. That’s a good thing too. Learning about shooting and guns is a much better investment than developing a skill set only suitable for X-Games like skateboarding down a stair rail or something.

I saw this cute poster on a forum yesterday and it got me thinking how parents and schools are letting kids down these days.

Click on the poster for a larger view.

May you and your sweetheart have a wonderful, romantic day.

For the last few days, we have been watching a bunch of rarely-watched channels on the tube. One of those is “TruTV - not reality, actuality.” We found the “World’s Dumbest” feature to be quite entertaining. Consider the following not-so-bright people smashing bottles on their heads. Yes - alcohol was involved.