This year was the 29th Elko Poetry Gathering and these are my favorite moments that happened during the week.
- Adrian lighting candles, spraying perfume, opening all the doors and windows to our hotel room while I chain smoked to try and mask the smell of pee. Why would anyone urinate on a radiator? You can't clean behind it and when that's the heat source in the room, it's a little rank!!
- Spending an inordinate amount of money. I'm not going to lie, that was fun. It probably won't be as much fun when I balance my check book though.
- Buying my first Timmy Lynn levi quilt. I've been wanting one of those since I was 19...COOL!
- Visiting loudly, joyfully and did we mention noisily, with our friends the Goemmers. Adrian and my's personalities are so similar to Reata and Dally's and it's kind of funny to see how there's an outgoing, louder sister and a little more reserved sister in each family. And there's something about getting to be around Mindy that makes my loudness come out full force...and I LOVE it!
- Seeing our Italian friends here on American soil. Drinking, hand gesticulating and eating gone wild. For some reason when I get around Drew and Nat I start talking English with an Italian accent. Why, I'll never know.
- Catching up and spending some quality giggle time with Jennifer Dennison. Every blonde needs a redhead friend! :)
- The Young Guns Show that Andy Hedges, Adrian and Brenn Hill did on Thursday night was amazing. I don't even know how to explain to you the pride and emotion (sorry, I'm being a girl), I have when my sister dedicates a song to me from stage. And when friends that we know take time off and pay their hard-earned money to come listen to Adrian, just makes me about want to bust.
- Adrian getting locked out of her own show by an over zealous volunteer and then being asked to leave said show after finally being admitted for visiting too loudly with some fans when she was signing CDs...that actually made me so incredibly angry I thought I might fling an unlucky old lady through a window and down a snow covered hill, but I managed to control myself. Looking back on it, it was kind of funny though. I'm sorry miss, but with the name tag that says performer and that guitar in your hand at a guitar playing/cowboy singing festival, you look awfully suspicious. I'm going to have to ask you to leave!!! hehehehehe
- I had never attended the artist breakfast in the past, but this year I went. We visited and laughed and joked and made a new friend in George Elsner. What a lovely man! I put a down on a set of spurs that he had with him....I'm so excited and can't wait to show them to you all! He is an amazing bit and spur maker whose snaffle bits and other gear are gladly used by the working cowboy/cowboy-girls in the area. He instantly knew that I needed a pair of spurs with a shorter shank because my legs are so long, and I love that he didn't try and talk me into the set with the drop shanks. I can't wait to get my greedy little paws on them!
- Running into a couple who had been at a show of Adrian's and asked her if she really thought there were working cowboys and ranchers at her show.
- One of my favorite things that happened this year, we actually missed by a margin of almost 10 minutes. We were at the Stray Dog listening to Mike Beck sing and play and left earlier than our friends to catch some zzzzz's before the next day of shows. Mike and the Goemmer's left the bar to find a homeless man rough housing a blonde lady up in attempt to steal her little dog. Mike and Sean of course jumped in, whereupon Mike got punched in the face and Sean wanted to hog tie the homeless man with the dog's lead. Everyone ended up being OK, but I would have payed SO much money to watch that little scene unfold.
- Listening to Jessica Hedges, Adrian, Kathy Wines and Amy Auker talk during the youth meeting about the future of the Elko Poetry Gathering. They were eloquent, they were passionate and they all had very different but applicable ideas to put into affect. They also all come from a ranching/cowboying background, so I felt like what they had to say came from a position that desperately needs to be heard in the management tiers of Elko.
- Getting up Sunday morning and picking up my best friend to have a cup of coffee. She's an ER nurse and works nights, so her just coming off her night shift and staying up to visit was wonderful. Her dad worked for the ranch MY dad worked for when I was 6, and we moved into the house that the Souza's moved out of, missing each other by a mere week. One of the first times I met Stephanie was at Jordan Valley Big Loop Rodeo when we were still teenagers. It was late into the evening's festivities and we were with a group of people where all the girls had showered, changed and done their hair. I think Steph and I knew we were going to be best friends from the moment we saw each other because we were both wearing old boots, hoodies and straight legged jeans....true kindred spirits. Getting to catch up face to face and realize we're friends for a reason....priceless.
- Being sick in a hotelroom that reeked of urine, Adrian and I laying in the same bed and watching the latest installment of the Twilight movies. And we liked it. The movie, not the smell. Don't judge.
- Making it home to the joyful and welcoming greetings of dogs, parents, cats and horses and feeling invigorated and inspired by the people and the stories we brushed up against while in Elko. Till next time!
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| Jennifer Dennison, Adrian, me and Natalia Estrada |
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| Note the look of nervous happiness since I just realized how much money I had spent that afternoon. |
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| Adrian, me and Jessica Hedges right after the youth meeting. Note the happy looking man in the background...my friend Stephanie actually treated him in the ER a day later! WEIRD! |
xo xo Liz
