Well Friday saw us with some clear blue skies and much much cooler temps. We did get into the low 60's despite the bright sunshine but the breeze kept it quite nippy in the shade. It was such a pleasant change after such warm temps with high humidity for most of the summer. The leaves haven't changed yet but we did see some evidence they may do so in the next few days. The mountain is still draining the water from the past several days as the wet weather gulch behind the cabin is still trickling.
I started the day much the usual with everyone else still in the sack as the cool morning showed in the 40's to start the day and it was about the same when we got back from the rodeo in Sparta last night around 10:30. Wow what a good rodeo and the action was right on with bronc busting and bull riding as the main features and they were superb with some great action. The other actions were good but the arena had some soft spots which made for some precarious footing for both rider and the horse. There were several horses that went down in the soft mud throwing riders as well and a couple horses came up limp. It was a fun time and the first rodeo in years we attended. The clown was great as well with the audience participation. It did get right cool after dark and it was well worth the 10 bucks per person as we saw some talented cowboys and girls and the animals were beautiful. This class of folks pays honor to our Judeo-Christian values as well as to our flag and the anthem.
The Botbyl's took off mid morning to Sparta to use the Wellness Center and then out to lunch so Nancy and I took off on a long extended hike to the top and then down to where the road washed out leaving a tremendous hole crossing the the roadway. There were workers there with backhoe's and lots of huge boulders to start with filling in this huge hole. The workers also had trucks hauling loads of gravel onto the back road in an attempt to fill in the ruts and make it passable for those on top of the mountain to get out. Some of those already left for their second homes and many stayed away for the weekend.
We sat and read outside in the sun for a couple hours during the afternoon before heading out to Sparta for supper at the Muddy Creek Cafe with Mechelle, Allen and Ellie. The food was O.K. and plentiful but I think the Pizzeria is the best deal in town. It was a cold night at the fair grounds but very entertaining. We met our "mountain mom" Helen's only child a son Rick who was visiting for a few days from down near where we live in Florida. We haven't seen him in years and we had a good time with visiting him. The hot shower felt great before climbing in between the sheets around 11, LATER
