The Grassland Fair

Finally the day of the Grassland Fair had arrived. Luckily it was sunny and warmer than its been for a while. We did our usual morning routine, arriving at the headquarters/visitor center just before 8:00. Ellen had asked to attend a bird walk given by a local birder that was one of the first events of the day. Yoga was another possibility, led by the Yoga Bunnies of Tucson, but it was a little cold for outdoor yoga. Steve was assigned to the kid's T-shirt painting setup and early traffic direction, an onerous job.

The fair offered various presentations, craft sellers, non-profit group booths and food vendors. We had nearly 300 visitors over the course of the day, a little disappointing for various reasons. It seems there were several major events around the area including a festival at the popular Desert Museum. The Grassland Fair also had several snake displays and lots of activities for kids, including our bird walk. When the time for the junior bird walk finally arrived, we had no takers. None. Of course, at the same time, the fire crew was teaching youth archery and games using the fire hose to move balls. Really now, what would a kid chose? All was not lost, however, we did have one rather lethargic 50-ish couple who wanted to go on the bird walk. Being mid-day, we were able to show them a few (very few) birds and they seemed happy.

We had several lunch options from the food vendors. Steve chose (not surprisingly) the new BBQ restaurant in Arivaca. A pulled brisket sandwich and cole slaw was quite good and we'll be sure to give them a try when they open for real next month. Ellen opted for a pulled-pork sandwich from the booth benefitting the local Sasabe school. There was a third interesting food booth offering Mexican specialties. We decided to try a couple of combination plates that we could put in the refrigerator and bring back to Speedy for dinner. It was going to be a long day and it would nice not to have to cook dinner. The combo plates had beef burritos, chicken tamales, rice and refried beans along with two kinds of salsa.

There were many exhibitors as well, mostly environmental groups and other government agencies. The USGS had an interesting booth with reptiles and amphibians...and we thought they just did maps. Steve got to touch a Gila Monster and hold a Barred Tiger Salamander...pictures at the end.

After the final event of the day, a dance performance by the Aztec Dancers, we all helped clean-up, put away furniture and do a general tidy. Staff and volunteers were all heading home when Jeff (in charge of maintenance) said he needed all drivers to shuttle cars and trucks back to the staff lot. Ten of us piled into a van and a large truck to drive to the maintenance area and bring back the vehicles. As luck would have it, Ellen got the refuge manager's Ford Escape. She couldn't figure out how to move the seat and so just drove it across the refuge as it was. The refuge manager is significantly taller than Ellen and was glad to get her car back.

Finally we all made it back to the outpost. Luckily our dinner just needed to be zapped in the microwave. Everyone was gathering later by the fire to discuss the day and have a beer or whatever. We had been so busy this last week that we never found time to pump our holding tank which by now was very full. No problem, we thought, we'd just use the community building until we could pump out in the morning. During the evening, one young man used the facilities and came back gasping. Apparently a skunk had taken up residence below the trailer and the stench was unbelievable. Ellen tried to us the facilities before we went to be and said it was nearly impossible. It smelled very strongly like burning skunk. Dan and Clint (one of the maintenance men) said they'd deal with it next week and that we could use a neighboring trailer for showers and toilets in the meantime. Laundry will just have to wait.

Photos are here.