It's not unusual to see someone walking along the street or in a store packing a sidearm.
I truly live in the Wild West... at least part time.
Just before the 'kids' visit I spent a few hours at historic Sahuaro Ranch right down the street in Glendale.
Each year, the community puts on a Wild West event giving way to gunslingers, blacksmith's and dance hall girls. You can have authentic meals, watch a shoot out or even try your own hand at the quick draw.
This year, in 90+ degree heat, dressed in dusty chaps, Colts slung low and Winchesters carried high over a shoulder, aging celebrities from TV shows like Bonanza, Lawman, Maverick, Gunsmoke, and the Lone Ranger to name but a few make the rounds of these Western shows to impress us with their pistol twirling, quick drawing, fast talking, shoot em up skills. Some even have a sense of humor!
I stood underneath a huge shade tree listening to old stories told a million times of what it was like in them days, performing on the set of those old television shows.
Okay, maybe it wasn't the real Wild West but real enough for a kid that grew up slapping leather and riding my favorite horse on rocking springs!
I think those of us from this aging generation that ride or rode motorcycles, still have some of that restless wandering spirit in our souls. I've often likened riding a bike long distances through desert trails and highway's to high pine forests and plains to what it may have been like traveling the Apache trail in the saddle, with a bedroll roped to the back.
Regardless, I enjoyed myself talking to the folks, many of which were dressed in period costumes and were not performers.
Yup, pard... it's still in many ways, the Tuscon or Tombstone of bygone days.
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