A Look Into Our Week In Utah

Ace was up in Ogden on Wednesday evening, which began our week of Utah rodeos.  After the rodeo we decided to head to Spanish Fork and stay at the since Ace was up there on Thursday afternoon.

After the slack in Spanish Fork on Thursday, Ace wanted to play golf.  I let him play while I was locating a nearby sushi restaurant for dinner.  We ate at the Wild Ginger and ordered a few different rolls.  Of course we had to get a Vegas roll (since Vegas is where our story begins) and a Texas roll (since what happened in Vegas came home with us).  They were delicious and it was fun to relive our first sushi date in Vegas!

Friday morning we woke up and had breakfast at the One Man Band Diner.  The whole place was very nostalgic and decorated perfectly to fit that time in history!  At our booth there was a little red phone which caught both of our eyes.  When you are ready to place your order, you pick up the phone and it rings and connects you to someone in the kitchen who takes your order.  It was a really neat and fun concept and the breakfast was amazing!

We relaxed in the trailer for a little while before heading to the next rodeo in Castle Dale, UT.

After the rodeo we came back to Spanish Fork and called it a night.  On Saturday morning, I woke up and went for a quick run around the arena.  There was a little track at the very top of the stands that made for a solid path.  I haven't logged a good run in a little while, so it felt pretty amazing and my legs are definitely still feeling it!

In the afternoon, we loaded up and headed to Salt Lake City for the Days of '47 Rodeo.  On our way, we stopped at Crown Burgers to try one of their famous pastrami burgers that Ace's parents had been telling us about.  We accompanied our burgers and fries with the ever-famous fry sauce.  Definitely a hearty burger!

After the rodeo, we went to the fairgrounds (since the rodeo was in an arena downtown with no public stalls) and we got Mexico situated before we went to dinner at the original Red Iguana.

(I wore this outfit the night Ace won Bandera, so we were hoping the luck hadn't washed off yet...)

On Sunday morning, we had breakfast at The Original Pancake House and then went to Starbucks to catch up on some RidingWithFallon.com videos for barrel racer, Fallon Taylor.

After exploring Salt Lake City a little, we went back to the arena and relaxed for a bit.  Ace did a quick workout while I relaxed some and cleaned up a little.  I thawed out some steaks and put together a quick side dish while Ace fired up our little grill outside.

Sunday night's rodeo road dinner:  Filets seasoned with chipotle cholula, olive oil, and pepper.  Green beans & sausage with Dos-XX and pepper for the broth (our new take on pork-n-beans!)...On our finest china and designer table that doubles as a full length mirror! ;)

On Monday morning, we woke up fairly early and headed to Evanston, WY to get a quick morning roping session in at the Martin Ranch.  We caught up on some work and laundry before heading to Riverton, WY for the perf that evening.  

This blog post differs just a little from our previous posts. Instead of posting each individual rodeo run, we have merged this past weeks runs into one video.  The video begins with Ogden, where Ace and Mexico placed.  Both runs at Spanish Fork follow, which didn't quite go as we had hoped.  Ace didn't draw very cooperative calves, but that is just part of the chance of the game.  After Spanish Fork, we move to Salt Lake City. Ace made a good run but had to go a little further than he wanted and ended up a little too long to be in the money.  Then we move to Riverton.  Ace nodded but the chute operator delayed in opening the chute to let the calf out.  Ace got a rerun after the rodeo and was 9.0 seconds flat, which was leading the rodeo by a couple seconds. But just our luck, the calf got up resulting in a no time. 

Click HERE to watch Ace and Mexico!

The last few rodeos haven't gone our way but we aren't giving up just yet.  Since we haven't won much lately and the rodeos haven't been in our favor, I am looking for some Rodan + Fields Preferred Customers ("PCs")!

I was a preferred customer for about a year before diving in head first as a consultant.  I use and love the products and wanted to be able to share with family and friends.  I have several friends who have supported this venture and I love hearing their feedback on the products currently being utilized and products they are interested in trying!

Our friend, Ashley went to school to become an esthetician.  She aimed to help others achieve glowing, healthy skin which houses beauty and confidence.  I love that she has had success with R+F products! 

I would love to talk to you and help you achieve the best skin of your life! If you're interested in becoming a PC, please browse my site: allieh.myrandf.com

If you have any questions, I would love to help you find the products that are right for you!  Please don't hesitate to send me an email (ahoerig09@gmail.com) with any questions, concerns, or anything motivational to help Ace and I through the rocky rodeo road we've had the past few days! 

A Few Days Off

On Saturday, we left Cheyenne, WY and headed towards Rock Springs to help tear down the Slone Saddles booth at the trade show.  I know Tod, Keith, and Lacy were glad to have a few extra hands helping!  Ace and I stayed the night at the arena in Rock Springs and had been contemplating on plans for Sunday.

Sunday morning we woke up pretty early with the intentions of floating the river.  We drove to Green River, WY and stopped at Expedition Park.  We didn't have tubes with us, but we did have fishing gear.  We went to a nearby Ace Hardware store and bought two tubes and some fishing bait.  We headed back to Expedition Park to try to catch some fish, as the water was way too chilly to float.  Unfortunately, we didn't have any action, so we decided to take a break.  

We found an arena in Green River, fairly close to the river, and decided that we should stay there that evening and try our hand at fishing Green River.  After going back to Rock Springs to get Mexico and the trailer, we made camp in Green River and drove Whitey Ford through rugged terrain to find a fishing spot.  We set up chairs and rigged our rods, just moments before a small storm blew in.  We grabbed all the gear and headed for the truck before it started pouring on us.  While it was raining, we drove around looking for a better fishing location.

I was getting attacked by mosquitos, so I stayed in the truck for a bit while Ace walked down to the water.  He landed a huge trout, but the fishing line snapped right as Ace was about to pull him up to the riverbank.  There were so many huge fish surfacing the water but they were on the other side of the river and were pretty much inaccessible to us that evening.  Ace was heartbroken that his line snapped and made him even more determined to catch a monster.  So determined that we had to drive all the way back to Rock Springs at 11:30pm to buy more gold spoon lures to fish with on Monday morning.

Monday morning we set out at about 5:45am to the side of the river that we had wished we could've been on the evening before.  We parked Whitey Ford and walked about a mile to our prime destination.  After hours of catching nothing but moss, I told Ace that I thought it was time to head back.  He was slowly walking towards me, and casting his line along the way.  When he neared me, we both saw a huge shadow fairly close to us.  He cast his spoon right in front of him and the fish didn't budge.  After several casts, the fish was getting even closer to the bank.  Ace decided he was going to catch this fish one way or another.  He waded over to the bank and snagged the fish with his bare hands (he may or may not have been injured).

After fishing, we had a quick dinner at Penny's Diner before heading to Evanston, WY.

We arrived at the Martin Ranch a little after 7pm and Ace and the Martin kids roped some calves.

Tuesday morning we woke up and hit the arena again to rope breakaway.  After they roped, we took the kids fishing.  We weren't getting many fish bites, but there were tons of crawfish.  So, we changed our game plan and started catching crawfish. 

On Wednesday, we woke up early and they roped again before we continued our fishing.  We fished until early afternoon and then Ace and I had to get back on the rodeo road to Ogden, Utah.

Headed to Idaho..... Here's a look at Wyoming

On Tuesday morning we had a little time to burn before the afternoon slack.  We dropped off three weeks of laundry at the dry cleaner and went to Ace's favorite breakfast place in Casper, Eggington's. 

Downtown Casper was pretty packed for their annual parade.  After breakfast, we ran a few more errands and headed back to the fairgrounds to get ready for the afternoon slack.  

Although he started a good run, Ace's bobble stringing the calf kept him from being quite as fast as he would have liked.

Click HERE to watch Ace's first run at Casper

After the slack we searched for an open plug, to run the trailer on electricity rather than the generator. Our generator gas tank has a leak in it, so any chance we can find a plug, we try to take advantage of it!  We found a plug that worked and moved the trailer before running into town to pick up our clean, folded laundry.  We headed back to the trailer to get everything put up and of course continue our ongoing Yahtzee competition.  We had just a few hours of downtime to regroup before the perf that night.

Ace needed to be fast to give himself a chance to make the short round. Unfortunately he drew a strong calf, and although he made a really good run, it wasn't quite fast enough to get another one. 

Click HERE to watch Ace's second run at Casper 

On Wednesday morning we went up the mountain to have breakfast at a little cafe, with a beautiful view of Casper.

We were the only people in the restaurant and ordered a chicken fried steak, eggs, hash browns, and eggy bread (French toast) to split. The ribeye they batter for the steak needed to be thawed so we asked for the French toast to maybe be made sooner. The lady poured salt, instead of sugar, on the eggy bread. They had to make a new batch for us, and it was the best French toast I think either of us had ever tasted.  Man, we were glad they caught that salty mistake!  The rest of the food came out about 30 minutes later and it was just as amazing and worth our wait! 

We came back to the fairgrounds and got Mexico's pen taken down and went back to the trailer.

We relaxed for a bit and played some more Yahtzee before loading up the trailer and hitting the road towards Vernal, Utah.

Along our way to Vernal we stopped in Rock Springs, UT to have dinner with Ace's dad, Tod, and Keith (a Slone Saddles employee).  They are in Rock Springs for a trade show during the high school finals.  After dinner we were quick to get back on the road to Vernal. 

The drive from Rock Springs to Vernal was full of open range animals.  We saw so many elk and antelope on the road and had to break several times to avoid them.  We made it to Vernal, UT at about 12am on Thursday morning.  After a few hours of sleep and tying calves we went into town to have breakfast before getting ready for the Dinosaur Roundup slack.  

Ace and Mexico were off cue at the start and Mexico reared up when he nodded. This threw his timing off and gave his calf far too much of a head start.  By the time he caught up and got her roped it was apparent that he would be too long to win money, so he simply went through the motions of tying her down.  (His Vernal run is the first he's banished me from posting to the public)

Our drive to Vernal was made at night, so we were excited to head back the same way to Rock Springs on Thursday afternoon and get to explore the route a little more during the daylight.  Our plan of exploring was hindered by the rain, however every inch of rain our country can get is a blessing!

We made it back to Rock Springs and got to an arena to let Mexico out for the trailer a bit, while we headed to the trade show to help set up the Slone Saddles Booth for the trade show.  Tod and Keith had mostly everything set up already, so we helped with a few minor setups.  We had dinner at a restaurant right by the arena and decided to stay another night in Rock Springs, since we had access to a plug and water.

On Friday morning we went back to the trade show to visit a little before going to breakfast at the Renegade Restaurant, one of Ace's favorite breakfast places in Rock Springs.

During breakfast Ace was busy figuring out how to enter rodeos for the next few weeks. In case you haven't already gathered from context clues, Ace is a HUGE breakfast lover.  He could eat it for any and every meal of every day.

After breakfast we headed towards Laramie, WY and made it to the arena just a couple hours before the rodeo started that evening.  It had rained on us a majority of the way towards Laramie and rained a good bit in Laramie.  The arena was pretty muddy, so Ace decided to wear a different pair of boots (slip-ons, rather than lace-ups) and figured that he better duct tape those boots to his feet to avoid slipping out of them in the muddy field.

The mud proved to be as difficult to perform in as Ace worried it would be. As he went to flank his calf
he struggled to get her back left leg free of the deep mud.  His time was too long to compete with the contestants who got to compete in the dry arena, but by posting the fastest time of the night, he was awarded a small sum of 'Day Money'.

Click HERE to watch Ace's from at Laramie

While some of our blog viewers may be unaware, I decided to quit my typical job and take on a more flexible opportunity that allowed me to travel with Ace this summer.  I am currently an Independent Consultant for Rodan and Fields Dermatologists and can sell products from pretty much anywhere in the world we are traveling.

I don't know too many of the rodeo girlfriends or wives yet, so I am usually sitting in the stands by myself to video Ace's runs.  I was sitting in the stands in Laramie and watching the intermission before tie-down roping when a little girl and a woman came to sit by me.  After making small talk the lady handed me her business card.  She is an Aflac insurance agent and wanted to provide me with her info.  It was the perfect opportunity to provide her with my business card and a mini-facial, including some Rodan and Fields products.  We began discussing products and she let me know that she has a friend who has stress-induced eczema that is causing her quite a struggle.  I recommended our Soothe regimen and ran to the trailer to put a small trial size in sandwich baggies for her friend to try out.  It is amazing to be able to travel and do business from anywhere that we are!  The lady was so grateful that we met and was so happy to pass along my info to her friend.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I love helping others as much as I can.  Rodan and Fields gives me the opportunity to help women and men achieve the best skin of their lives, while traveling and getting to experience some of the best time of our lives!

If you are interested in learning more about this great opportunity I've embarked on, please click HERE to visit my website

I would love to answer any questions and help anyone with their skin issues and allow them to achieve the self-esteem and confidence boost that can come from healthy skin!

After the perf in Laramie, Ace and I hit the road to Sheridan, WY.  We knew it would be a late night of driving and we arrived in Sheridan at about 2am on Saturday morning.  Ace had to tie calves a few hours before the morning slack started, so we set a pen up for Mexico and got to bed pretty quickly.

Ace made a good run on a strong calf in the first round.

Click HERE to watch Ace's first run in Sheridan

After the slack, Ace and I went to lunch with one of Ace's friends and his girlfriend.  We came back to the arena and played three games of Catch Phrase.  The boys thought that it would be better to play men vs. women, so we went for it.  After a 3-0 lead, the women took the title and Ace and I decided we needed a quick nap before the perf started that evening.

The perf started with a wild indian bareback horse race.  We climbed to the top of the trailer and watched the race from the hay pod.  It was pretty crazy watching those guys ride so fast without a saddle!

Ace needed to be fast to give himself a chance for money in the round and the average. He set his run up flawlessly, and was undoubtedly on track to a good payday. When he went to gather the calves legs, she struggled just enough to keep him from winning a lot, and he had to settle for a small check in the go-round.

Click HERE to watch Ace's second run in Sheridan

After the perf we were quick to get on the road to our next stop: Nampa, Idaho.  We made it to Rawlins, WY about 3am and decided that was enough driving for the night and that we'd continue traveling on Sunday.

Ace and I have gotten so much positive feedback on our blog.  We are both extremely thankful to have the opportunity to travel together this summer and love sharing our experiences.  We are blessed for all the support we have and look forward to the rest of the summer!

The End of the Fourth Run

On Wednesday evening, after our adventures through Yellowstone, we decided to make camp in Jackson, Wyoming.  We had a long day of exploring and we were pretty exhausted by the time we made it to the arena. We wish it would've been daylight, because everyone says how beautiful Jackson Hole is.

On Thursday morning, we headed out pretty early.  We stopped in Alpine, WY at Yankee Doodle Cafe for an early lunch.  Everyone had been telling me about the special "fry sauce" that is unique to the northwest.  Without even knowing, the special sauce came accompanied by my lunch.  It was pretty great.  Needless to say, I am a fan!

Along the route to Oakley, UT we stopped in Evanston at the Martin Ranch.  Ace and the Martin kids ran a few calves.  It was neat watching them all and watching Ace give some tips on how to shave off a little time for a quicker run.  It made for a pretty quick practice and we were back on the road to Oakley, UT.

Ace was first out in Oakley and tied his calf in 8.9 seconds.  Being first out gave him a little disadvantage with the barrier and he ended up splitting ninth place.

Click HERE to watch Ace's run at Oakley

That evening, we headed to Pleasant Grove, UT to stay the night at the fairgrounds.  Mexico was pretty excited to have a huge pen to himself and Ace and I were pretty excited to have water and electricity available to us!

On Friday morning, the Fourth of July, we began our travels to Window Rock, AZ.  I logged about 3 hours of driving the rig and even successfully pulled up to a gas pump.  I must say, for not driving something that big ever I think I did a pretty good job for my second shift of driving! Once we got close to our destination, there were so many cattle and horses on the open road and the scenery was very different than Utah. 

Ace and Mexico had a great start in Window Rock, but Ace's jerk line wrapped around Mexico's foot causing him to drag the calf when Ace started tying. The result was a 10 second run and an 8th place finish. 

Click HERE to see Ace's run at Window Rock

On our drive to Prescott, AZ we saw so many fireworks along the interstate.  We hope everyone had a safe Fourth of July! 

We made it to Prescott at about 1am on Saturday morning.  We got Mexico situated in a pen and we both crashed pretty fast.  At 10am, Ace got up to go tie calves.  I decided to surprise him and get the trailer nice and clean.  Amongst all the dust and dirt that accumulates in the trailer, I feel bad when I can't manage to clean up all my long blonde hairs!  I took the rugs outside and swept up all the mess. Ten minutes later, it starts raining... just my luck!  Ace returned to the trailer with muddy boots, but we managed to keep it clean enough!

Ace ran his first calf in the afternoon perf.  He drew a really huge calf and was relatively satisfied with just getting him flanked!  His 14.2 second run was too long to place, but he was hoping to draw better for the second perf.

Click HERE to watch Ace's first run at Prescott

In between the afternoon and evening perfs, the weather cleared up just enough.  We went into Prescott and Ace decided he wanted to play a quick round of golf.  Anyone who knows me, knows that I know absolutely NOTHING about golf and have really never played golf, besides putt-putt.  I told him that I would drive the cart and he convinced me to "practice" short shots and putting with him.  

We got back to the fairgrounds and had dinner at the hospitality tent.  We started getting ready for the perf and headed up to arena.  Ace and Mexico were off cue at the start and broke the barrier.  He tied his second calf in 11.1 seconds, with a 10 second penalty added resulting in 21.1 seconds. 

Click HERE to watch Ace's second run at Prescott

On Sunday, we left Prescott, AZ and were heading to Casper, WY.  Along the route, we stopped in Flagstaff, AZ to have lunch with my friend, Shalice, and her little family.  I was so happy to finally meet her husband and her little boy!  We drove to Moab, AZ and decided to make the rest of the trip on Monday. 

Monday morning we got an early start on our daily travels.  We grabbed breakfast and left Moab, UT.  Ace and I had a game of Yahtzee going on the entire drive (I'm currently the reigning champ!).  As we neared Casper, WY we decided to stop at Independence Rock.  We hiked to the top and were fascinated with the view from above.  We were even moreso fascinated with all the names carved on the rock from travelers from many decades ago.  The route down from the rock was a little challenging, but thankfully we made it down alive! 

We made it to Casper, WY around 7pm yesterday evening.  We built Mexico a pen by the trailer and headed into town for a quick game of basketball.  Ace is up this afternoon in the perf, so we are out and about running some errands! 

Beartooth Pass and Yellowstone National Park

After the Wednesday morning slack in Red Lodge, MT we had some time to get over to Oakley, UT, where Ace was up on Thursday evening.  The drive between the two is about 9 hours, but since we had a little more than a day to get there we decided to take the scenic route to Oakley.  Whitey Ford took us along Beartooth Highway up into the mountains and over Beartooth Pass.  

The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and there was so much snow left on the mountaintop.  I haven’t traveled much and it doesn’t snow too often in South Texas, so seeing this much snow was pretty cool!

Ace is a little afraid of heights, but he made the drive up to approx. 10,000 ft like a champion!  He skillfully maneuvered our rig around 20mph curves and up and down steep grade stretches of curvy roadway.  We stopped several times while trucking up the mountain to explore and play in the snow.  We found a ski slope that was still in operation and came across a few people skiing.   He thought he was going to blast me with a snow ball, but didn’t realize I have cat-like reflexes and blocked his attempt.  We crossed the Wyoming/Montana border while on top of the mountain and headed back down towards Montana.  We stopped in Cooke City, MT for a quick lunch at the Beartooth Café.  Their menu had Buffalo Burgers, so it just seemed fitting that we both give them a try. 

After lunch we headed into Yellowstone National Park.  Ace had been through when he was younger and his dad was on the rodeo road, but he didn’t remember too much of it.   We coordinated our route through the park to ensure that we would see Old Faithful.

We started the route by seeing Bison, Elk, and Pronghorn.

The landscape was breathtaking and the scenery was always changing.  From green forest, to rivers and lakes, to plains and meadows, we were in awe of the nature.  Ace had such an itch to fish in the streams and rivers we were traveling alongside.  Finally, we decided to stop and put our feet in the water.

To our surprise, the water was warm and felt amazing, but we didn’t see many fish.  I found two dandelions and we both made wishes and blew them into the universe. 

The closer we got to Old Faithful, we saw many areas where steam was rising from the ground.  We stopped to view some small geysers, mud pots, and pools.

It was crazy to see the ground boiling from volcanic potential energy beneath our feet.  We made it to Old Faithful about 5 minutes after she had just gone off.  It would be over an hour before it occurred again and we just couldn’t hang around for too much longer.  Guess we will have to pay Old Faithful a visit next summer!

Any road trip we are on Ace always gives me a hard time when he sees something out in a field or along the highway and I miss it.  The whole time we drove through Yellowstone, I had my eye out for one animal:  a black bear.  As we were exiting Yellowstone, we were talking about all of our sites from the afternoon.  Throughout the park, I noticed charred tree stumps and kept thinking it was a bear, but as we got closer I realized it was a product of a forest fire.  On the road out of the park, I noticed another charred tree stump fully erect.  I blinked my eyes and noticed it get on all four limbs.  I probably scared Ace with how excited I was to see it.  Somehow we managed to get the truck and horse trailer turned around on a narrow road and made it back to the area that I saw him.  Ace saw the bear for a split second and we decided we needed picture proof.   We parked the rig and got out to try to sneak a picture of this huge creature, but he was already gone. 

Seeing that beast of a creature made one of my dandelion wishes come true.  Here’s to having my fingers crossed that all of our other wishes come true in this lifetime!

Click HERE to view a gallery from our day trip!

The Start to the Fourth of July Run

Ace, Roger, and I made it back to Greeley, CO on Monday afternoon for the perf that evening.  Mexico gave Ace a hop when he nodded his head and made him get out of the barrier late.  He tied his second calf in 12.7 seconds, which was a little too long for them to make it back for the short go.

Click HERE to watch Ace's second run in Greeley

After the perf in Greeley, Ian Wells and his horse joined our rig.  Both Ace and Ian were up in the slack in Cody, WY on Tuesday morning.  It was going to be an all-night drive and luckily the guys were able to split sleeping and driving time.  Ace drove us to Caspar, WY and Ian hauled the rest of the way, bringing us to Cody at around 4 am.  After just a handful of hours of sleep, it was time for the morning slack. 

Ace tied his calf in 8.3 seconds, which may seem pretty fast, but a mental mistake cost him some crucial time.  After driving all night and putting everything you have into a run that lasts only a few seconds, Ace was super disappointed with the outcome. 

Click HERE to watch Ace's run in Cody 

After the slack in Cody, WY we had to hustle to get over to Livingston, MT, where Ace was in the afternoon slack.  Once we made it to the arena and got everything situated, we had lunch at the hospitality tent and ran into town for a quick oil change.  We made it back to the arena with plenty of time to spare.  Ace and Mexico were a little off cue at the start and knew they broke the barrier when they crossed the line.  So, Ace chose to take a couple extra swings and make a practice run to help him and his horse in the field. 

Click HERE to watch Ace's run in Livingston

On Wednesday morning, Ace was up in Red Lodge, MT.  He made a good run and tied his calf in 9.2 seconds, which would’ve placed for a pretty good payday, but the calf got up before the 6 seconds expired, resulting in a no time.

Click HERE to watch Ace's run in Red Lodge

Although Ace is still placing at Cody, he has narrowly missed out on a couple big paydays.  We are hoping that our last few rodeos over the Fourth of July get us back on the winning streak.  Rodeo life is all about ups and downs, forgetting one run and doing our job on the next.  At times this is easier said than done, when tenths of a second come down to missing out on thousands of dollars in winnings.  Ace’s bobbled hooey at Cody genuinely affected him more than I could’ve known.  I’ve tried my hardest to keep him motivated and keep his head up, as our Fourth run isn’t quite over yet.  All we can do is move on to the next state and next rodeo with a positive mindset and execute with the draw we are given.