Retirement……LOVE IT!

Last Saturday, Feb. 24th, we took another day trip just a little north of Phoenix to the Ben Avery Shooting Facility (this is a 1,650 acre shooting range!).  This is where we got our “SASS” on.  SASS stands for Single Action Shooters Society.  SASS is an international organization created to preserve and promote the sport of Cowboy Action Shooting.  SASS members share a common interest in preserving the history of the Old West and competitive shooting

Each SASS participant is required to adopt a shooting alias appropriate to a character or profession of the late 19th century, a Hollywood western star, or an appropriate character from fiction.  After the alias is chosen, the participant must develop their costume accordingly.  Some participants find the costuming aspect more enjoyable than the shooting competition itself.

Needless to say, we saw LOTS of cowboys and cowgirls at this shooting contest.  There were a lot of tents with everything from cowboy and cowgirl clothes with all the accessories, antique guns and rifles, new guns and rifles, all kinds of leather apparel and accessories (the leather chaps were really something to see), western storytelling in the main tent, and, of course, lots of good food!  The craftsmanship on some of the handmade western wear was amazing!  Watching the competitors shooting was pretty awesome, also.  We even saw a demonstration of a Gatling gun being shot (I wish I would have gotten a picture of that!).

These two cowboys are ready to shoot in the competition. They have their rifles and guns on the cart along with their ammo in the wooden box.

This is the main tent where contestants register and where the storytelling takes place.

Stage in the main tent.

This is the character Wyatt Earp telling a story about “Doc” Holliday.

These are just a few of the different shooting ranges set up for the shooting competitions.

Yes, that is a lady decked out in a pink,  all leather western coat and hat getting ready to shoot in the competition.

After we left the Ben Avery Shooting Facility, we drove a little farther west on Highway 74 to Lake Pleasant Regional Park.  We enjoyed exploring another of Arizona’s regional parks and lakes.  This park had a LOT of camping areas for RVs as well as tents.  It was really beautiful.

You can see the earthen dam a little better in this picture.

That hill sure has A LOT of sagauran cacti!

Another adventurous day in the books!

So for now ….. “On the Road Again!”

Betty