Oak Creek Canyon, Dogtown Lake and White Horse Lake

While in Williams, AZ we ventured over to Oak Creek Canyon.  What a pretty place it is.  I can only imagine what it must look like in the fall.   

Cassy loves to look out the window.  

One of the cactus blooms in the area. 

Timm loves drives like this.  

When the canyon opens up at the south end near Sedona the rock formations are spectacular. 

Cool refreshing water 

Cassy wanted in the water really bad but I don't think the fly fisherman would have appreciated it. 

We took Cassy Dogtown Lake and White Horse Lake so she could swim. 

It really made her day! 

And of course, she needs to roll in the dirt afterwards.

A couple of trips planned

It seems like its been forever since we've been on a trip but we made reservations for a couple of trips.  Labor Day weekend we are heading to Marysvale, Utah!  Yes!  We'll be camping at Lizzie and Charlies' and riding the ATVs in the beautiful Utah mountains on the Paiute trail system.

In the next couple of weeks we'll be heading south for the Northern Arizona BBQ Festival in cool Williams, Arizona.  This was our first contest ever so it's always like going home.  We're taking a couple of extra days for us to explore and enjoy the area.  

Wild at Heart

In August, Timm went to Cedar Mountain, Utah for the annual Wild at Heart mens' retreat from Canyon Ridge Church.  Normally, Timm leads one of the ATV groups for their day of adventure.  This year he took the smoker and taught a group of men the in's and out's of smoking.  This group also prepared the meals for the rest of the groups.  Rave reviews were had by all and it looks like he'll be back at the pit again next year.  The best part of it all...bringing men closer to God.

Dining hall making progress

The dining hall has made great progress in the last month.  Timm did all the taping of seams and screws with several coats and sanding.  Once that was done, one of Chris' coworkers came over and sprayed the texture.  We're glad he did it and it came out looking fabulous.  Paint was chosen and Timm was painting the dining hall that day.  He did a second coat on Sunday.  Once again, we under estimated the amount of paint needed for the project...it took 4 gallons.  There is just one little corner Timm left open for the family of birds.  They left the nest just a few days later.  Now, that part is patched and ready for texture and paint.  We've got the boards for trimming out the windows but won't likely get to them in May since it's filled with BBQ events every weekend.  By the way, you can check the schedule for all the events over at the Trailhound Smokers BBQ blog...just click on the link in the side bar.  The paint color looks great and compliments the siding.  It's looking great and we're really pleased with how it looking. 

Rock Springs AZ Competition

Trailhound Smokers decided to compete in the Rock Springs BBQ competition at the last minute...well 4 days.  That's last minute for us around here, our events are normally more planned out than that.  However, IMBBQA.com offered up half the entry fee to the first team to respond and we took advantage of it. 

This time around Cassy, our mascot and my dad came with us.  It was really nice to spend some quality time with Dad...and he enjoys BBQ and intrigued by the whole competition thing.  After a couple of stops, we were the last team to arrive.  We set up next to our friends with R&R BBQ, got meat inspected, hit the cook's meeting, and got our site set up.  Timm was itching to get things going. 

Plans called for the pits to fire up at 3am with meat going on shortly after for the long cooks of brisket and pork.  Although the weather was pleasant, the night was chilly.  We can't wait till it warms up a bit more for contests...it will make night shifts and make-shift sleeping much more comfortable.  The newly insulated firebox on the pit worked really well as was much more efficient, using less wood than before.  

This was the first sanctioned contest for the Barbeque Championship Series, although Mike and his crew are experts at hosting BBQ events.  They did a fabulous job...as always.  This contest also featured a Tailgate Contest to see who's booth had the best food, theme, and spirit.  Congrats to McFrankenboo for winning 1st place in the Tailgate portion of the contest!  Erin is a spunky, spirited and enthusiastic person...of course, Shamus helps too. 

Our goal was to place mid-pack in the list of 27 teams.  We were shocked and astounded when we received 3 calls...4th in chicken, 5th in pork, and 7th in ribs.  We were even more excited and shocked when we place 3rd overall!  WOW!  Who da thunk it?!  Holy cow, that's a big trophy.  There was even prize money to boot.  Big thanks to R&R BBQ for their guidance and friendship.  With their help, they really need to take credit for the pork entry.

Thanks goes out to my Dad for selling taster's choice.  He really seemed to enjoy chatting with folks and several people came back for 2nd and 3rds.  Fortunately, we recovered out meat costs with this which was a goal of ours. 

There are folks we'd like to thank and give credit.  Mike and the AZBBQ team for another great event.  Rock Springs Cafe for hosting the event.  Intermountain BBQ Association (IMBBQA) for offering up 50% of entry fees.  R&R BBQ (Rod and Roger) for their friendship, mentoring, and guidance.  My dad for coming with us, selling taster's choice, and for being an all around great guy.  My cousin, Karen and her family in Chino Valley for letting us crash at their place on Saturday night.  

Kick-off BBQ

Still time to join us on May 23.  See the flyer for more informtation.