TMN Conference: Day Three
Saturday, October 14th, 2023
(9:30 PM))
—---If I told you I woke up rested before the alarm went off, it would be a flat out lie! I was so tired and confused that it took awhile to figure out how to turn the alarm off. I laid in bed for a bit too long and nearly dozed off. Instead, I begrudgingly got up and made the bed right away. Then I turned the coffee on, used the bathroom, and sat on the couch until I got my wits together.
—---I got dressed and packed for the trip to the El Suaz Ranch. Then I realized I had about 45 minutes before John and Pam would be leaving, so I went ahead and wrote yesterday’s summary and uploaded it to Facebook.
—---Since we were riding to the Convention Center to get on charter buses for our 90 minute ride, I rode with them. I took a few things to clean up for dinner in case we got back late, and there wasn’t time to go to the trailer.
—---The buses were supposed to load at 8:00 AM, but they put us on bus #1 at 7:40. I sat by fellow AAMN member, Terry Frazer, and we talked until it was time to go. We were highly entertained for about 30 minutes watching about 5 of the ladies on the bus take cracks at getting the ocelet DVD to play. The bus driver had no clue how to use it. They finally got it going just as we pulled out.
—---I glanced at the screen a few times, but mostly just listened to the narrator. I knew I would get sick if I tried to watch the movie. It was pretty entertaining and was actually filmed at the ranch we were going to visit.
—---After what felt like hours, we finally pulled into the ranch, only to learn that we used the wrong gate. Three of the buses behind us also pulled in and we had to work like a sliding puzzle to get all the buses back out to the highway on the skinny dirt road. We eventually got to the right gate and drove to the area we were going to meet in.
—----They had warned us to bring bugspray. They didn’t tell us that the mosquitoes would swarm us, weren’t the least bit bothered by the wind, and were the size of hummingbirds. I couldn’t get spray on quick enough. Plus, I couldn’t find mine. It must have fallen out in John’s truck or something. The stuff they had for us was not DETE, so a lot of the damned mosquitoes kept on feeding on me.
—---After a few welcome speeches, they set us loose to explore the area. They gave us all souvenir sports chairs with the TMN logo. I took mine out in the middle of a windy field and sat there with my eclipse glasses on watching the solar eclipse. There were lots of clouds, so my view came in spurts. It was really awesome. At one point, the sun looked like an angry eye. It was kind of scary. We saw the complete ring for a few seconds.
—---While we watched the eclipse, they called us up to get our box lunches. They were great. I had a roast beef sub, potato chips, a cookie, a tub of macaroni and an apple. I ate like a blind person, because I was too busy looking at the sky with my eclipse glasses.
—---After lunch, they sent us through a rotation of 6 15-minute sessions. They told us about the ranch, the East Foundation, birds unique to the area, aquatic concerns of a ranch, eco ranching techniques used there, and native plants of the area. They were all good.
—---We got back on buses and got back to McAllen in time for John to drive us back to the RV resort. I took a quicj shower with water warmed by the hose, since my water heater wasn’t on. I dressed in fresh clothes and barreled out of the trailer to my truck. I made it back to the Convention Center in time for drinks and hors d’oeuvres.
—---Next we went into the ballroom and had a lovely dinner and listened to the list of service award recognitions. I was surprised that they told us where the next annual meeting will be. I thought that would be tomorrow. Anyway, it will be in San Marcos! That will be soooooo convenient.
—----I rushed back to the trailer. When I got here I had to pick up the place. I left it a mess after my short stopover to shower earlier. Then, I wrote this summary. Now, I am going to lay on the bed and try to watch television for a few minutes. As tired as I am, I know I won’t get good rest going to bed this early.
Happy Trails
