I don't know why?

I thought I'd report on last weekend's Arnett cousins trip to Cibola. It was a huge succes, probably because I didn't come up with the idea. Spencer Arnett and his brother Chet were the instigators. At first it was just gonna be a few of us, then it blossomed into an outright reunion.

The plan was for me to show Spencer and Chet around the old ranch in Cibola. They wanted to see the actual plane crash site and what the farm possibly looked like. Once word got out, other cousins wanted to jump in. We had just over 60 Arnetts. That's alot of A.S.S. Fortunately, there were no Alpha male encounters.

So here is what happened.... since Chad was in town he went with us). We met at Spencer's house at around 9 am. Much to my surprize there were tons of people and women who were going. I knew camping would be "Spartan" to say the least, so I was worried about those that might have to "squat" on occasion. Anyway, about 5 or 6 of the grandaughters attended. Some were even in-laws. As rough as it was going to be, it seem's Spencer is the guru of campouts. He had a 60' trailer (for hauling mules, etc). This was quite the set-up. The back was for the mules, but the front was like a travel trailer. He cleaned out the back and stored all his food preparation gear in it.

His sons towed camping trailers...they really know how to rough it. In hindsight, I gues It wasn't so bad for the ladies. Anyway, we arrived in Cibola just about at noon. Chad and I were ahead of everybody else, so we stopped to fish a couple of canals along the way. To lighten the mood a little, we pretended to fish over Cibola road at the entrance of Bisop's ranch. All those that were following us got a kick out of that.

The Bishop Ranch is just north of the Arnett Brothers farm. Our hosts were Tom and Sharon Marriott. Tom is originally from Orem, Utah. They were incredibly generous and kind to us. They had a huge clearing prepared for us to camp in. They also had a large stack of mesquite wood ready for our campfire. They let Chad drive their Kubota's and he hauled all the firewood we needed, plus gave the kids rides around the area.

The Marriotts took me on a personal tour. We went to the old Bob and Zetta place and saw the old Post Office and cattle pens. They also drove me around to see the old Woods place, etc.

After most everyone arrived, including Tom and Don Arnett, from Nebraska and Missourri respectively, we set up camp and then took a tour of Arnett Brother Ranch, or also know as Cibola Land and Cattle Company.

Our first stop was the old corral, pump and shack. The bus is gone and so are most of the old International pickups, but the shack is still standing along with the loading shoot of the corral. There was an old flat bed trailer that had some of the stuff from the bus and some cousins got some old parts of bridles and halters. They were really excited. Most of our conversation at this stop had to do with how the ranch was started and how it was lost. The bottom line being water was available and the death of Fred and Marvin ended it.

We then went to where the old Bulldozer was. This is the implement Howard used to build the now famous Arnett canal. The people at the Cibola Wildlife Refuge still marvel at how he was able to build that canal with the water running upstream.

After some photos around the Bulldozer, we then went to the canal. It is still in use, although the current now runs south to Cibola lake. The BLM has hooked it into existing canals to the north and water feeds it from there. Aside from an appreciation for the engineering marvel, the cousins weren't really all that interested in the canal. I was because little do they know that most of our recreation on the farm was centered around this canal. I looked for the diving board on the other side of the canal, but couldn't find it. Anyway, it's amazing how you can have fun when there's nothing else to do.

Next we crossed over the bridge, the one that cuts our farm in half, and went to the fish and game place. This is now an island. It is still being farmed, but for wildlife use. We saw at least 100 deer in a field as we drove to the old airstip.

At the airstrip, we stopped and held kind of a devotional. Everyone, gave their thoughts and memories of the event. It seems all the facts aren't clear as we all had heard different things. Cliff and HB would know more than any, but we still tried to piece everything together. Alot of tears were shed. This event changed alot of lives and created hardship on everyone. What really impressed me the most was the emotion showed by the grandaughters and grandsons who never knew their grandfathers. They were really moved to actually be there. I suppose it's kind of the song " I Walked Today Where Jesus Walked". I don't mean to equate this experience with what the Saviour went through, but being there brought everything home to me and to them.

After the airstrip we went back to campground and prepared for dinner. I must say I was unprepared for how good it was. This Spencer fellow, and his sons, really know what they are doing. He put a covered tarp area about 60x20'. He had tables and chairs set up. It was like a ...well I can't explain what is what like. It was uptown in downtown Cibola. He had several propane grills going along with charcoal grills. Anyway, we ate like we were at the Marriott. We had steak, chicken, fish, fried potatoes and fresh garden salad. The food alone was worth the trip for me.

That night we sat around the campfire just talking. It was a very cold night and the fire was much needed.

After a few hours we all went to sleep. Sleep wasn't all that abundant for some of us as it was extremely cold.

Chad and I slept in the boat. Were figured we were just two sleeping bags short. We both needed one more than we had. Chad got up about 3 in the morning and sat at the fire with cousin Tom. Tom had been there since about 2 am. I really wanted to join them, but I couldn't muster the courage to get out of my one sleeping bag.

The next morning, those that had arrived late went back to tour the ranch again. For breakfast we had scrambled eggs with chile, hash browns, toast and orange juice. I know it seems odd I'd talk about the food so much, but it really was good.

Some of us went fishing at different spots. I was worried because it was so cold and I was right. I don't think anybody caught anything except meeeeeeeeee. If kind of felt bad for all the rest, but not really. After all, that's why they call if fishing and not catching. That's one of Howard's old sayings.

Around noon everyone packed up and headed out. I spent about an hour with Marriott's talking about the past and the future. Tom is going to do some branding in about a month or so. I offered my services and I know Cliff would like to go over and help too.

They really are trying to create a type of living museum on their place. They want stories and photos of Bob and Zetta, etc. I told them we would have some old home movies up on the website soon for them to watch.

HB is taking care of that. Incidentally, HB, I appreciate the site and seeing those old Howard Arnett reunion movies. I didn't realize to skinny I once was and what a great beard I grew.

So, that's about it. The photos show the Bishop's ranch, our camping spot, the Bulldozer, the canal and the 2 lb. bass I caught.