This weekend (1/30-1/31), the 20th edition of the High Noon Western Show and Auction  came to Mesa.  For those with an urge to check out silver-clad saddles, tarnished Indian jewelry, moth-eaten cowboy hats and a plethora of rodeo queens spangled with  rhinestones,  this is THE event in the Phoenix area.   Dealers and buyers flock in from around the country, so of course, I had to stop by.  Decked out in a pair of shiny lizard boots, a fringed jacket and a hat with one of my beaded bands, I swaggered into a crowd that made me look like a sparrow in a cage of birds of paradise.  The auction is, of course, the big draw, boasting items affordable only by Daddy Warbucks.  Remember the fancy saddles of  the mid-1900's Rose Bowl Parades?  You, too, can own one if  you have a spare $100k in the piggy bank.  

A few of the items in this year's auction mark the end of an era.  The Roy Rogers Museum closed recently.  Two of Roy's Rose Bowl Parade saddles (one white plastic painted with blue roses  and a Bohlin sterling and leather confection), several classic outfits by Nudie of Hollywood, and some glorious inlaid boots will be off to new homes on Sunday.  (Rumor has it that the museum is even selling Trigger.)  Roy explained his affinity for glitz in an interview  I read - the kids in the back row wanted to see Roy Rogers and he wanted to make sure they could see him.

Browsing the tables brings back memories of Saturday afternoon matinees with John Wayne but prices are primo, proving the rule of "Fancy venue, fancy prices."  Still, where else can you find a saddle carved with sahuaro cactuses?  Most of the items are directed toward collectors - who fancy cracked boots and stained hats, but there was a pair of gold  Rocketbuster boots  with inlaid stars...