05/08/2023
Rest In Peace Larry .
God Bless You and your family.
TBT
JUST HOPPIN' ALONG.....
The Calaveras County Fair & Jumping Frog Jubilee is a 4 day event held in May. The fair began in 1893 in historical Angel's Camp, California...where Mark Twain lived and wrote the Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County...a tall tale of the life and happenings of the gold rush town, Angel's Camp.
There is a Pro Rodeo, horse show, frog jump, a scholarship program and many entertaining events...small town America at it's finest!
The top 50 frogs qualify for the International Frog Jump Finals, which are held on Sunday afternoon of the Jubilee. The current World record holder is Rosie the Ribeter (1986). Rosie jumped 21' 5 3/4". The cash prize for breaking the world record is $5,000.
In 1974, Rodeo Sports News & I entered a frog in the "Media" division of the Jumping Frog Competition for 2nd place with a 17' 8". We qualified for the Finals out of a field of 2,062 frogs!
Angel's Camp is significant to me for many reasons - it's a great Rodeo and I usually did well there...but, primarily it's because that is where I first flew as a passenger in a private plane; an experience that would change my life.
In May 1964 at the Angel's Camp Rodeo, Mel Lambert was announcing and after the rodeo, Mel (an ex-Navy pilot) took me up into the skies of the Sierra Nevada mountains. I had never been in a private plane before and I was scared. Mel let me take the controls and the notion of flying intrigued me. It wasn't long before I logged in for my first half-hour lesson.