They play the old cowboy tunes, like “Tumbling Tumbleweeds,” “Along the Navajo Trail,” “Cool, Clear Water,” and others that most people have heard.  The foursome does the songs well.  Here are samples – -

Man of Constant Sorrow

The Blazin\’ M Cowboys perform

(Our first video posts – we plan many more!)

The players – Bill Bassett, Jim Dufresne, Reno McCormick, and Sheila McCormick (yes, they are married – which adds to some of the razzing), put on a great show.  They have chemistry as a group and intersperse their performance with funny hats, silly stories and varied types of music.  They feature each performer as lead and the very quiet Jim Dufresne turns out to be exceptionally gifted and amazing as he plucks his guitar.  Bill Bassett has a great announcer persona and voice as well as doing his instrumentals; Reno McCormick is quite versatile as he plays violin (“fiddle”), banjo, guitar and mandolin; Sheila McCormick plays her bass with authority and has a strong, sweet voice.  The group has been playing together for about 10 years and it shows.

At one point, flashes of lightning and a ghost seem to appear and it is spooky and funny.  Another visitor is the infamous “Otis,” quite a character.  I won’t say more and spoil the fun. Be prepared – they even have a singalong!

So, if you have the opportunity to visit the Blazin M’ Ranch in Cottonwood, AZ, you’ll have a fun, family evening.  If you’re celebrating your birthday, you’ll even be called up to the front for recognition and a funny hat!   We were seated next to a woman who was there for her birthday.  She was grinning from ear to ear.

Yippee-ki-ay!  Come on down and join the fun!

Run by the Mabery family, Blazin’ M offers an old western town, plus a petting zoo, an all-you can-eat dinner and a rollicking cowboy show.  They have a sense of humor, too!

Just punishment? Think about it!

So, it’s a family attraction, now in its 16th year, and one that appears to have a lot of repeat visitors, plus people who come from far away.  The prize for the furthest distance traveled at our dinner show was a South American visitor!

We finally got his "good side"

The petting zoo had a llama, some turkeys, goats, chickens, donkeys, and horses.  None of them wanted to pose.  I guess we finally got their ”good” side, but they didn’t make it easy.

Petting zoo turkey didn't want to pose

We wandered by the roping practice area where a guest was learning how to rope a horse – and doing a good job, at that.

Roping practice at the Blazin' M

Several shops offered some typical tourist memorabilia, plus you could have your photo taken.  There was also cowboy attire like clothing, hats and boots in the shops.  Crafts, food items and especially women’s clothing were available.

Cowboy boots lined the wall of this shop

The Dinner part of the Dinner Theater

Magically, when the dinner bell rang, staffers who had been helping in the shops suddenly appeared in the dinner hall.

Dinner service was accomplished efficiently by taking guests table by table (everyone is seated family-style at long tables) through the food line.  And, magically, the staffers also doubled as food servers.  Those family members and staff really work hard!  It was funny seeing the rough-and-tumble looking “cowboys” wearing plastic gloves for the food service.

Dinner was much like cowboys might experience on the trail.  Lining up to receive your tin plate, you joined the line. There is a choice of chicken or beef brisket in barbecue sauce. (On the first round, then you could have whatever you wanted.) With that came cowboy beans (vegetarian), coleslaw, baked potatoes, rolls, applesauce, spice cake and basic drinks in tin cups. (Specialty sodas extra.)

A vegetarian could have most of the meal, an unusual concession, since in the Old West you ate what was available.  While not fancy, the food was filling and good.  I didn’t find the barbecue sauce cloyingly sweet like some places serve and I ate the whole slice.  The cole slaw and applesauce were very good.  Everything, except the applesauce, is made on the premises.

During dinner, a master of ceremonies works at getting people in a convivial mood.  Then, they start the dinner show.  That’s the fun part that we’ll share with you later this week.

http://www.blazinm.com

Come back later this week for the Blazin’ M dinner theatre – a rollicking, tuneful, fun time!