Red Hatters Play Ladderball at Picnic

Saturday, April 11, 2014

Members of the New Mexico Roadrunner Chapter of the Red Hat Society in Alamogordo, New Mexico carpooled some 40 miles to Aguirre Springs Campgrounds in the Organ Mountains off of Highway 70 just before the pass going to Las Cruces, New Mexico. The fee is $5.00 per carload and we found a lovely campsite right away and began to unload everything.

Each person brought their own lunch plus goodies to share with everyone. In the meantime, Queen Ladybird (Carla Kerr) set up the Ladderball game and teams were formed to play this game. They started out with the ladders 25 feet apart as the rules called for, but it was quickly evident that it was going to be a long and boring game. Someone suggested that the ladders be moved closer together because we are Red Hatters and we can change or create our own rules according to what makes it work best for us. The game really took off after this change and it was delightfully enjoyed by everyone.

The 3rd Anniversary of the chapter registration was also celebrated (belatedly) with the help of a scrumptious cake created by Walmart.

Two new members were welcomed, Trudy Reese and Gail Swineford, who added so much to the #RHSSimplyFun day we had at Aguirre Springs Campground in the Organ Mountains of New Mexico. The surrounding views were breathtaking to say the least.

L to R: Alice, Margie, Donna W. getting ready to throw the bolas towards the other ladder, Karen and Gail

Here you see the results of the first round

L to R: Trudy taking her turn, Karen and Gail

Here, you see an incoming bolas

Karen takes a turn

Donna W. not looking too happy with her result while Gail looks on

Trudy with her bolas in midair

Margie looks seriously determined as she tosses the bolas

Gail taking a turn with Karen and Donna W. looking on

Alice concentrating on getting the bolas to the other ladder

Karen watches while Donna W. tosses the bolas

This shot of Gail also shows how the bolas are set up for two teams

L to R: Trudy, Karen and Margie watching the final throw of the game

Game Over and time to eat. L to R: Gail, Alice and Margie

L to R: Donna W., Karen and Trudy enjoying the picnic and conversation

View from the Campsite back towards White Sands and Alamogordo, New Mexico

These Organ Mountain peaks are almost straight up from our campsite

These beautiful mountains need to be viewed in person to really appreciate their uniqueness

The highest elevation is almost 9000 feet and the campsite was at almost 6000 feet

Alice Johnston took this photo of  L to R: Gail, Trudy and Queen Ladybird (Carla K.). They had already taken their red hats to the car because the wind was beginning to blow fairly hard when I realized there were no pictures of me because I was behind the camera. Thanks, Alice, for your help.

The object of the ladderball game is to reach a score of 21 exactly to win. If your team goes over 21, you forfeit that rounds points and try again on your next turn. The top rung of the ladder is 3 points, middle rung is 2 points and lower rung is 1 point. It is an easy game to learn and to play and perfect for Red Hatters (even with disabilities) because it is not stressful.  These kits are available at KMart and other places that sell games. You do have to put the ladders together (they are just pipes with joints that fit together) and don't do like I did.  Read the directions first because actually the blue rung goes on top, the orange in the middle and the yellow at the bottom; this according to the scoring directions. Being Red Hatters, we made it work the way it was put together!

The winners of the first game received prizes and on the second game played after eating, the person who scored the most points individually won a prize and Karen Townsend chocked up 11 points to win. I do recommend placing the ladders closer together than 25 feet.

This is all I have to say for now.