Go to a rodeo

We hadn’t managed to make it to the Cloverdale Rodeo since 2005, when I was 7 months pregnant with Isak and we went with Paulie. We had such a fun time then, made great memories. Reading some of our old back & forth comments here made me wish so badly he was still here, that we could have called him up and invited this year him too.

Sunday afternoon was beautiful, sunny but not too hot, so we decided to go. We took off towards Cloverdale mid-afternoon and made great time, picking up tickets on the way and managing (miraculously) to find some free parking within a couple of blocks of the fairground before heading in.

We stayed until the sun was sinking, doing as much as we could manage. Isak was tall enough to go on all the kiddie rides, so he did (the glittery pop-a-wheelie motorcycles and caterpillar roller coaster were his favorites).

We indulged in corn dogs, cotton candy and tart lemonade, saw countless animals, displays, wandered through a hay maze, sampled this and that, tried on cowboy hats, entered a few contests, played games, watched people (several of which were tossed from the mechanical bull), planted seeds at the agriculture display, let Isak run wild with other kids, listened to live music, and the guys even went for a monster truck ride at the end of the day.

In retrospect, I suppose we didn’t actually make it to the main rodeo show this year, but we were having such a good time that it didn’t matter. Isak fell asleep almost as soon as we got back to the car and we drove into the sunset, headed for home. We had a wonderful, wonderful time.

http://www.ogdenpioneerdays.com/horsenhitch.htm#

but I loved it. I sat first row with only a metal bar separating me from the bull, getting kicked with sand, riders jumping at us to get away, bull snot flying at our faces. Definitely worth it.

Is what I really want to do. I heard about it 2 years ago while I was in Whistler, BC Canada from 2 retirees who had just been there.

I want to wait another year or two so that my daughters will be old enough to remember it well.

But I’ve heard such great things about it, I chomp at the bit everytime I think of going.

Maybe we’ll take in a smaller rodeo locally here in the mean time.

http://www.stampede.coolattractions.com/

Did this in Colorado. Was a great time. The kids got to go in the arena and chase a lamb with a ribbon on its tail and try to get it.

I’ve had to go to these things before, if you want to see a large concentration of stupid clothings, barbaric spectacle, and drunks being drunks, this is the place for you.

All that ropin’, ridin’, and talk of horns gets me hot

Saw the PBR Invitational at MSG in January. Had a blast, man. Trust me, it’s fun on tv, but 10x more so live.

Painful to watch. I couldn’t go again.

I really enjoyed the rodeo, and will probably see another one. I understand people’s reservations about animal cruelty, and if that bothers you than I wouldn’t go. There’s something about rodeo that’s remarkably anachronistic and it serves as a reminder of a society and economy that doesn’t exist anymore. I think if you live in North America, you should go see a rodeo as a reminder of who we once were. IMO, I’d take the rodeo over the modern CAFO operations that have replaced the cowboy and that way of life.