Yee Haw! Rodeo Days!

Howdy Pardner! Out here in the Wild West it's a holiday.

The kids didn't have school yesterday or today because the whole town is out whoopin' and hollerin' in their spurs and cowboy hats.

It's rodeo time baby!

One of the highlights of this weekend is the gigantic Rodeo Parade. Having grown up in this town, my Dad would bundle us up and we would shlep downtown to see almost 500 horses, old time wagons and many a marching band. It's a non-motorized parade. It's a tradition in this town.

So I corralled my chil'ins and my oldest niece and got up at the crack of dawn (for the three of them who had visions of sleeping in on thier holiday) to get good seats.

Once we got there, the kids complained just a bit about waiting over an hour on that curb for the parade to start, but I told them that it was tradition...that I had to sit on that curb as a child in the freezing cold, after we walked up hill both ways to get there, barefooted, and I liked it!!!!

Although we had dressed warm, because the weather-man had predicted rain, there wasn't a storm cloud to be seen. Just sunshine and a cool breeze.

There were ropers....
Rodeo Princesses...
And many, many horses.

Where there are horses, there is....well, a need for the one and only motorized part of this great parade....

...about eight street cleaning trucks.

After that Blue Princess pictured above, there were about 50 horseriders all riding in a big group. That many horses all together is the West's equivilant to Santa and the Macy's parade. Y'all, It's a sight.

Right behind them horses were the street sweepers.

The kids and I walked to the car, and as we were waiting in line to get out of the parking lot I asked the kids what there favorite part of the parade was. They promptly answered, "All those street sweepers!" Then they talked about horse poop for about 15 minutes.

Ah, the memories they will have.

La Vida Dulce!