The National Western Stock Show!

I went to the Denver Coliseum yesterday afternoon to see the National Western Stock Show. It runs for 16 days and has been held every year here in Denver since 1906. I chose yesterday because the weather was fairly pleasant and also, not insignificantly, it was a free day. And as regular blog readers know, free is my favorite price point. I pretty much skipped all the vendor booths and food items and headed to the petting zoo to take some photographs. Then, down to the barn area, where there are cattle, sheep, goats, as well as other kinds of farm animals. I took the photograph on the left at the petting zoo, which was crowded with baby animals and about a million young children trying to feed and pet them.

The cattle barn was very busy, with everyone grooming their animals, leading them by rope to different areas, and even taking them for a shower. I was especially fascinated by people vacuuming their cows, as seen in the photograph on the right. Hopefully, they don't have to do that back on the ranch. It would take a lot of time, and require a very long extension cord.

The longhorn in the photograph on the left was being taken to a shower, and did not seem very enthusiastic about it, either. These animals are huge, and are kept in a special area of the barn for people to admire. In previous years, I have seen these animals taken upstairs for children to be photographed sitting on them, but not this year, although I have to admit I did not look very hard. The main floor where they have the trade fair is huge, and it is very easy to get lost among the many very weird items for sale. When I want to leave, I head outside and walk around the building to get to my car, saving 2 or 3 hours of retail hell.

The goats in the Junior Livestock Barn were all wearing masks for some reason. I have to wonder if there has been an uptick in Goat Covid lately? Happily, the goats and other animals in the petting zoo were all unmasked, despite the large number of people milling about in a pretty small space. The goat in the photograph on the right was very willing to have its photo taken. They were selling food at the entrance to feed the animals, and every one of those animals expected you to feed them. One even jumped up and put its front legs on my chest, no doubt demanding a few Pringles or whatever it is they eat. It was a fun day, and very interesting to see people who live such a different lifestyle from the rest of us. A way of life that we think is long gone, but happily, still exists.