National Western Stock Show Redux Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog, I went to the last day of Denver's National Western Stock Show again this past Sunday afternoon to walk around and take a few more pictures. A lot of the animals were gone by this time, but I was still able to take some photographs of the stock dog trials, the sheep and goats that were still around, and various horses and bulls. While I was downstairs in the livestock pens, they were switching out the steers that children are placed on to have their photographs taken.  I followed the steer in the photograph on the left from it's pen in the basement to the main floor of the exhibition hall.  Evidently these animals can only take so many children on their backs before they tend to get surly.

And speaking of children, there is a petting zoo at the stock show every year that is very popular with the kids.  When my friend Stuart and I went to the show during the day last Tuesday, the line to get in was pretty short, and so I was able to go in and take a few photographs.  Unfortunately, these animals are not toilet trained, and my advice is to watch your step while you are in there.  In any case, this past Sunday the line to get in was huge, and so I contented myself by taking some photographs from outside the pen, such as the one of a young child hugging a goat (I think it's a goat - I am originally from the south side of Chicago, after all, and we did not see much livestock running around outside of the stockyards).

Not only is the petting zoo fun for children, it is also pretty popular with the parents, too.  Not only do they also enjoy petting and feeding the baby animals, it makes for great photo opportunities for them.  Many of the parents were snapping photographs, and posing with their children for the camera, too.  All in all, the stock show is a lot of fun, and I strongly encourage anyone who gets a chance to attend.  However, as for the rodeos, not so much.  One year I got a discount ticket through the University of Denver, where I was employed for 30 years, and attended my first - and I hope - last rodeo.  After 15 minutes I was wondering just how the hell long this thing was going to last.  As Ed, my old boss at the DU Bookstore, once remarked, "once is interesting, twice is a mistake."