More On The National Western Stock Show

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I went to the National Western Stock Show Tuesday afternoon to wander around and take a few photographs. Although Tuesday was a free day, I usually just buy a grounds ticket when I do have to pay. One year, there was some kind of deal which included a rodeo, and I duly attended. But as Ed, my old DU Bookstore boss told me years ago, "once is interesting, twice is a mistake." It is a family affair for the exhibitors at the stock show, and there are a lot of junior livestock competitions to encourage youth to go into agriculture. I took the photograph on the left at the end of one such competition, which shows two young girls waiting with their animals to have their official stock show photograph taken.

The best part of the show, in my opinion, is the petting zoo, which features lots of baby animals - and a few older ones, too - milling around in an enclosed compound. At the entrance, they sell food you can feed to the animals, and all of those creatures make a bull's-eye for the people just walking in to see if they can get a snack, such as in the photograph on the right. Tuesday afternoon that compound was filled with kids, their parents, and a lot of animals walking around, which was very impressive for a weekday, even if it was free admission.

Kids just love the petting zoo, and race around the place chasing all the animals. I think their parents get a kick out of it, too. I couldn't help but notice that there were two small fenced-off pens on either side of the compound called "resting areas," where the animals could lay down and take a break from the non-stop attention. 

And so, after a visit to the petting zoo, I decided to head home before the rush hour traffic got too bad. I really enjoy visiting the National Western. To the farmers, ranchers, and their families who attend this event, it is probably the highlight of the year for them. And for visitors, it is really nice to see that there is still a rural lifestyle out there that in many ways has not fundamentally changed over the years. A much harder effort to survive than it used to be, I imagine, but from observing all the exhibitors, very much worth it.