Visiting The National Western Stock Show - Part II

As I mentioned in yesterday's blog post, I went to the National Western Stock Show this past Tuesday to take a few photographs. Grounds admission was free that day, which is too tempting to miss. However, the downside is that Tuesday is only the 4th day of the stock show, and many of the animals have not yet arrived. The cattle barn was half empty, and the cattle in the other half were not interested in anything but eating, with the exception of the one in the photograph on the left, who seemed like it really wanted to have its portrait taken. And by the way, why the hell do they put rings in their noses? And is that real gold? Many questions, no answers.

There were a fair number of goats in the pens at Murdock's Junior Barn, where I took the photograph on the right. All of the goats in this area are raised by youngsters, and there was a stock show competition taking place in that same barn, although so many people were crowded around the arena that it was impossible to see anything. All of those goats were wearing masks, by the way. Are they especially susceptible to Covid? And why is that goat wearing what looks like an American flag? I understand they want to keep their animals warm, but a flag outfit? I imagine that since all of the exhibitors at the show are from rural areas, most of them must be Trump supporters. Hence the flag suit. A sad state of affairs in our country when even goats become politicized.

The best place to take photographs is, of course, at what is called the Petting Farm, where I took the photograph on the left. The only problem is that this is a very popular spot, and the compound is relatively small, making for a very crowded environment. And all those animals keep running around looking for people who have food, bought at the entrance, to feed them. If they don't stand still, it is really hard to get a good photo, which is why you have to take at least 500 photographs in the hope of getting several decent shots. But no problem. It's the digital age. No longer any need to buy expensive film. Just expensive external hard drives to store all those photographs.

The horse barn was completely empty on Tuesday, except for a few stalls that feature longhorn cattle and a few horses that are exhibited by the stock show itself, such as the horse in the photograph on the right. All in all, it was a fun experience visiting the stock show this year, although I must admit the only places I visited were the livestock stalls on the ground level and the Petting Farm up on the 3rd floor. Of course, to get there you have to go past something like 50,000 booths selling farm equipment, western wear, cowboy hats, various food items, and God knows what else. But still, I definitely recommend paying a visit to the National Western before it ends on January 26th. Just be sure to avoid attending a rodeo. As my old boss at the University of Denver Bookstore always says, "once is interesting, twice is a mistake." And even once was too much for me.