Tractors, Museums, and Pork Feeds...Oh My!

Friday was jam packed with activities. The rodeo activities had already officially started, but we joined in like champs this day. First though, the kids were up bright and early playing in the water. I do believe they adore water balloons and playing outside. (I need to remember this for next summer. Virginia was so nice to get more balloons while we were there.) The only difference was that Ivory borrowed my sun shirt this time around since she was already sporting a burn.

When we pried kids away from the hose, we all went to the XIT Museum. This building was dedicated to information about the Rodeo and the ranch that started it all. I know I'm going to get some of this info wrong, but the ranch used to be the biggest in the country. They eventually sold off parts of it and based the rodeo in Dalhart but it has been a tradition for a long time. The museum was awesome with so many cool things inside. I'll just spotlight some of them. First...outside is an impressive wall with all the branding symbols the different ranches used on their cattle.

They have some very cool collections like this variety of different kinds of saddles used.

Or how about the history of how barbed wire changed through the years.

Tyler took a picture of the guns, naturally. But I really liked the pictures of the different sheriffs. When one sheriff died, his wife took over until a new one was appointed. She was the only female sheriff on the wall.

There was a section about the wildlife in the Dalhart area. I really liked this neat snake skeleton.

The girls dressed up in workers uniforms. (There was a whole section about dairy that was very interactive.)

Tyler and I both took a picture of the U.S.A. made with stamps from the different states. (Also thought my mom would appreciate that picture.)

There was a huge collection of elephants. It reminded me of Tyler's grandmother who had quite a collection herself.

We spent some time chatting with the guy in the front. (Sorry, I forgot his name.) He knew some of the people who work with Tyler here in Utah. Very cool. I bought a Texas shaped ornament at that counter over there. It is currently on the Christmas tree.

It was hot down in Texas but not awfully so. Because of the storms before, it never got unbearable. Virginia even commented on the lack of crazy humidity. But it was still hot enough that ice cream was always a welcome treat. Look at these excited ice cream grins.

It was a good time to chill and take a couple weirdies while waiting for the good stuff. I even got a group photo. Virginia was worried that I wouldn't be in it. Don't worry, I'm right there with you all...

In the afternoon we also went to check out the Tractor Pull. I've never been to one of these before. It was pretty cool to watch. They have weight on a trailer bed that slowly moves forward making it harder for the tractor to move until it stops. The men (I guess it could be women, but I didn't see any) take their tractors as far as they can.

This guy is getting pretty close to the finish line. Not many people made it that far.

There were all different kind of tractors but I'm pretty sure most of them were antiques or older models. It wasn't supposed to be new ones. Some had two wheels in front and some only one.

I'm pretty sure it is not good when your wheel comes off the ground. I think that means you are done.

We had some time to kill between the pull and the pork feed. Some of us chilled in the car. Others went exploring.

In the evening they did the Pork Feed. Sometimes it is watermelon, but I think they didn't have as many melons this year. So they did pork. It is the biggest free BBQ in the country. I was super impressed. They had big garbage cans full of vegetables. They just scoop out a spoonful of green beans and onions. Look at this yumminess.

I do think it is funny that a slice of white bread is often added to the meal. I think around here we do a roll. But there it is just a slice of white bread. Still good. No complaints from this crew.

Finally it was time for the Rodeo. I'm sure many of you have been to a rodeo. I hope it was like this one because this was the real deal. I loved the announcer. He talked about how God is a part of Texas and the rodeo and how He always would be. That was pretty cool.

There are so many parts to the rodeo. The rodeo queen is chosen one night. There is riding the broncos and roping the steers. There is team roping and single roping. Of course there is bull riding which is done last and is intense to watch. All of it is so awesome. Tyler took a lot of video so I don't have stills. If I were more motivated I'd steal some pictures from the video, but I can't remember how to do that right now.

They also have some things between events. There is a rodeo clown who tells some jokes and acts some stuff out. They had the nickel stampede (I can't remember what they actually called it.) All the kids up to 10 go out and gather nickels they have thrown around. Ivory is technically eleven, but since she is the size of a nine year old, we let her go. Everyone got some nickels, Ivory got the most out of our kids. Here they are running out on the field.

There was a picture on the Dalhart Texan Facebook page the next day. Can you spot any Cazier's?

Here's a panorama of the event.

It was a really fun evening. I'm happy we could take the kids to a rodeo in Texas and even happier it was near Virginia. When we got back to the house, the adventures weren't over. We found a frog out in the garden. Maybe it was a toad? It peed on several people but everyone still wanted to hold it. Even the biggest kid of all...Tyler.

What a fun filled, exciting day.