A couple of weeks ago, that devilishly handsome man I married, his partner-in-crime Danny, and myself loaded up a couple of bulls and hauled 'em out to the
National Western Stock Show in Denver to be on display for a week before getting shipped up to Montana where they'll stand as stud, aka eat all day and get collected (yes, I'm talking about semen, sorry) aka live a cake life. Our journey out west spanned over 12 hours....
included three states.....
(Guess which one this is. I'll give you a hint, it's flat and people from Missouri enjoy making jokes about it...sorry Kansas friends! ;) )
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| -4 degrees. No big deal. |
and got a wee bit chilly a few hours after crossing the Kansas/Colorado border. Cold weather is NOT my strong suit.
We rolled into the stock yards after dark, and it only took about five minutes for me to realize that my warm, delightful, amazing, insulated boots were safely back home in Missouri. Awesome. I am NOT a Yuppie...promise!
Anyhow, once I'd invested in some cheapo Walmart snow boots and had relatively warmish feet, we settled in for the long haul, trying to stay warm, keeping the bulls fed, happy and clean, and answering questions about their genetics, disposition, etc. Being from Missouri, the bulls and their umm..male parts..were a bit offended by the Denver chill at first, but everyone adjusted after a few days!
Despite the long drive and colder than a well-digger's you-know-what temperatures, I always enjoy trips like this. The abundance of top-notch livestock, both new and familiar faces, and all the different vendors selling their wares...
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| Like this cute, sassy, feminine pistol case! |
make stock shows a source of endless entertainment. (Not to mention the fact that it's perfectly acceptable and even encouraged to drink like a fish all day. Hey, Crown is a major source of warmth out on the cold, frozen tundra! We spent most of our time outside, and although I did not discover the temperature at which a margarita freezes, we did end up with several slushy beers and a frozen solid tube of lip gloss!
On the second day, I ventured up onto the cat walk to snap a few photos for the stockyards. The historical significance of this area is pretty cool. The yards are located right next to the train tracks as livestock were once shipped from the yards at a rate of hundreds of thousands of head per year!
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| Picture a sight like this, only in all four directions, as far as you can see. |
I took this photo while sprinting down the last portion of the cat walk. It was a good 10 degrees colder up there, I swear! I'm not entirely sure where this cattle operation was from, but they sure had their stuff together!
The boys ended up staying with the bulls a solid week in Denver, but I sadly had to leave early to get back home to the daily 8-5 grind....
And this was my rental car on the way back from the airport :)
Check something off your bucket list this week!!
