Thursday, September 18, 2008

Let'er Buck!

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Nothing says fall like the Pendleton Round-Up. Growing up in rodeo city gave me some interesting experiences but some of my favorite memories came from Round-Up. Although I was never into all things cowgirl....country music, wranglers and ropers, I loved not having to go to school for a week. You see, the school grounds are turned into temporary camps for the crazies that come into town and cause the population to triple for seven days. It gives for some very entertaining people watching and lots of reasons to sneak out of the house.
Let me paint the picture...
The smells... something like, bbq ribs and carmel corn mixed with alcohol and horse poo.
The sounds...totally inappropriate carnival music blaring, the you-can-barely-hear-it-yodeling is being drowned out by the screaming toddlers who have OD'd on snow cones and it's 2 hours past their bed time.
The fashion...tight wranglers, giant cowboy hats, tank tops with bra straps showing, totally crude t-shirts (this is when you wish your kids couldn't read yet and/or were blind), shiny belt buckles and lots of denim mini skirts.
The people...mostly drunk, mostly dirty, mostly scary except these guys of course...(there really are sober, clean, nice people in the mix. My mom would be upset if I didn't mention that.)
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This year we invited our good friends the Sampson's along to experience R0und-Up.
Here are some of the highlights....
Indian Village.
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The parade.
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There's a little something for everyone...
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Bag pipers...
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Mariachi Bands...
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Universities...
Hey Ilene...I took this picture just for you and Dan. The Ducks were totally there to take in all that Pendleton has to offer.
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Horses...of course...
And honestly, what can I say about this next picture....
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Sasquatch chose the Pendleton Round-Up to "out" himself...he's real.
And then there's Smokey. I took this picture for my cousin Ammon who has a fondness for ol' Smokey. The poor bear wet himself at some point during the parade but didn't stop to change his pants. Educating the good people of Round-Up about forest fires was way more important.
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The carnival.
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We made Mike go on the rides with the kids.
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The night life.
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The main street of Pendleton is blocked off and it's filled with street performers, vendors and food.
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Good ol' Papa Joe bought the girls snow cones and got them all sugar'd up.
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Aric really wanted this monkey carved out of wood. But I said no.
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We ran into my Tio Marco and his family one night. I love this picture of Pochito and Aric. Don't worry "Pochito" is his nick name. His real name is Marco Antonio Jr. He loves Aric because Aric will play wild and do tricks with him like throw him up in the air.
My favorite food.
Fajitas at Mazatlan. It's a family run Mexican Restaurant in town.
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Do I really need to comment.....
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We had a great time. I think the Sampon's are still our friends. I'm pretty sure they are trying to recover from all the scandalous things they witnessed that weekend. They were used to the more wholesome rodeos that Utah has to offer.
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Thanks Pendleton for yet another memorable Round-Up....
Let'er Buck!

11 comments:

Jessica said...

You are the only person whose music I enjoy--because I LOVE to see how you correlate with your posts!

And, I offhandedly mentioned to Ryan where you guys were and he's like "Round up? What's that?" and I was floored that he didn't know about Jessica and Pendleton and Round-up, because everyone else around here is like, "Oh yeah, Jessica's not here cause she's at Round-up" because we all know about the tradition.

Where you Round-up royalty? I couldn't remember and I was really hoping the answer is yes.

♥Shally said...

What IS it about things like that (fairs, carnivals, round-ups...) that bring out people that you don't normally see? I mean we live in a pretty small town, and I NEVER see anyone like I do at the fair.

Where do they come from?

And poor, poor Smokey the Bear...

AMY said...

We had a great time! And yes, we're still your friends. You see, we accept you and Aric the way you are... we're not the judgmental type (thank goodness for your sake) :)

There's not many people we could have so "closely" enjoyed the weekend with.

Pendleton will just have to take the place of Preston, crazy people and all!

calibosmom said...

Can I come? I love stuff like that. Looks like Smokey needs to lay off the junk food. I love Edee's face on the roller coaster...priceless!

Mrs Ana said...

Nothing makes me more homesick than the good ol Rodeo. I just about wet MY pants laughing about Smokey The Bear. I can't wait to show Ammon that picture. He's going to love it! I can't believe you took your friends. Are they okay? Round-up is not for those who live sheltered lives. Did you at least warned them? I still love Round-up Let'er Buck!!

Bridget said...

I have fond memories of Pendleton. It's our pit stop for lunch on the way to Boise. Always see signs for the Round-up but have never been. Thanks for making me feel like I experienced it all.

mahina said...

that looks like such a fun family activity!! i've always wanted to go to a rodeo/round-up. some day! my favorite picture is the girls on the ride with their hands up! you can tell they are just having the time of their life! i love edee's face!

Ilene said...

Go Ducks! Thanks for thinking of me, Jessica.

The Pendleton Round up is World Famous stuff. Love your big city roots!

kc and k said...

Ahhh, Good ol'P-town Roundup! A little scary that you are exposing your kids and friends to it, but apparently they survived.

Now I'm craving Mazatlan fajitas. I can't eat fajitas any other place because they are sooo good there.

Thanks for the little trip down memory lane. Garth Brooks is a great touch.

Love you!

Lauren in GA said...

I honestly thought of Ilene when I saw the Ducks float. (I understand that she is a Duck like I am a Hokie)

What a great tradition!

So, Sasquatch looks pretty laid back there...like he has resigned himself to being, "outed".

I love the pics...especially of the sweet kiddos in the hats watching the parade.

Meghann said...

Wow, sure am glad Big Foot made an appearance in the parade.

Mike looks like he's about to hurl on that ride with the kiddies.

This post was hilarious! Loved reading your description of the people at round-up, hilarious!!!