Yee Haw!

Welcome to the American west, where people stick stuff like this on their houses. I don't mind this cow skull so much, actually. Could be worse. Could be Kokopelli.

Two Dudes on Horseback

This statue depicting a couple of Range Riders adorns the southeast corner of Cascade and Pikes Peak. I posted a nearly identical photo on this blog exactly six years and ten days ago. I guess I forgot all about that one! Sorry to repeat myself so literally. Ha ha.

The Cowhand

I've always loved this horse! It's a landmark in Woodland Park. Whenever I drive through there, I look for it. The Cowhand is a western wear shop that's been in business since 1965. If you're ever visiting the area, it's a good place to stop in and pick yourself up a pair of boots and a hat so you can look like a real Coloradoan!

Sunday Style!

I spotted this caballero at the State Fair and surreptitiously snapped a photo of him for the blog. I love how Mexican guys get all duded up for the fair. He even has a tooled leather phone case clipped to his belt. ¡Muy de moda!

Gold miner and his donkey

This life sized sculpture of a gold miner and his donkey greets you as you enter Old Colorado City, on the corner of 21st Street and Highway 24. This part of Colorado Springs depended heavily on mining for its livelihood in its early days, and there are reminders like this scattered throughout the neighborhood.

The Buffalo Bill Museum in Golden

Thursday found me in Denver on a personal errand: getting some maintenance done on my Mini. The dealership kindly gave me a loaner car and, since I had several hours to kill, I decided to visit Buffalo Bill's grave in Golden, west of Denver. Every time I take I-70 to get to the mountains (usually to shoot a wedding in Vail, Keystone or some other ski resort), I pass the sign that marks the turnoff for Buffalo Bill's grave. I have lived in Colorado for decades and have never taken that off ramp. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but for some reason I thought Buffalo Bill's grave would be a shabby, weedy and depressing old mound with trash strewn about and graffiti on the gravestone. Boy did I ever have the wrong idea! I was pleasantly surprised to find that, in addition to his meticulously maintained grave, there is a wonderful, comprehensive museum dedicated to the life and times of Buffalo Bill. Of course I checked it out!

If you don't know who William "Buffalo Bill" Cody is, take a minute to read THIS wiki on him. He was a fascinating character, almost singlehandedly responsible for the romantic myth of the American cowboy. Willam Cody's varied career began with the Pony Express as a young teen. During the Civil War, he fought for the Union, then served as a civilian scout for the U.S. Army during the Indian wars. Eventually his experiences as a famed buffalo hunter (the origin of his nickname), scout, soldier, gold prospector and other exploits led him to create his world famous Wild West tour. Much like a circus, Buffalo Bill's Wild West traveled around the country, entertaining the masses with fantastic shows and reenactments. It was a huge undertaking, featuring famous names like Annie Oakley and Chief Sitting Bull, among others. Buffalo Bill included a number of Indian acts in his show. There was even a "village", where patrons could step inside a teepee and see how the Indians lived. Some might think of this as exploitative, but in fact Buffalo Bill had a great deal of respect for his Indian coworkers, and considered them his friends and equals.

Buffalo Bill's Wild West was so popular, it even toured Europe. It made him a worldwide celebrity. To this day, the name Buffalo Bill conjures up images of the wild, wild west. I really enjoyed the museum. It was fascinating! There were so many personal artifacts, historical records, playbills and photos, and a wealth of information about the man. It's definitely worthwhile to take that off ramp!

Chief Sitting Bull's headdress.

According to these records, Buffalo Bill's Wild West came to Colorado Springs six times!

In the 1940s, a popular Broadway musical called "Annie Get Your Gun" was created about Wild West performer Annie Oakley. When I saw this record, I immediately thought of THIS catchy little song by an old favorite, Squeeze.

To learn more about the Buffalo Bill Museum and grave site, visit their site HERE. I'll show you my pictures of the actual grave on Monday.

Random cowboy

This life-sized cowboy statue stands in front of the Norris-Penrose Event Center, near Bear Creek Park. Norris-Penrose hosts large outdoor events like rodeos and monster truck rallies. I went there for Oktoberfest one year. That was fun (what I can remember of it, ha). It's also known as an equestrian center. While we were there taking these pictures, a rider was working her horse over some jumps in the ring west of the main building.

Sunday Style!

This week's Sunday Style is all about the fancy boots I saw at the State Fair last weekend. Typically, a lot of the fair attendees are Hispanic, largely from Mexico, and they put their footwear flair on display! Especially the guys with their SUPER pointy cowboy boots, some of the points so exaggerated that the wearer can barely walk. That's got to hurt after a while, but as always, some of us are willing to suffer a little for fashion!

She's not wearing boots, but I loved her flaming red, carefully coiffed hair and the fact that she dressed so nicely for the fair. Extra points for the sassy visor.

I'll leave you with these two muchachos. They look great!

The State Fair (Part 5)

Some people never lose their love for model trains. I can understand that. I had trains in junior high school and I loved playing with them and creating the little town and country scenes around the track. In high school I lost interest and sold my trains; the person who bought them was a grown man, and he was buying them for himself.

Pat and I were so enraptured by the elaborate, meticulously created dioramas in the model train competition at the State Fair, we hung around for quite a while and chatted with the various exhibitors. The train track went around in a very large oval, maybe 25 feet from end to end, each segment painstakingly imagined and constructed by very creative competitors. The winning section featured an old fashioned, outdoor drive-in movie theater, complete with screen (and sneaky interlopers trying to view the movie for free through cracks in the fence -- genius, I tell you!). The man in the photo at the top of this post actually recreated historic buildings in Lincoln County, Colorado, in some cases having only old photos to use for reference. It must have been months of work, but then again it's not truly work when you love doing it!

Note the half-sunk boat in the background and the dolphin in the foreground.

Here's the winning section, the drive-in theater. The "movie screen" was actually a tablet showing old railroad footage (of course!).

There's always someone who tries to see the movie without paying! But as you can see, the police are on to their shenanigans ;^)

The emergency lights on top of the cop car and ambulance actually flashed on and off. God is in the details.

This roundhouse is a recreation of an actual historic building in Lincoln County, Colorado. I believe it's the one in Hugo, built in 1909. (Follow the link and click on the old black and white picture.)

Here's the guy who built the Lincoln County section of the track. He won second place.

In fact, Lincoln County sponsored him! Pretty cool! How fun is it that he got to do his favorite hobby to benefit the county where he lives? Great job!

The State Fair (Part 4)

While at the State Fair last Sunday, Pat and I wandered by chance into the area where the cutting competition was taking place. (Possibly it was just a demo and not a competition, since there weren't many people watching and it was the penultimate day of the fair.) What is cutting? Well, it's definitely a cowboy sport, based on actual herding techniques used on ranches. The objective is to separate a single cow from the herd and keep it under control. A huge part of succeeding at this sport clearly depends on the cutting horse; that is, a horse with the ability to stop and turn on a dime, and with a strong instinct to take charge of the cow. I've never seen such agile and smart horses! They were amazing! The cutting we watched only involved a single heifer, not a herd, but even so, I could tell how much skill and intuition it takes on the part of both horse and rider. Here are a few pictures that I grabbed of the event (I really wish I'd brought a decent camera and lens with me!).

These horses can put on the brakes like nobody's business!

This composite shows how they can turn on a dime. I was most impressed by this particular horse, who seemed especially smart and responsive.

Here he is again, in action. Once he got the heifer under his control, he actually used his entire body, including his head, to move it where he wanted it to go. Pretty cool!

Tomorrow... awesome model trains!

The State Fair (Part 3)

More from Sunday's State Fair adventure! The fair is basically an agricultural event. You really can't think of it without thinking of farm animals too. For many people, the animals are the whole point! Here are some of the critters we saw.

The Agricultural Pavilion smelled very comfortingly of manure, just like my grandfather's barn. He was a dairy farmer and raised Holsteins like these little guys. I miss my grandparents and that wonderful barn smell.

DO NOT SIT ON THIS HORSE! It will explode! ;^)

That's a quarter horse in the foreground and a thoroughbred in the background, both of them beauties.

I fell in love with this sweet little goat! Please tell Pat that I want her for Christmas. :^)

Tomorrow I'll post pictures of the cutting competition. What is cutting? You'll have to check back tomorrow to find out!

The State Fair (Part 2)

More fun at the State Fair! In today's post I'll show you some of the entries and winners from the seemingly endless array of competitions, from sewing to wood carving to model building and beyond. I must admit, I was baffled by the sheer variety of categories. We enjoyed looking at all of these, and I was awed by the level of workmanship I saw.

This ensemble won the category for costume making, and you can see why. It took an INSANE amount of work to create this (note also the painstaking craftsmanship in the gown pictured above it and the tutu in the photo at the top of this post, both also ribbon winners). I enjoy sewing, but I am certainly not at this level. It must have taken months to create any of these beautiful costumes. My fingers ache just thinking about it.

Just a simple child's frock, you say? Take a closer look! All those pin tucks and flounces and appliqués are murder, I tell you! That's a lot of work to put into a tiny dress that will likely be worn only once!

This beautiful sweater really inspired me. I love to knit, and though I'm strictly self-taught, over the years I've become reasonably good at it. A sweater like this is not beyond my skill level. It made me want to enter one of my own knit creations in next year's fair!

This level of crocheted badassery is beyond me, however. I learned to crochet as a child, but I will never be good enough to create a dress like this. Bravo! (I also like the one in the background. It's equally impressive!)

This man won a blue ribbon for his wood carving artistry.

Pat and I were befuddled by this piece. It won a ribbon in the puzzle category. But we didn't see any other puzzles, so did it win by default? Also, how exactly does that work? Did the person who created it actually make an original painting first and then have the painting converted into a jigsaw puzzle? Did they somehow convert it into a puzzle themselves (how does one do that?)? Or did they simply assemble a puzzle out of a box? So many questions!

This woman won second place for her model making skills.

This guy made a guitar. HE MADE A GUITAR. Blue ribbon for you, sir!

There is even a category for dolls. It apparently includes creating some kind of environment or theme. This setup won the blue ribbon.

Ah, but this one was my favorite! I assume the dioramas and the clothing all have to be custom made. Look at those little frocks! Great stuff, I tell ya!

I saved the best for last. This quilt features a bikini-clad dachshund lounging under a beach umbrella. For some reason I found it utterly adorable (and once again, as a person who enjoys sewing, I appreciate the amount of work that went into it!).

Tomorrow I'll post a few pictures of barnyard critters! See you then!