and cowboy hats... Rodeo part 6

If you are still playing along you should be listening to “Wagon wheel”, by Old Crow Medicine Show.

And just like that it was over. Eric left the stage and people began clearing out. I sat on the ground among the newly lost IDs, beer cans, phones, and bits of clothing. My hair was wet with beer and whiskey and my legs and arms were sore from dancing.

I wandered out of our VIP section and toward the semi trailers. A nice man gave me a half-full bottle of whiskey. I took a swig and then passed it along to the next person I saw. Pay it forward, right? We had lost the cooler. I sat on the trailer and waited for the crowds to disperse a little. They stumbled and ran back to the cars. Soon enough I met back up with Bueter and James, who had lost me in the push after the concert.

We trudged our way out, and amazingly found the bottom half of our cooler. We drug it along until we found the lid. Once we were back at the truck I set myself inside and took a little nap. Bueter and James watched as people filtered to their cars and the line to exit began to form. Our second rodeo had come and gone. However, this time I actually got to see the rodeo and the concert - all of it! Like a champ.

Eventually we headed back out and to the trailer park. The next morning we woke up and went for breakfast. We surveyed the chaos that was post-rodeo. Bamboo flagpoles were everywhere in the streets and yards. Cars were parked dangerously close to the trailers. Coolers were smashed to bits and strewn about in the middle of the streets.

Rodeo, year 2, was just as memorable, if not more, than the first. We definitely will be giving ourselves the extra time, so as to take in all of the sights of Auburn, again this year. Our tickets are purchases as of today, and the trip is booked. 

This year I vow to stay awake the entire time. I promise to wear sunscreen and bring water. I will take lots of pictures. I will help up the fallen and give beer to the thirsty. I will cheer on the riders, of both real and mechanical beast. I will dance my hardest and sing my loudest. I will live it up because I know this is our last Rodeo.

For those of you who are waffling on purchasing tickets... get yourself together. Buy the tickets, it’s for a good cause, anyway, right? I guarantee you will have the time of your life and at least 17 good stories to tell your friends. I plan on enjoying it to the fullest, as I know this is Bueter’s last year and my last excuse to legitimately wear my badass cowgirl boots, drink in a field, and watch grown men wrestle cows. War damn.