Country Scenes and Children's Dreams

Like I promised, we are at the edge of the arena at the fairgrounds in Burns. The insurance man took the day off and we went and took his mom to the fair. We started by looking at exhibits and seeing the theme of the fair in every one's handiwork. The theme was ' Country Scenes and Children's Dreams', a theme I really liked. We visited with friends, had some hamburgers with grilled onions, and then we decided to go into the grandstands and watch horse roping and some horse races as well.

Here are all the cowboys all lined up on horses, waiting their turns to rope a wild horse. Harney County is still one of the cowboy capitals of our country. Lots of ranchers here.

Just waiting for the next riders. 

They rope in teams of two, one around the neck and one to capture a back leg.

They are pretty good with their ropes, but only a few teams actually got their ropes around both the neck and leg. Beautiful horses. I especially liked the gray and black horse in this photo. Enlarge the photo to see it better.

While their Dads and Grandpa's were roping, some of the little cowboys were having a grand time in the dirt. Complete with hats and boots.

We had some fair food while we watched. Mom had an ice cream cone and the insurance man and I split a root beer float. We also ate some 'funnel cake fingers' and split an order between the three of us.

There are also plenty of cowgirls out there too.They are very good at their horse skills. 

We watched two or three horse races, and enjoyed that before going out to look at the 4H animals. 

Really cute calf that came along with his mama, so that she could be judged.

We decided we were tired, so went home and fixed dinner before relaxing for the evening.

On Saturday morning, we got up early and went to the 'Cow Ladies' breakfast. The ranchers grill steaks, flip big pancakes and fry eggs on outdoor grills, while the we follow the line and end with an offer of brandy. (Too early in the day!) The breakfast was yummy (love that steak) and it's all for a good cause, college scholarships for the 4H kids. My mother-in-law loves to visit all the people who have come into town, and a good time was had by all. After that, full and stuffed, we went downtown and put up chairs for the Fair Parade. A friend of ours was named Grand Marshall of the parade, and there were children in droves, exited to pick up the candy. This family was next to us, and the candy they snagged should keep them going until Halloween.

The insurance man and mom, the empty chair is for the lady snapping the picture!

The honor guard came first, and we all stood to recite the pledge of allegiance. You gotta love small town America, where there are no protesters in sight....

Then we all sang the National Anthem while some old cars went by. Beautiful.

And the parade was wonderful, with a visit from Smokey the Bear, no less. 

Another great fair to celebrate!