July 15 - Rodeo!

Today was a chores day.  Bill went to the Ace Hardware shop in Driggs (and got us a better showerhead that actually fit - yay!) while I shopped at the awesome, well-supplied Broulim's grocery store.  I was surprised to find such a complete, modern, big store in such a little, unknown town (only unknown to us non-natives, of course). 

 On the way back, we had to stop so I could get some photos of this super cute drive-in movie theater!  The Spud.  Unfortunately, because it gets dark so late up here in the summer, all movies start at 9:45pm!  And the movie selection (Transformers 3) wasn't exactly one we'd been hoping to see.  So these photos may be as far as we go with this theater - but sure looks like a fun place to see a movie!

 And now...on to the rodeo!  When I found out about this small town gig, I decided to go and play photographer.  I had a blast! 

 The rodeo started at 8pm, and the light was beautiful - as were the horses...

 and some of the riders!

 This guy was one of my favorites - he looked so laid-back, and so...cowboy!

 Yup, here he is again, waiting...

Nice backdrop, eh?  And nice of the riders to wear such colorful clothes!  Makes for more fun photos!

 The cowboy buckle brigade!

 Stretching before riding sounds like a good idea.  His horse didn't look particularly impressed though...

 Some of the funnest ones to watch - and the ones who got the loudest cheers - were the young ones.  And they could really ride!  Young barrel racers.

 The "PeeWee Princess..."

 Go Cowgirl!

Tall in the saddle.

 Fans.

 Getting ready to release the bucking bronco and rider.  Check out the guy in the tower window, fog horn in hand.

 The view from the bleachers.

It may not look like it, but this guy's a good rider.

 A husband and wife team go for it - and do pretty well.

 Sorry, now it's getting dark, and they haven't turned on the lights yet, so the photo quality is deteriorating hugely!  I had to bump up the ISO to the top and still try to maintain some shutter speed.  The results aren't too pretty, but well, you'll know what I mean in the pictures! 

Here's that little girl again, speeding back after her last barrel!

I had so much fun and would like to try doing a better job of not cutting off horses' hooves and trying to do better panning shots, so I may go back next Friday night!