Garfield County Fair

Last night we headed out to see the Kid’s Rodeo at the Garfield County Fair in Rifle, an appropriately named city for a western county fair. There was a lot to see (and smell) and we had about an hour to look around at the exhibits before the rodeo began. As soon as we started to look at the chickens that were closest to the entrance door a sweet little girl approached us and began telling us all about the animals around us. She became our official tour guide of the fair and shared all kinds of information with us. So, for your enjoyment, a collage of sights – and some sounds—of the Garfield County Fair:

First up – some Fair Faces:

Here is Miss Bethany, our self-appointed Fair Guide

This is Bethany's horse, Ginger.

And here she is giving us the low-down on pigs

And now for a bit of Fair Fashion:

A fancy goat-coat

Grunge-sheep-shirt

Bare, sunburned pig. Hmmm........seems they should put shirts on pigs, not goats and sheep!

A sheep ashamed of the shirt he's wearing

A bootless-from-Boulder cowboy

Sparkle shirt and cowboy hats

A little helmet-wearing cowboy, prepared for a dangerous stick horse ride

Finally, some Fair Action:

Pole-bending and barrel-racing were done on stick horses, so not a lot of action but plenty of cute.

Waiting for pole-bending

Then there was the mutton-bustin' . Before you bust mutton, you must mount mutton

This little one needed LOTS of encouragement. But he finally got bustin'

Then there was the boot scramble.

That was WAY TOO EXCITING so we decided to call it a night. As did the nearby pigs ---

Gotta love a pig who sleeps cuddled with his food bowl.