Holidaying With The Dogs

Well it seems like a distant memory, a whirlwind trip down to the Denver Stock Show and back. The drive through Montana and Wyoming was done at breakneck speed.

 As we moved south, the snow seemed to be just a memory.

 We got to Penley's Inn and bedded down Karma with the sheep - her next big adventure was yet to come.

 The sun shone brightly that first morning.  There was a little scare as Karma had decided to leave, but within a few hours she was back with her sheep.  Maybe she was scared of this cat.

 That first day we went and got our badges and such at the show office, That night we went out for supper with Karma's new owner Sharon.  I knew that Karma would do great in her adventure.

In the morning, it had seemed that some snow had followed us.

 Sharon and Karma got ready and hit the road.  I am sure Karma was wondering what the hell was going on.

 We then went in to take in the show,  At this time the every popular Wagyu cattle were being shown. Okay, maybe not that popular.

 But it was popular enough for this fellow to attend - the ex-president of Mexico.  

He was searching for cattle for his next job.

 We walked...and walked...and walked through the pens of cattle.

 There was a carload show, and we sat back and watched....

 ....as others dozed off.

 We walked some more and saw a little cattle. 

 And I do mean little.  Mini herefords...for the midget.

 Hairy Highlanders were seen.

Porcine heaven.

Sheep in people clothing.

On the first night we saw Dancing with Horses - like Dancing With The Stars....without the stars.

We were hitching to have a good time.

We were able to take in the cattle dog trial, wishing we could have entered it as well.

We watched Steve Rosvold from Manitoba win the go round and get into the finals - we would come the next day to root for the lone Canadian.

Before we did that, we would take in the trade fair.  Very dangerous these fairs are...if you look them in the eye, they will attack you with their sales pitch.

We watched the finals the next day, but since I had to keep some pixie dust back, Steve was not able to win the whole enchilada.

Before the sheep dog trial, I watched a few steer shows.  I considered entering a steer in for next year, the night before, the Champion Steer brought $100,000 - some expensive taste.

The paparazzi were out in full force.

Chris and June were the first ones to go.

June showed that the girls could be moved around.

In the end, I got both Ky and Floss in the finals.  Floss would come away with the Reserve banner, losing by 1 point to John Holman and Roy.  I should have paid the judge a better complement.

As the dogs moved out, the mules moved in.



The next day, Kelly would try her paws at her first arena trial.  She did great for her first round, but the wheels fell off in the second round.  Someone did ask if I would leave her in Colorado...not this time.

As we headed out, only a few were left behind.  These Highlander's owners were seen drinking scotch whiskey the night before.

We made it to Billings, Montana, and saw what was to offer.

No trip is complete without a trip to this store.

We got home to see the sun set on Mankota..home sweet home.  

 A gold star is awarded to the Penley Inn - for Nancy and Kurt for putting up with us.
Hopefully we can return the favor in the near future!
Hopefully next year, we can bring another banner home!