Parking, anyone?

It's rodeo time in Utah. Unfortunately I live next door to the rodeo arena, so from now through Saturday I will hear cheers, watch skydivers, endless traffic, and approximately 12,000 people a night trying to find a parking spot. That's the most entertaining part of this time of year....folks will actually walk several miles to sit in the hot sun, watch cows and horses ridden by city cowboys, and drink overpriced beer, pop, and ice cones. And typically on the "big" day, July 24th, they are sold out....meaning there are at least 20,000 people who live in this area that are totally crazy! I had suspected that all along, but this puts the exclamation point on the end of the sentence.

I used to sit on the front porch to watch the folks coming and going, coming and going, coming and going. But now that I'm officially "older" (please note: not old, just older) and wiser, I rush home so I can find parking for myself less than a mile from the house. I sometime have to explain to the "parking dudes" that it's ok for me to park here, I LIVE here!

Then I hear the loudspeaker, watch the drunks (their longevity for watching the rodeo varies widely....almost a show in itself), and most entertaining of all.....watch 12,000 people scramble to 6,000 cars and try to leave in under 2 hours. VERY entertaining!!!

Actually, if it weren't so doggone hot around her right now I would probably cough up some money and wander on over. After all, I don't have to wait in their long lines for the bathroom, drink their $5 or $6 bottled water, or for that matter eat a $6 hamburger of hot dog. I can wander home for ALL of the above, confident that I will be back in very short order.

I also get to see friends that I haven't seen or talked to in some time. After all, I have GOOD parking very close to the main event!

All-in-all it's a fun pain in the neck and it always surprises me how quickly it rolls around each year. It just seems like it was Christmas, and here we are more than half way to the next one, as proven by the fact that only one week after this entertaining spectacle is over it will be August. I think, if I were smart, that the end of the rodeo would officially mark my "start Christmas shopping" season.

I guess we'll see how smart I am................