Come Hell or High Water

There was some high water in Cheyenne this weekend, just in time to help wrap up Frontier Days. I took the boytoy to Cheyenne to show him what a real rodeo looks like, albeit an extremely soggy one. Not only did it rain, there were flash flood warnings in the area. A lesser event would have been canceled.

Friday night we went to a show featuring Gretchen Wilson, Cowboy Troy, and Big & Rich. It rained through the entire first two performances, and we got soaked. At least none of the artists got finicky and decided not to play. They were covered, anyway. By the way, if you go to a Big & Rich concert, you want to stand in the front. They threw out several handfuls of cash during the show, along with some T-shirts, and the usual smashed guitar. They were also “the only ones worth seeing” according to the boytoy (he should know, this being his first concert), who got so excited during their set that he picked me up, tried to dance with me, and spun me around several times. Down, boy.

The rodeo was even more soppy fun, though thanks to better seating arrangements, neither of us got significantly damp. However, lightning was striking close enough that you could feel the energy in the air and the new “Cheyenne River,” as christened by the rodeo clown, was flowing through one side of the arena. The steer wrestling bore a strong resemblance to water skiing, wild horses pulled entire three-man teams facefirst through the mud in the wild horse race, and any cowboy not smooth enough to land on his feet in the roughstock competitions came away with 50 lbs of mud as a consolation prize. All in all, it was a very good time.