rodeo wrap up & big storm

It's the last day of the stampede. It is also Lexi's 12th birthday!! S headed off to the usual morning meeting after having coffee and cereal, while I cleaned up the dishes, fed and walked H, and tidied the trailer. Once S returned, we went to the infield early in the ranger because he was hungry. He tried to order chicken fingers and fries, only to realize they only accepted cash. As we were walking back to the trailer, they ran out and kindly offered him his order for free—thank you, Lions Club.

We ran back to the trailer for a while since it was still early and spent some time sitting with Harley before returning. Today, we opted for the south infield seats to watch the chuckwagons, which were up first. It turns out the Gosling's were there too, so we enjoyed a cold drink and a chat with them until the sixth heat break. Afterward, we returned to our regular seats by the timed events chute. SO much better for personal space and viewing. 

Dash for cash race $25,000

The rodeo began at 3 PM and offered a significantly improved rough stock experience today with more bulls ridden too. Although the day started cooler, it eventually warmed up to a comfortable 26 degrees, complemented by an occasional breeze and cloud cover.

After the rodeo ended, I went into the arena to remove the banners, while S fetched the ranger to collect them. The task was completed swiftly with many helping hands. All banners were returned to the rodeo office and stored away, some requiring re-rolling correctly. Then, it was back to the trailer to release H and grab a cold drink. We made it to the volunteer dinner before 7. During the meal, most of our phones alerted us to a baseball-sized hail warning. Initially, no one seemed overly concerned until the alert repeated. Chairs were quickly stacked, and people dispersed. We hurriedly packed up the camp, loaded Harley, and headed south. Britt and Dave had already checked on all the horses and were heading home to secure their property.

S detached the trailer while I brought H inside, fed J, and switched to jeans. He then connected the small trailer, and we headed to town to fetch the ranger. The weather was merely drizzling here, but the north was ominous with lightning. B texted that it was hailing in town and advised us to turn back, which we did. We sheltered the truck and trailer in the shop and repositioned the swather against the east wall. Initially, we waited inside for the storm to pass but eventually decided to leave the ranger in town and began watching House of Dragons with our usual yogurt bowl. Britt and Paetz's were getting pummeled with hail in town and in the NW it was crazy damaging. K and N are lucky enough to have underground parking.

hail and tree damage at Britt's

This little one was awoken during the HUGE hail storm in the NW and this is how she entertained herself.

At 10 pm, the storm arrived here and unleashed with intense rain and wind, lasting roughly an hour. Despite the darkness, the horses seemed safe in shelters when illuminated by lightning. By midnight, we turned off the TV; the storm had quieted, leaving a significant pool of water where it usually gathers in our lake". Turns out we received 2 inches of rain during that period and no hail. Thank you Mother Nature.