Good eye

I aspire to take wonderful, artistic photos and maybe one day I will. But I know I don't have a God-given gift to take photos like this artist.

Her name is Jennifer Alnwick and she's one of the photogs that comes to Frontier Days.

I also believe she is a true artist and wish I could buy one of everything she's got!

Some of my favorites?

Under portfolios then people I LOVE numbers: 2, 4 (he's a pick-up man at Frontier Days - and one of my favorites too!), and 32 (I freaking LOVE this one!)

Under ranch and rodeo: 6 (oh man...), 12 (love, LOVE), 15, 16 (so cool), 27 (just look at the detail of the dirt flying!), 30, 31, 33, and 35 (love the movement here)

Under equine: 2 (look at that light), 6, 15, 28 (you can nearly see emotion in the horse's eye)

Under on the road: 3 (beautiful), 11, 12, 16 (I love old Western murals painted on the sides of buildings), 21 and 31

People who have this kind of talent blow me away!

Frontier Days finale

Today is the official last day of Frontier Days, but my last day was after the rodeo on Wednesday. That's because Jonna and I left Thursday morning for Lamar, Colo., for Linds H.'s little sister's wedding.

On my last day at CFD I was assigned to the photo pit, which is literally a cement bunker in the middle of the arena. It's a cool place for photographer's to go because they get awesome close up shots they couldn't get elsewhere. I took advantage of a few shots myself.

Here are my last shots of this year's Frontier Days rodeo:

Inside the pit...


I absolutely love this photo. It turned out way more cool than I thought it was going to! Click on it to check it out. Doesn't it kind of look like the horse and rider are getting beamed up by aliens...?


Getting close...!


Galloping close by the pit...


Click on this photo and check out the arch on the horse's neck. I think it's cool...


He's looking right at us! haha...


A dramatic fly-off...


I am really happy with this photo and recommend clicking on it to get all the detail. I love the horse arched over the fallen cowboy...


You can get some great shots of the timed events because they many times skid to a halt right in front of you. A steer wrestler...


Check out the vertical on this guy!


The Wild Horse Race is the last event each day. First one up on a wild horse who can go around the track once, wins...

And there you have it. Frontier Days 2009!

Flapjack fantasy

One of my favorite things about Frontier Days is the free pancake breakfast downtown at the Depot.

My goal is to eat pancakes three times during Frontier Days, that is, on Monday, Wednesday and Friday when they have the feeds.

Monday is the busy breakfast for me because I get assigned to a Denver news crew and am helping them get set up and get interviews. But I still find time to make it through the line for some flapjacks!

This photo reminds me of John Denver's "Thank God I'm a Country Boy" song..."When the suns comin' up I got cakes on the griddle..." I think I've mentioned on here before how much I love the word griddle...


The flapjack cookers flip the "cakes" to Boy Scouts who act as catchers...








One of our Chey-town Grizzlies, which is our baseball team...


There's always live entertainment on the plaza during the feed. This country group was pretty good...

Frontier Days round-up

Last year, I was assigned to one camera crew that does filming for Frontier Days each year and consequently spent every, single day behind the chutes.

I watched a lot of rodeo, and it was awesome!

This year, for the first couple of days I've had a different assignment: Channel 4 news out of Denver. It's been super fun, but I've watched precious little rodeo.

Instead, I've spent the last two days setting up sit-down interviews, helping their cameraman get video, suggesting locations and interviews for live shots, showing up at 4 a.m. at the Depot to tell them where to park their satellite truck for the free pancake breakfast...etc.

I haven't had much of a chance to take photos, but I've squeezed in a few. Here's some of what I've been up to minus the pancake breakfast. There will be photos of that up soon...

A bull rider!


This bull was so stubborn! It took the pick-up men (all the guys in blue who help the riders and keep the animals in check) FOREVER to get that thing rounded up! He really dug in...


And this is what becomes of stubborn bulls...Rocky Mountain Oysters. Just kidding. I didn't take this photo of that bull's balls on purpose. I just happened to notice the incredible size of his package later! (I'm getting pretty crass!)


I took Eddie, the cameraman, right behind the chutes so he could get some cool shots above the cowboys as they were getting ready to ride.

These are the HEELS. Frontier Days is pretty much put on by all volunteers. You are eligible to make a HEEL after about 10 years of service. There are about 480 registered HEELS, the oldest of which has been serving for around 50 years! They did a big photo to get ready for next year's 75th anniversary celebration of the organization...

This is Dan Taylor, the Chute 9 chute boss. Chute 9 is where all the timed events like team roping, steer wrestling, etc. come out of. He's been doing this since '61 or '62. He is such a character!


This is Michelle Griego, the reporter I was with. I got her "written in" to the Cheyenne Gunslingers's skit. She had never held a gun before, but by the time she left Cheyenne she'd handled three...


Michelle demonstrating gun safety by shooting (with a blank) a pop can...



This is Richard, the sat truck driver. I was sitting up front chillin' while we waited for a live shot...

And me in my cowgirl garb by the truck...

Cowboy hostel

Garth Brooks and Chris LeDoux sing a song called "Whatcha Gonna Do with a Cowboy," which I was reminded of Saturday night when several cowboys from the rodeo crashed at my place.

I was expecting a full house that night anyway, since a friend from Jackson, Wyo., was supposed to stay along with her boyfriend, and maybe a roomate. Jonna was also staying since she was in town to watch her brother, Nathan, ride broncs.

The Jackson friend never showed, but Nathan and his girlfriend needed a place to crash, so I gave them my spare room. Then a friend of Nathan's girlfriend showed up needing a place. Nathan asked if another cowboy friend of his could stay - to which I said yes - and later yet another cowboy showed up!

Fortunately, I have a pull-out couch that two of them took. The last poor cowboy got a sleeping bag on my hardwood floor, which, maybe after riding bulls and broncs felt pretty ok...?

This is how my living room looked when I woke up. It was like a cowboy exploded all over everything! It cracked me up...

I've never had so many boots in my entry way before...


Hat rack...


From the song:

You can see it takes a special kinda woman
To put with the life a cowboy leads,
Cause his boots are always muddy,
And his beer drinkin buddies
Will camp out on your couch and never leave...

Following Frontier Days

Aside from the awesome Frontier Days coverage you will get on my blog I would recommend checking out another one by Wyoming Travel and Tourism: The Rodeo Hand.

They will be posting feature stories and video throughout the week, and will be Twittering from the park as the action happen (as will I).

Between the two of us you shouldn't be short on CFD highlights!

Remarkable

Three remarkable things have happened today...

1. I got my car back from the shop after it has been there since Memorial weekend.
2. I ate ice cream.
3. I got into a fight with a crazy man in the Dairy Queen parking lot.

#1:

My car's engine blew Memorial weekend as Molly and I were coming back to Cheyenne from Laramie. It just went ka-put, which it shouldn't do since it's only four years old. Since then, I've had three different loaners - also covered under my warranty. I wasn't really complaining about it not being done because I kept getting free cars from the dealership, but still, it's nice to have ol' Gwennie back.

#2:
I took my newly acquired car to Dairy Queen tonight for some ice cream. This is remarkable because I don't like ice cream. I know. I'm so unAmerican, or not human, or something. But I don't. It makes me unquenchably thirsty. And it's sweet and I'm not a big fan of sweets. The only exception to this rule is ice cream sandwiches. There is just something about those things that I don't mind. It doesn't really fall into the ice cream category in my head somehow. Don't ask, I can't explain.

So, how do I explain Dairy Queen? Again, I can't really. Except I've seen a commercial for Dairy Queen Blizzards the past couple of days and it occurred to me that I want one. Once I was there though I couldn't decide what I wanted. I tried for a kiddie cup, but they don't have one. I then pursued the frozen yogurt route (which I don't like any better), but they don't serve that. So, I succumbed to the strawberry cheesecake Blizzard.

Then, on my way out remarkable event #3 happened: I got into an argument with a guy in the DQ parking lot.

#3:
This is not a remarkable thing at all for most of the readers who know me.

But I'm saying it is because I haven't had this kind of road rage but once since leaving D.C.

I just couldn't take it tonight though, when the crazy man honked at me only moments after I got in my car because he wanted my parking spot, and then proceeded to shake his head and act like I was keeping him from his dying mother.

I got out.

Yep.

I just couldn't help but inquire what the race to get into the Dairy Queen was all about!

It didn't end well. There were several explitives and a screeching of my tires - and some choice words - as I left the parking lot.

I came home in my car and ate the whole Blizzard.

Head 'em up and move 'em out!

The Frontier Days cattle drive was early yesterday morning and this year, instead of being just a spectator, I got a chance to take part!

My assignment was to help any media there, which meant riding in a buckboard at the end of a wagon train with reporters and photographers, and 500 head of cattle behind us.

I wanted to post these yesterday after the event, but my Internet was soooooo slow! I would suggest clicking on some of the photos so you can see the real detail in them...

The day started out with an authentic chuckwagon breakfast on the prairie for participants. Everything's made in cast iron skillets and pots. The three pots in front all have biscuits baking in them. You can see the hot coals on top the lids to get them warm...

Here's the cook for the chuckwagon. They're from the Texas Panhandle and have competed in the Chuckwagon Cook-off for the past several years...

This is Miss Frontier, the CFD queen, and her Lady in Waiting...

I just liked this shot of these two little girls in the field...

Here come the cattle...!

Still coming...

Here they are...

An appropriately named road for this occasion...


This is a good one to click on. Those are the CFD Dandies riding down the Interstate so they can get positioned in front of us and keep the cattle from getting into the crowds...


The wagons in front of us...


I love the contrast of the old and new ways of life here...


Definitely click on this one...


The cattle finally in the arena...


This makes me imagine a big ol' bull on a stretcher with bandages on him...haha...

Frontier Days ramp up

It's starting.

That time of year when the entire city of Cheyenne shuts down for 10 days of rodeo rambunctiousness.

But July 17 isn't the beginning...

For me and my coworkers Rachel and Matt, the CFD (Cheyenne Frontier Days) fun has already started.

Last night we did a staff run of a Behind the Chutes tour. I saw these tours shuffle by the PR House last year, but didn't really have a concept of what they were about.

Turns out - they're pretty darn worth it. First of all they're free. Secondly, tour-goers get a good, in depth look at what goes on at CFD and how it happens.

These tours can have 300-500 people on them. (Crazy!) They go by the animal pens, through the arena, into the Western Museum, and get history tidbits along the way. They've been going on for about 13 years, and Bill, the guy that's been heading them up for the last 10, knows what he's about.

I decided I'm going to take the real tour at some point during CFD, and would highly recommend this to everyone.

Stay tuned for many for CFD posts. The fun has just begun!

"Real World" Bachelor Gulch

I mentioned a couple posts ago the kicka$$ condo I stayed in over 4th of July weekend...

Well, here are some photos to back up my claim.

Yeah...our condo is the top middle window...


A better view of that top middle window...

The living room...

Our gourmet kitchen...

Our awesome dining room. Mine and Carrie's room was to the left...

The spectacular view from the enormous, amazing porch...


Me in the lodge lobby...

From mine and Kate's hike on Saturday morning...


A random pic from Tom's Tent at 4 Eagle Ranch in Wolcott, Colo.

These next few pictures sum up the fun: Alley, Carrie and I at the country dance at 4 Eagle Ranch...


Me by the pool with a plastic bottle of wine - you couldn't bring glass and we only had glass drinkware in the condo! I'm all class, I know...