La Fiesta de los Vaqueros - Tucson Rodeo!

Cool shot, huh? Awesome time at the Tucson Rodeo on Sunday! It can be a long day in the Arizona sun, so here's what I learned and what I need to do for next year.

1. You don't need to be there when it starts at 12:30. Get there for the ProRodeo Competition which starts at 2:00 and lasts about two-and-a-half hours, which is plenty of time in the sun :) Also obviously be mindful of the age of your children and their attention span :)

2. Bring sunblock. You can also buy a cowboy hat there or across the streeet. Prices start at $10 and go up to $200.

3. There is a lot of great junk food there including funnel cakes and ice cream and kettle corn. OR, you can bring food in, but not in a hard cooler. We had a soft cooler with food/drinks and it was no problem to bring in.

4. Give yourself time to walk around the rodeo also; lots of cool booths with lots of cool cowboy stuff. They stay open after the rodeo, so you have time afterwards also.

5. If driving down from Phoenix, stop off at the Rooster Cogburn Ostrich Ranch. You can spend 20-45 minutes there easily. Ostriches bite and are nasty. Don't hold your hands up high to feed them. Hold them low and bring them up slowly until the Ostrich can reach your hand. Better yet, feed the deer.

6. Get tickets online or over the phone, far ahead of time. They sell out. Try to sit in a row as close to the field as possible, and definitely sit in section B or A. Not that our tickets in section C were bad (as you can see by my photo above), but the roping activities happen from the chutes between sections A and F (see the graphic on the left). Also, the sun will be at your back if you are in sections C, B, A, and in your face in Sections E and F. I'd recommend the lowest row you can get in Sections B or A, and lower numbers are more south, so a high seat number in section A or low seat number in section B is ideal.

7. It's definitely a kid friendly event and a lot of fun. Kids under 3 were free, but next year I'd either still buy a seat to have the extra room, AND/OR bring seat cushions because they are metal bleachers.

Last thing: When the bareback riding started, Aaron asked "Why are they doing bull riding on horses?!?!" That was a particularly cool event, as was the Saddle Bronc riding (picture above of the winner, Billy Etbauer). The Tie-Down and Team roping was also really great fun to watch...

You can see more of my photos from the event here: http://picasaweb.google.com/david.pinkus/TucsonRodeo2008