We take you back to the thrilling days of yesteryear. Bucking broncos, bull riding and barrel racing are a small part of the Big Loop Rodeo in Jordan Valley, Oregon.
It is hard to imagine a town of 200 having a event that attracts over 2500 spectators, but this annual event does just that. There are calf, cow and horse roping events.
One event called the big loop has two cowboys, one roping the head of a horse and the other roping the front legs. Some people think the sport is a little barbaric, but the contestants stop if there is a danger of hurting an animal.
They also do traditional riding events bronco riding (unbroken horses), saddle bronc riding, cattle riding and even bull riding.
The area is a Basque community, settled in the late 1800's by people from the border area between France and Spain. Note the outdoor area to play pelota - also known around St Pete (where Sally grew up) as jai alai. This was built back in the 1800's and is still marked for play.
The Basques evidently were excellent herding and ranching folk, so rodeo skills are learned at an early age. This showed really well in the barrel racing. The youngest contestant appeared to be about 8 years old. We ate the usual "fair" food and walked the vendor area. It is amazing what can be done with leather and wood.
We also noticed that a lot of the spectators and participants are not wearing what we normally think of as cowboy hats, with creases in the top and rolled up brims. They wear a traditional flat top hat with a wider brim.
Sally has been helping the refuge with bird surveys. The counts are helping with a study on the environment impact electrical tranmission lines crossing the refuge would have. The new lines proposed for installation would be coming from a wind farm. A lot of concern with the environment, but impacts have to be studied. There are very few areas where wind turbines and transmission lines will not affect animals in the only habitat they have.
Speaking of animals, there are more than just birds at Malheur. Tom has passed the requirements for agriculture tractor driving. On one of his test runs, he came face-to-tractor with a badger. The badger left slowly, turning to see if the tractor was chasing him. No pictures on this one, sorry.
We spent one weekend at home. Which means Sally went birding and Tom hung around playing music. You just need those breaks every once in a while. Of course, hanging out in this beautiful area is a very nice vacation. And of course, there was the snow Saturday morning - at least 3 inches. It melted quickly, but we had flurries all day.
Three years ago, we went to Alaska to work for the summer (yes, we went back last year). We traveled with another couple, Glenn and Karin. We plan to tour some of Oregon, Idaho and Montana with them. We went to meet them in Bend to start preparing for our tour. For fun, we ate an excellent Indian meal and then toured the Deschutes brewery.
We had been before, but both Glenn and Karin are fans of good beer and Deschutes brews some of th best. Unfortunately, they don't distribute back east. We stocked up on many items (including some Black Butte Porter from Deschutes), then brought them back with us to the Burns area. We are looking forward to that adventure.
Having said that, it means our time here at Malheur is at an end. It has been great working with the staff and volunteers once again this year. The Buena Vista Maintenance Manager bought the food and drink for a last cookout for the volunteers. We wish to say thanks Andy. We will also say this has been another adventure and we hope for many more out here.
Next time - traveling adventures with Glenn and Karin.
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