Bootfest Victoria Texas

As summer winds down and the days become more tolerable, lots of towns put on some sort of festival and Victoria, Texas is no different, hosting it's own Bootfest.

(clicking on the photo increases the size and resolution)

It's pretty much the same as other and the idea of a Boot festival in south Texas is like having a Southern Drawl festival in Hattiesburg, Mississippi...everyone has one.

Young and old gathered, some young enough to be in strollers and others old enough to be in wheelchairs and walkers.  Around the square, the usual booths were there such as funnel cakes, barbeque, ice cream and of course, ... beer.  There was a line up of bands and of the couple I heard, they were pretty good.

One group from Cuero was a blend of country, hiphop and rock with a heavy dose of Mexican thrown in with the front man singing and speaking Spanglish   Another band played a mix of 70s music and country. I was really enjoying them until they tried make Van Morrison's Brown Eyed Girl into their own style.  That ended it for me.  Don't be messin' with Brown Eyed Girl.

Other venders included home crafted art, leather, boots and t-shirts.

What I found most interesting was the car show.  There was the usual restored 58 Corvette, 66 chevys, sports cars and trucks but what really stole my heart was a generous exhibit of Rat Rods.

Here's a few of my favorites that should be right at home on the set of Mel Gibson's Mad Max.

Yeeeeeeee.....haaaa!!!

I've been in Alamogordo for four months now and any assignment, good or bad, has to end.  Due to news I've heard from the home office, this could very well be my last weekend here.  However, that's not a definite.

This is the Otero County Fair weekend and I'm a fan of fairs, especially in small towns where everyone tries to get involved.  Aside from the usual handicrafts, jellies and photos there's the livestock competitions.  For anyone never going to one like this, they have missed out on all the elements involving the senses.  Temperatures have cooled some but this place is dry so when there is any movement,  the dust is stirred and hangs in the air.   With that and the smoke from barbeques, there is a light haze over everything.

As for smells, it's a unique combination of the charcoal smoke and the livestock.  Every other ride has music blaring, bingo callers yelling "G 19!", pigs squealing, chickens squawking and throngs of unlovely people laughing and talking.

My particular interest was the rodeo so I climbed up into the bleachers and sat on some of the hardest wood I've had my backside on in years.  As I sat around a wide mixture of young and old, I could hear part of conversations begin in English, merge into local Spanish and back again into English. I suppose that's Spanglish.

As for the rodeo itself, it was run by a small rodeo company that provided the bucking bulls, horses and calves.  It was complete with two rodeo clowns that cracked some of the most corny politically incorrect comments and jokes I've heard in ages.  I loved it.

Enough with the ramblings.  Here's some pictures.  Clicking on the photos will enlarge them some.

The usual Ferris wheels and rides

 

The Merry-Go-Round had seen better days

 Rodeo Queens (also contestants)

 Saddled Bronc Busters

Some went the full 8 seconds

Women's Calf Roping

 

Bareback

Then there were the Bull Riders

I'm pretty certain there were no qualifications in this.

At any rate, it was a very pleasant evening and everyone

had a good time.......except maybe for some of the horses, 

calves and bulls.