Back home in the cold!

From SFO - on the left photo : South Park/Mission and the piers, below: the Financial District (skyscrapers) in the background and Lake Merced//Zoo, the greenery in front - we flew an extremely northern route from SFO to MUC, over Canada, Greenland, Iceland, but it's been a smooth flight and thanks to Eco Plus seats with the center seat free, it was okay, though can never sleep on the plane. 

 

Worked some, then watched some interresting HBO docu series about the Navajo Police Training Academy and the problems not only to find more police officers, but also with drugs, alcohol, domestic violence, poverty, loss of cultural roots, etc. The Navajo Reservation. The Navajo Nation Reservation is the largest reservation in the U.S.A., about the size of Bavaria. Capital is Window Rock, Arizona, but the homelands reach into Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. 

Food,,, not worth being mentioned in detail - seems that portions get smaller now, too. Arrived in Munich on time, at 9:50 am, after almost 11 hours in the air. 

Luggage came - new record for MUC! - in about 20 minutes, a train arrived immediately and brought us to Munich Central Station, from there another train to Augsburg and by streetcar back home. Took us about 3.5 hours from touch-down to our door. 

It was cold (around 26 deg F/-3 C this morning), there was a bit of snow on the ground, but, at least, the sun was out! Missing Tucson already!!!

 

In the morning, before touch-down

En Route,,,

Didn't sleep well, woke up early, had coffee, packed the car and at sunrise we left our beautiful AirBnB with a last gorgeous view of the mountains:

After a 20 min drive we arrived to Tucson Airport (left photo), a small, comfy airport, with the car rental return directly adjacent to Airport check-in. No bus drive necessary! Luggage and security went quick, plane was on time, though packed to the last seat. 2.5 hours flight to San Francisco, partly with great views:

Leaving Tucson

Mojave Desert

Approaching San Francisco

San Francisco's International Airport has a beautiful outdoors terrace with plants and sculptures (photo below), a good opportunity to catch some fresh air before sitting on the plane for 11+ hours, hopefully with the center seat between us empty! Fingers crossed!

Last day ,,, a perfect day ,,, at the rodeo!

Well, it may sound crazy, but, today we again spent a couple of hours on the rodeo grounds in Tucson, standing on the media platform above the chutes! It's been a good last day in the U.S.A., and, it closed the circle from Elko in the beginning and its Western culture to Tucson's cowboy culture. 

First thing in the morning, we checked out the monumental mural at the Tucson City Courthouse, painted by Ignacio Garci, a well known Southwestern muralist. 

On the rodeo grounds: much more folks visiting today compared to yesterday! We were watching the horses and bulls and cowboys and officials - equally interesting than the competitions!

 

Judges, volunteers, rodeo clown and bull fighters (who keep away the bulls from the competitors) and all the people working to get the rodeo going - what an effort! Team of wranglers on photos below, "zamboni" driver, judges and bullfighters.

 

Horses and bulls seemed extremely relaxed and in great condition:

Every rodeo day starts with the Grand Entry, with flag presentation, a thank-you to the sponsors follows.

 Some more shots from today, bareback riding (my favorite discipline) below:

Barrel Racing

Bull riding:

A lonesome cowboy, getting ready for the ride:

... with his whole equipment:

 

Steer Wrestling below:

Team Roping:

Tie-down Roping:

More of "getting ready" below: horse and bull riding cowboys are usually very wiry and slim, and, very young. In this business you are considered "old" when you are 30 - no wonder,,,

Left a little earlier today to avoid the parking lot chaos, and, enjoyed a pleasant evening, first, with the owners of our place, then, by sitting outside on the patio, watching the stars for the last time!

Tucson Rodeo - the 100th!

Rodeo cowboys have a tough life. They travel all over the country during rodeo season, and, conditions are not really luxurious! Throw your saddle and bag in the dust, get yourself stretched and bandaged up, take your dusty boots and put on your saddle, a short ride, and on we go,,,  from rodeo to rodeo. The Tucson Rodeo is one of the bigger ones: there is quite a bit of money to earn and step up in the ranking to end up in Las Vegas at the Finals Rodeo in December (on our bucket list!).

First rodeo day yesterday, on the rodeo grounds, with food and souvenir vendors, entertainment, a dance hall, a beer garden and much more:

First event today, at noon: kids' events, starting with mutton busting (pic on the right, sheep riding), then, the main event starts at 2 pm in the afternoon with an official Opening Ceremony –  the presentation of all the military divisions’ flags and the U.S. flag, a prayer and the National Anthem:

 

 

Then the competition officially started with Bareback Riding (photos below:

Following competitions are: Steer Wrestling, Saddle Bronc Riding (below), Tie-down and Team Roping and Barrel Racing (for cowgirls). Bull Riding is one of the most popular competition and, probably, the most dangerous, too.

Steer wrestling:

Team roping:

Tie-down Roping:

Being successful, first of all means to complete the chore to stay on the animal for 8 seconds and deliver a good performance (which requires to get a good bucking horse or bull alloted). Or, it means to rope or catch an anmial as quick as possible by jumping out of the saddle in full flight. In barrel race, ladies have to circle three barrels as quick as possible. 

Staying healthy is a main factor for the cowboys/girls: broken bones and other injuries are nothing unusual and cowboys invest a lot of time in taping, bandaging, stretching and getting prepared properly for the short ride - physically and mentally!

The Tucson Rodeo - the 100th! - started on Saturday and will take place on two weekends plus next Thursday, introduced by a big parade. We'll miss that this year!

Barrel Racing (only women's competition):

Yes, for sure, professional rodeo is controversely discussed, but it's certainly a popular sport in the Western part of the U.S.A. and Canada rooting in the everyday cowboy work on ranches. We've just recently published an article in German Quarter Horse Journal (2/25) about Tucson Rodeo and rodeo in general, including topics like  animal care and rules. Who ever is interested in that, please, holler, and we'll send you the article. 

In any case, all the animals, bred by special breeders for rodeo livestock (in this case: Beutler & Sons from Oklahoma) look healthy, well taken care for and lively. No scars, shiny fur, strong and fit.There are strict PRCA (Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association) rules that ensure humane treatment of the „animal athletes“. And, since half of the score (in bucking competitions) goes to the horse/bull, half to the cowboy, animals play an important role! An average bucking horse or bull works less than 5 minutes per year in the rodeo arena! A ride takes 8 seconds and each horse is only used once in each rodeo and gets rest inbetween competitions. Injuries are rare and most animals reach high age being kept in very comfy conditions, fed with quality feed and treated carefully. They are very valuable to the owner and sell for high prices. Not every regular ranch horse (and, especially not cattle) has such a good life otherwise! Same for jumping or dressage horses, or dogs in dog races.  

Bullriding:

We stayed on the platform above the chutes for four hours, just watching and taking photos - so much fun! Not so funny: to get out of the parking lot,,, annoyingly slow, almost an hour! Had to have a beer afterwards in a brewery closeby our "home" in Marana (a "suburb" of Tucson), at Catalina Brewing Company.