Bull busting and county fair - July 21

If you have never been to a county fair I highly recommend it. Where else will you find dubious carnival rides, animals of all kinds, a local beauty pageant, all manner of fried eatables, and a rodeo? When we planned to drive all over the USA we looked around to see if there were any state or county fairs happening along the way. We were in luck and there was going to be one in Rolla MO. The tourist info girls told us that events would be happening rain or shine and boy did they mean it. The area had gotten a heavy dousing before we arrived, making parking in the field a concern. The midway that was set up at the grounds had a good array of rides but I am always a little nervous when I see how quickly the can set up and tear down a midway. I swear that the rides set up were on the trucks the night before at a rest stop where we stopped for gas the night before. Despite this we had fun flying through the air on a couple rides and spinning around on others. While we killed time before the beauty pageant we headed into the animal padlocks. I did not realize how many different varieties of rooster there are before I saw the kids exhibits. The beauty pageant was an interesting experience. They had different sections for all ages, with the fair queen round for the over 16's. It was fun watching the little ones try their best to do the dance routines and answer the interview questions. I can't help but wonder whose idea it is to be in the pageants; the girls or the parents. Well whoever decides, they all seemed to be having a good time and the former queen had a good cry when she gave up her crown. After the pageant the sky opened up to give the fair a good soaking before the main bull riding event. You had to feel sorry for the riders because the field was so muddy by the time they got to ride the bulls, anyone who was kicked off the bull had a very wet landing. It also made things difficult for round 2 because all their gear was wet and muddy. It was such fun to watch the bull riding, I haven't seen that since I lived in Alberta and this was the first time for the girls. Once the rain had let up it cooled off a bit and the crowd got into the spirit of the event. Great seats, eye candy, good music, what more could a girls want.