KEREMEOS RODEO

It was a long weekend in Canada and I was reliably told it was the weekend that everyone hit the roads and the beach. The former may have been correct as the roads were busy but the latter was wrong as for much of the holiday weekend it was windy, cold and drizzly.

There was no soccer this weekend so Tammie and I hit the stores for some much needed shopping. Our major purchase was a two seat garden setting that is ideal for our backyard panorama. The problem was getting it home as we no longer have the seven-seater van, only the small Jeep. We also had to pick Mac up from work so she had to be squished into the backseat with a chair on her lap.

But that’s not all folks. The weekend before when it was 26c we had taken the top off the TJ. On Saturday it was 14c and it started to rain on our way home.

Mac wasn’t a happy passenger on the trip home.

We had to return to the store on Sunday to pick up Tammie’s new laptop computer. Now setting up a new computer should be easy, well you would think so in this day and age. Alas, it was a pain in the arse. The signs were bad when Tammie couldn’t find the on/off switch and had to ask me to help her. Then she couldn’t log into Hotmail or load her new virus protection. There was a lot of gnashing of teeth and deep breaths before we had it all somewhat sorted out.


On Monday Tammie and I went to the Keremeos Rodeo. Keremeos is about a 35 minute drive from OK Falls and what a picturesque drive it is. High, pine-covered mountains were linked by pretty blue lakes. The sun was shinning and the top of the TJ was down which allowed us an unrestricted view of the beautiful sights along the way. You just know a particular spot is great when you say that you would like to live there.

Keremeos is no more than a quiet village and has a population of probably 2,000 people. The town has a good feel to it and I would say that the rodeo is the biggest event of the year.

The rodeo grounds were hidden away at the back of the town. Whichever way you looked you were confronted by towering mountain peaks. A cold wind blew across the rodeo arena kicking up dust devils that gave the afternoon a cool bite.

Now I am far from a rodeo expert. Actually this is only the second rodeo I have ever attended the first being in Omak, Washington last August for the famous Omak Suicide Race. The two events were chalk and cheese. Whereas Omak was all grand stands and infrastructure Keremeos made do with wooden stands with no cover. At Omak there were concession and souvenir stands everywhere, whilst at Keremeos there was a small food stand that was manned by local volunteers. Thousands attended Omak whilst perhaps 500 were in the stands at Keremeos.

It is at events such as the Keremeos Rodeo that you see the real difference between Canada and America. One is all big, bustling and look at me while the other is non-descript and laid-back without pretension.


I think I like the Canadian version the best.


So we saw lots of bulls and men. Sorry cowboy’s being thrown from bulls. We also lots of cowgirls and a variety of horses. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the rodeo was the roped off beer-garden as that is where all the really interesting people hung out. I had a birds eye view from the stands where I sat and there were some truly strange dudes within the roped off confines.

We finished off the holiday weekend by taking a trip to Tammie’s beach at OK Falls. Once again it was almost bare as the warm weekend weather never eventuated, but that meant we had the beach to ourselves. Matilda had a ball chasing ducks and geese and charging into the water chasing sticks and crackers meant for the ducks. She had even more fun when another dog came and played with her. They chased each other across the park, ducking, weaving and rolling on the soft grass.


What a great way to finish off the weekend!

akmacca08@live.com.au