Rodeo New Mexico Style!

This past week was State Fair New Mexico!  What do you do at a State Fair but eat junk food and here in New Mexico it also means going to the rodeo.  About 20 years ago or more my husband and I went to a rodeo, but the one at the state fair was awesome! There were 6 of us and we all agreed it was a blast.  A young cowboy sitting next to me explained how the points are earned for each of the events.  He was so excited to share his knowledge and I loved hearing it.  The cowboys and cowgirls who do this for a living are tough and really talented.  I highly suggest if you ever get a chance to see a live rodeo do it . . . I don't think you will be disappointed! Enjoy the photos . .

Began with a huge display of fireworks!

Parade of the cowgirls.

The shute.

All I kept thinking was . . . oh my gosh your back!

There was even an event for little kids!  Riding the mullets . . .

This the Season!

September, is Green Chile season in New Mexico!  Cases and cases are sold around town with the added bonus of having them roasted for free!  No need to worry if the store is equipped with a giant roaster, you just need to breath in and follow the sweet, sweet scent!  Although we have embraced green chilies, buying a whole case . . . well just seems to be a bit much ;-)

                                                        

What would a farmers market be without a green chili eating contest!  This group of people each ate over a pound of very hot green chilies!  The woman in the picture has been undefeated!  The prize . . . a plastic trophy YIKES! 

I just had to add the picture below . . . It was our first snake siting!  Honestly, the snake was harmless as my husband I found out when we corralled it into a box to relocate it.  We tried to research the type and came up with a couple of possibilities.  

Last Days of Scotland and London

Our last stop in Scotland was Edinburgh.  It was my favorite of all the cities we visited!  From the heart of the city along Prince Street with the shops, pubs and gardens to the Royal Mile and of course Edinburgh Castle where we saw the awesome Military Tattoo!  It was truly a memorable trip!  Fortunately, we weren't finished as we then took a train to London!  A pub crawl to one of the oldest pubs in London, The London Bridge, Kensington Palace and of course Harrods to name a few.  We walked miles the three days we were in London and enjoyed every minute!  Some photos to enjoy!

St. Andrews

St. Andrews

Bakery Shop St. Andrews . . . yummy

                                                             

                                                   Royal Ancient Clubhouse in St. Andrews

Edinburgh

Military Tattoo at the Edinburgh Castle. . . one word awesome!

                                                                                                                London

Harrods "food" floor

                     

Big Ben

One of the oldest pubs in London . . . part of the Pub Crawl

Our group!

Continuing With Scotland/London Trip . . .

Leaving Glasgow, we drove north along the shores of Loch Lomond Britain's largest lake.  We made a stop at Fort Augustus and took a short cruise on the very scenic Loch Ness with the hopes of seeing Nessie!  Scotland is just beautiful and the people are so warm and friendly! Tonight we are staying in the 18th Century Tulloch Castle, the castle that is believed by some to have a ghost living there.  The way the story goes is, the little girl in the family discovered her father in an awkward situation with the maid.  She ran out of the room down the stairs and fell to her death.  She is believed to be roaming the halls of the castle . . . unfortunately we never ran in to her.

Leaving Glasgow heading north

W found out that the sheep outnumber the people in Scotland!

Tulloch Castle

Our private dinning room in the castle

Front Door of the Castle

Could this be Nessie?!

Look Back at Scotland . . . day 1

On August 5th we landed in Glasgow at 7:30 am as did the other members of our group!  Family and friends came from Chicago, California, South Carolina and of course all of us from New Mexico!  After passing through customs we met our tour guide Barbara, who was fantastic, boarded our coach bus for a city tour of Glasgow since our hotel was not available until mid afternoon. The first thing I noticed were the beautiful Victorian red stone buildings, many  draped with beautiful flower accents.  While most of the sights were historical in nature, at 10:00 we pulled up to Auchentoshan Distillery to see the process of whiskey production.  At the end of the tour, samples of various scotch whiskey were enjoyed by most! It was a long travel day so we all shared an early dinner, talked until we couldn't keep our eyes opened and then off to bed so we were well rested for our early start to find the Loch Ness Monster. . .

Glasgow

Whiskey in the making!

Finished Product

Dolan Fountain