no cowboys

yesterday assist editor h and i arrived in the denver metro area about 6:30, checked into our room in the downtown holiday inn and proceeded down to the hotel's bar and grill. heather was interested in my tales of holiday inn 2o09, when i found myself inundated with bull riders while innocently enjoying a bowl of chili and talking to an older man who ran a sod farm on colorado's western slope.

that was quite the evening. cowboy hats, starched shirts and jeans, fancy boots, dancing and whiskey. needless to say, i was tired the next morning.

but alas, holiday inn 2010 was much different. we learned that the majority of the pbr crowd was across the interstate at the grizzly rose dance hall and saloon, and we promptly made plans to make that journey this evening in hopes of catching the rodeo contestants. last night we were both too tired to muster the energy required to interact with cowboys so we went to bed, and assist editor h heard them arriving back at the hotel at 1 this morning.

i am grateful we didn't stay out that late.

today we are attending the international livestock conference. right now i'm in the lobby of the renaissance hotel while heather sits in on the last session before lunch. instead of eating lunch we're going to that cruel girl outlet - mostly because i only brought one pair of jeans! (that means i have to buy a pair there, right?) i like that assist editor h thinks like me - who needs lunch when there's the possibility of great deals on my favorite jeans?

alright - whoever's making the delicious food within reach of my nose is cruel, because that latte i drank first thing this morning is making me very hungry right about now.

and you know what's exciting? denver's expecting a high of 58 degrees today. what a wonderful break for the sub-zero and single digits we've endured in casper.

but anyway, the plan for the rest of the day is shopping, finishing up this meeting, then heading over to the stock show grounds, where assist editor h has expressed extreme interest in obtaining media passes for the pbr event tonight so we can get behind the chutes with the bull riders. i'm all for it. i used to be intimidated by them, but now i'm entertained and can relax and enjoy myself.

oh, last night, instead of bull riders, we visited with three older men who work for the railroad, including mike johnson? that might have been his name, he told us several times. he's from toledo, ohio, where they don't have cattle - they have fish. he was quite the character. his railroad job is running a truck along the tracks with x-ray looking for weaknesses. and he likes to hunt muskrats. and he has three children and one 'fiery irish grandson' who's five years old. he really enjoyed his time with his family over christmas. he finally left the bar about 30 minutes after i stopped talking to him. assist editor h says, 'so you just make friends wherever you go?' yeah, i do. makes life more interesting. :-)

so anyway. that's what i'm up to. i think this weekend i'm headed to thermopolis with the him to pick up some hay for him and brother b and friend eddy. and while we're there i guess we're helping rancher jerry lake vaccinate his cows? not sure.

i should have some stock show photos to post later on...i think my little red camera's still in the blazer.