Gillespie County

Texas is very hot & humid & is a bugger for flies, ants & mosquitoes. I managed to get bitten a couple of times on my feet that are really irritating. To console myself, I had a few salted nuts in the middle of the night & managed to tip the whole tub upside down in my bed!

We allowed ourselves a leisurely start to the morning. Our main priority was to secure tickets for tonight’s Rodeo in neighbouring Stonewall. After checking out of our clean hotel, we headed to a tiny hamlet called Luckenbach, which carries the tag “Everybody’s Somebody”. This may have something to do with the size of it’s population.......just 3.

Luckenbach was a delightful little place that had somehow created itself into a must-see tourist destination. It is just a collection of barns that house a Post Office, a Saloon Bar, a Food Kiosk & a Hat Shop. It is now a country music venue that attracts thousands & the bar is open from 9.00am! It appeared customary to buy an early morning beer, so when in Rome.........

We continued along Route 290 to Stonewall to try & purchase our rodeo tickets in advance. It took a bit of detective work, but eventually we located the site for the 58th Annual Stonewall Peach JAMboree & Rodeo. I went to the office & bought our $15 bright pink wristbands for the Friday Nights events, apparently they are expecting a crowd of over 3000.

Chuffed to bits, we drove back to Fredericksburg, bought a few bits in Walmart, including a new Cowboy belt, then checked in early to our new motel, Windcrest Inn & Suites, which I booked & apparently is quite acceptable! We spent the remainder of the afternoon on sun beds by the pool.

At 5.30pm we set out for Stonewall wearing our token nod to Cowboys / Cowgirls. I was wearing my red checked shirt, jeans & boots with my new cowboy belt. Jackie was wearing jeans & her Daisy Duke top. 20 minutes later we arrived & parked up in the field. We were one of the 1st to arrive so queuing wasn’t an issue.

After having a look round, we bought a peach cobbler & ice cream & chose our seats in the stand. We managed to select seats which were in a prime position so that we had a perfect view of the evenings proceedings. We didn’t look out of place, but over 50% of the crowd wore stetsons or cowboy boots or both including the kids. There also quite a few blokes in the full get-up.

First up was Mutton Bustin’, which for those not familiar with Rodeos, is kids weighing less than 65lb sitting on the back of a sheep & hanging on for as long as possible when released from the stalls. This might sound weird, but it was hilarious watching 30 kids between 4 & 8 years old, one by one falling off sheep. The guy commentating did a really good job & he was a good double act for the World Famous Rodeo Clown, Leon Coffee.

Next we were treated to an introduction to the 6 contenders for this years Peach Queen. Bless them, I’m sure their parents tell them they are beautiful. We then watched a quite impressive horse display by some Cowgirls.

Then it was time for the real business. The commentator asked everyone to pray & we thanked god for making America such a great country. We thanked the troops & veterans for making us safe & free. It was all slightly vomit inducing. Then an operatic voiced lady from Fredericksburg sang the Star-Spangled Banner, whilst everyone around us was stood with their hands on their hearts. Embarrassingly the microphone packed up & she had to start all over again. Whilst this was all happening, a Cowgirl galloped around the arena with a massive American Flag.

The 1st proper event of the night was the Bareback Bronc Riding, with Cowboys hanging on for dear life for as long as possible. This was Rodeo as we had envisioned it and it was totally absorbing & thrilling. The Bronc Riders were youngsters around 20 years old & were incredibly brave or just stupid.

Next was Cowgirl Breakaway Roping which involved the Cowgirls giving a calf a 12 yard head start out of the traps then chasing it & lassoing it around the neck. The most successful took just 2 & a bit seconds. The Cowboys then did the same, but after lassoing the calf they had to jump of their horse grab the calf & tie 3 of it’s legs together, known as Tie Down Roping.

Kids were then invited to enter the arena & go to the fence at the far end. There were hundreds of them, then 6 calves each with a ribbon on their tail were sent out in to the arena & the the kids were told to collect the ribbons. It was several minutes of utter chaos, but absolutely hilarious.

Next was Saddle Bronc Riding, which allowed the Cowboys to hang on for a lot longer, but still with the Bronc going crazy for several seconds. In fact most lasted to the buzzer. This was followed by the 2nd round of Mutton Bustin’, where 3 of the kids managed to hang on to the far end.

It was then back to the Cowgirls & Barrel Racing, which involved Cowgirls, some quite surprisingly plump, racing between 3 barrels & completing a 360 degree turn all at breakneck speed.

This was followed by Team Roping, where pairs of Cowboys chased down a calf, the 1st had to lasso it around the neck, then the second lasso both its hind legs, whilst it was still running. This was as difficult as it sounds & out of at least a dozen pairs of Cowboys, only 2 pairs actually fully completed the job.

Over 2 hours later of non-stop Rodeo action, we arrived at the big finale, the Bull Riding. About 10 lunatics, rode the bucking Texas Longhorn Bulls until they were thrown off under the thundering hooves. It was scary stuff. The final ride of the night was a young black lad, who had an incredible ride & stole the show.

The Rodeo was a fantastic spectacle that we both loved & I have to say that the commentator & Leon Coffee brought it altogether perfectly. We would definitely go again given half a chance.

But that wasn’t the end of the night, at 10.30pm, Kevin Fowler (couldn’t think of a more boring name), took to the stage. He is obviously big in Texas & has millions of hits on Spotify, with his 5 studio albums. His country & western songs are mainly about drinking & girls. They sounded quite good, but slightly creepy & if not paedophilic, for a 53 year old man.

We listened to 6 of Kevin’s finest including 100% Texan, Butterbean & his new single, Country Song To Sing, but at 11.00pm we called it a night & drove back to our motel for a nightcap.

Song of the Day - Rhinestone Cowboy by Glen Campbell.

Bonus Songs of the Day :-

Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love) by Waylon Jennings
Everybody’s Somebody by Don Diablo, Bullysongs
Rodeo Clowns by Jack Johnson
How ‘Bout Them Cowgirls by George Strait
100% Texan by Kevin Fowler
Butterbean by Kevin Fowler
Country Song To Sing by Kevin FowlerRead more