My Day at “Idaho’s Wildest Rodeo”

  Where ever my travels take me, I always seem to find artistic inspiration. Today, I spent the day in the small town of Mackay, Idaho. Rustic Mackay is nestled below the tallest and most rugged mountains in Idaho. Standing at 12,668 tall, Mount Borah and its wild Lost Mountain Range would leave any landscape painter drooling. These majestic mountains were the backdrop for ”Idaho’s Wildest Rodeo.”

Many of my readers may never get an opportunity to visit the fading American West. I thought some of you might enjoy a quick glimpse at old Americana … never fear, the American west lives on in central Idaho…

My day began with a rough 80 mile drive up scenic Trail Creek Road. This road is not for the novice mountain driver – there is no room for mistakes!

 A few shots of the day…

Here I am in my cowgirl duds.

This is serious rodeo country…

A little 2 year old ‘cowboy’ kept taking his hat on and off during the bull riding competition. His mother explained that this was a sign of respect and tradition for the cowboys who risk their lives while on the bull.

I want to go to “Cowboy Church”!

Kickin’ back at the end of a dusty day alongside the raging Big Lost River with many artistic images in my head.

On a serious note…

Central Idaho is also home of the controversial ‘Wild Horse Round-Up’. In 1971, Congress voted to unanimously pass the Wild Free-Roaming Horse and Burro Act, granting federal protection to America’s wild horses and burros as living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.

Today there are thousands of wild mustangs that run wild through out the west. The round-up is part of the Bureau of Land Management’s overall strategy to remove thousands of mustangs from public lands across the West. This practice of using helicopters to round the horses up causes serious injury and death to many horses each year.

The Wild Mustang is an iconic symbol of the American West and of Idaho.

Did you know that thhe discovery of the first horse was in Idaho – the Hagerman Horse of Idaho first appeared about 3.5 million years ago and went extinct about 10,000 years ago.

My hope is that these majestic animals are left to roam free.  At the very least, I hope a better solution is quickly found to ‘manage’ these amazing animals.

*****

PS. I will get back to some ‘fine art tips’ on Monday…it will be about choosing the right paint brush.

PSS. If you enjoyed this article, you might like to watch this little video clip my friend took of the Mackay Rodeo.

 Y’all come back now, ya hear?

Let’s connect on Twitter & Facebook!

No related posts.