| The sun isn’t even up yet, but the sky is burning gold and offers enough light to see something in the distance. What is it? Looking way east along the frontage road of Interstate 25 from the town of Cheyenne, Wyoming, a tiny black stream is moving over the rolling hills. People are lined up along the town streets sitting in their lawn chairs – looking east. There is a smell of coffee in the early morning air and donuts are passed among the waiting friends. What is happening so early this July morning? Someone says, “Annual cattle drive.” And sure enough, that is exactly what is moving along in single file – 665 head of cattle all headed for the grounds of Cheyenne Frontier Days precisely as they have done for the last 111 years. In those days, this was the only way to get the bucking horses and the cattle to town for the rodeo and the tradition continues. Some of these steers will become rodeo stars by outrunning and outwitting the cowboy who is hell-bent on wrestling them to the ground. But some will barely get out of the gate before they are thrown down and tied-up as cheers explode in the stadium. The cattle swarm through the streets in town and thunder north, and finally, with a cloud of dust, they are corralled and the gates clunk shut. And that is how Cheyenne Frontier Days begin every year the last part of July. This year this Wild, Wild West celebration will run from July 20 through July 29 and is an honest-to-goodness high spirited blast in Frontier Park – daily gut-busting rodeos, wild horse racing, Indian lore and dancing, family-friendly carnival, and a Western art show. Downtown busts with grand parades, riotous melodramas, wild gunslinger gunfights, and tasty free pancake breakfasts, Every afternoon a full-throttle, non-stop Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association competition takes place. It’s an authentic Western legend in action and the world’s largest outdoor rodeo. More than 1800 of the world’s top cowboys and cowgirls are drawn here – America’s first extreme sport. These tough professionals compete in bone-rattling, heart-pounding events of bull riding, saddle and bareback bronc riding, dirt-flying steer wrestling and roping, team and tie-down roping, barrel racing and crazy wild horse racing where the challenge is getting the horses running in the same direction. Monday and Tuesday nights are America’s most popular and most dangerous events – the professional bull riders’ competition. Although bull riding is a part of every Cheyenne Frontier Days rodeo, these two nights are for cowboys that compete only in Professional Bull Riders events. It’s bull riding at its best riding 1600 pound bucking, twisting and just plain hard to ride bulls. A cowboy’s score is on a 50 point scale as is the bull’s – the better (meaner) the bull, the better chance the cowboy has to win. But he has to stay onboard for 8 seconds. If the bull just gives him a stroll through the arena for those 8 seconds, the cowboy will get a very low score. The bull must give him a ride for his life and he must stay on to put him in the run for the money. Watching bull riding spikes your adrenaline like nothing else. Keep your adrenaline high the remaining nights in the arena under the clear, blue, star sprinkled sky, rockin’ away to top name entertainers. This year they open with Bon Jovi, followed by Reba McEntire, LeAnn Rimes, Los Lonely Boys, Big and Rich, and the closing night promises to blow the joint apart with Def Leppard. This high-octane night stays in full swing after the show at the Buckin’ A Saloon just a hop from the arena. Live western music blasts the night away along with plenty of ice-cold beer. Join the swinging, swaying, stomping bunch on the dance floor and do a little boot-scootin’ boogie of your own. Between events, roam through the carnival midway enjoying wild rides, thrilling games, and nibble or chow down on mouth-watering western BBQ, buffalo jerky, cotton candy and just about any other grub you want. Or, step back in time and walk through Wild Horse Gulch. Lillie Langtry, Doc Holliday and Wyatt Earp shop here. Right next-door chuckwagon cooks compete in free cooking demonstrations. The grub you pick up here will knock your socks off and may be from the winning team. Authentic stone-white teepees with polls poking through the tops are a stark contrast to the clear deep blue sky with occasional puffs of clouds that quickly take you back in time in this Indian Village. Split logs become benches for sitting to enjoy old Indian lore, mesmeric Indian flute music, and authentically dressed dances. In the old days, the local Indians came and camped on the rodeo grounds and became an integral part of the celebration – so much so they were granted ownership of that land. You’ll come away having experienced real Native American life and a newly found appreciation for these people and their respect for the land. The town of Cheyenne comes alive during this celebration. The old restored Union Depot and Plaza become the center of action. Western music is heard nearly 24 hours a day. Western grub and ice-cold beer are plentiful with abundant seating everywhere. Four grand parades showcase Cheyenne’s collection of antique carriages, both the horsed and the horseless. At times, this parade is like a moving melodrama where participants swap their jeans for authentic dress and act out their roles. Sometimes they jump from their role and interact with parade watchers. Not to be missed is Cheyenne Day – declared a holiday to the locals who come to town and party. They call it “blue jean western hospitality” – but it really is just the friendliest, most helpful bunch of people to be found anywhere welcoming you to their world and assuring that you have a wild and wooly bang-up time.
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