National Western Stockshow

Earlier in the year, we went to the National Western Stock Show.  I fondly remember going to the Illinois State Fair, so I was a bit disappointed in the stock show.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but here is what we did.  We watched a bad rodeo clown performance,

 enjoyed the free petting zoo,

saw the cows getting thoroughly groomed for their moment of glory, sat in big farming equipment, walked by hundreds of booths trying to sell us stuff (and we paid admission to the stock show!!), and paid 50 cents so Elias could play on some playground equipment that was really just a big advertisement to get parents to purchase it for their backyard.  Maybe we will have to check out the Colorado State Fair one year in hopes of reliving my childhood.