We stayed in Fraser, Colorado for the last five days. We didn’t do anything too crazy, but we were surprised at how many people were in that area over the Fourth of July weekend. We rented an AirBnB house and enjoyed having that sanctuary where we could cook our own dinner or just hang out and watch tv. The above picture is the view from our deck.

We went horseback riding one day for about an hour. My horse was named Wayland and he was a calm, level horse until we got to the trough to drink and then he tried to run over everyone else to get there. We had a lovely ride up the hillside and back down in a rare area that had not been affected by the fire. I used to ride horses when I was young and I miss horses a lot. I spent a good ten minutes when we finished the ride just rubbing his face because he was itchy. He loved it and so did I.

That night we went to a rodeo. It was the first rodeo in town for two years and it was sold out. The bleachers were totally full and people were standing at the rails. The first hour or so was spent staring into the sun, but they started the show with bucking broncos, which is my favorite to watch. The little girl next to be was really upset when they did the calf roping. It’s not my favorite either, but I tried to let her know that they were not hurt. She still cheered when they didn’t get the rope around them. It was cute. We did not stay for the entire show. There was a short break in which parents brought their little ones out to ride sheep. Some of the kids were totally traumatized and others loved it. It was an interesting addition to the show. My other favorite part is the ladies who do tricks as they ride. They were hanging off their horses in all kinds of random positions without a care.

On the Fourth of July we went for a drive to explore the area. There were so many people out and about and there was a big parade in Granby. We checked out a nearby lake, stopped to visit some big horses, climbed to Addams Falls, and drove a wildlife drive and saw so many prairie dogs. They were so adorable. I had to be careful driving because they were right next to the road.