Cattle Drive

Steamboat is a majestic town that you can't help but love. I'm sure it has a lot to do with it's location but there's something more to it. Perhaps it's because of the wide variety of people you find out here- from the former city slickers who needed to get away, the ski bums who want to "shred the gnar", and the venture capitalists who simply enjoy the scenery. Then there's my favorite people to see around town... the good old fashioned ranchers. You know the type. They own more land than you can imagine, and still walk around in cowboy gear. They own cattle and actually knows how to handle them. They are my favorite because I am amazed that with all our modern technology people like that still exist. It's awesome... and they definitely made my 4th of July celebration great.

It started as I was waiting for the Yellow Line, aka the one good thing that comes from paying 8% sales tax. This bus will drive me up the treacherous Bob Adams Drive when the sun is beating down and I feel too dehydrated to trek it. Yupp it was 9am and sunny, and I did not feel like walking up that hill. So, I contacted the bus driver about getting a lift and he informed me that he would not be able to make it for at least forty minutes because of the "cows".

It may have been the morning after Independence Day, and my brain may not have been functioning at its full capacity, but this guy couldn't come pick me up because of cows? What was going on?

That was when I noticed the crowds of people that were forming on Main Street. I knew I had missed the parade (something I had been genuinely looking forward to the previous day), but was it possible that they were having another one? I asked a random passerby what all the commotion was about. Before I could get my hopes up he responded "The cattle run."
"I'm sorry, the what?" I asked.
"I guess they are going to run cattle through the streets".

Huh. Cool. For some reason images of "The Run of the Bull" in Mexico gathered in my head, but I knew Steamboat tourists weren't that crazy.

Upset that I missed the parade, and too lazy to walk up Bob Adams, I decided to join the rest of the crowd and watch as the cattle were herded down the street. I got excited when I saw the first cowboy riding horseback leading the drive. They were coming, slowly, but they were coming. Just as they were about the cross my path the lead cattle suddenly stopped following the cowboy and took off down a side street. Although hesitant at first, the rest of the cattle soon followed and things started to get out of control. Luckily the men on horseback leading the parade were real cattle ranchers and knew exactly what to do. A few of them went down the side street to round up the run away cattle, while the rest stayed back with the remaining cattle and kept them in place. It was really funny to see, although I'm sure they weren't happy about all the commotion.

One poor little guy was so confused and unsure of where to go he began running back and forth between the two separated herds.

After a few minutes of mayhem everything was once again under control.

The "cattle drive" ended as quickly as it started with people resuming back to their normal routines. It was one of those not-something-you-see-every-day moments that I love about Steamboat.