Truck/Tractor Show 2

Here are some more photos of the different vehicles. The competition was tough.

There was even a class for these big diesel pushers.

This vehicle was owned by a guy whose sister walks in the Susan B Kommen cancer walks, so all of his winnings goes towards her registration fees, expenses and donations to the charity for research.

OK, I promise no more photos of trucks/tractors.

Big Show Truck/Tractor Pulls

As we were walking down to the grandstands we were greeted by this little guy. Isn't he cute?

An overview of the area where all the action will take place. We were a little early but wanted to check out the surroundings. In the background is where there were several vehicles being worked on and beginning to go through their inspection, etc. for the event and placed into their respective class for competition.

These two vehicles were actually what they call the "Pro Invites". They were from Washington State and were driven by a brother and sister. Most of the entries here were local-type people or those who compete in regional-type pulls. The event was sponsored by a national organization for pulling.

A view of the amusement rides that were set up. As you can see there were rolling hills around the area with many trails and dirt roads for the off-road enthusiasts to enjoy. I bet they have a good time in the winter cross-country skiing and sledding/tobogganing, etc.

My brother-in-law Alan would have loved this one since he does this sort of thing. For those who have never seen/or attended this type of event, the vehicle to the right is what they call the sled. The flat level object is the weight which moves on the vehicle and increases as it moves. There is a guy inside the cab of the sled which operates the weight movement.

One of the competitors backing up so it can be connected to the sled. They have some beautiful paint jobs on these vehicles and there is an awful lot of money spent on the engines, etc. It is not a poor man's sport at these levels.

Here's the same vehicle in action pulling the sled.

Another competitor.

He too is in action. We were lucky and had some pretty good seats. The sun was behind us and the grandstand was covered, plus the dust was blowing away from the grandstands.

Here are some more of the competitors

As with the horse pulls, once the class has completed their first pull, those with the farthest distance (or what they call a pull-pull) compete against each other with the sled adding more weight to each pull until they have a winner. 

Don't ask me what kind of fuel generates this type of power, etc. but most of these vehicles would rev-up their engines until the black smoke appears and then I guess that was their signal to step on the throttle and go go go.

Wyoming's Big Show

This is one of the gates into the Sweetwater County Events Center where the Big Show was held. I believe its the Sweetwater County Fair but it is quite an event and draws participants, etc. from all over eastern Wyoming.

Couldn't help myself. They were judging "wheat". Unfortunately we missed several of the concerts, etc. because we had not arrived in town yet (I think the fair runs for 10-14 days).  Oh well, can't see them all. We were either to early or just missed several things along our  way (rodeo, etc.)

We were able to go to the draft horse competition.  All the events including concerts, etc. were included with paid admission to the fair. They even had a bus to transport people from the parking lot up to the gates (which was really helpful because it was hot, and a very long walk for old feeble folks like us).  Here the little ones were ready to watch the action. They were all decked out to the hilt.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeee Haw

Panoramic photo of the arena as they were setting things up for the competition.

Some of the contenders in the competition. They each had a class that they competed in. The sled which is pulled carries the weight and after each team makes its pull, more weight is added. 

This photo shows how much more weight has been added to the sled (see how high the load is).

A couple of the competitors having a friendly chit chat before the competition started. 

Look at these beautiful animals.

The horses along the fencing barriers at the top of the photo have been eliminated (or are in another class). The ones in the middle are waiting for their turn to pull. The team being led with the guy in the yellow shirt is heading for the sled to make their pull.

Another young lady all decked out and watching the action.

Again see high high the load on the sled is, we are watching the really big guy class compete.

Here is your big class top dogs/winners of their class.

A special thing that they do, they added a couple of people to the already loaded down sled to increase the weight of the pull to 11,000 pounds. The team pulled it the full distance. These animals are amazing.

Same team

Here's the team after their pull for a meet and greet the public. If you ever get a chance to go to this type of event, do so, its really interesting to watch these beautiful animals. The guy in the yellow shirt brought a couple of teams (different classses) here for the competition.

One of the vendors outside the arena at the fair. It was such an interesting vehicle that I had to snap a picture.