Cattle and Pigs and Roosters and Goats and Rabbits and Rocks, Oh My!

August 16, 2008

Parked along side of Geneva Road in a wide spot where rusted old jalopies are flattened and stacked one on top of each other, we waited.  Jill arrived at the scheduled time; first, car seats were moved and belted in the back of the white Ford 150 truck and then, two little boys, Noah and Ben, buckled in safe and sound.  Both of the boys were still sleepy and their hair sticking up in funny places on their heads, like wheat fields after a driving rain, when patches of wheat are left lying flat on water soaked ground and other stalks of grain still stand and blow in the wind.

We headed east on Hwy 89 to Heber City, Utah.  As always is the case, we stopped at McDonald's in Herber for breakfast of griddle cakes and chocolate milk.  Danna and I had our usual, Sausage Egg McMuffins and Diet Coke.  Remember the rule of the road...McDonald's first!  From Heber it's a quick trip to Park City and I80.  We headed east to Evanston, Wyoming, got off the highway and traveled the back roads to Randolf, Utah, our destination and the 4-H livestock auction.

Along the way we played many games and named the big rig trucks as we passed them.  There was the "black and silver with red stripe truck" and the "cave truck."  We imagined how many cars and trucks must be behind us, not just the ones we could see, but all the vehicles lined up behind us all the way to California. We held our breath through tunnels and under overpasses.  We talked about train tracks and trains.  We saw "big water" and rivers and time flew by.

All of a sudden we found ourselves in Randolf, Utah, which is in Rich County, one of the smallest counties in Utah.  It is very rural and very beautiful and the turquoise blue Bear Lake is just down the road.  Residents make their living by ranching and/or working in the mines. But on this day, the townspeople came out in support of the 4-H program and their children. The 4-H auction was held at the Rich County Fairgrounds. We parked the car and walked toward the arena to find Deanna, her steer and pig.

Walking two little city boys through the barn filled with straw and sawdust, where stalls corralled cattle and pigs and roosters and goats and rabbits, was fun to watch.  The dusty smells wrinkled both their noses and they weren't sure of their footing as all sorts of "stuff" was on the ground.  

We found family and friends sitting on the weathered bleachers and settled down to watch and listen to the auctioneer speak at his lightening fast pace.  The air was cool and the sun warm.  Ben got down to play with the other children under the bleachers.  Under the wooden splintery seats in the dust and filtered sunlight, children in western shirts, jeans and belts with huge buckles, played childish games. They ran in and out playing with their imaginations. Two boys carried a puppy they had gotten at the parade earlier that day. Little girls in sundresses whispered in each others ears about the new kid, Ben.  It seemed we had been transported back in time. And Noah entertained everyone around him with his contagious smile. 

After a short side trip to the "city" park, shaded by ancient trees, we headed home.  The truck was quiet as we drove west...two sleepy boys once again.

Rocks!