DAY 2

I had a dang rough night! I kept having weird dreams and they kept me up at night. I woke up around 9ish and soaked in the sunshine that soared through my windows. I started a bath and spent an hour relaxing. During that very VERY relaxing bath I came to a conclusion that New Mexico will be one of my better trips so far in my wacky life. It seems that I was the last to come out of my room to eat breakfast and of course everyone was working on their day one journal.

There was not much to do after I finished my journal and everyone was still at work with theirs. So I took the liberty to walk around the area out side to take some pictures of the area. Right when I stepped out the door, my brain processed the heat. I lived in Florida for three years and it was very humid and HOT. New Mexico is hot too, but dry, so the impact was not like in Florida. Now you will think I’m crazy when I inform you that the reason I wanted to take pictures was to find some creepy crawlies to take a picture of. I had no such luck; I didn’t find a venomous snake, scorpions or a tarantula. I did run into a group of bees and I know the bees were not killer bees because I’m still breathing! Later in the morning I went around the campus again but this time with my fellow peers. 

New Mexico School for the Deaf is a very cool looking school because of the buildings which has a tan hue and made of clay and is squareish. The style of the building would fit the desert. I mean naturally it is not like I would find that type of building in New England, now would I? The desert was well empty; it was filled with only brush and sand like dirt. The city had an artistic feel to it and if you looked hard enough you can see the pride of their art.

We soon all headed into town to have a quick look around. Santa Fe felt like a very easy going town and just by looking at the locals and they looked both rough but also sophisticated. The town has some pretty freaky stuff that it was selling. Items like Dinosaurs bones and parts, pottery and Fine Art. All raging from the price of 2,300 to 6,000 dollars! WHAT THE HECK! My money tree died a long time ago…..so needless to say almost every thing was out of my price range.  The only thing that I found that was free was a red toy fish in a puddle (no, I did not pick it up).

I gotta tell you hoss, the rodeo is wicked….well what do you expect from a guy who watches pro wrestling!  When I got to the rodeo, I felt like I was in “hawg heaven” awed by the rodeo country charm! There were so many events at the rodeo that it would be unfair to have you read something that long. So I will just give you my favorite cowboy moments at that magical event. The Bull riding was my favorite event and to see the awesome power of those bulls makes Hulk Hogan look weak. There were a few scary moments that made me hold on to my seat. There was this one cowboy who was thrown off the bull and the bull trampled on the guy. I saw the dude leg get smashed by one of the bull hooves. I thought he broke his leg in a million pieces……but the cowboy soldiered on. There was this other dude who was thrown off so far and so hard he landed in the dirt on his back. Now I don’t mean he landed on the dirt like it was pillows….it looked like a pretty nasty fall but it didn’t faze that cowboy one bit. The horse riding looks a lot scarier then I originally thought. This one guy fell off the horse and the horse hoove nearly smashed his head. Then there this one unlucky fellow who had his horse fall on him. Imagine an animal that weighs roughly over 1,000 pounds land on you, not a good thing right?  My favorite segment of the rodeo was this one guy who was popping balloons.  Doesn’t it sound fun? Well here is the kicker; the cowboy was popping the balloons with 2 western hand guns while on a horse. Why did I like this event so much?  Simply Because I am very afraid of balloons, so seeing them get shot makes me feel a whole lot better.

My impression of this day reflects on of my favorite country songs and it says: “I should have been a cowboy! I might have had a sidekick with a funny name, running wild through the hills chasing Jesse James. Ending up on the brink of danger! Riding shotgun for the Texas Rangers. Sleeping out all night beneath the desert stars. With a dream in my eye and a prayer in my heart!” This day was a fun day! I completed one off my items off my bucket list, and that was to attend a rodeo.  It made me want to saddle up my horse and ride into the city and make a lot of noise. So instead I just headed back to NMSD and took a well deserved sleep.