4th of July in Bozeman, Montana!

We spent a wonderful 4th of July in Bozeman, Montana. Like last year’s trip to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, we wanted a place where people were unashamedly patriotic–we found it in Bozeman.

The Race for Independence Fun Run

They didn’t have a 4th of July parade, so we participated in a fun-run instead. The annual Race for Independence benefits Reach, Inc–a non-profit organization that helps adults with disabilities lead “independent, fulfilling lives.” Runners are always a happy crowd, so we looked forward to mingling with the locals while walking through beautiful scenery. (My athletic husband kindly kept me company as I walked the 5k.)

The race included a 10k, 5k, and 1-mile run, all of them along the Cherry River Trail and Glen Lake Rotary Park.

Best Brunch in Bozeman

After the race, we had brunch at the truly terrific Jam on Main. The atmosphere there is fun, it’s packed with people, and the food is delicious. You can always tell a good breakfast place by its coffee, and their coffee was great. And the food was so good, that we returned two days later for another breakfast at Jam.

Cannery Lounge

After Jam, we uber’d back to our hotel, took a nap, and returned downtown to the Cannery Lounge for a couple of beers (they have good non-alcoholic beers there too). Then it was off to the rodeo!

Yes, This Was Our First Rodeo.

We went to the Valley View Rodeo . It runs every Thursday (and July 4 weekend) all summer long in the Gallatin County Fairgrounds of Bozeman. We had no idea rodeo could be so much fun. It opened up with a woman on horseback galloping around the arena while holding a big American flag. The announcer spoke a terrific monologue about how great our country is and how rodeo honors our heritage and the men and women who settled the West. Then another woman sang the Star Spangled Banner and we all joined in, while the woman on horseback continued to ride. It was so moving.

The first event was the bucking broncos. All I can say about that is: Ahhhhhh! and Wow! and Whoa! What a show. The cowboys really risk their lives doing that one. Watch the video we took below.

Next were two ladies who did the most AMAZING tricks on horseback. Up and over and around the horse, bouncing off their feet and jumping back on the saddle – backward – all while the horse is galloping around the arena. I was literally screaming. (I tried to film it, but it was entirely too fast.)

There were two more events after that–this was a short rodeo because of July 4–and I watched them with mixed feelings. The calf-roping by teams of cowboys/girls is really exciting, but I do feel sorry for the calves. I could see through my binoculars that they were really scared. Luckily, as soon as they are released, they act back-to-normal. The announcer assured us that they go back to deep grass and are “cared for better than people care for their dogs.” Except of course, that dogs don’t end up as people food. But, I am a meat eater so I can’t be a hypocrite here. I do love my beef.

The last event was just weird: rope a wild cow and milk her. I didn’t like that one. Poor lactating mothers!

However, the rodeo was so much fun. The announcer kept up a steady commentary interspersed with jokes, got the crowd to dance and shout, music played, people were clapping and stamping their feet–it was great! I am hooked on rodeo!

Fireworks

After the rodeo, we returned to our hotel (Hilton-Homestead Suites, very nice), borrowed a couple of pool towels, and returned to the fairgrounds. Then we laid out on the field under a beautiful sunset and waited for the sky to darken. By 10 pm it was dark enough, and we watched a terrific fireworks show. There’s nothing like huge fireworks booming overhead and in your chest to make you feel truly patriotic. It was a wonderful 4th of July.