Ellensburg, Washington: Miss Rodeo Washington Pageant and Ellensburg Rodeo

September 2-8

After a long plane ride, I arrived in the Evergreen State and met Kari O’Donnell, the Washington National Director, and Miss Rodeo America, Maegan Ridley at the Seattle Airport baggage claim. Maegan and I loaded our bags in Kari’s Dodge Caliber and the three of us headed eastward to Ellensburg. Ellensburg is about two hours east of Seattle and the home to Central Washington University, the Miss Rodeo Washington Pageant, and the annual Ellensburg Rodeo.

We arrived in Ellensburg in time to attend the Miss Rodeo Washington Pageant contestants luncheon. I enjoyed the hearty sandwiches and sharing a GIGANTIC brownie sundae with Maegan while listening to the contestants answer their impromptu questions. Wednesday night was all glitz and glamour at the Miss Rodeo Washington Pageant Fashion Show. Thank you to Vicki Perez for providing the visiting queens’ meals and tickets to the fashion show.

Thursday was devoted to Speeches, Impromptu Questions, and sightseeing. The contestants gave their speeches early that morning at the host hotel. The speech topic was “your state or any aspect of your state”—I learned a lot about Washington! Thursday afternoon we toured the Wild Horse Wind Facility outside of Ellensburg. All I can say to summarize the visit is that the wind turbines are huge…

Friday through Monday were devoted to the Ellensburg Rodeo and the Xtreme Bulls Finale. The Ellensburg rodeo was one of my favorite rodeos all year; it had a small-town atmosphere with championship/finals-type rodeo vibe. The Ellensburg Rodeo was the last “Gold Tour” rodeo on the Wrangler Million Dollar Tour and the last chance for contestants to qualify for the post-season Justin Boots Playoffs and Championships. The only off thing about the weekend was the weather. It rained all weekend, which for me, made my visit to Washington complete!

After the rodeo concluded on Monday, Maegan and I waited for our shuttle to Seattle at the local Starbucks, and it left us. The funny part was not being left at Starbucks with 150 pounds of luggage and planes to catch, but it was rather watching Maegan chase our shuttle down the street spastically waving her arms! We finally made it to Seattle a few hours later, spending the entire two hour drive laughing and reminiscing about our great week in Washington where we eat Mexican for every meal, rode in the rain each night, and were left stranded in Ellensburg by our shuttle bus.