Big Bend Ranch Rodeo by Raymond Merrill

Big Bend Ranch Rodeo by Raymond Merrill

One of our Facebook and Twitter friends, Raymond Merrill, made us very happy when he shared a group of photos with us of his trips to the region.  Though he lives in Virginia, his family has roots in the Texas Mountains. His great-grandfather, Jessie Merrill, donated land to make way for the development of Indian Lodge and Davis Mountains State Park.  Look for more of his photos in the coming days!

We love his shot of the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo, which takes place in early August every year in Alpine.  VisitAlpineTX  lists the rodeo this way on their website:

"Sanctioned by the Working Ranch Cowboy Association, the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo provides an opportunity for working cowboys to show real cowboy skills and at the same time celebrate our ranching heritage and create exposure for a unique American lifestyle."

To learn more about the Ranch rodeo, check out this article by Big Bend Now.com

Here's another image from the wonderful 2013 Big Bend Calendar our friend, Derrick Birdsall is selling to celebrate both Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park, AND send a portion of the profits back to our own Texas Mountain Trail!

Big Bend National Park has been cited by the International Dark-Sky Association as one of just five international dark sky parks earning its gold-tier level for being nearly entirely free from light pollution.

To learn more about the calendar, click here.

Derrick's photography blog is here

Getting Ready for the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo in Alpine!



Scenes from previous Big Bend Ranch Rodeos in Alpine!

One of the best ways to watch real cowboys showing real cowboy skills is Alpine's Big Bend Ranch Rodeo, coming up August 12-13.

From their website: 

"The Big Bend Ranch Rodeo is a sanctioned rodeo by the Working Ranch Cowboy Association. The Working Ranch Cowboy Association is an organization committed to promoting and show casing the skills of those cowboys who still make their living with cattle. It also puts on the World Championship Ranch Rodeo in Amarillo every fall by taking the champion teams from each sanctioned rodeo. The WRCA promotes many good causes, manages its own scholarship program and provides financial support for cowboys and families going through hard times. We are proud to be affiliated with them.

A partner event to the BBRR, a chuckwagon cookoff, is conducted yearly where cooks and wagons compete against each other to see who can cook the most authentic camp food, over an open fire or with coals in cast iron skillets and Dutch ovens. We invite everyone to taste the fare on Saturday afternoon before the rodeo. Other events to complete the weekend include a Ranch Horse Association of America competition and a Ranch Horse Cutting competition."

Big Bend Ranch Rodeo's Chuckwagon Contest

One of Alpine's premier events each year is the Big Bend Ranch Rodeo, an opportunity for real cowboys to show off real cowboy skills.  This year's event is August 12-13 at Sul Ross's rodeo grounds at their Range Animal Science Center on Hwy 90 E.  Also part of the festivities is a Chuckwagon Contest; read about that here.

For the rodeo calendar listing on the Texas Mountain Trail website, click here.  To visit the rodeo's website, click here.