Camp Verde, Arizona: Welcome To The Bull Bash!

We have a tourist map where Sedona, Arizona bills itself as the most beautiful place on earth. Wow. Nice to see they don't let modesty get in the way of promoting the place. Sedona is a seriously beautiful place, located in the heart of Red Rock Country. While I wouldn't agree Sedona is THE most beautiful place on earth, I'd easily agree it is one of the most beautiful places on earth.

We are staying in Camp Verde, which is about 30 minutes from Sedona. The campground in Sedona we wanted to stay in was completely full this weekend. Apparently this is a three-day holiday weekend. MLA and I can barely keep track of what day of the week it is yet alone is it a holiday weekend. This is the first time in a long time we were not able to get into the park of our choice.

So we ended up in Camp Verde at a really nice small campground that has shade trees, grass, and a small stream. Since we are in the desert most of the campgrounds around here are big open fields, sometimes paved, sometimes not. In my opinion, there's nothing worse than staying in a big parking lot under a hot baking sun. And yet some people think that's the ideal place to camp. Pleeeease!

This weekend just happens to be the 52nd Annual Fort Verde Days in downtown camp Verde. So of course we headed over there this evening to check things out. It's a really charming small town carnival/fair that features a "Bull Bash" .

What's a Bull Bash you ask? Well, when I asked one old timer what a Bull Bash was he explained that it is a bull riding competition for kids. He went on to say they have just about ruined it compared to the old days. Today the kids wear helmets, protective padding and the bulls horns have been 'modified' to prevent injury to the kids.

The old timer explained that in his day, you rode the bull and you 'took your lumps' if you wanted to win. Really nice guy except for his desire to see small children carried around the ring on the horns of a bull....

Seriously, you meet some of the most interesting people as you travel this country.

And apparently we arrived too late for the BLM's (Bureau of Land Management's) Wild Horse and Burro Auction. Too bad, I've been looking for a good deal on a burro or two. Given the price of fuel, MLA and I may need an alternative means of transportation.

I did manage to win a stuffed animal at the carnival. You should have seen the crushed looks on the faces of all of those young kids I beat to win the top prize. Hey, they have to learn sometime it's a tough world out there.... just look at the stock market.

Tomorrow we will explore some of the National Monuments and State Parks in the area as we head over to Sedona. Hope to get some interesting sunset picture of Red Rock Country... we'll see.

See Ya!