Alva Visit

I wanted to attend Jayden's first rodeo as a NWOSU student. She was required to sit out the first three rodeos of the season as part of a transfer rule. This would be her only rodeo this fall and it was the home rodeo at Alva for NWOSU. It was also the weekend before her birthday and I wanted to celebrate it with her. Since Mark was in the field, I asked Jake to go along and he could help me drive. We left early on Thursday morning and drove the 10 hours to Alva. We stopped near KC at an Olive Garden for lunch. Jake was enjoying his lunch and all smiles when I let him order an appetizer and a soda.  He was enjoying his trip with mom. He drove the 3 hours from Wichita to Alva. We got to have a quick supper at El Maya with Jayden, then went to the evening rodeo to watch her. Just like back at home, it has been cold. It is not normal for the Alva area to be so cold. They were up to 90 degrees just a week ago and here it has been dropping into the low 30's and highs in the 50's. Jayden has been so cold and her roomies don't want to pay any more for the electric bill, so no heat. We brought lots of layers prepared for a cold night. The arena was indoor with little overhead space heaters so it wasn't awful. Outside it was very chilly. Jake has never been into rodeos, so he spent much of his time looking at photos on my phone. Jayden  had been dreading her run on Astro all day. He hadn't been himself the last few days, was flighty, didn't want to be caught, and was full of energy. Jayden worked him a few times this week only to have her knees covered in bruises from hitting barrels. She was convinced this was it, her last run on Astro before she gets rid of him. She knew it before she ran and was prepared for the worst. She told me that she is scared every time she runs him. That is not the way to enjoy a sport. It should be fun, exciting, and looked forward too. I knew she needed me for moral support and I did a lot of praying for her and her run. She makes me nervous to watch and all the more worried when she doesn't feel comfortable. Those prayers were with her and over her as she ran and the Lord protected her giving her a safe run. I too was glad when it was over. She had two great barrels on Astro, then at the third he ran by and out wide. As he ran home, he began hopping and running and had to circle a few times before stopping. It started out great and ended not so great. She was very discouraged and frustrated. She felt like she had worked and worked with this horse for a year to see little progress and only lots of frustration. She stopped enjoying it and started dreading runs on him. She has never been able to comfortably and confidently run Astro. It was a sad reality and I just tried to be supportive. She is really having to do some growing up, make some hard life choices, and figure things out on her own this year.
We went back to the hotel after a cold night at the rodeo and sat in the hotel hot tub. The perfect end to a cold day and a long drive. Jayden got to relax with us too. The hotel manager allowed us to use the hot tub after hours. I think we have been there enough that they know us almost on a first name basis. They are an family that look to be from India and very kind.
Friday we went for breakfast at the cafe in the bowling alley. Afterward Jayden went to the rodeo slack to help push steers in the chute. Jake and I went to a "Twister" museum in Wakita OK, a 50 minute drive. The little town reminded me of Pilot Mound, but even more primitive, no internet, no convenient store, only a small grocery store, coop, and nursing home.
 Jake has watched the movie "Twister" more times than most people have watched movies in a year. He loves that movie and knows every possible thing about it. Going to the museum was a highlight for Jake. The lady that opened it just for us took us through on a tour. She told us all about the set that was in their small town of 400 people. She had so many behind the scene stories. The town loved Bill Paxton, the main character. Sadly he passed away in 2017 from a heart surgery at the age of 61. Jake loved all the crazy characters in the movie and the vehicles. He even made a Roblox video game of Twister. While at the museum, Jake got to play the pin ball machine donated by Bill himself. The museum was tiny with odds and ends and lots of pictures. It was worth the trip for Jake to this little dinky town .
Evening We all went to the Friday evening rodeo to watch. I have been to many many rodeos in my life, but never have I seen such crazy bulls. They came out spinning and bucking and once the rider was off, they had vengeance on their mind. They wanted to take the bull fighters and anyone standing around the arena. There was a line of guys along the far fence and the bulls would run and charge at them. It was very entertaining, yet terrifying. I hate to see anyone get hurt, luckily nobody did. Every other bull had to be roped and dragged out of the arena which was a whole other sight to see. The pick-up man was an old guy too, probably late 60's. He was one tough cowboy. Jayden stayed in our hotel again for the night. Saturday morning we had breakfast at the hotel, said our good byes and gave hugs, then Jake and I made the long trek home. I just hate that Jayden is so far. I could handle her being gone if it was 4 hours, but this is just too long of a haul out to see her. Jacob did not enjoy the ride home and was overall disappointed with his time in OK. He was not impressed.