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Rondezvous, Come On!

Fur Rondy started this weekend.

Steve and I headed downtown into the madness Saturday night to watch the fireworks that I was ill prepared for. I had forgotten my tripod and some socks, both required for extended night photography. Well, the socks aren't really required, but they would have been useful. My toes would have liked socks.

But Santa had had the forethought to gift me with a Gorillapod this last Christmas. So I strapped that baby around a pole and snapped away. I'm pretty happy with the results.

Today we went back downtown for to catch the last day of the World Championship Sled Dog Race, because when I watched the dogs go by on my lunch break Friday, the sun didn't cooperate. But the sun was out in full force Saturday and today, so I made Steve stand in the snow while I snapped a million photos of sled dog tongues.

We wandered around the snow sculptures a bit and were wholly unimpressed. I mean, really. They were pretty bad.

Then we crammed into two city blocks with 80% of the state's population to watch 1000 people run with reindeer and hope they don't get trampled to death. I wanted to see blood, but there was no blood to be had. There was no trampling, no bleeding, no frostbite.

There was, however, a small dog who feared being trampled on in the crowds and kept trying to climb up my side and onto my shoulders for a better view. And a small child sitting on her grandmother's shoulders who kept trying to pull my hair clip out of my hair.

And then it took us a half hour to get out of downtown and I wanted to stab myself in the leg and move out to my brother's cabin in Caribou Hills where there is no traffic because roads haven't been invented out there yet.

With Fur Rondy and a Flickr Nerd Meetup, I shot about 700 photos this weekend. Which sounds like a whole lot, but I really could have taken more. I'm thinking I need another memory card, because I don't know how much longer my combined 7GB will be enough.

Until then, let's see that photo of the woman freaking out in front of the reindeer. It my hands-down most favorite shot from the weekend.