Monday, June 4, 2007

Tractor Pull and Square Dance- a weekend of country entertainment

This past weekend Craig and I had a great time at two separate events. On Saturday night we went to a Tractor Pull, mostly because a friend of Craig was going to be driving his semi in the event. I could not believe how many farm tractors were competing. Some of them almost didn't even look like tractors because they had been modified so much. In case you haven't been to a tractor pull (I hadn't been to one before this!) here's what it's like. The tractors, and semis, are divided into classes - I think by weight and by modification. So there were stock classes (not midified at all) and hobby classes. They use a dirt track which is marked off in feet. I think it was 300 feet long. At the starting line there is a big"sled" which has wheels and a cab and motor in back, and retractable wheels and big blades in front. There is also a compartment for weights which slides from back to front. So, the tractor backs up to this sled and is hooked up be a big chain and hook. When the driver is given the green flag he revs up his motor and tries to pull the sled as far as he can down the track. As he goes, the weights slide forward which make the blades dig into the grounds, causing drag. The tractor that pulls the farthest in his class wins. The tractors all go one at a time.
Now, if I had known how many tractors there were going to be, I'd have prepared a little differently. I would have brought a warmer coat, a blanket, my lawn chair, and something to munch on. All that aside, we had a lot of fun watching the tractors. I couldn't believe the smoke that came out of their machines, how noisy it was, and how many spectators were there to watch. Craig's friend, Lonnie, drove a "super semi" called Dangerous. He pulled over 257 feet - far enough to win his division. Way to go, Lonnie! My next favorite part after seeing Lonnie win, was seeing his brother, Brent, drive his super semi and have flames come out of his stacks before he started pulling.

Sunday evening was about as different from Saturday as we could get, although it was still country fun. We were invited to the 5th annual barn dance at our friends place. Darrell and Trish have a horse barn where they hold a potluck supper and square dance. Another firend, Karen, helps with the planning, etc. Karen was the one who actually started this event after being at our old place years ago and seeing our barn. We had a great evening - catching up with old friends, making new friends, and doing some dancing. I love to square dance! Probably the best part about the evening, though, was hearing how faithful our God has been in the lives of our friends since we were together last.
This was a great weekend!

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