Houston Rodeo

The Houston Rodeo has been on our bucket list of things to do.  My aunt won tickets and invited us out to Houston to see it and of course we took her up on the offer.

We toured the Agventure area of the rodeo.

Here we saw an exhibit of the different regions of Texas.  We learned about the different products, wildlife, and habitats of each region.

We had a fun time at the petting zoo.   There were sheep, goats, donkeys, llamas, alpacas, pigs, kangaroos, etc.

We looked at the egg to hen exhibit and saw baby chicks hatching.

We strolled by the miniature animals and learned the benefits of raising this type of livestock.

We made our way through the nursery section and saw all the babies that were born at the rodeo.  Plenty of calves, piglets, and kids.

We listened to a presentation of a dairy farmer.  He told us what it takes to raise dairy cows and how they are treated.  He explained the milking process of dairy cows and how the milk is transported from farm to store.  It was very interesting.

We stopped to watch the herding dog trials.  The sheep they had were extremely stubborn and it was giving the shepherd and dogs a rough go.

We walked through the vendor booths and grabbed a bite to eat.

Finally, it was time for the rodeo and we made our way into the NRG stadium.  It was huge!  The kiddos were impressed.  We had great seats, although high up in the Loge section 512.  We took it all in.  This was Championship Finals night and the rodeo was broadcast live.  We saw individual calf roping, team roping, saddle bronc riding, bareback bronc riding, bull riding, steer wrestling, and barrel racing.  It was a fun time.

After the rodeo, we enjoyed the Brad Paisley concert.  This was the kids first concert experience.  It was nice, but loud.  They had a good time.

We hope to go to the Houston Rodeo again!

The George Ranch

We had the pleasure to visit the George Ranch outside of Houston, Texas.  It was breath taking!

We started off watching a calf demonstration in the chute area.  We learned about the quarter horses and how they work the cattle.  They told us about the different brands on the horses and what they meant, which was interesting.  Next, the cowboy and cowgirl demonstrated how a calf is cut from the herd and roped.  Once the calf was roped, another cowgirl secured the calf and watched how a calf is inspected and then branded.  (They did not do the actual branding in the demonstration.)

 

They finished the demonstration and brought out Big Tex.  Big Tex is a Texas Longhorn.  His horns measure six feet across.  He promptly made his way to the viewing area and showed himself to everyone.

The cowboy instructed us to follow the path to the dipping vat for the next demonstration.  The reason for the dipping vat was to rid the cows of ticks before transport.  They ran the calves through the ten foot deep water during the demonstration.  The calve thoroughly enjoyed jumping in the trough and swimming to the other side.

After the calf demonstration, we began our tour of the houses on the George Ranch.  We began with the first house, which was a dog trot cabin.  Henry and Nancy Jones moved to the area in 1822 and claimed 4428 acres to ranch.  At the time, the area was Mexican frontier and the Jones along with others that Stephen F. Austin brought to the area joined other Texans in the fight for independence from Mexico.

The Jone's eldest daughter Mary 'Polly' Moore Ryon, took over the ranch and bought out her brothers and sisters after the death of her father. Polly was a wonderful business woman and along with her husband, William Ryon, expanded the ranch to over 27,000 acres.  This was the 'golden era' of the West with cattle drives.  We enjoyed listening to the Chuck Wagon Cook tell us about the Ryon's and about his job on the ranch and cattle drives.  I didn't realize the full role of Chuck Wagon cook and how well they were paid!

The next stop on the tour was the Share Cropper's cabin.  Uncle Bob showed us around his place and answered our questions.  He was a delightful old man and we talked for over thirty minutes.  We learned about share cropping and how a share cropper could really never get out of debt.  He showed us is animals and told us about the chicken snake Sammy.  We enjoyed our visit with Uncle Bob.

Polly's daughter, Susan Elizabeth, married 'Judge' John Harris Pickens Davis.  They lived in town and helped manage the ranch.  Susan died young and her memory was kept alive through her husband and children. Her daughter, Mary Elizabeth 'Mamie' eventually took over the ranch.

 

Behind the Victorian house is a large working blacksmith shop.  We enjoyed talking to the Smith and learning about the different tools he uses.

Mamie married Albert George and the couple moved to the ranch from the city.  They had a child that unfortunately died.  With no other children, the Georges turned to their cousin, Mary, and treated her like a daughter.  Unfortunately, the presumed heir, died tragically in a car wreck.  With no other possible heir, the Georges established The George Foundation.  Through the foundation, the Georges' charitable giving and legacy of the ranch lives on.

What I find remarkable is that it was the women in the family that took the ranch to new levels each generation.   

If you are ever in the area, The George Ranch is a great place to visit and learn more about the ranches of West.
 

Space Center Houston

We took a road trip to visit family in Houston.  On the itinerary was a visit to Space Center Houston.  We were excited to see the space center and parts of Johnson Space Center.

As we pulled into the center, we saw the space shuttle being assembled and the large transport plane.  It was a shame that Houston did not get one of the shuttles that actually went into orbit.  With the role that Houston plays in the NASA program, they should have received Enterprise.  Instead, politics played a role in where the shuttles went and New York received Enterprise.

We began our mission with a tour of Johnson Space Center.  The tram made its way along the streets of the center and recording being played through speakers told about the various buildings.  It was facinating to learn about the history within each structure.  The training and research that takes place.  Realizing that every astronaut has walked the grounds we were seeing was just awesome!

We went into the training building that holds a mock up of the International Space Station.  I would have loved to actually gone into the mock up.  Little Man was in awe of it, as well.  All astronauts that are going to work in the ISS are trained in that actual mock up.  We saw the mock up of the Russian craft that deploys the astronauts to ISS.  The space shuttle mock up was in the process of being removed from the building.  The Orion craft sat in the building and we were told that an unmanned flight is being planned.  Hopefully, it is a success and the U.S. will once again have another fleet of craft to be sent to space.

Also, in the building, we saw different robots, rovers, and space exploration vehicles.  We learned various things about them.  The Robonaut was Egee's favorite.  The dexterity and precision of the Robonaut's hands and fingers are amazing.  It can turn a single page of a book without tearing the page!

When we boarded the tram again, we went down a street that memorialized those astronauts and Space Center Employees that had given their lives and made significant contributions to the program.  A reminder that our mission to explore our universe is a dangerous one, but the brave take the risk for all mankind.

Our final tram stop was at Rocket Park.  Inside the huge building sits a Saturn V rocket.  Little Man was in pure awe of the size.  He wanted to know how it worked.  I explained the different stages of the rocket and the purpose of each.  He told me he may want to work for NASA one day.

We went back into Space Center Houston after our tram tour.  The children enjoyed all the different interactive exhibits.  I could barely pry Little Man from the Angry Birds Space area.  He loved trying to dock the shuttle and ISS.  Egee had fun experiencing what it would be like to walk on Mars.

This is great place for anyone that loves NASA and the thrill of space exploration.  We can't wait to go back again!