cowboys are in town

Here we are, already at the end of December and I have yet to click Publish on this post. I better do so before next year rolls around! Here we go...click!

For many months, I continue/d following my PT's advice to avoid hiking elevation until my knees improve. That meant skipping our treasured traditional Fall hiking trip. As the days passed, the thought of not getting away for even a small break started gnawing away at me. Our Fall get-a-way the past few years have been to outdoorsy places. We both enjoy the solitude of the north woods, but I realized we tend to do/see things I like best.

This year it was Brads long overdue turn to plan a year-end vacation of his choosing. Not exactly Fall, but it counts. He made all the arrangements (yay!) for us to attend the National Finals Rodeo in Vegas!! All I had to do was nod in agreement. Seeing the Finals in person has been on Brads bucket list for a long time. Have you seen it or watch it on TV?

I know, I know vacationing in Vegas...is loud. In more than one way. There are just as many Vegas haters as there are lovers. I am happy to say this trip made me/us love Vegas! Older age has taught us the virtue of how to enjoy it the right way. Or at least our way.

This was our third Vegas trip together. Brad has been their more often for work. The annual World of Concrete is held their.

Our first Vegas trip was shortly after 1993 when the Luxor was built. Pretty sure I got asked 100X if we were getting married. Nope. Never even crossed our minds. If you are not familiar with Luxor, it is the Egyptian themed pyramid building. The elevators are glass, and go up/down the pyramid sideways. Anywho, I recall we had a nice time except for the street hookers approaching Brad. All men were scouted on the street. It didn't matter that I was right next to him. It left a bad impression on me. Do what you want with your own time, just don't get pushy.

Our second trip to Vegas was during the 2015 World of Concrete show. A group of 6-ish co-workers and spouses were invited to experience the yearly extravaganza. The concrete show is gigantic and was so impressive! No one approached us for ulterior motives. I learned Vegas streets are cleaned up every X amount of years. We stayed at Caesar's Palace and it turns out I like Vegas. 2015 was a great trip! 

us in 2015

Fast (or not so fast, ha!) forward to this Vegas trip. It was the best. Travel preparations went on for weeks. I tried in vain to add some style to my well worn wardrobe. No luck. At least we both found cowboy boots locally that fit well. Our boots were worn out/no longer fit. In the end, we both packed what we already owned. Totally okay. Fashionista's we are not. 

As the trip approached, the unthinkable happened. Fed Ex. had lost our Rodeo tickets. Poof! Gone. Brad spent days working that conundrum out. The folks handling rodeo tickets were so awesome! We were promptly offered other tickets. Much better tickets than we had purchased, at no additional cost. They arrived overnight. Brad guarded the replacement tickets with his life. Once everything was worked out, Fed Ex became their problem. 

If you are a Rodeo/Western loving person and have been wishing to go, take the trip! You will be glad you did. NFR is something to be experienced. Words cannot describe. I keep trying. I cannot really capture the essence. It includes a city that attracts similar minded people from all over the world, and transforms itself.

MGM lobby

"The Cowboys are in Town" was heard on repeat. It made me smile. We met so many nice respectful people on our trip! Your eyeballs will fall out of I share all the stories. There are too many to count and this post is already extra long. It made my heart swell and reminded me, there are good people left in the world. Many of them were in Vegas in the middle of December.

I still cannot get the whole NFR trip experience out of my mind!! 

I won't lie, it is always very hard for me to leave home. "What if..." goes on replay in my head. It turns out I had nothing to worry about. Our two younger kids took care of our animals and homestead while we were gone. Mostly Harmony's mom. Did I mention we flew out on the tail end of a snowstorm? We survived.

What can say about Finals Rodeo? Two word's "amazing talent"!! Both human and animal. I have seen my fair share of rodeo's over the years. Mostly the PRCA here and some rodeo's in Colorado. Watching the best of the best doesn't compare. It really was jaw dropping.

the pusher

We had recently watched an interesting interview at home about "the Pusher". Seen above sitting on the shoot, in black. I won't get into his important job. Sitting close to the roping shoots made us smile. This was the only rodeo photo I took.

I did not pack my camera and was SO entertained the entire trip that I completely forgot to take but a few phone photos. Whoopsee doodle! 

quick selfie waiting for the monorail

The NFR Cowboy Christmas is part of the experience. Day One was overwhelming. Day Two we enjoyed the shopping.

The Thomas-Mack Convention Center (same place that hosts the World of Concrete) was filled to the brim with two levels of vendors for a Cowboy Christmas shopping extravaganza like no other. I am not a shopper, but it was an experience I will never forget. We enjoyed several memorable vendor experiences. A pair of Christmas stockings, and a new cowboy hat came home with us. Shopping is much harder when flying.

If you've been to Vegas, then you know the popular city offers the best variety of culinary food! We stayed at MGM, and enjoyed special meals at Tom Colicchio's CraftSteak and Emeril's New Orleans Fish House. Both highly recommended. Outstanding food and service was impeccable. We also revisited a fav breakfast place, the Hash House. We highly recommend all.

Vegas is also known for entertainment shows. Our trip wasn't just about the Rodeo, Shopping or Food. It was also very much about Music. A big reason I agreed to go, was experiencing this guy in concert:

If you have never heard of Zach, he just won the CMA 2025 New Artist of the Year award. A very talented young singer-songwriter, known for his 90's Country style & Blue Grass music. MGM venue left something to be desired, but his concert was a-mazing!! 

12.12.25

He brought some incredible talent. The crowd went wild every time the fiddle player took front stage. A reminder that different music/talent is played in other regions.

I am happy to say my knee's survived the trip. Thanks to the Monorail and the many Escalators scattered throughout the city and airports. Walking/sitting that much was not easy. Brad was super patient and supportive. A sign of true love. I thank my lucky stars every.single.day for my old school gentleman, cowboy at heart guy. 

We did not gamble, and only walked the streets once for a short time. Not my cup of tea. This trip it was I who got approached, by a women who said "you me and a sailboat". We kept walking past as I replied "NO thanks"!! 

Brad told me "don't say I never took you to Paris"

The weather on our trip was gorgeous! A refreshing change. Las Vegas set record highs while we were there. Days warmed up fast to a sunny 74F. We wore short sleeves and never used our light jackets. It was a bit of a shock to come back to Wisconsin's single F digits.

In conclusion, we both loved this unforgettable trip. We learned. We experienced. We look forward to going back. It opened our eyes. We plan to travel a bit more. Nothing extravagant, but we definitely learned we need to just take the trip!!

Thanks for reading to the end. Now we can bring on 2026!