Tradition...and all of its meaning.

I love bright orange...especially when it appears on a tractor.

In the good ol' town of Lund, NV there is a celebration every year for the 24th of July. It is legendary--well, sort of. Most people don't even know where Lund is, but if you do, you know of a place that is truly special {cough}. Just kidding, I really love this place.

Okay let me paint a picture for you...


Picture nothing in all of its nothingness (as in, sagebrush & alkali soil & tumble weeds & willow trees where there is any water at all & big giant cottonwoods wherever there is a little more than a little). Now, add mountains--beautiful, huge-o-mongous, amazingly magnificent mountains. Okay, with all of that splendor in your head, double the mountains & make them run north and south, parallel to each other. Then, put all that nothingness that you dreamed up earlier in between said mountains. Next, add the tiniest tiny town that you can think of (except cut it in half because it is probably smaller than that). Make sure though, that it contains a post office, a country store equipped with 2 (yes only two) gas pumps, a brand spankin' new K-12 school [est. 2002], rodeo grounds, a church, a volunteer fire dept. fire house, "the square," Carter's ag store, lots of tractors & alfalfa fields, cows, horses, other various farm animals, and a bunch of friendly, hardworking, old fashioned old people accompanied by their wonderful children & grandchildren who have moved back to keep the place alive. Oh, and don't forget the big blue silo. {BREATH}

Twins! At heart. :)

Also, you should know that the only road with lines on it is Main Street, which runs right through the center of town. All other roads may or may not be paved, the majority of which are not. Oh, almost forgot--in the foothills of those majestic mountains you created in your head, picture one particular hill with a giant white L on it. Perfect. On any given day I would say there are +/- 300 people in the actual Lund town. In the whole White River Valley which includes the ranch I live on, a tinier town called Preston, and some other outlying ranches there might be around 500. On the days during the 24th of July, this population triples. Maybe even quadruples. Can you even imagine it? I know.

The point of this big huge celebration in this little bitty town is to celebrate our great heritage. This White River Valley & all of it's charming allure would have never been discovered if it weren't for the courageous, stalwart pioneers that came over from the East and discovered it. The 24th of July is a national holiday (I'm pretty sure), but I am also pretty sure that it is only celebrated in Western states because we really are the only states that benefitted from it (I could have this all wrong, but like I said, I'm pretty sure). Most of the time when I tell people about Pioneer Day they look at me like I time travelled from the 1800s and may have grown up in a barn. They aren't far off.


Anyway, back to the point. This celebration is always a memorable one. I look forward to it every year and am somewhat dismayed when I find that I will not be able to be in attendance. It usually goes something like this:


Thursday - various gymkhana & rodeo events


Friday - Ranch rodeo during the day & more gymkhana stuff

Friday night - Dance at the firehouse (lots of country music and line dancing to be expected, possibly also a few drunk people that make for good entertainment).

Saturday - Parade in the morning. Town barbeque, kids games & talent show in the day. Rodeo (complete with bucking broncs, bull riding, barrel racing, etc.) that afternoon/evening. And of course, the famous Lund Fireworks show to wrap it all up.

Now, I know what you all may be thinking--that it doesn't sound like that much fun. Am I right? Well, you my friends, are wrong. W-R-O-N-G. 'Tis a grand ol' time. Seriously though. I think what makes it the most fun is seeing all the people that you don't get to see that often, but that you still find yourself caring about deeply. It's knowing that we are all coming together as one community that is proud of our heritage and proud of our lovable, adorable, enchanting little town. Some magic happens on this weekend, because most of the time I don't feel this way about said town. Maybe it's the influx of amazing people that fill the place with smiles and love, but I'd like to think that it is real life magic. That the pioneer fairy comes down and sprinkles amazing dust over the whole valley for the weekend. Then, as it comes to an end it blows up in the sky appearing to be fireworks. I know. I'm weird. It's okay, you are too.


So Friday I went to the dance, followed by some very lazy rabbit hunting with my friends (we used shotguns so it's pretty much a guaranteed hit unless you can't hit the broad side of a barn). Saturday began with the parade in which I appeared as a back seat driver of my friend Oakley's truck which was pulling a float. I was a terrible parade participant, for I bore no candy and supplied no waves. Disappointing.

The beginnings of the parade.

Saturday night was spent at the rodeo (holla atchya cowboys), and then watching the fireworks show from the grass at the square. I love the fireworks in Lund because the people who light them (what would these people be called? firework conductors? blast-o-maniacs? lighting buggers? not sure...anyway) aren't too far away while lighting them so they basically explode right over your head. Plus it's like the longest fireworks show of your life. Seriously. Later that night I went to a bon fire. To say it was entertaining would be the understatement of the summer. Oh what hicks will do in the middle of nowhere with a fire and some beer. I think intoxication turns f-u-n into f-i-g-h-t, and the best thing that people can think of to do is to run their mouths and instigate a full on brawl. I was thankful to be on the sober side of things.

The weekend was wrapped up with a packed church causing the sacrament to be passed in various rooms containing the great overflow that couldn't quite make it in the chapel. I loved it. I relished in every second of the massive quantities of people that showed up to achieve a fulfilled Sabbath. Yay for church & traditions & our pioneer heritage. I wish we could do it all over again next week, but next year works too.


Chao.