There's nothing like a small town parade on the 4th of July!

Our sleepy little neighboring town, St. Paul, has a population of under 400. However, during the first 4 days of July the population explodes to about 40,000! St. Paul has one of the top 20 largest rodeos in the US that really brings in the crowds. We attended last night...always a good time. And I discovered that there is another use for my biking butt. I sat on a hard grandstand seat for 3 hours without a thought! Normally, I'm wriggling around trying to find a comfy spot after about an hour...but not last night!

Anyway, every 4th of July, St. Paul puts on a great parade. Since it's only about 10 miles from my town of Newberg, we usually bike out, and today was no exception.

There are all sorts of entries in the parade...from the rodeo queens and their horses, to the mounted sherriff's posse, to kids on their ponies. Lets not forget all the tractors and farm equipment, antique cars, fire trucks, boy scout groups, a band that plays marches on the back of a flat-bed truck, and even a group of caballeros on their fine looking Friesians and Andalusians.

The parade only lasts about an hour-and-a-half, but it's fun to ride out and not have to worry about parking.

We took a scenic route on our way home for a total of 23 easy miles!

Happy 4th, everyone!