Estes Park Celtic Festival

Wow! What a wonderful, but tiring, day! It was cool and drizzling here in Boulder, so before Kathy and Jim picked me up, I put on a long-sleeved T and wool socks; and took a heavy sweatshirt and my water-proof jacket with hood, and my umbrella. I needed all of it. A heavy cloud was hugging the top of Longs Peak, and before 11:30, the cloud cover had descended to cover all the surrounding mountains. A military fly over was scheduled for noon, but made several passes between 11:40 and 11:45, as the weather was deteriorating more quickly than expected. Kathy and Jim and I stayed together for the morning, then split for two hours and recombined at the Heavy Armor combat for the rest of the afternoon and evening. All of us saw things that we had missed at our previous visit to the Festival. The first thing was the International Jousting competition - this is not the scripted fights one sees at the Renaissance Fairs; these folks were in earnest, trying to win the $30,000 grand prize. Most of the mounts were Percherons or Clydesdales, and there was a Belgium stallion (Samson), a couple of Foundation quarterhorses, and several draft crosses. Zeus, the Percheron stallion, was the most impressive horse; but Samson, the Belgium, had a quiet, steady presence. (Can you guess he was my favorite?) We met his knight/rider/owner and were invited to visit them on their farm in northern Texas... Dustin, the owner, said that his Belgium mare had more presence than Samson, and that she had just dropped his foal. (I want, I want!!!) We then wandered through the booths, having also stopped and admired some Gypsy Vanners from Fort Collins (and receiving another invitation for a visit); at 11:20 we grabbed a hot brunch, as it was drizzling. I had a chicken pie, while K and J had Scotch eggs and haggis. Then we quickly found seats in the stands for the fly over, the US Marine Corps Band, the presentation of the colors, the combined bands, and the parading of the Clans. There was more music (piping) scheduled - but I was getting cold and left for the vendors' tents. (It had started raining in earnest about 11:30 and continued until 2:30.) I was a very bad person. I spent almost every penny I had with me. I purchased a new canvas courier's bag; 3 t-shirts; a sterling silver Celtic ring; and a hand-made stuffed dragon. And I am still extremely happy with all of my purchases, so I guess I really wasn't "bad."

By watching the fly over and the bands, I had missed the Light Armor Combat with the horses; so I was determined to have a seat for the Heavy Armor. I arrived about 2:30, and secured three seats, as Kathy and Jim were to regroup with me there. I had a blast, and K & J showed up between the second and third bouts between the first two riders. I stood up and yelled "Snow!" and waved like a maniac until they saw me... They joined me in the stands and then they enjoyed watching the jousting, too. - Barkon, the eldest knight, was unhorsed on his first pass, but he re-mounted Duchess, his Clydesdale, and returned for three more bouts. Considering that Barkon is in his 60s, that he was knocked off a Clydesdale at a gallop, and that he was wearing 145 pounds worth of metal armor when he fell, I have to totally admire him. The breaking of the 9-foot long lances was impressive, and the splinters flew for some distance. Shane, the Captain of the Canadian team, won the Heavy Armor contest; and it was announced that 3 of the horses used in the competition were abandoned and abused equines that had been rehabilitated. At the end, the knights autographed splinters of the lances for the audience. We took another turn through the booths, bought a few items, shared a funnel cake, made another turn through the vendors' tent and then departed for home. On our last turn through the vendors', I suddenly realized that a man in a blue plaid kilt had an orange and blue Auburn jacket on above it. I stopped, initiated conversation, and found that he and his wife cook, can and sell haggis and whiskey cakes around the world. (Jim, the Auburn man, had retired 16 years ago and immediately went into the haggis business.) We finally arrived back at the truck around 6, and then drove back to Boulder. When I arrived home, I fed and loved the kits, took a hot shower and curled up in bed. I turned on a football game and immediately fell asleep - and the kits let e sleep like a rock until after 8 this morning. ... I hadn't realized I was that tired!!