The Great Ostrich Race

Saturday we went to one of the most ridiculous, yet entertaining places we've been in Arizona so far. The Ostrich Festival was basically a fair with rides and booths and lots of deep fried food. The kicker was the exotic petting zoo, the pig races, and of course the ostrich races. We actually had a great time hanging out with new friends and enjoying the beautiful day!

The announcer kept saying, "Ostriches have brains the size of a pea. The only thing dumber than an ostrich is the person that gets on one." He must have said it five times.

First, they had the chariot-style races. The ostriches were hooked up to these chariots and the "ostrich wranglers" jumped in the back in their fancy glittery capes. None of them made it the whole way around the track in any of the races.

Next came the bare-back ostrich races. The wranglers basically hop on and grab on to any feathers they can. You can see the ostrich heads poking out at the top of the gates.

Then, we had the Emu Chase. The announcer picked three kids out of the audience and the kids literally had to chase the emus around the track. The big old birds definitely had a mind of their own and kept running in circles instead of straight to the finish line. It was pretty funny to watch.

And finally, the camel races. That's right. You didn't think there would be such a variety, did you? And of course, the wranglers had to dress in the Arab garb and carry brooms to "encourage" the camels. Apparently they used to use those fake curved swords (not racist in the slightest).

We rounded out the night with a Led Zeppelin tribute band, Eddie Money (in the flesh), and the mister finally got to eat his ostrich burger (it tastes just like turkey). We couldn't forget the funnel cake, either. Not a good day for the spending diet, but we had a great time!