Blackfoot Pride Days!!

About 30 miles south of us is a town called Blackfoot.  This last weekend, Blackfoot had its annual "Blackfoot Pride Days" celebration.  Basically, all weekend the town has a bunch of events (races, basketball tournaments, improv theater, etc.), great deals (free admission into public pools, museums, discounts at restaurants, etc.) and fair-type festivities (rides, food vendors, prizes, etc.).  Well, Chris and I cheated... even though we are not Blackfoot residents, we decided to go check out the party.

Haha, I'm not sure if only Blackfoot residents are invited (I didn't see anyone checking ID's), but we did our best to blend in... which isn't easy when you're with someone who's almost 7 foot:)  We went on Saturday morning and got to check out the snowmobile races.  That's right, snowmobile races in JULY!!  They basically get a small running start and drive the machines across the lake (err... in Missouri we would call it a really big pond.  But here in Idaho, they call it a small lake, lol).  It's really kinda crazy to watch.  The key is to keep it moving at a quick, steady pace; if they slow down at all, they sink pretty fast.  While we were there, they were also giving away free airplane rides (with those crop-planes, where you are open and exposed to the elements).  Unfortunately, we didn't go on any rides because the line was pretty long and Chris couldn't fit in the plane anyway (wah-waaaah).  We did check out the classic car show and discounts at the local burger joint, Rupe's Burgers.  They were also giving away FREE baked potatoes, but again, the line was pretty long to get one so we skipped that part.  Haha, we're not really that big on lines if you can't tell.  Well, we also did have a restless 2 year old with us.  I'm glad we got a chance to go and may even try to "sneak" in next year:)  

This guy was testing his snowmobile solo (normally they are racing another driver), but it gives you a good look at just how far these guys travel... across water... on a SNOWMOBILE.  Craziness.

Here's a look at a race.  And one guy just can't quite get is machine to settle down and get into rhythm.  Man, just watch how fast they sink.  Poor guy.

Here's a look at the rescue boat.  A jet-ski already picked up the driver.  They have 2 divers jump in and hook up the snowmobile, then the boat tows it in closer to shore.