Pie Town Festival, Part 2: The Great Horned Toad Race

"I haz a ride!!"

"Tally-ho, noble steeds..."

The idea of a horned toad race seems rather silly at first glance, and sometimes first impressions turn out to be the truest. To kick off the race the organizers put all 32 entries in a bottomless bucket placed at the center of a large circle, then lifted it up and turned the critters loose. Whoever made it to the edge of the circle, in any direction, was the winner, and as it turned out the tiny critter in my previous post won almost immediately. Most of the other toads stayed in a pile, with a few breaking off from the pack to start for the edge (singly or, as above, paired up like steeds with jockeys), then pause as they noticed the noisy crowd at the finish line.

Why were we all so intent on watching and photographing such an absurd event? Because it was also a heck of a lot of fun, and for the many out-of-state visitors it was surely a first, providing a great story to take home from the Land of Enchantment.

"Dude, I'll just skip that whole finish-line thing... Spot looks hungry..."