Tucson Rodeo 2010

It's no secret that I've enjoyed a rodeo or two in the last year. What's not to love about sunshine, friendly cowboys and kettle corn? For someone who's a transplant to the Southwest, the rodeo can be quite the cultural experience. I think that's why I love it so much- because it makes me feel like a foreigner. And as the little blond white girl who grew up in the Middle East, feeling like an outsider... well, it feels like home to me.

Slide show here.

So I don't mind that I'm the only one at the rodeo in flip flops and not cowboy boots. And the cowboys don't mind explaining the rules of team roping to me. In fact, I think they liked it- they're friendly, remember? It was so much fun that we came back the next day... with my sister, her boyfriend and my mom.

And since it was just around the corner, we stopped by El Guero Canelo for one of Tucson's famous Sonoran Dogs. Yup, that would be a hot dog wrapped in bacon. Overkill, right? Wrong. It's delicious. Stop reading. Go there now. Ask for one Sonoran Dog, one horchata and one tortilla hot off the press. You will thank me.