Fun for Labor Day Weekend

I had a great time Labor Day weekend. Utah had several festival/celebrations going on this weekend and I was able to go to two of my favorites.

Tim Tingle telling a very un-politically correct story about pretending to be deaf.

On Saturday night, there was the Timpanogos Storytelling Festival. Last year was the first time in 13 years, I wasn't able to attend (vacationing in Istanbul is a pretty good reason not to go, though). I was glad to be back there again this year.

The festival brought back one of the funniest storytellers of all time, Bil Lepp. His story was sadly all too brief, but hilarious non-the-less (something about quilting while hunting). My favorite storytellers are the ones who talk about their own experiences or ones of friends and family. I don't much care for the folklore and myths. Which is why I was so surprised when Tim Tingle, the official storyteller for the Choctaw nation, was so funny.

If you've never been to the Storytelling Festival, I urge you to go next year. I have dragged many family members and friends over the years and there has never been a single person who didn't love it and now attends regularly.

Border Collie in standard herding position; head down, tale clamped between legs

Trying to get the sheep in the pin. The dog and the handler cannot touch the sheep.

On Monday, my sister and I went to the Soldier Hollow Classic Sheep Dog Championship. This festival might not be for every one, but I really love it. If you've ever seen the movie Babe, then you'll know what kind of competition this is. The basic gist of the competition is that Border Collies are directed by their handler through whistles and shouts to run up the side of a mountain find the group of sheep grazing there and bring them down through a series of  gates (which sheep raised on the range HATE to go through) and ultimately into a very small pin (which sheep hate even more).

I am always amazed at how intelligent these dogs are. Through instinct and very, very good training, these dogs are just incredible to watch in action.

Apparently this year, Soldier Hollow broke a world record for the most people watching a sheep dog competitions. That really surprised me because I know that sheep dog competitions are much more popular in other parts of the world.

All-in-all is was a great holiday weekend.