I spotted a press release in the fax machine after I got off the air tonight that I thought was interesting enough to pass on.

The Tucson Rodeo Grounds will be in use a few weeks from now (February 16-24) for the annual La Fiesta de los Vaqueros (Tucson Rodeo).  This weekend the rodeo grounds is going to have a different kind of rodeo.

The 3rd annual Heavy Equipment ROADeo!

City of Tucson Department of Transportation workers and administrators will be competing against the Pima County Department of Transportation team.  They will be using backhoes, dump trucks and graders.  The teams maneuver the heavy equipment through a maze of cones and barricades.

I think this is pretty cool.  I have driven a U-Haul truck through rush hour in Los Angeles (when I moved to Tucson seven years ago) and I thought I was the king of driving.  These teams will be showing off a skillset that nearly none of us have.  I hope they hand out trophies or plaques or certificates or maybe bronzed Tonka trucks as prizes for the winners.  Even if they don't it's cool they get to show off their talents to the public in a fun setting!

The Heavy Equipment ROADeo is Saturday at the Tucson Rodeo Grounds at 6th Avenue and Irvington Road in Tucson from 8 a.m. until about 2 p.m.  If I had children I would totally take them to this event.  It sounds like a (back)HOE lot of fun!