Cowboy Poetry at the BAR-D Ranch
by Margo Metegrano, Editor, CowboyPoetry.com

Some popular June events in the cowboy poetry and Western music world
include the 14th annual Echoes of the Trail Cowboy Gathering in Fort Scott,
Kansas; the 9th annual Cowboy Entertainer Gathering in Townsend, Montana;
and the 23rd annual Pincher Creek Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Pincher Creek,
Alberta. There are venues with regular events in June, including Scofield's
Cowboy Campfire in Fiddletown, California; the Emerald Valley Opry in
Eugene, Oregon; and Mavericks in Visalia, California.

One of the oldest gatherings, the 24^th Dakota Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Medora, North Dakota, takes place each Memorial Day weekend. Crowd-pleasing North Dakota rancher, poet, and writer Rodney Nelson, who is a frequent performer at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering and other events, is featured at Medora. He has a colorful introduction to that part of the country in this poem:

DAKOTA FRESH AIR

The folks down at the tourism department
     sure go through some pains,
To brag up and glorify
     my state up on the plains.

I saw an ad not long ago
     that really did impress me,
Who would have guessed-my state is best
     for things one wants to see.

Yes, the pretty photos stunned me,
     I would have never thought,
I was living in the middle
     of one grand vacation spot.

It stressed our scenic beauty,
     talked up our industry,
Pointed out historic sites
     with good ac-cu-ra-cy.

They may have praised our weather
     a little to excess
but when they spoke of clean fresh air 
     well, folks, that's no "B. S."!

Yes, fresh air is abundant,
     it's never stale or sour-
We import the stuff from Canada
     at 90 miles and hour!

Air that we are breathing
     when it's pretty close to noon,
Was probably at breakfast time
     somewhere near Saskatoon!

It's truly quite a blessing,
     that sometimes it's a sin,
When it's traveling by so doggone fast
     that one can't breathe it in!

It comes from all directions,
     but the North winds are the best-
the air gets sort of thick sometimes
     when the wind is from the West.

I hate these blasted droughty years,
      like the ones we've had of late.
A hard, West wind is often filled
     with Montana real estate!

But it sometimes works out dandy,
     we all thought it was fine
how we got the Kildeer Mountains
     when they blew across the line!

When North Dakota parents
     Send their children out to play,
They fill their pockets up with rocks
     So they won't blow away!

But, by gosh, I'm not complaining,
     thought the wind is sometimes mean,
the air that we are breathing
     is truly fresh and clean!

And our weather-oh, it's grand sometimes,
     be it warm or winter chill.
But a good day in North Dakota
     is when that fresh air-is standing still!

© 1995, Rodney Nelson, All Rights Reserved

Rodney writes the popular bi-monthly "Up Sims Creek" column for Farm and Ranch Guide. He also works as a part-time brand inspector, horse trainer and, in his words, "an aging rodeo performer."

Rodney Nelson has several books and appears on several recordings, including The BAR-D Roundup, Volumes 4 and 5 from CowboyPoetry.com. His "Cowboy Laundry" poem from Volume 4 is one of radio's most-played poems from that CD.