Free-for-all at Whiskey Flats

Welcome to Kernville, California. This is the Whiskey Flats Parade and Rodeo celebration held every year on President's Day. At the time of this posting, they have just finished their 69th event. Everyone is welcome, and the whole community is involved. The area was first settled as a Gold Rush camp. The town officially became known as "Whiskey Flat" in the early 1860s after a local bar opened, but in 1864 it was renamed Kernville. Humphrey Bogart and John Wayne used to hang out there, and it was where the TV show Bonanza was filmed. In 1948, the Isabella Dam was built, submerging Old Kernville. The town was subsequently moved to its current upriver location in the early 1950s.

This image was taken at the rodeo that follows the downtown parade. Being a city boy, I was interested in seeing this event, but I only went because I heard the day was going to be rainy, and their online ad said the rodeo and parade would happen rain or shine. For the candid-shot photographer in me, nothing is better than messy, muddy, rainy action. So off I drove the 90 miles to Kernville. I was NOT disappointed. It was perfect. Drizzly weather after an early-morning rain was as if a Hollywood director had orchestrated the day just for my desires. This is actually an event in the rodeo. There were four or five teams of men, all chasing horses (that didn’t want to be caught) to subdue them, all against the clock. The mud was an incredible bonus. And get this…They do it for fun.

They also have an event called mutton busting. While in the stands, I asked a local there to describe it. He looked at me from under his well-worn cowboy hat (and saw my camera) and just grinned, saying, “You’re gonna love this.” He was right! I was blown away by the event. You got these little four-year-old kids (up to about seven-year-olds) hanging onto a muddy, wet sheep, and they bust him out of this gate like wild broncos, and the hold on for dear life, mostly crashing into the dirt while many times, the sheep falls over on them and tramples them (the kids are all well padded), and the kid-rider jumps up with victory hands raised. Yeah. If we did it in the city, they'd be going to jail. There’s something awesome about families who do these activities with their kids. They seem to have a firmer grasp of life lessons. These guys are fun.