Escapees March-April 2024

of burro races that are held in Colorado each summer. The other two races are held in nearby Leadville and Buena Vista. At the start, the runners and burros raced down Front Street through a living history museum mining camp, called South Park City. They passed under the museum gate around 10:20 in the morning and weren’t expected back until late afternoon at the earliest. Some wouldn’t come in until sunset or after dark or even as late as midnight! After they vanished into the distant hills, the “Short Course” race got underway. The burros, large and small, lined up with their owners and headed down Front Street and under the South Park City gate into the mountains beyond. The winners of this race weren’t expected back for about two and a half hours!

EMILY AND MARK FAGAN #99408 traveled full-time by RV and sailboat for 13 years and now enjoy RVing part-time. Emily has written over 225 articles for various RV and sailing magazines, and the Fagans’ photography has appeared on mag azine covers, in commercial wall calendars and, at national park overlooks and even in museums! Follow their blog at roadslesstraveled.us. close, the Long Course burro racers were still a few hours from the fi nish line. We were pooped, however, even though we hadn’t raced a step, so we headed back to our trailer. The next day we learned that an adorable and beloved miniature burro named Buttercup won the long race in fi ve hours and 26 minutes. She went on to win the second race in the Triple Crown at Leadville the following week. Unfortunately, she didn’t win the third race. But, there’s always next time! A roar went up from the crowd as they sprinted down Front Street, a miniature burro versus a standard burro racing for a photo fi nish. The little burro, Ben, won by a whisker in a time of two hours, 24 minutes and three seconds. His wrangler, 15-year old high school track star Aiden Malherbe trains 50 miles a week. Second place went to a Bureau of Land Management rescue burro named Tito, and Brian Rawlings, who also runs 50 miles per week. While the front of the burro race was very intense, further back, this race of 60 teams was a different story. One burro decided it would be more fun to walk than run down Front Street. Who could blame him after running 15 miles through the Rocky Mountains? Another decided to leave the course and join the onlookers while still two blocks from the fi nish. His handler had to coax him back onto Front Street! Once all the Short Course burros were in, the Outhouse Racers lined up. There were only two entrants, but both teams huddled to plan race strategies. Maneuvering an outhouse down a race course isn’t so easy! Suddenly, they were off and running/rolling with a pair of runners on either side of each outhouse and a third guy sitting on the throne inside. Talk about laughter and hoots and hollers from the crowd! When the Outhouse Race drew to a

“A roar went up from the crowd as they sprinted down Front Street, a miniature burro versus a standard burro racing for a photo fi nish.”

A Parade, a Photo Finish and an Outhouse Race!

Burro Days is non-stop action, however. With the burros off and running, the crowd turned its attention to the distant rumble of motorcycles and the beginning of the parade. Soon, the color guard marched past, followed by a group of roaring bikes. Like the whimsy of Llama race teams, the costumes and fl oats in this parade made us all chuckle. The “pothole patrol” went by, followed by a clever rendition of the Titanic, complete with an iceberg rolling on a wagon. The sky grew dark, though, and suddenly the heavens opened up and drenched the entire town. The crowd scattered for shelter, but soon the downpour ended, and we all wandered back out onto Front Street, no worse for wear. Just then, the gates to South Park City swung wide, with two runners and their burros in the Short Course race, fl ying toward us at top speed, racing neck andneck.

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ESCAPEES Magazine March/April 2024