I've been at a family reunion in rural Utah the past couple of days, and one of the highlights was this demolition derby that took place last night.

Demolition derbies have some serious appeal for me. Cars crashing, dirt flying, the crowd sooo disappointed that car 043 didn't keep its motor running...and then ecstatic that car 08 completely avoided being hit by the three cars chasing it, flipped around, and chased one of them down to smash it marvelously. I've never seen such a packed stadium! People around this little town love their annual derby with as much fervor possible.

Demolition derbies have a lot of ingredients to keep my short attention span from wandering too far. I can easily overlook the idiocy of the idea when I'm at an event, simply because it's so novel and entertaining. I would love to be a driver at a derby someday...

We sat through 4 glorious heats of smashing and crashing, but I wanted to start getting home before night fell because there was an unfamiliar canyon to be driven through and hopefully fireworks to be seen from the freeway. My husband and I snuck out before the finals heat took place, sneaking through the guard rail and climbing down the bleachers.

On my way out, I saw a llama . The sight of that fuzzy fellow was the perfect ending.