Steamboat Pilot & Today

Glenda Long was perched above the dunk tank, eyeing the next person hoping to soak her, when a wayward softball cracked the metal lever and sent her back into the chilly water below.

"That water is freezing," Long said after climbing out of the dunk tank and clutching a towel.

The dunk tank was just one of the fund-raising booths that kept crowds entertained at the Taste of South Routt on Saturday in Oak Creek's Decker Park.

"The first couple times I got dunked, I was like 'Whoa,' but after a while, I just watched the ball and tried to prepare myself for going back in," Long said.

The dunk tank was a fund-raiser for the Trout Creek 4-H Club, and Long was happy she decided to volunteer this year.

"The last group who used the tank made $300, so I think it is a good deal," she said.

Karyn Tussey, one of the organizers of the eighth annual Taste of South Routt, arrived at Decker Park at about 9 a.m. to begin setting up for the day.

"Some of the vendors were here before I was," she said.

The event started at noon and ended at 6 p.m. with a silent auction. There were several local food vendors, a beer garden, plenty of music and lots of activities for families.

"We've been really busy, and it has just been a fabulous day," Tussey said.

From about 1 to 2:30 p.m., the Yampa Valley Boys entertained the crowd with their old-time country and Western music, reminiscent of the Soggy Bottom Boys from the movie "O Brother, Where Art Thou."

Band members John Fisher and Steve Jones were happy to have been able to participate in the event because they think it's important people remember the music of the past.

"This is your heritage," Fisher said. "We try to show the rest of the U.S. what we're all about."

Filling Decker Park for the event was the dunk booth, miniature horses, a mechanical bull and a free wood-carving demonstration.

The bull-riding was new to this year's lineup and was hosted by the Egeria Roping Club. All proceeds from the riding went to South Routt Medical Center.

Nicole Emick, 17, of Brighton, got a little taste of what bull-riding is all about, and she even managed to stay on the bull for more than eight seconds.

Next door to the bucking bull was the cacophony of chainsaws as Randy Edmond tore into a chunk of pine wood, slowly carving a bear.

Edmond, of Steamboat Springs, donated one of his 4-foot carved bears to the event after he was invited to demonstrate his carvings to the public.

"I think this is a good thing, and I like providing entertainment for everyone," he said. Edmond's daughter, Nikki, was visiting from Minnesota and monitored her father's progress from a chair a few feet away.

"I'm the supervisor," she said with a smile.

Betty and Chuck Sweetland of Oak Creek returned for their fifth year at the Taste of South Routt with the miniature horses they raise.

"We love coming to this because it's a good opportunity for people to know what's going on in South Routt," Betty Sweetland said.

The miniature horses the Sweetlands brought were very well mannered and didn't mind curious hands that never seemed to leave their coats.

"Kids love them. They're very gentle and easy to handle," Betty Sweetland said.

David Moran, who emceed the event, said this year's Taste of South Routt was the "best we've done in many, many years."