My friends Emily and Gene invited me along on their annual family trip to the Combine Demolition Derby. Emily described it as "the most redneck thing you'll ever do"--and she wasn't wrong! Farmers from all over the area bring their old combines, festively decorated and painted, to a rodeo arena in Lind, Washington. And then they crash the combines into each other! I wish some of my videos had turned out (I was having camera issues) but I hope these pictures will do the event some justice.

The Short Bus was my personal favorite:

Lined up for judging (before they started crashing into each other):

Some action shots:

Oh, and between demolition rounds, they have grain truck races! The big grain trucks jockey for position as they drive around and around this little arena. They don't mind bumping into each other (because they're grain trucks...why should they look pretty?), and the organizers make sure the track is super muddy so they skid back and forth. One truck even rolled completely over! (Nobody was hurt.)

I highly recommend this annual event to all of my Washington friends.