There’s nothing PLANE about spending Labor Day in Steamboat

The best spot to sport your Aviator sunglasses this Labor Day weekend is Steamboat’s Wild West Air Fest.  This high-flying event is in its 11th year and just keeps climbing to new heights!

Plane Ride Our family always had a great time perusing the vintage war birds, stepping aboard these vestiges of American history, checking out the soldier signature scrawlings on the walls and marveling at the massive cockpit controls that keeps these huge hunks of metal in flight.  We’ve had our own sets of custom doggy tags made, scooped up the candy dropped from radio-controlled operatives, we’ve made our own airplanes out of sweet tarts and rubber bands and we’ve craned our necks to see the sky divers plummeting (safely) to the ground in front of us.  We’ve taken helicopter rides for a bird’s eye view of our valley and we’ve checked out the shiny showcase of vintage cars and prop planes.  But nothing beats last year’s treat of watching the in-air antics of the aerobatic flight show!

The Rocky Mountain Renegades will be back with their formation flight show - closely flying together while cutting their engines, flipping around in a well-choreographed yet seemingly out-of-control tail spin, nearly scraping the ground and eliciting quite a few oohs, ahhhs and OMG’s from the crowd.  When the pilots have nicknames like Wild Card, Twister and Mad Dog, you know you’re in for a good time.

And just when you thought those crazy pilots were the pinnacle of bravery, step on over to Romick Rodeo Arena to watch bulls buck riders into the air for their old West version of cowboy aerobatics at the Bull Bash, Pro Bull Rodeo.  They may not be thousands of feet above the ground cutting their engine controls mid-flight, but watching these seasoned riders tie themselves to angry bulls is just as thrilling.

Planes in sky

If you’d like a little less adrenaline with your Labor Day Weekend, then scoot your boots on over to the Chuck Wagon Chili Challenge. Stroll outdoors while tasting chili made by some of the finest pros and amateurs in town.  Cool your jets with some craft beers, and then find the best spots to swipe your credit card at the downtown sidewalk sale.

Make Labor Day a little less laborious and save Monday for all out relaxation. Extend summer by just one more day and travel on Tuesday instead.  Make time to relax by the river, cruise down the bike path or take a gorgeous gondola ride up to the top of the ski mountain.