Intermittent light rain showers started right after the Trail Days parade in Ipswich last Saturday and continued on and off all day, depending greatly on your location. But they definitely converged onto the Trail Days Arena grounds for a late afternoon sudden thunder-boomer with brief heavy rain. It delayed rodeo for a little bit, but things finally got going after the passage of the cold front. That produced an instant autumn-like temperature drop, thanks to strong northwest wind gusts more appropriate for football than rodeo competition and concerts.

The warmup band was from Fargo, thou...