Some Like It Hot Video & Blog

Sure, the Southwest gets most of the "cowboy" and "Wild West" credit. But, did you know that the biggest rodeo east of the Mississippi — and one of the biggest in the entire country — makes its home in Kissimmee, Florida?

It's called the Silver Spurs Rodeo, and the folks here in Osceola County have been ridin', ropin', and racin' for over a half-century. What started as a "humble gathering of Osceola Country ranchers" in the 40's has grown into a top 50 event sanctioned by the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association.

Held twice a year, the Silver Spurs Rodeo features all of the classic cowboy events including bareback bronc and bull riding, barrel racing, team and tie-down roping, steer wrestling and even a little mutton bustin' for the kids.

You'll see bull riders and fighters, barrelmen, rodeo clowns, pickupmen (those guys on horses who swing in to pick up riders after they get bucked off) and even rodeo queens.

The Silver Spurs Quadrille is also an event favorite. Described as "square dancing on horseback," the Quadrille consists of eight colorfully-dressed horseback riders weaving, zigzagging and crisscrossing between each other creating . . . well . . . square dancing on horseback.

Those accustomed to staying outside of the ring will find some of the nicest arena facilities in the country. The recently built Silver Spurs Arena greets visitors with 8,300 seats and 12 luxury skyboxes — all in an indoor, climate-controlled environment that plays host to everything from rodeos to concerts.

Don't miss the 122^nd Silver Spur Rodeo Feb. 20-22. Tickets are only $15 (children 10 and under are free) and it's the perfect authentic Southern family getaway.

Snow in Atlanta? Really? Sure, it seems odd, especially in a city that only averages 1.8 inches of snow per year.

But thanks to a "cool" new winter twist to Stone Mountain Park, igloos, snowmen and snowballs are about to become ordinary everyday sights.

The new Snow Mountain Park at Stone Mountain defies the normally mild Georgia weather patterns with foot upon foot of the white stuff. It features three football fields of at least 2 ft. deep snow, a 400 ft. tubing hill and a 30,000 sq. ft. snow play area and even a place to melt away the cold with bonfires and s’mores, SnoFire Point.

Some of the best snow action takes place on the park's giant tubing hill, which features nine lanes of pure snow-packed speed, and two other lanes, known as Snowflake Hill, are reserved for the 3 and under tubing adventurers.

When you reach the bottom, the Mountain SnoLift offers a ride right back to the top for your next run!

The park's Snow Zone provides all your classic snow day fun. Building your best Frosty impression is easy at Snowman Valley, which offers all the snowman-making essentials right down to the corncob pipe. And Igloo City is the place to safely construct that perfect snow castle, fort or tower.

You can even test your snowball aim at the Snowball Shootin' Gallery, which offers moving targets that spin, flip and turn.

Not only is Stone Mountain ready for its grand opening, but it's ready with a state of the art "green" infrastructure. The attraction will not use municipal water, but will borrow water from Stone Mountain Lake. The water is treated, made into snow, and then when melted, returns back to the lake via storm line drainage. Snow Mountain Park even purchases green credits for its electric/production footprint.

Opening day is New Year's Eve 2008 from 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. Snow Mountain will also be open New Year's Day from 10 a.m. - 11 p.m. Afterwards, Snow Mountain is open Friday thru Sunday, January 2 to March 1.

It looks like chillin' in Atlanta just got a whole lot easier.