Over the weekend I went to the rodeo barefoot. Last year we went (my wife and myself) it was in the late evening, we did not get to do much only ride the ferris wheel, and attend the concert. When we went to enter the stadium where the concert was the attendee told me I had to have shoes, good thing I had carried my flip flops just in case. After we left his sight the came back off for the rest of the time. On to this year. When attending this year, my wife offered to carry my flip flops in her large purse, just in case of a repeat of last year. We got there about 11 am and stated till after 9 pm. I had lots of fun and NEVER had to put my shoes on once. I had just a couple of comments 1) Info booth, informed me I had to have shoes on to enter the stadium 2) A guy in his mid 20 wearing a cowboy outfit said, "wow, where are your shoes" as my wife replied "they are in my bag". I had no positive comments. I did get a couple of people that had "the look", but that quickly passes. I was surprised, out of the 116,000+ people that attended I only saw a 3 other barefoot. 1)Teen girl, FFA, carrying shoes, dress for a event, still wearing stockings. 2)Before leaving 2 girls in there late teen/20's one with socks on and the other just barefoot in the carnival area. They had bags so I figured there shoes where in there, as the did not have the feet of a regular barefooter. Things I did while at the rodeo barefoot. Ride the Light Rail from/to the car. Ate lunch & dinner. Attended Mutton Busting, and a Pig Race. Walked around the carnival. Waited in lines to buy tickets to wait in line to ride the Farris Wheel and Sky Ride (like a sky lift). Watched roping competition in a smaller arena. Watched to Main Rodeo and Concert in the stadium. Walked around the exhibit hall, and looked at the cattle. Played carnival games. Of course while there I made sure to watch my step almost all the time. There where a few thing I found gross while barefooting at a rodeo, 1) watched a girl throw up just a few feet way. 2) Cow manure when looking at the cows. 3)(Grossest)The porta potty restrooms. Other than those, nothing else really bothered me, as there was a bunch of litter in the carnival area, and the extension cords (which I watched several people trip over) Going to a event like this is not for the beginner barefooter. Unless your are use to walking barefoot for 15 miles, and have good strong feet, than you should wear shoes. There where a lot of hazards and the pavement did get quite warm in the middle of the day. The soles of my feet got completely black, and not even I wanted to touch them at all. A good rub in the grass, and a shower at home cleaned them right up. Today my feet feel fine. Like I said this is for an expert barefooter, not a beginner!
Don't forget about that 'snuice-juice' all them rednecks spit everywhere....:ack2: And O.P., you've got to be kidding me, your feet look fucked up. I would never let my heels get that dried out and cracked. If this is what you're going for, you're certainly a masochist.
Zombie - my feet get cracked a lot like that every summer, even when I soak and lotion them. I am thankful for the thick callous when it gets to over 110F outside. In the winter they soften back up as I tend to wear shoes more often.
To those that think my photos look "narly" or "fucked-up", please do NOT stop wearing shoes. If you do, then this is what will happen to your feet as well. For everyone else, I wanted to showcase an adventure the true barefooter. As most of us know going barefoot is free and enjoyable, no matter how dirty your feet end up. I had fun time at the rodeo. I have attended events like this before, only to find have way through I was regretting not going barefoot. Where I live going barefoot is not the normal as seen by the numbers 116,000 to 4. That is 1 in every 29,000 people go barefoot at best. I know this is not true all over the world, and some may see the as no big deal. While others, just like myself who want to run around barefoot feel socially pressured not to do so. Some people say "I just don't care what others think", but I don't see how that works. When I first started going barefoot and still some to this day I worry about being "bullied" by people how find it not to there taste. I wanted to share the experiences of going barefoot in a large crowed in a large city, at an event that you would typically find everyone in boots. It is one thing to go barefoot in your back yard, and it is something totally different to do it at a public event like this. If you are a "true barefooter", or just starting out I would love to here from you about your own recent experiences or equal achievements of this sort. Please let me know if your personal take.
The Astrodome... now, that reminds me of a dialogue in "2010", aboard the Soviet space ship "Alexej Leonov": Heywood Floyd: I'd love a hot dog. Walter Curnow: Astrodome. Good hot dogs there. Heywood Floyd: Astrodome? You can't grow a good hot dog indoors. Yankee Stadium. September. The hot dogs have been boiling since opening day in April. Now that's a hot dog. Walter Curnow: The yellow mustard or the darker kind? Heywood Floyd: The darker kind. Walter Curnow: Very important. Really looks like a nice barefoot training area with lots of pavement and stone as well as a little grass and other natural stuff to give urban bare soles a break. Nice, really Wiggling bare toes, ~*Ganesha*~
Some people seem to get more cracks than others. Mine come in winter. In fact, coming out of winter as we are, my feet look almost a duplicate of yours. I know from experimenting, that--for me--it is putting my feet into shoes and/or socks for even a little bit that causes the cracks. I must wear shoes at work; feet sweat in shoes; dry out when barefoot, and crack because of the difference--especially in winter cold. I have had stretches where I did not need to wear shoes at all for several months at a time, and marvelously--no cracks. On another barefoot forum, Dr. Machi in Chile recommended creams with high urea content. In the US, there is a thing called Flexitol Heel Balm, made in Australia and available at Walgreens which fulfills his requirements. Several times a week, I put that on the areas where there are cracks, and that practically eliminates them. Well, I TRY to do that several times a week, but often forget and neglect it, and when I do, a major crack usually develops. Those major cracks I close up with Duro brand Super Glue. Before anybody goes off half-loaded with incorrect information, I started doing this when a doctor lived in our house, and closing a wound (it IS a wound) like that with Super Glue does NOT seal in infection; quite the opposite, it seals out things that cause infections. Doctors use similar stuff to Super Glue to close wounds of all kinds these days. If you are not practiced in applying Super Glue, get some of the antidote from the hardware store, along with the Super Glue. After washing and cleaning the crack, squeeze some Super Glue into the crack. Hold it together for several minutes (using just one hand--leaving the other free for the Super Glue antidote if necessary), until it has set, then try to avoid walking on it for about 20 minutes. Super Glue is good to seal any break in the skin, even if caused by something other than a skin crack, but the Super Glue only lasts for a few days before wearing away. However, it is the only thing that I have tried that lasts more than 20 minutes (and I have tried everything from “Second Skin” to nail polish, to heavy bandaids, and even duct tape). I do try to sand or shave away keratin areas that are on the sides of my feet and not in direct contact with the ground, as I have found those do not do me any good at all. Many women I have known who are fulltime barefooters do not get those cracks on the sides, as often as men seem to. I have to agree with igo here: most people who go barefoot much of the time are going to get cracks at some point. A few I have known say they finally go away completely--after 8 to 10 years of continuous fulltime barefooting without wearing any shoes, ever.
