OGDEN -- Beginning with a flyover by F-16 fighter jets from Hill Air Force Base, the Ogden Pioneer Days Parade set off along Washington Boulevard on Monday morning.
Doug and Nancy Clark, of Ogden, have come to the parade for years. This year, they specifically looked forward to the DaVinci Academy float. Doug serves on the academy's board of directors.
"I think it's the small-town community feeling you get, as opposed to what you get in Salt Lake City," Doug said. "People from all over come together."
Organizers had about 125 entries and expected about 60,000 spectators to line up along both sides of Washington Boulevard from about 30th Street to 20th Street.
Spectators waved and applauded as the parade went by. Announcers, spaced out at about every block along the route, kept the crowd informed about each passing entry, be it a high school marching band, rodeo queen or lavishly decorated float.
Along the route, people pulled little red wagons hauling boxes of free Oreo cookies to hand out. Some pushed coolers, selling sodas and popsicles to the hot spectators who lined the curb. And vendors peddled plastic toys, hats and cotton candy from colorful carts.
Ogden resident Veronica Paredes came with her entire family. She enjoys seeing all of the entries, but came especially at the insistence of her young son.
"I came for the boy," Paredes said. "He likes to see the horses. He even brought his cowboy hat."
In keeping with the parade's pioneer spirit and rodeo ties, plenty of cowboys, wagons and horse-drawn buggies moved along the route.
A group of cowboys on horseback even staged a gunfight, blasting their six-shooters at one another as they rode down the street.
To get good seats for the parade, a few brave souls camped out overnight.
Brad Boswell, from North Ogden, wanted to save a space for his family and had company throughout the night, as well as a soccer ball, oatmeal creme pie and Mexican food from Beto's, to occupy his time.
"We'll probably stay up all night," Boswell said Sunday night. "Just go for it."
Not far away, Brett Gray and his family were also relaxing on a blanket and chairs they set up to get them through the night. They had no problem spending the night outdoors on Washington Boulevard.
"We feel good," Gray said. "We love Ogden."
Both camps followed a new rule that allows people to reserve spots as long as they occupy the space throughout the night.
"I think it's a good idea, because it brings more life to the city," Boswell said.
But not everyone followed the rules. And although Ogden police patrolled the area to ensure the campers were well-behaved, they did not have enough manpower to remove the chairs and blankets from the unoccupied areas.
Many people left their chairs on the street overnight, even roping off sections of prime real estate along Washington Boulevard, without staying on scene.
That was upsetting to Boswell and the Gray family.
"If you put your stuff there, you have to be there," Boswell said. "If you have the will to stay in Ogden, you get the spot."
Gray thought the rule was perfectly reasonable.
"We like the rule," he said. "Everybody should follow the rule."
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