Especially as Mitch's story about going to his first baseball game is really Billy Crystal talking about that event in his own life.
Mitch and Curly bonding over the campfire and a harmonica rendition of “Tumbling Tumbleweeds.”
Phil and Ed rescuing the drowning Mitch. It's a genuinely frightening moment in a movie that's been mostly funny so far, but when they manage to grab hold of him, their relief is evident.
Mitch risking his life to save Norman the calf.
Although it's Played for Laughs, one feels that Curly would approve of the brief eulogy Cookie gives at his funeral ("Lord, we give You Curly. Try not to piss him off.")
When Ben convinces his son Steve that they should be the ones to get Cookie to medical aid.
Steve: (sadly) But, you were having fun.
Ben: (with a smile) Ride with me, and it'll still be fun.
Danny and Holly happily greeting their father upon his homecoming, even welcoming their new calf companion.
Ed tries to engineer a hypothetical situation where Mitch could cheat on Barbara with no chance of her ever finding out (it eventually escalates to him being on a desert island, alone, and a beautiful woman comes down in a spaceship, has the greatest sex in the world with him, then gets back in her spaceship and disappears forever), and Mitch finally shuts him down in a way that showcases his complete devotion to his wife.
Mitch: It wouldn't matter if Barbara never found out. I'd know. And I wouldn't like myself.
Later, when the guys are discussing their best and worst days, Mitch reveals that his worst day was several years prior when Barbara found a lump in her breast. Fortunately, it turned out to be benign, but his voice trails off as he says "That whole day was. . .", thus revealing how much he loves his wife and how terrified he was at the prospect of losing her.
City Slickers II
Even though it concludes with the reveal it's really just a nightmare, Mitch dreams of returning to Curly's burial spot one year to the day to let him know how much he's changed his life.
The beginning of the movie establishing just how much Mitch's newfound optimism has improved his quality of life.
As opposed to treating his mother's traditional "The night you were born" speech with tiredness like he did in the first movie, he and his wife treat it as an quaint idiosyncrasy and appreciate it as such.
Norman is still very much a part of his life, even going jogging with him in the morning like one would do a pet dog.
Glenn taking a bullet for Mitch, even knowing it would kill him. Afterwards, Mitch lets Glenn know he's proud of him, especially after all the personal growth he's gone through.
Before they part ways, Duke thanks Mitch for being Curly's last friend before he died.
In the end, Duke revealing to Mitch that he found his "one thing": integrity and honesty. He's dreamed of finding the legendary gold his whole life, and when our heroes came into the picture, he was planning to trick them to keep it all for himself. But as the journey progressed, he grew to realize it would be wrong to betray their trust. So when he does find the gold himself, he didn't have the heart to hoard it. Instead, he does the honorable thing and lets Mitch know the truth.
