Patchy

SOGGY PUMPKINS: A few weeks ago, we saw on the news that there was a corn maze with a Ken Griffey Jr. theme. Of *course* that's where we had to go this year for our annual pumpkin hunt!

The scene above was one of the first things we saw coming into our chosen pumpkin hunting grounds, and it about summed up our experience.

The 5-acre maze was in the Nisqually Basin, at Schilter Family Farm. Schedule being what it was, we wound up going there when the sky was crying. Hard. Oh well, We soldiered on!

Behold the pretty barns in the Nisqually basin, we'd unknowingly passed by this farm many times. They're just east of Interstate 5. 

Though we weren't there for pumpkins, we had to avail ourselves to the cheesy photo opps in the pumpkin patch. 

Truth be told, most of the pumpkins we saw were way past their prime. 

We spent some time in the petting barn area. It was time well spent because, although there are plenty of animal petting opportunities at the Washington State Fair, the kids are so ride-focused there, we usually skip that. In the rain yesterday, a dry animal barn was a great place to hang out.

This sweet calf was tolerant of many gentle pets.

We checked out some chicks.

And the goats hoped we'd put a quarter in the feed machine. Unfortunately, we had no change. :(

Some pig! This baby didn't wake up when CJ and Annabelle stroked it gently.

The farm offers pony rides as part of the draw. There were none on the dreary day we visited. We didn't sweat it, though. This pony had zero interest in interacting with us. We presumed it was a 'ride' pony.

Annabelle produced this cartoon with that in mind.

The corn maze was our main draw, and we spent some soggy time in it.

 We found just handful of the markers on the 'to do' list, though.

Below, the kids stand in the middle of the "4" in "24."

A good portion of the maze was darn near impassable. This mud was ankle deep if you dared wade in.

Se we decided to be 'ok' with not finding every marker. 

Other attractions weren't open, either.

But it was fun wondering what corn shooting out of this might look like!

 The kids stood under a goat run (they apparently sometimes walk atop the gangplank pictured below).  However, the goats were smart enough to stay under cover!

CJ and Annabelle had no trouble navigating this hay maze. My allergies are still paying the price, however. 

All on all, it was a fun day, and we're glad we made the trip.