All's Fair

FAIR ENOUGH: Last week, we made our annual trek to the Washington State Fair in Puyallup. 

We did our usual park in the back 40 on private party land for less, and hike into the fair. On our way in, we saw this sign that had been surplused, apparently. It made us kind of sad and wary - we remember that sign from our very first visit to the fair about a decade ago.

We arrived before the rides opened, and took that time to visit some barns. Posing with the red hatted goose is a mandatory tradition.

We always enjoy seeing the majestic draft horses. They're so massive and impressive!

We checked out chickens. I thought this one looked downright sinister!

Personally, I really enjoyed the gardens on the fairgrounds. These Atlantic pumpkins were impressive.

Below: A tunnel of squash! Gosh, this would be fun to replicate!

I think it's been a banner year for sunflowers based on what I've seen around town and at the fair.

Check out this mountain of wood chips! They must go through so much in the livestock barns!

A new addition to the fair this year was "The Farm." Below is a photo I took of the space from a nearby Ferris wheel.

The buildings on its grounds were so cute! 

 Loved the oversized wheat rising from a roof!

And how cute are these carrots poking down through the ceiling?

There were lots of great learning stations. The milk bottle barn was all about how milk is made for the market.

Here's what CJ had to say about our fair trip this year.

Every September, the Washington State Fair occurs in Puyallup, Washington, attracting over a million guests each year. On the sixth day of that year's September, we went to the 2018 Washington State Fair, driving twenty-five and a half miles in the morning. Upon arrival, we parked in a local resident's parking lot that they set up for fairgoers. We entered the fairgrounds through a farm dedicated to cattle. My sister remarked that you don't realize how large cattle are in real life until you're right next to one in real life. Said barn was adjacent to other buildings housing farm animals (horses, swine, poultry, et cetera.) This was before the big rides opened, so we spent some time in the "kiddie" area, waiting for the big rides to open at 11 A.M.

We went on multiple Ferris wheels, including a small one and a large one. In tradition, I went on the "Scrambler," a ride that thrashes the riders around, like a giant egg scrambler. We also went on the "Wildcat" (the fair's signature ride, a roller coaster established in 1985) and the "Classic Coaster" (apparently the oldest currently-functional wooden roller coaster in the US.) After going on the Classic Coaster, I went on the "Zipper," a thrill ride carrying passengers around a zipper-esque machine.

Eventually, the midway opened and we were off the races. And the roller coasters. :)

Riding the old Wildcat! Christian's in the front seat of the car below with a hardcore fair fan who glommed on to him while in line. :)

The kids are in the backseat in the photo below.

Christian and the kids also rode the old wood "Classic" coaster. Can you spy them in the middle of the chain of cars below?

Annabelle passed on The Zipper, but CJ and Christian gave it a go. They're in the car on the upper right in the photo below.

 Killing time and all rides passes on their wristbands, the kids and Christian hit up this clown swing.

They skipped this colorful, country music themed attraction.

The Scrambler was awesome, as always. 

Annabelle went on this "Zero-G" ride a couple of times. For CJ, once was more than enough. 

We played a couple of midway games. This pickle didn't make it home with us, but Christian did win a stuffed otter!

Sad cow "taxidermy" on the front of the country themed 'fun' house.

We were happy to see one of the Have a Great Day signs survived. We did, indeed, have a great time at the fair, once again. 

Here's what Annabelle had to say about the fair this season. ...

This year at the Washington State Fair in Puyallup, we spent around 4 ½ hours exploring the fairgrounds and riding rides. We came in through the Fifth Street entrance, right next to the fair’s “Agriplex” that held cows, horses, and other animals. The Agriplex opened up to Sillyville, the children’s portion of the fair that opened before the other rides. Despite being designed for small children, Sillyville houses a few of the most fun rides at the fair, including the Scrambler; a ride that has a rotating center, three rotating arms, and four rotating seats on the ends. The larger rollercoasters opened at noon, so we made our way to the Wildcat, one of the most extreme coasters at the fair. The Wildcat has three drops that actually take you out of your seat, and two sections where the track goes sideways in a downward corkscrew.We also took a look at a few rides we hadn’t been on before, like the Zero Gravity ride. The ride consists of a large, open disk with sections on the sides where you stand up with nothing but a loose cloth strip holding you in. The ride then turns on its side, perpendicular to the ground, and spins. The riders are held in by nothing but centrifugal force, meaning you’re constantly pressed to the wall while riding. Overall, I can’t wait until next year to see if any other new rides have opened! The actual timing of the fair varies, but it’s usually late August to early September at the Puyallup fairgrounds. I strongly encourage taking a trip, and going on a day when they offer ticket wristbands as opposed to standard tickets.