Fair & Festival

The Washington State Fair was from September 5-21 this year, and I got two free tickets from work.  Jean wasn't able to go with me, so I went by myself on September 19.  I really wish I could have been there for at least a couple days because there were so many things to see and do, that I certainly didn't have enough time to do them all in one day.

Once I got there, I saw the photography.  I noticed that people are getting away from more natural-looking photography and going toward obviously Photoshopped photos.  Don't get me wrong—many of them were very artistic and quite beautiful—but photography is becoming heavy on post-processing.

I went through the booths at the fair where you can buy many odd things you just don't see in the store.  I had to taste the huckleberry popcorn (it tasted great, by the way), and check out the various wares and businesses represented.  For myself, I got a wick-less candle.  I don't have very much space where I live, but it now has a Made-in-Montana wick-less candle.

I didn't really figure out their food vendors very well and chose poorly.  I had an awful burger and an unappetizing glob of fries cut in a rectangular cube.  I think I'll be careful of that in the future. Why do onion rings go on burgers now?

After looking around the animal barns, I was quite impressed with the Belgian horses.  I hadn't seen one that I can remember, and I was intrigued by their great size.  I think I liked the goats the most however.  I was particularly captivated by the Lamancha goats.  These are goats that have very small ears.  I hadn't seen this goat before, so I asked one of the owners if the ears are clipped or if they were bred that way, and that's how I learned a little about this distinctive breed.

Lamancha goats have very tiny ears!

I didn't realize when I left that evening that there was fireworks, and I ended up missing that.  I hope the animals do alright with all that loud noise from the fireworks for two weeks during the fair.

Next year, I'll have a better idea of what I want to see and do there, and maybe by then I'll know more people that will have a schedule that will work with mine.

October 5 Jean and I went to Salmon Days for the afternoon.  This is kind of a fun festival held in Issaquah, only about five miles from where Jean and I live.  While we were there, we walked through most of the vendors and bought some Christmas gifts and some honey for ourselves.  Jean had to help out at her workplace's tent, so I got myself something to eat.  Fortunately, I discerned a much better meal than last time and was quite satisfied with dinner.  Jean and I had shaved ice for dessert.

The Issaquah Salmon Days Festival

Salmon swim in Issaquah Creek.

About 6:00 p.m., there was a dog jumping competition.  The dogs were competing for the farthest jump into water.  It was neat seeing the different methods people used to train their dogs.  I think I took a couple good photos of the event:

I'm getting ready for another major adventure in the next few days.  Keep your eyes out for my next blog!