Wednesday, September 13, 2017

West Texas Fair and Rodeo 2017

So we caught the fair again this year. I figured we would want to come back at night for the carnival bit, so we took advantage of their policy which was free entrance till 2 p.m., and went early !
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This year, there was this huge old timey Western facade thingy, which screamed PHOTO OP!
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First thing we did was go by the Petting Zoo and get stared at by animals.
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The little boy loved getting close and personal with the animals,
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and enjoyed getting to know a little more about them.
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There were a couple of "Stick your head in and take a photo" thingies, but it was really sunny and bright, and so I was squinting in just about every outdoor pic.
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We escaped into the air conditioned exhibition rooms, and looked at all the items that people had submitted to the various categories.
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It was interesting to see all the submissions, and some of them were really crazy good.
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As usual, there were the humongous fruits and vegetables
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and here's the little boy for some perspective.
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As in years past, Judith had entered a bunch of her dolls and quilts into various categories, and as expected, they won a bunch of prizes/ribbons.
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It is never a good idea to be near the baked goods entries during lunch time,
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because inevitably, you'll want the ultimate Fair Food, FUNNEL CAKE.  Yes, we indulged a bit.
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Then it was time to peek into the Agricultural exhibits.
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The combine simulator is always a crowd favorite,
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and brought out much goofiness.
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Apparently, groups of school children had been there earlier, and there had been several demonstrations and whatnot.
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We were quite lucky that a lady saw us milling around and came by to do a demonstration of what a mini cotton gin does. Hurray!
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Then, it was off to the stables where they kept the "show" animals.
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We were surprised to see some Llamas, which we didn't remember seeing in years past, where we probably just missed them or something.
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The little boy felt brave enough to pet them.
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and I got some LOOKS, probably for being a little too trigger happy with my camera.
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Of course, there was deep fried everything, which we decided not to try.
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As we were walking to the car after a long day, there was an announcement over the loudspeakers that the Wild West Show was to be starting in a couple of minutes.  We decided we needed to see THAT. :)
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Turns out, it was quite entertaining, and the little boy thought that the jokes and antics were hilarious.
The gunshots were a mite loud, though. 
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We even got to take pictures with the cowboys afterwards!
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That night, we went back to encounter the lights of the Midway. Being El- Cheapos, I had made sure we were there on $2 rides' day.
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There was a really cool band playing some Hispanic tunes, but we had to concentrate on the mission at hand since we arrived a little late.
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The little boy DID take a few minutes to run around with the other kids chasing bubbles made by this huge bubble making machine, tho.
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Then it was off to tickets and down to business :)
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I haven't had great experiences with the "Win a Prize" stands, so we kinda steered clear of those this time.
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We weren't about to get all crazy about the wild rides either.
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The little boy decided that THIS was a little more his speed, and who can blame him, with all the crazy screams and shouts we heard all around us.
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We DID go on this mini gondola thingy though, with the little boy's eyes closed for most of the ride, and me getting green towards the end.
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He enjoyed being at the helm of the Bumper Car ride that I took with him, though :)
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And, as part of tradition, we got on the whirly bears, and I did my best not to get sick :)
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