Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Trip to the County Fair

Last weekend, a friend and I took a trip to the county fair. I had never been to a county fair so I was very excited to see the llamas and fancy chickens, buy local produce, and of course, ride the carnival rides. The fairground was about 15 minutes away in a beautiful country setting. I always like to joke that I lived ‘next to the middle of nowhere’, to which my friend replies, “No, we live on the edge of nowhere”. But it’s true- drive 10 miles in any direction and you will start seeing farms.

As we parked the car, I noticed the car beside us was an antique and clearly someone’s baby. “Do not touch” was scribbled on a piece of paper on the windshield.

Vintage Car

We hurried on inside because the llama competition was starting. In the very last white tent, several llamas were being judged in a large pen. While the llamas were being led around the pen, I happily snapped up pictures.

Spotted Llama
Chestnut Llama 2

I had never seen a spotted llama before so I thought it would win because of the novelty. I also loved a chestnut colored llama because of its beautiful face markings.

Llama Profile
Isn’t he photogenic?

To my surprise, the spotted llama came in last. It turns out that 4-H competitions are more about handling than the breeding of the animal, and that spotted llama was not well behaved at all. The judge even made a comment that the animal “just didn’t want to be here”.

We took a look at some of the other tents. The largest animal at the fair had to be the draft horse. Its torso was as tall as my head. When I stuck my camera between the rails to take a picture, the horse nudged at me with its huge head, probably thinking I had food. It was very intimidating! Ironically, the miniature horses were in the next pen over.

Draft Horse 1


I also really enjoyed the fancy chickens. Unlike your normal egg-laying or at-the-crack-of-dawn-crowing fowls, these hens and roosters are more colorful, have feathery feet, or have unique hairdos.

Fancy Chicken
I called the rooster to the left Jefferson and behind him is Washington.

The trip was fun but exhausting. The sun beating down was making me dizzy, sweaty, and dehydrated. After purchasing some delicious blackberries, I was ready to go home. We said goodbye to the fairgrounds, but not before taking one last shot.

Leaving

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