Oregon State Fair 2014

Hello there!  We rested up this week from our camping trip.. and then yesterday we headed to the Oregon State Fair with my sister Denise, DIL Kristi and 2 grandsons.  We asked Caleb what he wanted to do at the fair and he said "Ride a horse and do WHATEVER I want."  OK.  You got it.  This image was of the ferris wheel while we rode on the "Fair Lift".  We went on the opening day and I was afraid it would be way over-crowded, but it wasn't at all and the weather was perfection.  A fabulous day was had by all!

We spied the pony rides first thing and were able to tick this off Caleb's dream list.  :-)  Everything was fresh and new, we may have been the first riders!  The ponies look healthy, well-taken care of and shiny.

Hayden looks right at home in the saddle.

Next up was the animals in the 4-H barn.  I was particularly taken with these baby Angora bunnies.  They both got 1st Place Blue Ribbons by the judge!

All the animals were clean and groomed and healthy looking.  These are either Charolais or British White.  Do you know which or something other?

I tried to get the pigs to smile and say cheese.. but they were more interested in drinking water than playing along with me.  :-)

Is there anything more majestic than a Clydesdale draft horse?  They are BIG!

On to the Poultry Barn - A pretty Polish chicken with an impressive hairdo.

A pretty rooster.

Have you ever seen a white Pheasant?  Now you have!

Then it was time for lunch.. oh fair food.. I had a corn dog, everyone else had a hot dog.. the boys had curly fries.. and swirl soft ice cream for dessert.  Dayle, Denise and I shared a cinnamon roll.. then Caleb finished it off for us.  :-)  There was a huge group of kids practicing for a rally squad competition, all age groups.  I asked these girls' moms if I could snap a photo and they gave me the okay.

How often can you say that you saw Elvis on a tall unicycle juggling?  :-)  See the Fair Lift above.. we would be riding on that at the end of our visit to the fair later in the day.  Denise and I headed to the huge building where all the handmade things such as quilts, crochet and knitting, spinners, wood craft, cakes, collections, etc. are located.  Dayle and Kristi took the boys to the rides and midway.

I loved seeing all these flags flapping in the wind.

The first thing we saw in the building was a large collection of orchids.  I was drawn to the orange and red ones.

LOVE this yellow, orange and purple one!

I was amazed at this gigantic hand crocheted bedspread and pillow covers to match!  

In the quilt area, this was my favorite out of the 50 or so quilts on display.  Does anyone know the name of this design?

We enjoyed chatting with these women who were hand quilting this blanket.  In days long ago, neighbor women would help each other stitch and they called it a "quilting bee".  Often the frames were raised to the ceiling in between the times they worked on them.

There were also some quilters sewing blocks together to donate to charity.  I was pleased to see a Singer Featherweight machine like mine whirring away.  My sister Denise is a quilter and she invited me to bring my machine to her house and she will teach me how to make a quilted item.  Yay!

Next up were the spinners!  After looking at their wheels, I may sell my big fancy Kromski Symphony wheel and get a simpler one.  My big one is very difficult to tune and is not easy to transport.. at all.

There was a display of hand made wooden Indian flutes and this man played a song for me.  His Indian name is Ko-Na and his English name is Foster J. Kalama of the Warm Springs, Oregon tribe.  I hope you listen to this.  He was good!!

While we were enjoying the quiet arts.. Dayle and Kristi were putting the boys on this vintage ride.. Hayden is in the middle.

Wheeeeeee!  Caleb is the 2nd from the top down left and Hayden is 2nd from the top right.  What a thrill for them!

It's a beautifully decorated ride.  Can you spot the boys?

Airplane ride.. seems a bit tame after the swings!

Next up.. Hayden in a fire truck. :-)

Caleb picked a race car.

Then.. they put them in big plastic balls in "Walk on Water" and they looked like a pair of hamsters.  They had a blast!

We met up with the gang and walked down the midway to get to the Fair Lift -- I loved the Ferris Wheel!

Then we got on the Fair Lift - which I will tell you is quite a feat - you have to hop on the bench seat while it's MOVING.. Dayle and Hayden were in front of Caleb and me.  I was a nervous wreck as Caleb kept leaning over the rail in front of us.. I kept saying.. sit back honey.  :-)  We park at one end of the fair, walk all around and end up at the other end.. then take the lift back to where we parked.  A good plan, yes?

When we landed.. and yes you have to get off the moving lift.. we decided we needed an ice cream to fortify us and right in front of us was "J Gelati" - Caleb had blueberry gelato, Hayden had green apple, I had orange "dreamsicle", Denise had chocolate frozen custard.  We also walked around the Artisan Village and I was drawn to the yarn display.  The woman does all the dying of these skeins!

Alexandra's Crafts is her business name.  

I had to show you the photo of my two granddaughters, Jenna and Paige in Ohio.. we got to Skype with them as Paige opened up her birthday presents. She just turned SIX!  

So, unfortunately we were in traffic jams a lot of the way home.. we did like going on opening day but we won't head home during rush hour again.  :-)  But it was a great time at the fair.  Do you go to your county and state fairs?  If you're in another country, do you have anything like this?  
((hugs)), Teresa :-)