Side note: for those of you not from the upper left corner of the country, this town is actually pronounced Pew-allup, not Pooy-allup like I originally thought. The locals (aka my husband and his family) got a good chuckle out of my mispronunciation...but that's ok, they butchered some good ole Massachusetts names a few months ago, so we're even!
Anyhow, it was opening day at the fair, and a Friday. At rush hour. An hour long drive. The fair is known for being loaded with hoards of people. Not really something he wanted to subject himself to, but he was a good husband and humored me. The good news is that we hit very little traffic, parking was simple, and that the hoards hadn't yet arrived (it was opening day after all).
My initial desire to attend the fair was the rodeo flyer I saw posted in the grocery store. Coming from the Northeast, we don't have too much of a rodeo culture, so this would be my first rodeo! But the fair had soooo much more to offer that I didn't even know about. But I'll get to that in a minute.
The rodeo was fascinating, just as I had thought it would be. I am always fascinated by the athleticism of horses, as I mentioned in my post about Polo a few weeks back. But what Polo offers the viewer in pomp and circumstance, the rodeo offers in rough and tumble. It is fast, with an ever present hint of danger, and there ain't nothin' fancy about it (well except for the sequined horse bums with equally bedazzled cowgirls that ride around the ring flying sponsor flags...). The bucking broncos and kid's sheep races were among the highlights. I wasn't a fan of the wrangling events however, it seemed rather mean to chase, rope and throw down the baby cows. The animal lover in me was a tad horrified. My favorite event of all was the barrel racing. If you're not familiar with it, check out the video below that I found on YouTube (we were too far to get a good video). It's these kick-ass cowgirls riding some seriously nimble horses around 3 barrels in the ring as fast as they can. Let me tell you, it was so exciting and awe inspiring.
| Kids Sheep Riding |
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| Look at the horse bucking! |
After the rodeo, we stopped into the agriculture exhibit where we saw some of the most amazing plants I've ever seen. The prize winning dahlias were a highlight for sure, as were the succulents and the produce displays.
On the way from the agricultural center we stopped for some sinful snacks. Ultimately I chose my standard fair favorite, cotton candy. But the Puyallup Fair is famous for their fruit filled scones, oddly enough. I regretted not trying one on our way out, but luckily one of Ty's co-workers brought one for us to try a couple of days later, and man was it out of this world delish, and that was day old, I can't even imagine how good it would've been fresh from the oven! Check out the recipe I found online below!
We searched long and hard through the enormous fair grounds for a little place called the Piglet Palace, because I couldn't miss out on all the piggy goodness, they are the cutest! Along the way we stumbled into the Horse stables where we saw some adorable sheep & goats:
We also stook a walk through the horse stalls, where we saw Belgian horses who's backs stood over 7 feet tall and Clydesdale's wearing their white furry boots! Lot's of other breeds as well.
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| I love how all of the horses turned and posed for my photos! |
Unfortunately, we ran out of energy (it was a Friday night after all) and with an hour drive ahead of us, we left before we ever found the Piglet Palace. Oh well, it's an excuse to go back again next year!!!
Yeehaw!
xoxo,
Bee
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