On Friday, September 9, Hubby and I again went to the Washington State Fair in Puyallup (in Pierce County).  This year’s fair was much freer than last year’s, when masks were required even outdoors!  I did not wear a mask last year, in defiance of the Health Nazis, and even though they were not required this year, we still saw many people with cups over their faces.

In any case, we arrived at the fairgrounds in the mid-afternoon, and our first stop was the food.  Of course, food is one of the main reasons anyone goes to the fair, isn’t it?  In our state, the same few families have dominated the food aisles for nearly 100 years (one sign said “since 1930”).  No, the food hasn’t been in the freezer that long!  This year, we actually had Mexican food, which we had never had before.  The indoor eating area was great for people-watching, another big reason to go to the fair.  Get a load of this unusual family.

And you should have seen them from the front!  Notice the little boy wears boots like Mama’s.  The woman had facial piercings, in addition to her orange hair.  Well, to each his own, I guess.

Next stop-animals!  We made a special stop to see the 4-H cat exhibit, and loved the way the kids had decorated their kittys’ cages.  Too bad the cats were unaware!  Yes, there is a cat in this cage, but he is hiding behind the sign at the right.  The owner is certainly a classical music fan!

Next, we went to see my favorite animals, the horses.  We started at the draft-horse barn, and saw the usual horses’ asses (the horses feed bin is at the back of the stall, so they stand rear-end out). Nest, we walked through a barn with 4-H horses, and we were treated to this little scene.

As we exited the barn, we saw a parade of youngsters leading their horses, obviously finished with their competitions.  We headed over to the outdoor area behind the arena, where we saw many young riders warming up for their “Hunt Seat” class competition.  Now, I have been horse-crazy since childhood, so I love to watch them and their riders.  We were well rewarded.

I was extremely impressed with this particular rider and her beautiful Arabian horse.  I thought “now, here’s a pair of winners”.

We watched her put her mount through its paces, and we could see that they made a fine pair, with the horse responding immediately to its rider’s nearly-invisible commands.

Later, the young lady on the bay horse came over to the rail and spoke with the little girls there, who were obviously as horse-crazy as I had been in childhood.  She described the horse’s trappings, and let the little girls pet the horse.  I even got in a little pet myself-there are few things softer than a horse’s nose!  I was very impressed at how gracious the young horsewoman was to her admirers.

And how calm the horse was, letting us all pet it.  Sigh…  I also got some Video of the horses and riders, and you can find it HERE.

Next, we walked over to the amusement area, where all the rides were.  We didn’t go on any this year.  On the boundary, we saw some rather unusual animals.  This one was giving rides.

These two weren’t giving rides.

Hubby and I walked over to the Wild Cat roller-coaster, and watched and listened for a while.  He made me go on one a few years ago, and I vowed never again.  Since they don’t allow single riders, we just watched and listened to the screams this year.  I did get a photo of the forest of struts that hold up the tracks.

On the periphery of the ride area, we saw another animal.

See how long the Marche Family have been serving food at the fair?

Now, here are some other horses we saw this year at the Fair.

And for those who don’t want to ride a horse…

That’s a brightly-painted carriage!

As darkness was falling, we went over to the Fisher Scone booth and had delightful strawberry shortcake.  Then, one last visit to the amusement area to see the rides lit up.

Altogether, a great visit.  The weather was perfect, not too warm, we got a great street parking place, and lots of good exercise!  The Fair runs five days a week through September, so we might just visit again.