Doin' the Puyallup

After weeks of plotting and planning, my daughter and two friends were thrilled to be on their way at last to the Puyallup Fair.

Getting them there and then letting them go was our parental task. We watched our daughter stride off with her friends, tethered to us only by hourly texts to check in, feeling somewhat relieved as well as wistful; wasn't it just yesterday that we escorted her around the fair, bought her cotton candy, and took turns going on all the rides with her?

For several hours, then, it was just us two wandering around aimlessly, taking in all the sights you expect at a fair: booths offering neon-colored slush drinks, Krusty Pups, elephant ears, deep-fried Twinkies, and cotton candy; hawkers trying to sell you on the latest and greatest (they really do still say things like "You have to see this product to believe it!"); big kids staggering under the weight of huge plush monkeys and other prizes won in games; and best of all...

The Animals.

The beef and dairy cattle had already gone home, as it was the last day of the fair, and we somehow missed the poultry, rabbit, and pig barns, but we did get to see the sheep, all dressed up in their fleece-protecting coats that make them look like superheroes.

Most of the 4-H horses had gone home as well, but not the beautiful gentle giants, the draft horses.

Belgian



Percheron



A Clydesdale's spats and feathers

The slap and jingle of all the shining harness, together with the measured
thumping of all those hooves, is a glorious sound.

The fair boasted what it called "Animals of the World," which mostly consisted of rare breeds of livestock with a camel and a tame zebra thrown in. What's a fair without a little bit of hype?

The llama's technique.

Spot the mule.

A zeedonk--love the stripy ears!