Iowa State Fair - Second Installment

I know for some of you this is old news but continuing our adventures at the Iowa State Fair.

You can't go to the fair without seeing the butter sculptures.  This year is a tribute to the Lincoln Highway.

This last picture is Sara repairing the cow after the damage.

For us the fair wouldn't be complete without visiting the Discovery Gardens

This year inside the Agriculture Building was a sculpture of a buffalo made out of scrap iron found in one of the Iowa rivers (couldn't remember which one).

One evening we went to the six hitch horse show.  It was amazing.  Pictures are a little blurry.  Sorry

In the atrium of the Cultural Center was a balloon artist.  The ferris wheel actually turned.

Next installment will be the last day of the fair.

Update #2 - Iowa State Fair

Fair arrived on Thursday, and we were there about 8am.  That is correct, I did drink some coffee on the way in.  We like having breakfast on the first day at Campbell's before checking out the fairgrounds.  Then we ride the trams around a couple of times, to check out the various food stands.

Then we stop in and visit the friends we have made at the Varied Industries Building.  We share info about what vendors have returned, the new foods, etc.  Of course, while we were there I had to see Floppy.

Then we checked out the Legos exhibit in the south atrium.

We love people watching on the streets of the fair.

This year we watched the ice carver.  Here's a couple of pictures.  I won't show all of them since I have them step by step all the way.  :)

We had to be to work at 4pm.  So that took care of the first day.  More later.

Update #1

Can't believe it's been this long since I updated.  Where has the summer gone?  I'll try and remember the summer happenings.  I know if I updated as I went but then .......

On August 1 we headed up to Iowa.  This was our 14th year volunteering at the Iowa State Fair.  We had a tire blowout on the camper near Osceola, IA.  Yes, again.  We thought we had all new tires on.  We replaced the wrong tire before heading out.  So the spare was the new tire.  Now, we have a new spare tire.

Before the fair started, we help out at the volunteer office helping to finish up the last few details of the program before the fair starts.  There is a training session and a potluck on the Monday before the fair.  We also get a tour of the fairgrounds with a fair board member as our tour guide.  Provides us with more information to help us with new items or changed items.


We ride in the fair trams.

The food is always delicious.  The fair provides the meat and drink: chicken catered from Hy-Vee and water, lemonade and ice tea.

Since retirement, Sharon and I have ridden in the state fair parade on the Wednesday before the fair starts.  We meet at the volunteer office and take the trams over to the parade route.  We're at the beginning of the fair so we get to park at the base of the Capital.

Oh, I forgot to mention that we also blew a front tire on the truck on our way back from the fairgrounds one day.   Let's just say that this was a much more expensive trip then we had planned on.  We have new tires on the truck and a couple of new ones on the camper.

Next update, I'll talk about the fair.  We had a really good time.