Tuesday, September 6, 2011

All’s Fair in Ellensburg

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Every Labor Day weekend, the population of Ellensburg grows from 15,000 to 55,000 as people come from who knows how far and wide to attend the Kittitas County Fair and PRCA rodeo.

I wish I could say that  I meant to take a picture with my finger in it-but I didn’t.  It does serve a purpose though-as it looks like I’m pointing the way to a day of fun.

 

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Notice the bottom sign?  Here in Ellensburg they don’t tolerate hooliganism!

 

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Sadly, not a Mary in the bunch.

 

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The fashionable steers this season chose blue. 

 

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Working at the cow wash…

 

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What a beautiful face!

 

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I also like to do home canning , and I was inspired by all of these colorful jars of fruits and vegetables.  It is a lot of work, though.  It would be so much easier to grab a few of these  instead.  But I didn’t..

 

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I believe this was the first time that I ever saw bird rolls.  Cute!  I’d have awarded them a blue ribbon too.

 

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My kind of sewing machine.

 

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Can you find the hidden lady?  I thought she was a dahlia at first.  Sunflowers were part of this year’s fair theme.

 

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When in Rome…  There are certainly plenty of cowboy hats to choose from.

 

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Um….no.  Don’t think so.

 

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The first day of rodeo competition is called slack.  It’s a sort of elimination round before the actual rodeo begins the next day.  For some of these guys, there’s always next year-or the mechanical bull.

 

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Driver’s ed is really starting to pay off for Amy.

 

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We ride off into the sunset for another year.  Or at least Amy did.  I took the picture, and managed to keep my finger out of the way this time.

8 comments:

  1. The picture with your finger is so cool!

    Love the canning. It is so much work though. I made a jam this weekend from tomatillos and canned it. It's really unusual but I love it!

    I saw the coolest vintage sewing machine cupboard at Goodwill this week. It folded out of the cupboard and turned into a table to work on, with lots of little drawer cubbies. It was $75 - an expensive find for Goodwill but would've been well worth it, had we a spot for it.

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  2. fun ♥ fun ♥ fun

    we went to the Ellensburg rodeo a couple of years ago... absolute fun! Loved the parade! and the Jenny Mules and the miniature donkeys! Hubby bought a straw cowboy hat (he's from NY - but thought he needed some westernization!) The fair food was ... yummy!!

    Love the finger... one would never know it wasn't intentional!

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  3. No bull ride for you Valerie?! :)

    I actually tried making bird rolls once. They looked like toads. That lady definitely deserved the blue ribbon for hers!

    I thought your finger was in the picture on purpose too!

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  4. I really enjoyed your trip to the fair and rodeo. The pictures were great and, even if it was accidental, I think your finger pointing was perfect.

    This post brings back memories. We used to have a fair with animals, etc., but no more. Ours is now just the rides and cotton candy. I kind of miss the judging of food and animals.

    Thanks for sharing this:~)

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  5. This looks like so much fun! I love the horse picture and those bird rolls are adorable!

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  6. Oh I love that Amy still rides on the merrygoround! This looks like a fun little fair. I love all the handicrafts, baking and 4H-ish type stuff!

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  7. How adorable! And now I wanna make bird rolls.

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  8. Thank you-to each and every one of you! I appreciate all of your wonderful comments!!

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