My birthday fell on one of our days off, but because I had scheduled a dentist appointment on Tuesday (I’ll talk about that in a separate post), we couldn’t make plans to go away for our “weekend”. So I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do for the day.  Temperatures have been really hot, but thankfully it was going to be much cooler, so that opened the options up a little bit.  My first choice was  The Hike of 10 Waterfalls , but after doing some research determined that we really needed a couple of days to really see that State Park, so we will be doing that the weekend of the 27th and 28th.  My next choice was the Clackamas County Fair, and since the weather was almost perfect and it was on a Wednesday, we got up early and arrived right when the fair opened at 10am.

 

I love fairs, they remind me of my childhood, and since my birthday always fell on or near the Ohio State Fair, I have many memories of visiting it for my birthday.  The fair food is amazing of course, and when I was younger the rides were fun (I won’t go on them now), but my favorite part has always been the animals and exhibits.  I was never a member of FFA, but my cousin was, and I always admired the kids who raised animals.  Those feelings are even stronger as an adult and I was so pleased to see that the programs (and kids who participate in them) were the same.  We all hear the bad news about our youth on social media and the news, but if you ever feel the country is going to hell in a hand basket, go to the fair and watch the FFA kids.  It will make you feel better about the future of our country.  Let me just show you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were other things to do as well of course.  It was senior citizens day at the fair and the music and events were largely focused around an older crowd.  There were rides, booths, and of course food.  Lots and lots of food. The fairgrounds even has a full pioneer village which was staffed by people who were making products in the traditional ways.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And lastly we went in and looked at the exhibition halls.  I never seem to find time to do this when I go to the fair, but this one had a small enough footprint that we had lots of time.  I spent a lot of time looking at the fruits and vegetables and flowers and Lee loved the photography exhibits.  Plus the 4H group had a section where you could buy raffle tickets to win a chance at a basket as a fundraiser and I happily paid $10 for 15 tickets since you didn’t have to be there to win.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We ended up leaving around 2pm when things started to get crowded and hot, and stopped on the way home to see the Willamette Falls.  This was total birthday luck as we passed it on the way to the fair and we pulled over so I could take some pictures on the way back.  These falls have the 2nd highest volume of water coming through them in the United States and the entire area is in development to be turned into condos, shopping, and a river watch area.  What amazing potential this site has, and I can’t wait to come back and see it in a few years when they hopefully get it completed.

 

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