Iowa State Fair

I can't imagine NOT going to the Iowa State Fair.  Ever.  I've been going since before I was born.  In fact, my mom was pregnant with me when they attended in 1979.  It wasn't too long before my siblings started exhibiting in the open class competitions.  Before long, they were showing in FFA shows and it continued until I was done with FFA in 2001. 

I was a student at Iowa State University and had stayed in Ames to work and take classes that summer.  I remember packing up my animals, show supplies and equipment and closing the gate to the livestock trailer.  I remember the stinging of holding back tears as I watched my dad pull away from the barn.  This was the last time this generation of Feldpausch kids would be showing at the fair. 

That is the only sad memory I have of the state fair.  The rest are filled with doing chores at tie-outs in the morning, waiting in a line at wash racks for space to wash calves, passing time on the show box, the hot walk back to tie-outs with animals in tow, how show day was always HOT, the exhiliration of entering the show pavilion, the pride of placing well, the frustration of a misbehaving heifer.  There was the year my sister, Karen, ended up at the Emergency Room.  And the year my dad left after morning chores to get something fixed on the truck and it was hours before he returned; that was long before cell phones.  I could go on and on.

There aren't many memories of taking in the sights and sounds of the fair.  There were a lot of years I never went past the Pavilion, or walked the grand concourse. I can only remember riding a boat at the Ye Old Mill once.  I don't think I've ever ridden the sky ride.  Obviously, you'll know that we didn't go to the midway!  Eating things on a stick weren't a norm on our menu.  That wasn't our purpose at the fair. 

Can you imagine what it must have been like when I was really little and my parents tugged chased four children around the fair?  I am grateful they did because these are some of the most wonderful memories I have. 

Even though Brent is gone to Canada, I was not about to skip the fair.  Or not allow Lucas to enjoy it!  This is his third fair, but the first that he was really able to soak everything in.  We had a wonderful day together, just the two of us, at the fair.  First, we stopped to see the pigs.  We got to see Great Pa, Uncle Ken, Aunt Karen, and cousins Alicia, Jessica and Austin, too.  Austin was showing his pigs and we watched for a bit. 

We ate lunch at the Cattlemen's Beef Quarters.  Yum.  One of the best places to eat on the fairgrounds.

As soon as Lucas saw the Tram (a John Deere tractor pulling a coveredwagon with seats), I knew there was no avoiding a ride.  My only apprehension was getting him on, folding up the stroller, lifting it up the steps and getting myself on before the driver took off.  Could you imagine me chasing it down the street while Lucas waved out the side?  I survived and it was a fun way to see things.

We participated in the hands-on experience of Little Hands on the Farm. 

We grew the crop to turn into ethanol, so we could power the tractor. 

We checked out lots of animals - cows, sheep, horses, chickens, goats, ducks, even fish! Lucas loved the itty-bitty newborn pigs in the Animal Learning Center.

He could have watched the baby ducks play in the water for hours. 

 

All the fun wore Lucas out. 

When Dad called from his fishing trip, Lucas was excited to tell him about everything he saw.  I know he'll be excited about going next year.