Visiting the Iowa State Fair

Okay... it's been over a week and I'm just getting around to posting this.

When I go to the fair, one of the things I enjoy is the livestock. Huge crowds tend to visit the huge animals; I like them all... or nearly so. Linda and I did see the Big Boar, all 1203 pounds of him. We didn't see him on the hoof but did see him in the flesh, lying on his side in the sand. He'd been there for a while, only moving his legs, tracing arcs like a child making a snow angel but, in this case, he made a sand piggy... a really big sand piggy.

We took a swing through the sheep barn and saw several varieties, some getting that final trim before the show. There were various jackets, hoods, and sweaters protecting the sheep; some looked like they were wearing wrestling singlets while others had full capes and hoods like members of the Klan. The image in the bottom right shows one family (I assume) catching up on some sleep. It was a wee bit surprising to see the number of people who were bedding down in stalls next to their prize sheep. With the heat and humidity that we'd been having, that showed commitment.

The Super Bull weigh-in was an interesting show. The first bull had horns so long that they wouldn't fit into the chute for the scale without turning the bull's head; the bull understood and, without human prompting or manipulation, he waggled one horn into a gap in the bars of the chute and slid his head to that side to make room to get the other horn in. He'd clearly had to deal with this sort of thing before. When the weight came in, it was something like 1900 pounds; a big fella in my estimation. Next up was even bigger. Then another... and another! Each one bigger than the last, and not by a little bit! The fourth of the five entrants, a purebred Limousin from Minnesota, weighed in at 3322 pounds, approached the Iowa State Fair record of 3378 set in 2004. The fifth and final bull came up short so the record still stands. Charlie, a Charolais from Iowa, took second place in the competition weighing in at 3148 pounds. 3322 pounds... TWO of the Big Boars would still come up 900 pounds short... and this guy was walkin' around! burning calories! After seeing the rodeo bulls, it was pretty amazing how easily these bulls were lead around the ring.

There's also plenty of non-livestock activity at the Fair to keep a person gawking as well. There's the Orange County Chopper commissioned by the Iowa Farm Bureau to run on E85 fuel and highlight Iowa's "green" energy sources: wind, ethanol, and soy biodiesel. (Check out the corn head down by the kickstand.) All over the fair grounds, we kept seeing decorated giant soybeans of the Iowa Soybean Association's Soy On Parade project. There were several nicely restored tractors on display; a few International Harvester Ms, a Super M, and a Super M Torque Amplifier were among those shown. This year, the traditional Butter Cow was joined by a Butter Harry Potter. Of course there were rides and games on the midway; the Big Slide wrung a few squeals out of those who dared the descent; the thrills of downhill skiing without all those broken legs. Of course, there's food... LOTS of food! There's even an item on the 100 Things You Must Eat and it specified that it be enjoyed at the Iowa State Fair: a Campbell's Corn Dog! Not folks to argue with The List or tradition, we enjoyed our corn dogs on the Grand Concourse of the Iowa State Fair.