Desert Destination: The County Fair-Part Two

If you missed The County Fair-Part One, click here.

The White Pine County Fair has one exhibit hall, and when it opened its doors Saturday morning, it was full of people going in to see how their entries had done.

Of course I was no exception. Here's a flower arrangement I did with the theme of old bottles. We had no shortage around the ranch, and I figured with the interesting bottles I could keep the flowers simple.

I really enjoyed looking at all the talent on display. These model airplanes were quite impressive.

I've never tried making jewelry, but some folks who did had good results.

I thought this was a clever idea--a tractor made out of painted soda cans.

The crops section had lots of entries. It looked like many people are having good gardens this year.

A friend did this beautiful painting of a barn near her house and won reserve grand champion.

I could have spent a lot more time looking at all the exhibits. The handicrafts section with gorgeous quilts and afghans is always amazing--and a little intimidating. I don't think I would have the patience to be so exact. There were fewer baked goods than some years, but I saw that quite a few people were salivating over the donuts. 

On Sunday morning, the 4-H auction was held. For some kids, it's very difficult to part with the animal they've spent all summer caring for. For other kids, they don't have as much trouble, knowing that their animal is going to help them pay for their future college education. 

At the other end of the fairgrounds, an assortment of booths was set up, including the favorite classic "Texas Twister Drink," a sweetened drink with some fruit. After seeing so much deep fried food at other fairs, it's quite refreshing to see some healthier options!

If you look closely at this photo, you'll notice something has changed--the clothing! Sunday morning brought much cooler temperatures and scattered rainstorms. 

Entertainment played on a tarp-covered stage and included musical numbers, cowboy poetry, magic shows, and more.

Along with booths selling things, there were also informational booths, like this NOAA one that gave out information about weather and asked people to report strange weather events near their houses.

The Civil Air Patrol had a duck pond and fishing pond that Desert Boy liked. They also did some drills in the morning.

Here's Betsy MacFarlan, Executive Director of the Eastern Nevada Landscape Coalition, a group who works to restore Great Basin landscapes. I sat at this booth for awhile and handed out free weed books, newsletters, and weed tattoos. It was fun seeing the fair from a different perspective--and when it rained, it was nice to be under cover!

It was fun visiting the fair. Congratulations to all the participants and organizers for a job well done! And thanks to the buyers, spectators, and everyone else involved for attending. A fair is a great way to see what a community is like.