
Walk right past the water gun squirt games and ring toss, past the spinning wheels and bumper cars and all the other Midway rides and you get to my favorite part of a county fair - the animal barns!




Oh, but if you want to stop by one of those little mini-donut vendors on the way out and get some piping hot cinnamon-sugar donuts or ones dipped in chocolate, I won't stop you ;)
Parades
This is our hometown July 4th parade. We always sit in the same spot and wave to people we know. We like the parade and go to it for the nostalgia more than anything. They used to throw candy and squirt us with water, but they're not allowed to anymore :( Not as much fun as it used to be.

Ketchum's Wagon Days parade is always held on the Labor Day weekend. No motorized vehicles are allowed, so it's basically a HORSE parade - which we love! This year the Budweiser Clydesdales were one of the entries - the horses are magnificent, but I love the dog, too. After the parade, the Clydesdales and wagon were set up for viewing so we could see them up-close and ask questions. These special horses must be some of the most pampered in the world! Riding in air-conditioned trailers and stopping at top-knotch ranches to spend the night, ten horses are rotated regularly through the eight-horse hitch to ensure each horse gets some time off.



Field Trips
We had the opportunity to visit a local dairy farm.

The experience was an eye-opener! We learned each cow is milked every 8 hours, 'round the clock, and gives 11 gallons of milk a day. We also visited the cheese factory where all the milk from this farm was sent to. We were surprised to find out it's the "largest barrel cheese producing plant in the world"!
While I can appreciate the high level of efficiency and the quantity produced from these factories, it still made me sad to see how the cows live and sacrifice so we can have our milk and cheese. Their life spans are shortened to just 3-4 years, mothers and babies are separated shortly after birth, female calves are raised to live the same life as their mother and male babies are either killed or sold for veal. I respect everyone's right to choose their diet, but, after our visit, we had a few in the family convert to soy products ;)
