It is autumn and that means the annual State Fair of Texas has its usual 3 - 4 week run. In the 1960s I went to the fair a couple of times, but until the last few years I'd not attended the event since those 60s. It is one of those events about which one has a tendency to become complacent because it is in the same city. Typically we venture to the fair toward the end of its run; this year we went the opening weekend. It allowed seeing things from a different perspective.
We started in the animal barns, mainly because that was the parking lot we used. It didn't bother me a bit. I adore the fair animals as much as I enjoy seeing them at the Fat Stock Show each winter.
This goat was in an exhibit geared toward city children who are unfamiliar with farm animals. He posed so nicely for me.
We watched the cattle being unloaded from the trailers and put in their stalls. First they got weighed. This fella weighed 1325 pounds. What amazed me was the next specimen to be weighed was 1011 pounds and there was no visible evidence of that missing 300 pounds. I'd figure it to have been a noticeable amount.
I stood watching the cattle get bathed upon arrival. It was interesting to note how each individual person did the washing. Some used powerwashers with preloaded soap; others used Dawn dish soap and a regular scrub brush. Regardless, the cattle didn't seem to mind one bit.
This piece of beef was gorgeous!
More cattle being led to their stalls after being washed.
Across from the cattle pens are the horses. The Dallas Police Department Mounted Patrol houses their horses in one of the buildings. We watched as the shift changed and the officers mounted their huge horses. These were some of the tallest horses I'd seen in ages.
Not far from the animal barns is the Creative Arts Building. This is where the winners of the crafts were displayed. The photo behind the glass that looks like a swirling nautilus shell is one of my entries. It won Honorable Mention!! I was thrilled to get the ribbon since this was the first time I'd entered the statewide competition.
This is a wonderful fountain. The day was beautiful.
Big Tex says, "Howdy, folks!"
The mounted patrol on its way to get in line for the evening starlight parade.
I thought this was a cool picture since the Cotton Bowl was in the background.
Little Miss Texas. She walks around the fairgrounds handing out pictures of herself to other little girls.
The floats in the evening parade are very colorful.
This was my favorite float.
These costumed characters on stilts were very bright and colorful.
This man definitely was in the spirit.
The giant Texas Star ferris wheel.
I spent the majority of the evening taking pictures of the Texas Star... from every angle and while displaying every color. In all, I took over 500 photos during my visit and at least 300 must have been of this attraction. I was playing with my 50mm lens. It was purposely the only one I took since I didn't want to carry camera gear. I didn't even take a purse. It was my self-imposed challenge to take photos without benefit of wide angle or telephoto lenses. One I enjoyed, I might add. It put me outside my comfort zone in such a large space though, particularly since I still adhered to my "no flash" habit. It's much easier to use the fixed focal length lenses in smaller, more confined spaces.
The Cotton Bowl sign was glowing between the supports of a Pirate Ship ride in the Midway.
A parting shot as we begin walking back to the parking lot.
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