927 March 18, 2023 Colorado River Fair

I took my walk along the river.  The cottonwood trees are really shedding today!

The sky is brilliant blue and gorgeous.

We are moving tomorrow and so we spent some time this afternoon doing some laundry, getting fresh water, and groceries.  We are going to be at River Island State Park in Arizona for four days.  We are not sure whether or not we will have WIFI or other services there so we will be prepared!

This evening, we went to the Blythe Fairgrounds for the Colorado River Fair.  We started at the 4H auction.  We watched young kids showing their prize goats, sheep, steer, and pigs.

We wandered through the midway and the rides

And games

And on to the exhibition hall where there was a beautiful display of quilts.

We had some bad Mexican food for dinner and then shared (kind of shared) some ice cream.

There were Farm Olympics.  The competition began with a prayer and the National Anthem.  Then there was a parade.

The first event was hay loading.

We watched  hay squeeze and a potato race.

There was a tug of war with volunteers from the spectators.

This is small town America at its very best.  As we watched these hardworking farmhands competing, it became clear that they are very skilled at operating this expensive equipment.  The job they do is dangerous and strenuous and they are susceptible to the whims of the weather.  What they do is based on science.  Every job has its own special skillset and farming is a craft and is no exception.