The Panhandle South Plains Fair

Just because summer has ended does not mean that the fun has to stop.

Last night Ariana and I, and Joe's 2 little nieces Keesha and No-No went to the Panhandle South Plains Fair. In Lubbock this was THE event to be at. Everyone was talking about going to the Fair.

The Fair was located in Lubbock's upper east side, an industrialized area. It's not exactly a pretty or pleasant-smelling area, but it had plenty of space to host an event as large as the fair.

People have told me that the Fair is rather small as far as fairs go. But coming from Massachusetts it looked mighty big to me. We only covered a fraction of it before it was time to go home.

Getting in was not free. Nor was it cheap. Admissions was $7.00 for an adult and $2.00 for a kid. So it cost $18.00 to get the 4 of us in. The puppy got in for free.

Here are the girls ~ Keesha, Ariana, and No-No ~ just after getting through the admission gate.

The Fair was already in full swing when we got there.

There were rides galore.

But Ariana and I were not about to go on any rides because she was cradling a little pup in her hands while I was cradling my camera. Neither one of us wanted our "babies" to get damaged from the rides.

So instead, Ariana set out to play some carnival games in hopes of winning No-No ~ who turned 5 yesterday ~ a birthday gift.

Actually Keesha got to play the first game that we stopped at because No-No was not yet big enough to wield the heavy hammer needed to launch a rubber frog into a water lily. It was tricky going. Keesha had only 3 tries. And although she was close twice, she didn't hit her target.

The next game we stopped at was throwing darts at balloons. Ariana wanted to play that one because she felt confident that she would win something.

In retrospect, this was a game that we should have avoided all together because the game carny was one devious huckster. He kept handing Ariana darts while rattling off a rapid tattoo like an auctioneer: "Five will get you a teddy bear, 10 will get you a duck." By the time he said "20 will get you a lady bug," I realized that the numbers that he was rattling off were dollar amounts, and that with each dart Ariana was accepting, the ante was going up by $5.00.

We got swindled out of $20.00 for 2 tiny stuffed toys that would have cost a total of $5.00 at Wal-Mart.

Ariana was shocked. I was pissed. After that it was no more carnival games. Next year we'll be better prepared.

A fair would not be a fair without livestock. And I wanted to see animals, which were just about the only free attraction at the Fair.

I had read that there was a camel that was part of the Livestock exhibition, but I never did get to find him (or her.)

All we found were cows.

And only cows.

We even got to watch a cow getting milked.

The cow was led up the steps into a trailer that contained a milking machine.

The fellow washed off the cow's udders (which I discovered were called "ninnies" in this part of the country),

and then hooked them up to the milking machine.

And although it's not clearly visible in this picture, we could see the cow's milk leaving her ninnies, traveling up the hose, and out to the horizontal tube above the cow. (That white rail above the cow was clear before the milking started.)

The milking operation was business as usual for Bossie.

The milking trailer could accommodate about 3 or 4 cows at once. This one was getting ready to be milked as well.

After watching the cows get milked, No-No wanted to go on rides. And because it was her birthday, we were more than happy to oblidge.

The first ride that No-No wanted to go on was the train ride. There she is, holding the $20.00 stuffed lady bug toy. (I love that little boy's facial expression.)

Doesn't she look sweet in that picture?

What a charming face!

The next ride was in this jeep on the car merry-go-round.

I would have that kind of look on my face if I were driving a nice car too.

After the sun went down, the action really picked up.

And the Fair started to get crowded.

Little No-No, who earlier had plowed through the crowds with great zest and confidence was starting to slow down. She was getting tired, though she did not know it. But we knew it when she got cranky and sat on the ground, in the middle of a heavily-trafficked thoroughfare, to protest her displeasure in not being able to get another ride.

It was time to bring the kids home. And gone was my chance to get a hot buttered ear of corn.

As we left the fairgrounds, I looked back and listened to the thrilled screaming on the brightly lit rides.

We'll be back next year, and we'll be much better prepared for the costs involved and know better to stay away from devious carny hucksters.