Rockin and Wranglin at the El Dorado County Fair

you know you live in a redneck town when the county fair's theme is "rockin and wranglin" and includes not only a livestock auction, but also a "monster truck pull" (?) and "extreme freestyle moto x" (??)

like i've mentioned before, our ever-charming county fair means the beginning of real summertime fun. this from 2009: Year after year, the El Dorado County Fair never changes much. Cheesy pop singers, plastic cups of Bud Light, Aerosmith on the gravitron, the rattly old Zipper, roasted ears of corn, weird wizard fortune telling machines, corn dogs, cotton candy, frothy lemonade, goats, cows, hay, hypnotists, Wranglers, bubbles in the air, the slight smell of puke everywhere, mixed with chewing gum, coca cola, cigarettes and farm animals.


don't deny it; the fair means pure summer fun.
a big group of us met up at the tail end of the world's busiest weekend to romp around the fair and be silly like kids just starting summer vacation.


the only one of us who really was just starting summer vacation....

might perhaps be the most mature of all :)

hot summer nights, icy margaritas, cut-offs and flip flops.




oh how we all love goats. we need a communal farm.


these tiny bucking babes were born only a few days before!
pure giddy rambunctiousness...

girls, hay bales, and a freaky stunt trick show.

i wore a dress that i bought years ago from my friend's garage sale, paired with my new specially-designed teeny creation, this lovely fabric belt with the prettiest details. it ties in a big bow in back, so cute!

see what i mean, rockin and wranglin?! darin took this right when i got off the zipper. i rode with joey, screamed nonstop and had the time of my life.


we took pops along because it was father's day. he hadn't been to the fair in years and he was a real kick to have along. he just trips out on everything; for example he got the hugest thrill out of the caricature artist. we kept looking around and he's standing there, smiling ear to ear, admiring this or that, just taking it all in and chuckling to himself.




the lovely El Dorado County Rose graciously let me snap her portrait.

bravies!



a little bit brave:


not so brave! em was screaming "they're bullies" cause they were spinning before the ride even started. she switched real quick to ride with darin and i instead.


fast and the furious!

a late night, bellies full of crisped funnelcake, lungs flattened by the gravitron (forgot how terrible it is!) warm air all sleepy around us, little kids still trying to sneak on rides, out the gates to the warm and twinkling placerville night and back to work in the bookstore in the morn.

the rush of days, books, projects, and fun has literally left me dizzy. more tomorrow but for now i wish you sticky summer nightswimming stargazing adventures!

Comments

Teeny said…
THE GRAVITRON, that ride is so scary! For some insane reason I went on that a few years back....did I tell you I laugh when I'm nervous? My giggling rose to a freakin crescendo of maniacal shrieking, you know I'm telling you the truth. i have never felt so unsafe in my life...oh except for that time when my seatbelt CAME UNDONE on a rollercoaster. Darling girl, that belt is just so pretty on you, love how you styled it and so flattered that you're wearing it at all. That fair looks like so much fun wish i were there. Guess what? Steveo and I are planning a trip, yup that's right, he is keen for California...and Texas...and well that's as far as we've gotten as yet. Either September/October this year, or hold out for your Spring/Summer seasons nxt yr. it's all flippin fantastic. Now i'm thinking I ought to make one of those belts for me, it looks pretty cute if i do say so mesself.
much love!
x
June 23, 2011 at 12:19 AM
Amanda said…
I love your town!
June 23, 2011 at 5:16 AM
Cel said…
Oh my goodness that photo of Darin while on the ride is awesome, hee. And you are so brave going on the zipper! I remember thinking how horrifying that thing looked as a kid, and it doesn't look any more fun now hah. I should find out if there are any fairs around soon...
June 23, 2011 at 6:22 AM
bonfire of my vanity said…
holy crap! that belt teeny made is so awesome! i love fairs, but i never go. why is that? weird. you look so beautiful with your braid and your pink dress.
June 23, 2011 at 9:48 AM
theequinebovine said…
oh heck yes I love those action shots!!
June 23, 2011 at 10:33 AM
Anonymous said…
yay!! i love the county fair! my inner trashy self comes out...gimme a cheap beer and some roasted corn and the outfit better be as hayseed as possible. and don't forget the demolition derby! we couldn't go to the one in my hometown, since we didn't have a dogsitter! but we will go to one in the bay area this weekend. fern has to see goats! i second that communal farm idea! i bet you were the prettiest gal on the ferris wheel. love that smile.
June 23, 2011 at 1:22 PM
AlphaBetsy said…
Fantastic fair pics. Makes me miss living in a small town.
June 23, 2011 at 7:25 PM
Amy Beatty said…
goodies!!! Love little mature man and "young" entertained papa!!! So great. The fair holds many amazing memories for me. So fun to go with kids!! That belt is so pretty and perfect. Love that last pic of Darin xo
June 23, 2011 at 9:37 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesdays in my Town - Buck's Bar on the Cosumnes River

Image
Okay, not to turn this into "my favorite river spots" or anything...but it just hit 100 degrees here and i had the pleasure on saturday of going with some of my favorite people to one of our...yes indeed i can't resist.... favorite river spots .  since i talk about the river a lot, all summer long, i figured i'd go ahead and show you all this particular spot for this week's "Tuesdays in my Town." so, my town placerville (aka p-ville, peevs, and infamously "old hangtown") is actually located between two beautiful rivers coming out of the sierra nevada mountains: the american river to our north and the cosumnes river to our south. my friends and i have spots we prefer on both rivers, depending on the day, the kind of hike you want to do, and the month of the year. on saturday we drove out toward somerset down buck's bar road to the bridge and hiked out to the perfect june swimming hole in the cosumnes river, which, by the way, i r...
Read more

"I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin..."

Image
I celebrate myself, and sing myself, And what I assume you shall assume, For every atom belong to me as good belongs to you. I loafe and invite my soul, I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass. My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air, Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the same, I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin, Hoping to cease not till death. It struck me, when I read Song of Myself several years ago, that thirty-seven years old , that magical Whitmanesque age, was still in the future for me. How exciting that felt! To know that this wonderful age that was such a pure and boisterous beginning for the bard, was something I could look forward to. To know that I could set forth on new adventures, and sing the praises of the earth, and be wild and merry and voluptuous and bold. Now and forever. and especially at 37. And so suddenly I am here! That lu...
Read more

handmade homes take to the open road

Image
i want this to be us so bad...rollin away in a fairytale bus made of wood and wheels, porch and books. this is from another book in the series of rad 70s handmade house books that i've written about before and missa wrote about here  ( raddest houseboats ever, ever, ever ) this one is all about handmade hippie houses on the road. we have it at the bookery in the locked case; it's a collectible and thus way out of my price range. but i still get to look at its gloriousness. these photos of the pages look much better than mine, found in this wonderful little delight here , check these caravans out: standing in the mist with its little terra cotta pots and windowpanes, killing this fairytale heart a mine. i can picture joey and emily in this one, our neighbors. and this one can house addie and art, and we'll drive cross the prairies together. this covered-wagon one seems the most fun of all. roll back the canvas and sleep ...
Read more