Chilly Wichita Falls Saturday Before Sunday DFW With No Texas State Fair Galaxy Of Girls

A couple decades ago, when my living space was on the west coast, a 60 degree day was considered warm, borderline balmy.

Today I was in sweatpants and a couple layers on top, including a stocking cap at the ultimate top, because the outer world was chilled to 61 when my bike talked me into going on a ride.

The location you see here, where the bike opted to take a break, is a side spur off the Circle Trail, with a rocking bench, in Hamilton Park.

I have never been able to ascertain if Hamilton Park is named after Alexander, or some local Hamilton. I suspect it is the latter option.

Tomorrow I am heading southeast, a rare Sunday drive to the DFW zone. I do not believe I will be going to the east side of the DFW zone, to Dallas, and the State Fair of Texas. Though I would enjoy doing so. I have not been to the Texas State Fair since 2007.

I have only been to two state's state fair. That being the Texas one and the Washington one, formerly known as The Puyallup. The Texas State Fair version is larger than the Washington State Fair version. Both have sky rides, with the Washington version being transplanted from its original use in 1962's Seattle World's Fair.

The Washington State Fair has way more farm animals than the Texas version. And way more agricultural exhibits. And way fewer exhibits of motor vehicles. I recollect the Washington State Fair as having way more exhibits of the various vendor sorts. And more arts, crafts and flowers. While the Texas State Fair has way more permanent buildings of the architecturally cool sort, as in classic Art Deco. Both State Fairs have a lot of fun free entertainment.

Every year at The Puyallup my usual favorite was the show put on by a group called The Shoppe.

From Dallas!

 I dunno if The Shoppe has ever played the Texas State Fair.

I recollect watching an entertaining rodeo at The Puyallup. I do not recollect a rodeo at the Texas State Fair. I suspect there is one, but I missed it.

One thing about the Texas State Fair which is way bigger than the Washington State Fair is the Midway. The Texas State Fair Midway version is the biggest, funnest, wildest of that sort thing I have ever seen.

Maybe the PNE (Pacific National Exhibition) in Vancouver comes close, what with having a big old-fashioned wooden roller coaster. But, I have not been to the PNE in decades, so my memory of it has faded.

The PNE's Midway has the first strip show I ever eye witnessed. Can't imagine such a thing at the Texas State Fair. Or Washington's.

Canadians are such free-spirited, permissive, progressive liberated, liberal sorts.

Just remembered, regarding it being unlikely the Washington State Fair would have a strip show. I had forgotten that Washington has long been a free-spirited, permissive, progressive, liberated, liberal sort of state, more like Canada than Texas.

That aforementioned Seattle World's Fair came back to mind when I remember the PNE's strip show.

The Seattle World's Fair had an adult section called "Show Street".  I remember mom and dad going to the World's Fair and seeing Show Street's Girls of the Galaxy show til prudish sorts of that era caused the show to be shut down due to the show featuring naked Milky Way girls.

Such shows were a staple of past world's fair. Sally Rand's fan dance comes to mind.

I wonder if The Puyallup now has weird distasteful fried food such as one finds at the Texas State Fair? I suspect not.

Just a couple weeks ago, after I Linda Lou shipped me some of her Jam Factory's raspberry jam, I asked if scones with raspberry jam were still a big deal at The Puyallup. The person I asked, who had just been to the fair, answered by saying they bought a bag of scones to take home with them.

I wonder if I will ever again go to The Puyallup or the Texas State Fair?

Ironically I was in Arizona last year during the Arizona State Fair, which takes place in Phoenix. During that visit, in answer to one of Miss Daisy's daily queries asking if there was anything I can think of to do that I have not seen or done before, I answered that we could go to the Arizona State Fair.

Miss Daisy thought that sounded fun, but I didn't think it was a good idea to drive Miss Daisy to the Arizona State Fair. I probably was right...

Walking Around Fosdick Lake With My Mom Thinking About Doing The Puyallup

It seems as if it has been weeks since I've driven to Oakland Lake Park to walk around Fosdick Lake.

As you can see, Fosdick Lake is looking very serene today.

My mom went walking with me today around the lake.

Walking with me via a phone connection.

Real walking is still not working all that well for my mom as the recovery from knee surgery continues.

According to my mom today is my nephew David's birthday. I think this would be birthday number 5. My Arizona sister, she being David's aunt, and another of David's relatives, known as BS, is taking David to the State Fair of Washington today.

The State Fair of Washington, prior to this year, was known as the Western Washington State Fair.

Or The Puyallup.

I suspect most Washingtonians still refer to this fair as The Puyallup.

Pew-el-up is how Puyallup is pronounced for you Texans who never learned to speak Indian.

Speaking of speaking Indian. I made a curry chicken vegetable concoction for lunch today.

So I think I'll go have myself some Indian vittles now....

David Does The Puyallup On His Birthday At The Western Washington State Fair

David Driving at The Puyallup

My nephew, David, Did the Puyallup on his birthday, yesterday, 9/11. I learned David Did the Puyallup, on his birthday, when I called my mom yesterday afternoon. David Doing the Puyallup was confirmed this morning when I saw photo documentation on the Blue and Max Adventure Poodle Blog in a blogging titled David Does The Puyallup.

If you are in Texas reading this, or some other part of the world, or America, you might be wondering what it means to Do the Puyallup.

Well, to Do the Puyallup means one is going to the Western Washington State Fair.

In the town of Puyallup.

Puyallup, the town, is a few miles east and south of Tacoma. The Puyallup, the People, are a Washington Tribe of Indians, as in the Puyallup Tribe.

I do not know why, when one says one is going to Do The Dallas, it does not mean one is going to the State Fair of Texas. Very perplexing.

I don't enjoy the State Fair of Texas as much as I always enjoyed Doing the Puyallup. One thing is the food is better at The Puyallup. And you don't have to buy coupons to buy food. American currency is accepted.

The Midway of the State Fair of Texas is bigger and wilder than The Puyallup's. I'm not a big Carnival ride fan. But I greatly enjoy walking through the State Fair of Texas Midway. It is a bit of sensory overload. The Carnival/Midway zone of The Puyallup is puny compared to The Dallas.

David at The Puyallup in his Ask Me
My Secret Identity T-Shirt

Both fairs have gondola rides. The State Fair of Texas gondola skyride is only a few years old. The Puyallup's was born during the Seattle World's Fair, in 1962, moving to Puyallup, many years later.

If I remember right The Puyallup has a wooden roller coaster. I don't think there are one of those at the State Fair of Texas.

I always found shows I enjoyed watching at The Puyallup, not so much at The Dallas. Ironically, it was a Dallas based band, The Shoppe, that was always the highlight of a visit to The Puyallup, followed by a hypnotist show.

With Washington being a bit more of an agricultural area than Texas, that part, the produce and animals, is a bigger deal at The Puyallup.

The Puyallup has way more varied exhibits than the State Fair of Texas. Lots of demonstrations. Lots of temptations to buy. It was at The Puyallup I got my first Vita-Mix.

The State Fair of Texas seems to devote an awful lot of space to vehicle exhibits. I do not recollect seeing cars on display at The Puyallup.

The State Fair of Texas has some very cool permanent buildings, built in the Art Deco style, plus several museums. The Puyallup has a lot of permanent buildings, but not of the sort you see in Fair Park in Dallas.

I think you can find some fried food at The Puyallup, but nothing of the exotic deep-fried Big Tex Choice Award sort that can be a bit horrifying at the State Fair of Texas.

Right now I'm thinking if I weren't such a procrastinator, I would likely have gone to The Puyallup with my nephew, David, yesterday. And had a scone. Or two. Or three. But, nothing deep-fried. Not even butter.