I had an amazing time at the Nevada State Fair these past few days!!
It was in Reno and it had tons of great activities which I'll describe in as much detail as I can below:
There was a whole area where baked goods were displayed. I was quite inspired by the castle cake.
There was an Indiana Jones cake which was beautiful and quite realistic (the cake was shaped like Indiana Jones--with the hat & everything, just like a doll made out of cake), but someone had touched it or something and Indy's torso began falling over. I offered to help the man who was propping Indy up, but he said he was all set. I was impressed by the creativity of the home arts that were displayed at the fair.
There were the most exquisite quilts!!
My pictures will never be able to do them justice.
This one is a fabulous quilted map of Reno.
I believe it won one of the awards.
When I was walking through the quilt exhibit, I thought of my Auntie Rita and my mom and so I took a lot of pictures, but none of them measure up to the intricacy of detail and the care that was taken in the creation of these handmade quilts.
It was inspiring and tears came to my eyes when I looked up close at the tiny stitches in delicate patterns, the essence of quilting made clear by the elegant simplicity of a woman with a needle and thread and time and work.
I saw tons of beautiful animals and funny animals and oh so many bunnies!!
The animals were raised by children and young people and families. it was awesome to see how well the animals were cared for and how much their caretakers loved them.
They raise and breed the bunnies for pets and treat them kindly. the bunnies were relaxed and tame, letting tons of strangers pet them.
I could tell they were healthy bunnies and happy bunnies, even the ones who were slated for the dinner plate eventually.
Although I do have to admit that it took quite a bit of self-control not to buy these trios of bunnies that were for sale in the "meat pen."
I dearly love my parents and I am so grateful that they let me have bunnies when I was growing up; it was such an important part of my childhood. But being at the fair, I did feel jealous of these girls who were allowed to breed and keep and show their rabbits--maybe I'm really a Nevada girl at heart?
There were stupendous sheep and goats. The sheep were shorn very close and they looked quite sophisticated.
These goats on the other hand, were not going for the "sophisticated" look.
I even got to pet a baby alligator--it was very scary, and it felt cool and kind of smooth and hard. It was just walking around on the floor of the events center, with some little boys who were the caretakers (supervised by adults of course).
The boys were the ones actually handling the alligator and helping other kids and scared people like me interact safely with the alligator. This boy carefully instructed me on how to pet the alligator on its body, not its head, tail, or legs.
I volunteered at the Washoe County Democrats booth at the fair, with Michelle (left) and Cheryl (right). The two volunteers in the middle were awesome, and they walked around the fair registering voters while the rest of us worked the booth.
We distributed information about the local Democratic candidates and about Barack Obama's Campaign for Change. We gave out Obama stickers, buttons, and signs (which I donated thanks to Toshi!!) and registered voters. We also had fabulous merchandise, including this adorable donkey. I got 2 wine glasses and a corkscrew inscribed "Turn Nevada Blue!" since we'll need something to celebrate with in Denver!
Cheryl also took me all around the fair and taught me lots of interesting things abut Nevada and the local area, as well as the wildlife and earthquakes. She was so kind and took her time telling me all of the things I wanted to know about all kinds of things from voter registration to snakes' skin.
Michelle was also wonderful and she gave me great advice about the drive I was about to embark upon--she warned me about the last places to get gas and food and to go pee. and now that I'm on the other side of the long drive, I so deeply appreciate her advice. She also spent a good deal of time helping me learn about voter registration processes in Nevada and answered all my questions.
The Republicans also had a booth, but they weren't staffing it a lot of the time. So we registered a lot of Republican voters too. One couple came to our booth and the women marched right up t us, smiling. She said, "I'm the Democrat; he's the Republican," pointing to her husband who was hanging back sceptically. Beaming, she continued, "We visited the other booth, so now we're coming over to see you!"
There was something about that moment that felt so moving and profound to me. I can't exactly explain it, but it made me fall more deeply in love with this country and its people.
Right across from their booth was this army recruitment booth . there was no one at the booth; or I would have given them a piece of my mind.
they did have a hummer though. it made me mad.
They displayed this vehicle for people to romanticize what my friend veteran (of the 1st Iraq War) Dave described as hellish living for months with other men in a HumV just like this one in scorching heat.
I can't see a hummer without thinking of Dave.
as I was standing there thinking about Dave and what I would say to whomever was supposed to be staffing this booth, I noticed that the hummer said "YES YOU CAN!" in big letters on the side. and then i got really mad and had to walk away.
NO we can't--we can't continue this expansion of military service as the only choice for rural and poor people to try to build a life for themselves. we have to offer the youth or America other choces to build their skills without risking their lives. and America must change our attitude towards war, militarism, violence, and we must reexamine the ease with which we have authorized wars in which thousands of America's children have been slain, mutilated, and traumatized.
we can't continue to treat the youth of America like a commodity easily sacrificed for profit or domination.
Luckily chickens also make me think about Dave, in a happier way--because Dave loves CHICKENS. he would have been in chicken heaven at the fair! Here's chix pix for my friend Chicken Dave.
After the fair, I drove to Elko in Northeastern Nevada. Before I left, I saw this mural with the heading:
Dedicated in all humility to those who blazed the trail
Along the way, I stopped in Puckerbrush, Nevada for gas. check it out!
I arrived in Elko at my Motel 6 and it was wonderful. The woman staffing the place was so helpful and I really did feel at home in my room.
I was comfortable and happy, and I was able to use the internet which is always fun and which is how you're getting all these great pictures!
After a night in Elko, it's on to Utah and Wyoming.
A big driving day tomorrow!
