The great Minnesota get together 2007 State Fair was in its third day of twelve and it was our day to go along with probably a record horde of people. Friday's crowd was over 129,000. Today's crowd (Saturday) on about as perfect of a day you could imagine had to best that by a wide margin.
Knowing from experience it would be a busy day we decided to go early. We arrived just after 8 AM and already the lots were filling up. We decided to try breakfast at one of the many church dining halls. We chose the Hamline Church Dining Hall and had their "Hamline Egger" of scrambled eggs, ham & cheese on toasted english muffin along with hash browns and a bottomless mug of coffee.
We then proceeded over to the animal barn area hoping to visit the Miracle of Birth Center before it got too crowded. Yep, too crowded.
They had several flat screen TV monitors so you could watch and most were focused on a cow ready to give birth which gave us a chance to slide in a see this just born little piglet.
We proceeded on to the Swine Barn to see the traditional largest boar. This one weighed in at 1,200 pounds.
There was all kinds of 4H animal judging going on including dairy cows in the Coliseum, and rabbits in the sheep and poultry barn but this one got our attention. Young ladies with lambs were being judged along with the wool derived outfits they made.
After further walks through the Cattle Barn and the Horse Barn we ventured over to Heritage Square, a kind of country arts and crafts place. There we found the Cheesecake on a stick food stand. This is cheesecake drizzled with Coca Cola syrup, an interesting concoction that actually works. We shared this one anticipating more food to come.
Outside Heritage Square is the Sky Ride gondola that traverses east and west.
There is another called the Sky Glider that takes you north and south on the fair grounds.
The Sky Ride took us to the Agriculture Building where Minnesota food products were featured. Crop Art is one of the most popular features in that building and this blue ribbon winner seems appropriate for this topic.
We started venturing west again and the crowd had started to grow.
We made it to the Empire Commons Building to check out the ongoing Princess Kay of the Milky Way busts butter sculptures. The Princess and 11 other finalist each have a day spending 6-8 hours of sitting.
The next stop was the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources one of our favorite places. First off is the ever popular pool of fish.
We collected our share of DNR handouts on controlling buckthorn, planting prairie grasses and trees, and camping and trails. We then climbed the 65 ft. fire tower to get a bead on our next stop - the Grandstand.
Below the seating area are two levels of vendor exhibits featuring beef jerky, clothing, signs, shoes, furniture, gourmet cookware, you name it, and this.
Which reminded us we were here for the food and lots of food on a stick. Outside the Grandstand even fried fruit on a stick (sorry no picture of the actual food).
We decided it was time for lunch so we headed back east to the Food Building. On our way I shot photos of Sweet Martha's Cookies, a very popular choice, and a tray of the Original Cheese Curds (since 1975) other attendees so graciously volunteered since we had our minds set on other fare and had both in the past.
When we got to the Food Building we found it wall to wall with people and long lines.
Regardless, I had to find the Walleye on a Stick for an appetizer and managed to get one without too much trouble.
We then headed north to our food destinations. We walked but, after about 5 hours, we kind of wished we had this transportation even if we had to pedal.
Nancy went to the Gizmo stand and got the Gizmo sandwich of ground beef and Italian sausage with special sauce and seasonings, covered with melted mozzarella cheese and served on a toasted Italian roll. Andrew Zimmern (Travel Channel's Bizarre Foods) on a talk radio show said this was the best sandwich at the fair.
My favorite place is Giggle's Campfire Grille where they serve Walleye Cakes, Walleye Fries, Chicken Sticks, Porcupine Meatballs, Smoked Salmon on a Stick, Smoked Chicken Wings, Foot Long Walleye Sandwiches, Big Game Bratwurst and Elk Burgers (my choice for the day) along with a cool draft of Summit Extra Pale Ale.
By that time we were exhausted and half-heartedly walked through the Fine Arts, 4H and Education Buildings and then headed out after 8 hours to meet BuddyRoadhouse, and what else but to go to dinner.
