Madras, Oregon

Dates: July 22-25, 2009

This fair is a big joke.  Stuck the vendor booths far away from the action alongside a field smothered in cow dung.  Lady in charge (Sandy Foreman) has no clue.  Do not do this event.

Welcome to the 2009 Jefferson County Fair. This to be our first visit here.  Last year, we did the Deschutes County Fair a bit farther south in Redmond.   Please be sure to check out our Vendor Forum.  Maybe you've got something to say or share your experiences.

THE REVIEW.  Absolutely by far the worst county fair I have ever done.  The person in charge of the vendors does not have a clue and doesn't give a rat's ass.  Take the money and run. Stealing money from the vendors is like stealing money from the blind and should be considered a crime.  Actually a lot of vendors are blind!!  All new vendors next year.  $350 in 4 days just does not make it.  Hardly anybody here and we all sat in the hot sun for several days with very few customers.  Vendor area has very poor access and you have to walk through a mine field (cow dung) to get to the booths.  Spoke to the person in charge and suggested getting lighting for people to see the way in the darkness and had no response.  Next week is Deschutes County Fair, 20 miles down the road and that is probably what these people are saving their money for, if they have any money.  This fair is all about the cows and pigs.  DO NOT EVER DO THIS EVENT.  THIS IS VERY BAD.  A very bad experience.  Please continue reading to see how the event went.  The value of these spaces is $50.  Should not pay any more than that.  $200+ is preposterous. There was one vendor that relocated because of a space problem and they ended up with a prime location right in the main flow of traffic and they didn't do good.  Most of the food booths did poorly and I very seldom saw lines longer than two people.  Sad.  Largest crowds early Saturday evening but hardly anybody in the vendor area.  Vendor manager has a bad attitude.

FAIR ATTENDANCE:  They claimed that they get 22,000 people for the fair in CRAFTMASTER NEWS.   Maybe 4,000 at the most and I doubt if 500 came through the vendor area over 4 days.  Liars.  Gross exaggeration.

Monday, July 20

We left Winchester Bay at 6:05 am.  It was quite cloudy there to start the day off.  We turned north on Highway 101 until we reached Hwy 128 in Reedsport and headed east toward Eugene.  It was quite foggy for the first 15 minutes and began thinning out as we headed further east away from the coastal areas.  I wish that I could have stopped and taken some pictures to share with you, but there just aren't many spots on the side of a highway to stop with a motor home. The sun peaked through in blinding fashion as we passed through the trees.  The drive was very nice and it took us a couple hours to reach Highway 5 and headed north.  Many times I have passed this way on trips up to Washington, BC, Alberta and Alaska.  But we weren't going quite that far this time.  We passed through Cottage Grove and exited in Eugene and headed east on 128.

That part of the route was quite scenic also, taking us along rivers, winding around curves amongst the trees, up and down mountains, etc.  We connected with Highway 20 and took that into Sisters.  They have craft shows there just about every weekend and from what I have heard from many people here in Oregon, these shows are not good at all.  The locals do not attend and all these shows depend upon are the tourists.  Uh uh uh. 

After passing the town of Sisters,  there were noticeable changes in the terrain as the climate becomes much drier and temperatures rise as you continue East. The snow-covered peaks of a couple mountains were visible.  I believe they were Mt. Raineer and Mt. Hood, but not sure. When we drove through Redmond, I really didn't recognize very much from our trip last year until we reached Highway 97.  From there, the drive to Madras was approximately 30 miles. 

We arrived in Madras and quickly found the fairgrounds and went to the office at 12:00PM and checked in and got our space number in the RV Park a couple hundred yards away from our space. We also got our booth number out in the fairgrounds.. 

CHECKING IN.  It was kind of weird.  I stepped inside the office and sat down in the chair in front of a lady sitting at the desk.  I told the lady my name, etc., and as I do so, she places both hands near her ears and opens them up.  Whoa.  "What can I do for you," she asks and places her hands near her ears once again.  I told her that I would like to check in.  She pulled out her paperwork.  "Let me see," she said to me.  "You owe $200."  I had not yet paid for my space, so I forked over the two hundred.  She put the money away.  I sat there.  "Now what?" she asked me.  "I would like an RV space.  She pulled out her papers and we took care of it.  Fine and dandy. Several times when I spoke to her, she kept placing her hands near her ears.  She might be having a hearing problem, but don't do that.  It looks stupid, you know what I mean.  Okay, so I sat there for a few more seconds.  "Okay, thank you," she said to me, thinking that we were all done.  "Uh...my space number?  Do you think you could tell me my space number?  Hands to the ears again.  I raised my voice this time, "MY SPACE NUMBER.  WHAT AND WHERE IS IT?"   "Oh," she said.  She then pulled out her papers and handed me my tickets, etc., and indicated where my space was.  I then got up and left.

We then drove over and found our space.  They had an area with two rows of around 8 booths each, one vertical, one horizontal.  We were located in the second space of the farther row against the fence.  The spaces weren't marked, so I had to pace off a 10x10 area.  Even though we are two days early, we decided to get our canopy, grids and tables up.  This area is scorching hot during the day time and we planned on returning either Tuesday morning or evening to get our things set up. Looks like we could make a covered area in the back and  the sun will make it's way around there mid-afternoon.  The fair starts on Wednesday, so we will take an hour or two to finish up in the morning.  Expecting some very long and hot afternoons this week.  Thank gosh we just have four days in this hot weather before heading back for two fairs near the coast.  Could end up doing the Hood River County Fair next year which is cooler than this or would consider going back to Jackson and avert the extra miles.

RV PARK is a medium walk from where our booth is located.  We took a drive through town and picked up some ice before returning around 1:00PM.  There are small trees here, which were planted perhaps a few years ago and in about 30 years this RV Park will be nice.  We do have full hookups which is fine.  Electricity, cable tv, sewer and water.  However, one of the first things I did  (after getting the air conditioning on) was to raise my satellite dish and it works fine. No problem sitting here the rest of the day getting in some relaxation time.  We are located in the far corner of the RV Park and it would have cut our walking distance to our booth in half if we were located closer to the front.  There also appears to be a dry camping area behind the fair but it's out in the open and it's going to be mighty hot there.  We will be having dry camping in Tillamook, but it's much cooler there and should be no problem. The dry camping here reminds me of the times we did the Jackson County Fair (2006 and 2007) in Central Point where we had our motor home parked out in the lot, quite a ways from our booth and it was around 108 degrees for several days.  When we returned around midnight each evening, it was extremely hot and absolutely unbearable inside and would have to turn on the air conditioning for half an hour to cool things off.

LIVESTOCK.  Thank gosh the RV Park is located a good distance from where they keep the livestock.  In Corvallis at the Benton County Fair, (no review - 2007) we were located about 30-40 feet from where the cows were located and I don't think that they ever went to sleep at night.  They made a lot of noise in there......no idea what was going on there.  What happens in the barn.....stays in the barn, okay?

INTERNET ACCESS doesn't look too good here.  I have tried but am unable to get anything.  It's only Monday though, so I have my hopes up.

THE WINDS seem to pick up here as they are causing poor reception on my Satellite Dish.  Been knocking my dish back and forth and it cuts out periodically.  We had the same problem with the Deschutes County Fair last year, which was about 30 miles down the road from here.

Tuesday, July 21.  Slept pretty good.  Woke up around 5:00 after a sold 7-hour sleep.  Very quiet around here, but I am sure that will change once more people arrive.  There's probably 10 RV's here in the lot.  Last night, I took a walk over to the area where the booths are and I still had the only canopy set up.  Planning on setting up the rest of our things this morning before it gets hot.  A little bit cool right now and I wish it could stay that way.  Want to get over there with the motor home and unload our things before most of the other people arrive.  There's a wide open area in front of us, but for some reason, I get the feeling that something is going to be there.  Stay tuned.

SETTING UP.  We drove over to our space at 6:45am and parked the motor home directly in front of our booth to block out the sun.  Very pleasant weather to start the day.  We unloaded our things and began setting up.  Don't know how we are going to fit all this stuff into one space.  The people on one side of us arrived around 10:30 and set up their canopy, giving us 4-5 feet between us.  Hopefully, when the other neighbor arrives, they will do the same and we'll be able to hang things from the side.  We put up most of our stuff and decided to just leave the remainder in the canopy for tomorrow morning.  We put our covers up and left.  Starting to get hot.  What a mess, huh?

INTERNET. I drove over to the parking lot in front of the office and was able to get online to check my emails and upload.  I had to do it quickly because I didn't know how long I would have the connection for. 

TRIP DOWNTOWN.  After being on line, we took a drive downtown to pick up a lightbulb (of course, you just can't buy ONE light bulb) and a bag of ice  and then returned to the RV Park and hooked up everything....electricity, water and sewer.  Prepared to leave the motor home there until Sunday morning when we pack up and head back west.

AS WE HEAD INTO THE EVENING, motor homes and trailers continue to arrive and it looks like this RV Park is going to be filled up.  I was told by another vendor that I was lucky to have gotten a spot here.  This certainly beats sitting out in that field with no hookups and having to run the generator to keep the AC going.  Lots of gas.  Looks like around 60 spaces here.

WEATHER.  Checked temps online and looks like today's high is/was 97 degrees.  Just a little too hot for me.  Tomorrow and the next day, we'll see temps around 95.  Not as windy tonight as it was yesterday, but then again, we had enough wind in Winchester Bay to last for awhile!

Wednesday, July 22. 

Awoke around 7:30.  We had breakfast and then headed over to our booth around 8:10.  There were around a dozen of so other booths set up.  We still had a lot of work to do.  Made a 'house' in the back or should I say, 'shelter from the sun' using some of our grids and covers.  Looks good.  Extended another table out to the front.  There is a large field in front of us, so no problem.  by 10:45, we were done.  Earlier in the morning it was just a bit cool but as the day wore on, temperatures rose and should top out between 95-100.

VENDOR LOCATION.  We are set up a little ways from the carnival, food, etc., and I think they shoud have had the vendors closer.  However, this is where they have the electrical boxes.  Took a stroll around the food area around 12:30 and they had a good number of people walking around.  However, in our vendor area, 3 people were walking around.  I really can't picture a lot of people walking over here during the hot afternoon.  But these people are used to this kind of weather.  There are only a handful of actual vendors here and that is reason to believe that this show could be another of "Dave's Doozies.'  Don't know yet.  We are just a few hours into the event.

THE MINE FIELD is what we call the area between our booths and Cow Palace (the cow barn) about 120 feet in front of us.  As I walked through the field, I had to maneuver my way around the cow pies that had been dropped earlier in the day.  To get to my motor home, I have to take a trip through The Mine Field.

IT WAS A VERY SLOW DAY.  Took a walk around the place many times today.  At 6:45 I counted the people.  Nobody in our booth area.  45 in the food area, 190 watching some kind of idol thing and another 30 watching some other performance.  Don't know and don't care how many people in the carnival area.

MICHAEL JACKSON.  A bunch of teenage girls came into the booth and saw one of our MJ shirts.  We have 6 left.  She asked the price and my wife told her 'ten dollars.'  The girl then asks "Can I have it for five."  Would you believe that my wife told the girl 'You've got to beat it."    The other girls laughed.  "Hey that's one of Michael Jackson's songs."  Hilarious.  Priceless.

CAMPING ANYBODY?

THAT'S A NICE SHIRT.  Saw an Indian lady with a 'Red Sox' shirt on.  I looked up at her and said 'That's a nice shirt.'  She said 'thank you.'  As she turned around I saw the name ELLSBURY 43 on the back.  I am an avid Red Sox fan.  Jacoby Ellsbury is one of their great youngsters on the team.  I then told her 'Oh Ellsbury, he's going to be a great player.'  She then told me that she used to work with Jacoby's mom.  He grew up here in Madras. He's like a superstar here.  I believe that he lived on the Indian Reservation just west of here.

THE CAR SHOW.      They had around 20 older cars on display.

FOOD.  It was a long walk to the motor home so we decided to get food over here.  Picked up some Thai Stir Fry and fried rice for my wife.  I got....well, what else.  Another Philly Cheesesteak.  I asked her if they put on peppers and onions and she said 'yah.' I just can't resist.  It was between that, some pizza, polish sausage or a cheeseburger.  The cheesesteak was a bit spicy but it was okay for a fair.   One of the better one's I have had at a show.  But not as good as the one's my wife makes.

ALWAYS BE CAREFUL when eating food at a fair or another event.  There are food vendors that will sell you food left over from the previous week's event.  Also, there are one's that will give you leftover food from the day before.  Over the year's I have tasted some pretty raunchy meats at shows.  Maybe that's why I got food poisoning in Antioch (CA) a couple years ago which sent me to the bathroom over 50 times in one day.  Believe it or not, that was a Philly Cheesesteak too.  Advice:  If you are buying food, get it AFTER a good number of people have eaten food from there and are alive to tell you about it.  Better if you can watch it being cooked.  Disclaimer:  There are only a very small percentage of food vendors that employ this practice.

LONG DAY.  Was thinking about closing up around 7:00 but since it's cooling off and we just have a light breeze, we'll stay here for awhile.  However, nobody around here.  Next year this show is one week later, so we surely will not be doing it.  Tillamook is a week later so I won't do that one either.  Two new fairs next year, again.  I have several friends selling in Medford at the Jackson County Fair and things are slow for one of them.  Bad location and it's hot there also.  Could end up doing that one if I can't come up with a different one that week.  Was considering Hood River County Fair for next year, but that one has been moved a week later.  It's going on this week and I have heard that it's a pretty good fair and might be dificult to get into.  This one, Jefferson County Fair was easy to get into.  Can you guess why.  Just keep reading this the remainder of the week.

CLOSING UP.  Just after 9:00pm we decided to close up.  Nobody around.  As we walked through THE MINE FIELD we had to watch for the bombs that the cows had dropped earlier in the day.  Quite dark out there already at 9:30 and quite frankly, I don't see how people can make it to the booths with no type of spotlight or floodlight on the field.  Shameful. 

OFF TO THE BUTCHER.  The kid's raise their livestock and then bring them to county fairs to 'show off' and win awards.  Best this.. best that.  In the end they usually have an auction and some of the bidders pay a hefty price for the steers, pigs, goats, etc.  The kids get some money in their pockets and hopefully they will spend a little during the last couple days.  Isn't it a kicker when these kids bring these animals in here and it's cowabunga and Pork Chop Hill in just a matter of hours for them?  One day it's the Best in Show and after that it's Rest in Peace. That's the way it is.

Thursday, July 23.  Slept in.  Had a great sleep and a nice breakfast.

WEATHER.  Somewhat cooler.  High around 88.

WE ARRIVED at our space around 11:00AM.  All the other vendors were open, but there was nobody around.  Matter of fact, very slow throughout the day.

THIS IS A BAD SHOW.  I have never had two bad days such as these two at a county fair.  Nobody around.  Nobody buying.  Booths poorly located.

COMPLAINTS.  I spoke to Sandy, who is in charge of the vendor area and brought her over to our area and explained the problems.  Poor access for people to the booths.  About a two foot area on the left side.  Some of the non profits stuck their hay across about 30 feet.  I explained that people can not see the booths over here and to get to them, they have to walk through The Mine Field.  There's cow shit all over the place.  Last night when it was dark, you could see the lights from the booths, but the field was completely dark because there is no lighting.  No floodlights, no spotlights.  Completely dark.  She then told me that she 'would talk to the Board about this AND she would get back to me this afternoon.   Gosh, do you think she was B.S.ing me?  Did her nose get bigger this afternoon?   EARLY EVENING UPDATE:  Never came back.

THE RIDE TO THE BOOTH.  Sandy agreed to come over to our area.  We stepped out of the office and began walking over.  She saw one of those golf cart things just outside.  "Why walk when you can ride," she said. So we hopped inside and began heading over to the booths.  As we got closer to one of the side entrances, she asked "Now, where are the booths?"  I laughed to myself.  This is exactly what I was talking about, the obscurity of the location.  She started to head along the parking lot side of the fence where the booths were located but she suddenly realized that she couldn't get to them and turned aroud.  She drove through the entrance and began looking for a way to reach the booths.  Having a hard time, huh?  So, she searched until she came to the end of one of the rows and then drove over toward the booths, where I described some of the problems. WELL, HERE YOU ARE.  YOU ARE IN CHARGE OF THE VENDOR BOOTHS AND YOU CAN'T EVEN FIND THOSE (*^%*&^(# ING THINGS.  Damm. 

THIS SHOW SUCKS FOR VENDORS.  Take my word for it.  This is twice as bad as the Douglas County Fair in Roseburg last year.  I believe there's all new vendors this year and there will be all new vendors next year. Absolutely #($&#$ terrible.  I don't think that any of these people will be coming back.  Stay away from this county fair.  One of the worst.  It's all about the pigs and cows here, who get more respect than we do.  There's cow shit all over this place.

DAMMIT.  Was sitting in the back of the booth when I heard a guy say 'Get back over here, dammit.'  I looked up and saw a leash and at the end was a rather large dog.  They came inside the booth and the guy said 'Don't pee in here, okay.'  I looked up and said "Yes, dammit, please don't pee in there.'  We all laughed.  "That's a nice name for the dog...dammit," I said.  "Actually his name is Angus," he said.  I looked at him.  "Angus McGyver?"

DAILY FOOD REPORT.   Bought an Indian Taco ($8.00) and it was pretty decent.  But it was rather expensive.  Picked up a Pollack for my wife (Polish sausage w/kraut) and that was okay.  The guy that I bought it from had converted a large cargo trailer into a food trailer.  Really nice and imaginative.

ANOTHER GUY CAME INTO THE BOOTH and grabbed hold of one of our silk fans.  "How much is this?" he asked.  "Three dollars," I replied.  He then said "My wife is going through menopause and she needs this."  I looked up at him.  "I can sell you two for five dollars."   He then pulled out a five dollar bill and bought two fans.  Looks like she wasn't the only one with hot flashes.

RUNNING OF THE COWS on Saturday.  Whoops, I meant to say they have the parade on Saturday morning.  Watching the cows would be a lot more fun.  By Sunday morning you can refer to these cows as prime-rib, T-Bone Steak, stew meat, Rib-Eye, etc.  They'll bring in the shovels and dump trucks to get rid of the cow dung on Monday.

END OF THE DAY.  Closed up at 8:30.   Nobody around.  They did clean up the cow stuff earlier, but still difficult to make it over to our booths after dark.  Can't see. Listen to the words that are coming out of my mouth....."The People Can Not See!!"  However, during the daytime, it looks like the people don't even LOOK.  Many obstacles.  Hopefully they'll be some people here the next two days.  COWS RULE!!

Friday, July 24.

SPECIAL GUEST.  Charlie Glitzenmeyer of Redmond will appear at the Fair on Saturday afternoon and will be promoting his new book 'How I Made a Million Dollars' selling pooper scoopers.  Inventor of the Glitzenmeyer Propane Powered Super Duper Pooper Scooper which sells at local hardware stores for $238.05.  Charlie will also appear at the monthly Green Hat Lady's luncheon on Wednesday at Mildred Zognovicki's home.

Ralph Rock of Madras will teach you how to heat your home using cow manure.  He wants to let you know that he is feeling much better after the explosion last year which put him in the hospital for three weeks.  His hair has almost grown completely back, but he doesn't have his beard anymore.  He thanks everybody  for all the cards and flowers that the people out there sent to him. 

THIS IS FRIDAY AND IT'S SUPER SLOW again.  Hardly anybody here.  Was told that they have several events today and Saturday and those are over in the other side of the fairgrounds.  Nobody is going to walk over here.  It is now 2:30PM and Sam still has not returned here.  She told me that she would get back to me.  I suggested some kind of lighting over here in the field so people could see the way, but apparently the fair is not concerned about it.  They got our $300, so why should they care.  Thought about talking to the Fair Manager, but these people are nothing more than a bunch of small town money grabbing hicks!!  Problem is that they will find 20 other suckers to pay them $300 for spaces next year.  Hopefully, people will read this and say 'No Way, Jose."  Go someplace else.  No money here.

THINKING ABOUT GRABBING MY CELL PHONE and calling random phone numbers and telling them to come on over to the county fair.

A 12-YEAR OLD GIRL COMES INTO OUR BOOTH  and asks "Have you seen a lady wearing a Super-Heinz T-shirt."  I look up at her.  "No, but you had better Ketch-Up with her." Didn't get it.

 TODAY'S FOOD REPORT.  Went over and bought a couple slices of Pepperoni thin-crust pizza.  It was okay, not bad.  Price $4.00.   Bought some more Thai Stir Fry with steamed rice for my wife and that was very good.

THE GRABBERS.  Seemingly a large number of groups of kids roaming around the booths.  Just about every one of them has to pick up our wooden snakes, etc., and play with them.  Have to acknowledge my presence and tell them the price and they put them down.  Many like to put on the hats and attempt to have photos taken with them.  As soon as they pull out the camera's I have to speak loudly "No pictures, please."  One girl said 'Why not."  I gave her mean look #47 and told her "Because I said so."  I paused for a couple seconds.  "They are my hats and I am trying to sell them.  You can take all the pictures you want AFTER  you buy it."  Mumble, mumble, mumble.

WE CLOSED UP AT 8:30.  Had some people pass by the booths around 8:00, but resulted in one sale.  That's one sale in two hours people.  Unacceptable.  There were around 400 people in the arena watching the rodeo.  Bunch of kids in the Carnival area and both these groups would eventually go out the same way they came in.  On the far side of the fair.  There were some kind of singing performances in the middle of the fair, but they will go out the same way they did last night, not even bothering to pass by the remote vendor area.  This fair is hopeless.  I feel sorry for anybody who does this fair next year.  If you are reading this AND you happen to be a vendor next year, then you are foolish.  Sorry.   You have been warned.

FLY  BY NIGHT.  Was on the Internet earlier this evening while sitting on a picnic bench inside a pavilion, a lady plops down beside me with a plate of food.  I saw several flies circling around the plate and I was wondering if those were some of the same flies I saw hovering around the many piles of cow dung out in The Mine Field. They were pretty big, so obviously they had been around for awhile and probably just cruised over when they smelled the food.  Around 6:00 pm, we saw workers setting up for tomorrow's BBQ dinners during the afternoon.  It struck me as a bit odd because the cow barn was just 20-25 feet away and the picnic tables that people would be eating on were only 5-10 feet away from the cows.  They said that they were going to be serving chicken dinners for $9 and Rib Eye for $12.  A bit pricey for me.

Saturday, July 25

Thank gosh.  This is the last day of the Jefferson County Fair.  I have started a new page on this website and it's called "Dave's Doozies" and this fair is the first entry.  I will be adding more as time passes.

NOBODY HERE and this is supposed to be the big day for the fair.  Less people walking around today.  What on earth can the people of Madras be doing? Indian Pow Wow. Nothing here and nothing around for miles.  Working on an Alien Underground Spaceport?  Must be.

WEATHER IS HOT TODAY.  Maybe 5 degrees warmer than yesterday.  Occasional breeze, but nothing like what we have had all week.  I can see a collection of clouds in the distance above Cow Palace, the barn where the cows are displayed just across The Mine Field.

THE BBQ is out in The Mine Field.  The local Kiwanis Club is selling BBQ Chicken for $9.00 and Ribeye Steaks for $12.00.  Can't afford it, personally.  But I sure love Ribeye Steaks, my favorite.  Looks good, but I don't really see a lot of people eating there.  Occasionally we'll catch a whiff of the steaks cooking followed a few seconds later by the stench from Cow Palace.

AUCTION started around 5:15.  Would have been nice if they would have done it yesterday to give these kids some money to spend at the Fair.  Oh well.  This fair is a lost cause.  They need to fire everybody...from the board all the way down to the person in charge of the vendors.  Unfortunately, these people don't know their asses from their brains.  People here are pretty darn cheap or just plain ol' po. 

COULD NOT GET ONLINE TODAY and don't expect to get on until Tuesday.  Should be able to get online in Myrtle Point.

WILL BE PACKING UP TONIGHT around 8:00 and leave our things in the canopy until Sunday morning, when we will roll in here with the motor home and pack everything in around 6:00.  Expect to be out of here by 8:00 and will go across the state to Myrtle Point and should get there by 2:00 PM.  No rush.  I just want to be setting up at 7:30 AM on Monday morning.  No idea where we will spend Sunday night.

SALES CONTINUE TO BE SLOW today.  We've been consistently lousy all four days now.  No further comments on this show.  Nuff said.  Sandy Foreman, The Vendor co-ordinator never stopped by.  I knew that when she told me she would get back to me on Thursday afternoon.   You have two accesses to the vendors here blocked and you even told one of the non-profit booths to not allow people to pass through by placing a bale of hay there.  Come on now.  You will read this eventually when this page makes it around the web and pops up near the top on Google.  It was quite dark out in The Mine Field which made it difficult for people to pass.  You are full of it.

Please be sure to follow us through Oregon as we now move on to the Coos County Fair in Myrtle Point, followed by a trip up the beautiful coast to the Tillamook County Fair. 

We drove up into Oregon on July 15 and you can read about the Winchester Bay Oceanfest here.

UPDATE.  August 7.  Have been told that Sandy Foreman has been removed from her position at the Jefferson County Fair.  I hope so.  That's what I was told by somebody, but I really don't care because I'll never be back there. 

Please check out other shows in our 2009 Oregon trip