Having never been to the State Fair before, I was very unsure what to expect. I was, however, very excited. Although being in big crowds around so many people can be daunting at times, from games to magicians to stilts to rides to sheep to seals there is certainly something for everyone. I rate my day at the fair a 9.4/10.

As someone who finds parking and driving in new places overwhelming, arriving at the state fair caused ample anxiety. However, after parking my car with little difficulty and calling my friends I was excited by the grandness and energy of the fair. I walked by seals (or sea lions maybe) before meeting my friends by the petting zoo. The seals were absolutely adorable and we watched them do awesome dance moves for a while before we went inside one of the agricultural buildings and saw New Mexico’s biggest pumpkin. At 947.75 pounds it was the James and the Giant Peach of Pumpkins.

We then walked into a big shed where they were doing 4H competitions. The one we saw was showing off sheep I think, and, to be honest, I had no idea what was going on. There must have been at least 50 sheep in the barn and they were all baa-ing.

We went back outside and walked into one of my favorite parts: a red open barn. The first thing inside was Gertie, a fake cow with udders that you can practice milking. Both of my friends knew Gertie from years past, and I thought she was awesome. I got to milk a cow! There was also a real cow, some baby pigs, and a donkey. The enclosures they were in made it really easy to see them up close and say hi.

We walked through all sorts of booths selling miscellaneous items until we arrived at the duck race. It was a whole production as apparently duck racing is a real thing in NM. The announcer would pick four people from the crowd, although he unfortunately never picked me, and each of them would line their duck up in their respective lane and let them go to begin the race. The ducks were impressively fast.

We walked over toward the games and rides because I was very excited to play one of the games and on the way we saw a guy riding an ostrich! Okay, maybe he was just on stilts, but I will say it looked incredibly realistic from afar. We played a carnival game where you sprayed water into a hole which propelled a stuffed animal towards the top of the booth. I won and I got a pink and orange tie dye elephant.

At that point we were all a little tired and hungry, so we grabbed a bite to eat and sat down under a tent where a band was playing. I spent 9 dollars on a piece of pizza which, although pricey and a little small, was quite good, and my friend Holly had a brownie pie from Ashbury Cafe which was delicious. At that point, I think we were all a little tired and worn out from walking around so much, but we decided to walk inside to see some shops. There were lots of cute booths with nice jewelry or those fun backpacks that are a stuffed animal and a backpack in one. There was also a mattress sale going on which was a bit of an odd combo, but those beds sure looked comfy for my tired legs. The most notable booth inside for me and my friends was in fact not the mattresses, but a marionette stand. Marionettes are the puppets that hang from strings, and this booth had all sorts of animals and creatures. The woman called us over to try using them which was super fun, and my friend Selah even ended up buying a big pink sloth puppet.

As we walked away from that building, pink puppet in hand, we found a magician. He was a bit eccentric, as I suppose most magicians are, but he played with fire and even ate it which was so cool. I’m still not sure how that doesn’t hurt.

About three hours after I had found my parking spot we were all winding down a bit. Having gone on a Monday where we didn’t have school it was nice to not have big crowds. We went in the afternoon so it was a little warm, but going inside and drinking a lemonade were the perfect cooler-offers. With so much going on, the fair was admittedly a little overwhelming, but I think the excitement was worth it. It’s cheesy when people say “that makes me feel like a kid again” especially when, at 16, I am still very much a kid. However, being around so many excited little(r) kids at the fair and getting so excited over magicians and animals and lemonade certainly made the little kid in me very happy. Finding fun, different activities is so important to take a break from our busy stressful school lives. Next chance you get, I suggest you take your break at the fair.