So, I am in Des Moines for a few days accompanying a friend on a business trip. As we had Saturday afternoon free, we decided to take in the Iowa State Fair – it was huge! The grounds were lovely – plenty of trees.

Iowa State Fairgrounds

We managed to get a car park not too far from the fairgrounds and was able to hitch a ride on one of the golf carts zipping around ferrying people between the car-parks and the fairgrounds (it was very welcome since the day was hot).

On the way we passed camping grounds where people park their huge RV’s and camp for the duration of the fair – there were hundreds of them and apparently these sites are passed down through families and there are lengthy waiting lists to get a site.

Camp grounds at the fairgrounds

We wandered around the grounds, taking in the atmosphere, checking out some of the displays and took a look at some of the exhibits within the expo buildings.

Quilt – USA states

We saw some wood sculpting using a chain saw,

A wood bunny

some old tractors,

A rare 1938 tractor

a butter cow (yep, a cow carved from butter) and some great sand sculpting.

Sand Sculpture

Along the way I was amazed at all of the food vendors – there were so many! Becky was thrilled to find a gluten-free corn dog and had to indulge (she convinced me to have one too – I have to admit, they don’t do it for me though).

A Gluten Free Corn Dog

The Iowa State Fair is also a bit of a magnet for the Presidential candidates – both Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton were there, however, we didn’t see either of them (but I did see Donald’s plane at the airport)!

The fair was quite an eye-opener and quite different to its cousin – The Texas State Fair in Dallas. There was a greater focus on agriculture here in Iowa and seemed to be more like a country fair that I would have expected.

Get along to the Iowa State Fair if ever you get the chance!

The Iowa State Fair is held in Des Moines and is known as “America’s classic state fair” because the event features all of the traditional activities associated with state fairs. The fair is held in park-like grounds covering 450 acres and has been in the same place since 1886. Adjoining the fair grounds is 160 acres of Campgrounds – both areas are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Most of the buildings pre-date World War I; and are good examples of American exposition-style architecture.