Oregon Vacation Day 6

Saturday was a beautiful, sunny day. We headed into Tillamook and went to the local farmer's market. There was fresh produce, handmade crafts, soaps, food and even puppies. I bought some beautiful shell earrings, some homemade soap, and Wes purchased a really nice wooden pen. The girls really wanted some little puppies, but that was out of the question. I was really tempted to buy a cute, pirate-mouse quilt, but since we don't know if we were having a boy or girl yet I decided not to. From there we picked out some spots on the street to watch the local Dairy Days Parade.

How lucky were we to be in town for this local parade? They had dairy royalty.

We even got small "Tilla-Moos" to much on during the parade.

Forget the candy! We enjoyed the free, delicious, beef sticks!

This clown took an interest in Lydia and made her an honorary clown.

I love the nose Lydia!

There were several men from local Shriner Clubs. What is it with men and their cars?

Their were descendants of Swiss immigrants who paraded around. This gentleman carried a giant, wooden horn and would occasionally stop to play it!

There was the local rodeo royalty all decked out in their fancy outfits.

I really enjoyed watching these senior ladies twirling their batons.

The girls wanted to head over to the local pioneer museum after the parade. We enjoyed reading about the local history and looking at the artifacts. Adelle found a comfy spot to lay down for a moment.

This is a very old cradle that was made by a local pioneer ages ago.

Down in the basement we found various relics including coffins, carriages, saddles, giant crab shells, sea shells and this large, talking statue of Smokey the Bear. If you pushed a button he would tell you the whole story of how he got caught in a forest fire when he was a baby bear and was badly burned, but then rescued the the firemen. It was a little creepy honestly.

Adelle was a little frightened of him.

On the top floor there were various "stuffed" animals. It was amazing how many animals were lurking around every corner.

It looks like this polar bear is about to attack Lydia. She looks very bored, but honestly she loved looking at all the different animals.

We headed back to our place to have dinner and relax for a bit. We decided to attend the local rodeo. We ended up arriving about 45 minutes late and they let us in for FREE! Can't beat that.

Adelle was super excited to go to the rodeo, but when she found out what a rodeo was she was quite upset. She said "I thought there would be fun things to do at the rodeo". She warmed up to it after awhile, especially after we bought some fried, sugar coated pastries to munch on. Lydia liked the show and imagined she was a horse rider.

There were several things to see including the "One Armed Bandit" with his trained Buffalo. The guy really could ride even though he only has one arm.

It was a little nerve wracking to watch the bull riders! Not one of them ended up staying on long enough to even qualify.

Wes decided that rodeos really aren't his thing, but I think we all still had fun trying out this local experience. Who knew there were cowboys in Oregon. We headed home in the sunset to our little place.