Day 2 (of 6) of the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna, MN

We just got home from the Steele County Free Fair in Owatonna Minnesota. We spend 5 hours there today and are possibly going back this evening as a family.

I grew up going to our County Fair every year as part of 4-H but coming to this one here in Owatonna Minnesota is quite a change. The sphere is huge and the only larger Fair in Minnesota is the Minnesota State Fair.

The fair started yesterday and will go through Sunday so you have plenty of time to go check it out. Today we took my son and his friend and my daughter. After years of going to this fear I have a good idea of where the Cheap Eats are at this fair. I look for those boots and food carts every year to see if the price is the same or went up.

Here are some of the things we buy every year : $1 snow cones, $1 Dole Whip cones, $2 cotton candy on a stick ( no coupons for that this year like they have done in the past 😞), $2.50 corn dogs, $3 mini donuts ( it used to be $2 but then they try to up the price every year  and end up going back to $2 so we'll see what happens this year), $1 popcorn, $1 lollipops, and don't forget you can go to the information booth and get the coupons that appear in both newspapers. Those usually help bring the cost down or get you a free beverage with an entree.

There are tons of free things to do as well. There are 5 different stages with entertainment other than the grandstand the stage entertainment is free. It is always free to go look in all of the animal barns as well as the baby animal barn and the exotic animals zoo there.

You are too late to get the wristband that is good for the entire length of the fair for rides but if you go to their website you can learn about the days that have wristband deals. I bought my kids season passes to Valley Fair and we went there yesterday and we'll go again this weekend in lieu of going on Midway rides.

There is fun and free interactive things the kids can do at the fair as well. Every day at 1:30 there is a lumberjack camp and the kids get a free t-shirt for participating and get to try out log rolling and sawing logs. My kids look forward to this every year and we made sure to do it on the first day so they could get their wristbands and not have to wait to get signed in on other days. Today was the first day they offered this and there wasn't a ton of kids so they got to try log rolling a lot.

The other display that they can be interactive with his inside the art Exhibit building where the Owatonna Arts Center has a table set out for them to color. Outside that building is the national Taekwondo Institute where kids can and try out breaking boards and punching and cooking the dummy. There is also a ton of opportunities to see animals being shown by kids. Today we watched cattle being shown because one of my daughters friends was doing that. We also watch the Owatonna cheer program which featured three of my daughters friends.

We didn't have a chance to watch the pig races but we will get to that before the week is over. We also hope to watch the magic show and the human Cannonball. Both of those things are free as well as the pig races.

Also we like to go check out the tractors that are on display as well as two or some of the buildings in the village of yesteryear which offers free tours during the fair. There is also an auto museum and a fear Museum which are free to to her as well while you are there. There is also a group called enticing entertainment which appears to do some kind of fire juggling of some sort, we have not seen that yet so that might be something we try to check out as well.

So that is the lowdown on the Cheap Eats and the free entertainment and activities at the fair. You still have plenty of time to go check it out.

USS Blueback at OMSI, Portland, OR

This is a panoramic view the Tom McCall Waterfront, a couple of bridges in Portland and the USS Blueback submarine and the Willamette River in Portland Oregon.

It is under $7 a person to tour the submarine on an hour-long tour. I am not sure but you probably also have to pay the admission cost or have a museum pass get in as well. We used our science museum pass which gives us entry to a pretty huge network of science museums.

I have to admit I thought it was kind of stinky from the residual diesel smell. I can't imagine living on there and having a diesel smell that was 50 times stronger than that. Those men must not have been able to smell after a few days. The tour guide said they often didn't shower because they were putting dirty clothes back on anyways so it didn't matter. Lack of smell was probably a good thing in that case.

Before you go on the tour you have to go through a space that is the same size and shape as these doorways to make sure that you can go through the submarine.

I can't imagine what it would be like to be on an actual submarine in the water and not be able to see anything outside and completely relying on sonar. The store really made me appreciate the people who had Chosen and continue to choose to spend time on submarines.

Noah's Ark

I had not been back to Noah's Ark in Wisconsin Dells since I was an early team. I knew it was something I wanted to do with my kids but I needed to wait until my son was taller than the magical height of 48 inches. At 48 inches he can go on everything at Noah's Ark. 48 inches seems to be a magical height for most things as he can also go on the majority of the rides at Valleyfair now as well. Luckily he is almost 50 inches so there is no question that he is over 48.

This was also a good location to be able to meet other family add so they could spend time with their cousins as well as do one of those memory making trips.

Our cabin we rented included going to Noah's Ark as part of our fee. We went all day on Saturday and then Sunday for a few hours.

I didn't bring in my phone or a camera because I just wanted to be in the moment and spend time on the rides and not worry about taking pictures or making sure everything stayed dry or didn't get stolen. So all I have are pictures from the outside of them and what it looks like.

For the most part they loved it and went on most every ride & slide they could. Going 2 days was really a good idea because we couldn't possibly do everything in one day unless we wanted to stay even longer which would have meant really grumpy kids. As it was we had grumpy kids towards the end because they were just getting hot and tired and had been in the Sun for quite a long time.

We were there with my middle sister who goes every year so they are a bit seasoned at knowing where to go at what time. Each day we picked our most desired ryde that has long lines to go on first. That worked out well and we got on almost everything at the park. I even went on the ride called point of no return which was pretty exhilarating. I wasn't quite brave enough to go on the Scorpion but my brother-in-law did. I am thinking next year I will just have to do it. Yes there will be a next year. The kids loved it and it was a nice way to spend time as a family and with extended family all while having fun in water.