Puyallup Fair, Puyallup, WA

Total Timber Tour Blog Day 20

5 hour drive west into Washington State to the Puyallup Fair Grounds in Puyallup, WA, located 36 miles south of Seattle.

Traveled west in convoy with Pete & Lisa and checked into the hotel a mile from the fairgrounds.

For non-Americans, state fairs are best described as a cross between an agricultural show, expo and, what we know, as a fair. Because each state has its own fair site, some states invest in permanent buildings and, in the case of Washington State, permanent rides, even though the rides are only operated for a few days each year.

At this fair, there is a wooden coaster that we first read about a number of years ago. The review said something like “A ride on the wooden coaster at Puyallup is well worth the careful planning required to ride it”. And, after the months of organisation for this trip we have to agree. The whole trip was planned for this ride and not only did it not disappoint, it exceeded our expectations and proved to be the perfect ride to end this marathon journey across the States on.

As for the Fair itself, it was a real pleasure to attend and the staff were great. Today was "Monday Madness" where most rides, including the coaster were just $1 (53p) - perfect.

There was no nasty atmosphere; the site was full of families enjoying the un-seasonably hot weather. There was a great selection of rides, well spaced on clean midways. So much better than we had imagined. Having Pete and Lisa as guides for the day also made the visit even more memorable.

To complete the tour, we had one last ride on the airtime laden back seat of the woodie – just a perfect ending to a near-perfect tour. Tomorrow, we’re thinking of going down to the laundrette, washing the clothes, and spending 3 weeks driving back to New Jersey! (in our dreams).

Would we do it again? – Yes, tomorrow.

Thanks to all the readers of the blog – it’s been great to share our trip with you all and enjoy your next coaster ride, whenever and wherever it is.

Tomorrow, it’s a 5-hour round trip to the coast to dip our feet in the Pacific to truly complete our ‘coast to coast’ trip.

We’ll complete the mileage and final ‘sea’ picture later this week.