Saturday turned out to be a beautiful fall day in the Pacific Northwest. After running some errands, we decided to stop at the Giant Pumpkin Regatta in Tualatin, OR. There’s a little man-made lake there in which they often hold events like kayak and canoe days and remote control boat races.
Face painting, pumpkin carving, and food galore
There were lots of families there and lots to do. It seemed like everyone was out with the kids and their dogs.
Costumes and dogs were everywhere
The view from the other side of the lake
Around the other side of the lake from the festivities, there’s a bronze statue. Kendall paused to appreciate the art.
Enjoying the local art
The Tualatin Riverkeepers had canoes you could rent to paddle around the little lake. This was early in the day and only a few of the giant pumpkins were in the water.
Giant pumpkins and canoes
There were even train rides!
This little Cocker Spaniel was not happy to be out among other dogs. Maybe it was the costume he was wearing. He was quite barky.
A cute little Cocker Spaniel pumpkin
They were bringing in the giant pumpkins on pallets and then picking them up with a fork lift and moving them to the lake. They stopped just before putting them in the water to weigh them. The one we heard being announced was just over 1000 lbs.
Giant pumpkins waiting for weigh in
So, how does one qualify to be a pumpkin judge?
Once the pumpkins were in there, they were using little remote controlled tug boats to move the pumpkins around in the water. We didn’t stay around for the afternoon, but my understanding is that they were going to put people on top of these pumpkins and then use them as boats to maneuver around the lake. Hence, the Giant Pumpkin Regatta.
Giant pumpkins ready for the regatta
Kendall didn’t really care about the giant pumpkins. All she wanted to do was to meet all of the little kids that were running around.
I’m glad I took along the good camera, because I’m happy with the way the fall colors turned out.
Flat Kendall and I are off to the great state of Nebraska on Tuesday. I hope I’m more successful at getting some pictures there than I was when she went to Anaheim with me. Notice there were no Anaheim pictures? I flew there straight from New York a week or so ago, but I never made it out of the hotel to get any Mickey pictures.
