Since we’d done our traditional family day earlier in the week, I made plans to head over early with Sally. I picked her up at 8:00 and we drive over without any traffic at all.

I parked for the last time this year at the Mackey’s. I’m so grateful for the spot. Not just the ability to park every day and come and go as I please, but it’s the sharing of stories at the end of the day and the feeing of family. It’s like coming home. I’m lucky.

The fair was relatively empty. We had plenty of space to move through and get what we needed. Sally needed a scone from the French Meadow. Between 8 and 9 am nothing is open but food and there aren’t a ton of breakfast places. The only lines this morning were for Anchor coffee and (of course) French Meadow.

I had a stop to make in the Grandstand, but it wasn’t open yet, so we sat outside so Sally could eat. I stopped to check in with Deb @ Juanita and I thought she looked great for Day 12!

Once the building opened, I led Sally to the place she thought she bought socks from last year in the Merchandise Mart. She didn’t get any, but I decided to try some. Mmmm bamboo!

My goal was to buy my nordic ware bacon pan. It’s $7 cheaper here than the store and when I bought it today it was discounted further! $10 off!

I finished my shopping and waited outside the Grandstand as Sally filled her water and I thought about standing in a mister. I didn’t.

The Hmong Minnesota Day festivities were setting up behind us. Craft activities and giveaways, as well as performances.

Today I spun wheels and picked up more swag than any other day out here. I got a rice paddle, chapstick, hand sanitizer, stickers and erasers. I have no idea why.

The dancers were beautifully dressed.

I hadn’t spent much time in Dan Patch Park and noticed the KSTP mural for the first time. Too hot for a selfie or to ask a stranger for a picture. There weren’t many people around!

There were two buildings I did not visit yet. The HealthFair11 and the DNR. I never get to the health fair, but today I saw the DNR. Michael didn’t remember that we had family bricks in the taxidermy wing of the building so I walked through looking for them. It’s so dark and my vision is terrible, so I asked to see a map of the area. Turns out they’re all alphabetical (sort of) but I found out Kelsey Family one, the Clive & Mary brick and the one Linda did in honor of my Aunt Judy . They’re hard to see even in a photo with the reflective paint.

There’s a master list if you ask!

We wandered through DNR Park a bit. Found the shortest state hiking trail.

And shocking news, the fire danger is high.

I still wanted to get my last recipe card and Sally wanted to stop in the Merchandise mart. The sun was hot and temps were climbing over 90°.

Leaving the park I took in the view surrounding Mom & Dads bench. Said my goodbye for this year. The streets are not crowded at all.

Trying to follow the shady streets we walked by the Ball Park and ran into a mutual friend a Jean & her husband. They were on a hydration beer tour!

In the merchandise mart, Sally didn’t find anything she needed, but once again I did. The muddy rug people are there. I bought one a while ago and it works great for snowy muddy paws. I bought one for the front door. They’re also machine washable.

Sally stopped up to the Education Building while I got the last recipe card in my set.

I sat on a shady bench and when Sally got back we chatted a while longer not ready to walk out into the sun. We’d done a lot and walked about three miles. But I was ready to go. I got a stamp as I left thinking I might return.

Once I got home I started cleaning my house, changed the sheets and took a shower. That was all she wrote. Tomorrow is a work day.

I caught up on the blogs, so I don’t forget like last year. I may take the time to update those posts later. I still have all the photos on my phone to jog my memory.

I also added up my logged steps for the 12 days. I averaged 12,500 per day. I walked almost 150,000 steps which for me is the equivalent of 75 miles. No wonder I’m a little tired!

I looked at the attendance numbers for the previous days and yesterday was low! 141,000. That’s like a Monday, not a Saturday. I’ll be curious to see where the totals end up.

Until next year!