Amid a blistering heat wave and blanketed with wildfire smoke, the Oregon State Fair charged on with livestock shows, athletic dogs, piles of meat and more.
Temperatures reached triple digits Saturday, whipping up the smell of grease and charred animal flesh emanating from rows of food carts peddling everything from giant wads of fries to larger-than-life drumsticks. (But really, what's a fair without those?)
Wildfire smoke treated fairgoers to a beaming red sunset, air quality be darned.
Here's a series of snaps from a few hours' journey through the Oregon State Fair.
Dene Engeman, left, from Marcola, Oregon, stands with her champion Saanen goat. She's shown for 40 years. "I love goats. They're intelligent. They're curious. They're mischievous. They keep me out of trouble," she said. "I can't sit in my old lady chair and die."
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
"Can I show you a magic trick?" asked Noah, 5. With the snap of a finger, his rope fell limp.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Pile o' meat.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Go get it!
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Hey, look!
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Weeee!!!
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
A boy stands atop the Super Slide as a smoky sun sets on Salem.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
Goodnight, sun.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB