I know what you’re thinking … This long on the road and you haven’t reviewed any ice cream joints! So that may not actually be what’s on your mind, but for the record, no parlour has yet been worthy. OK, the real truth is, we haven’t gone out for ice cream since we’ve been keeping some on hand in our RV fridge. After long days on the road the soft serve treatment is delicious!

There was that pretty good milk shake in Bridgeport at the roadside burger joint of which I can’t remember the name. And then there was the fast food “milkshake” we just had to get at a drive thru in Spearfish, ND because we were starving and it was nearly 100 degrees out. Then there was the cone we shared like two teenagers in love as we watched the drunks stumble around downtown Deadwood. But none can compare to the real thing directly from the source.

During our visit to the Crow Wing County Fair in Brainerd, MN we enjoyed one of the best chocolate milkshakes ever – sold by actual local farmers outside the cattle barn. But the farmers must have been busy milking because their kids were doing the serving. And yes they had a variety of flavors to choose from, but for the purpose of this review we chose the favorite old standby.

There was absolutely no comparison to your typical drive-thru pseudo shake with no actual dairy product content. This one was rich, creamy, flavorful and thick enough we could’ve eaten it with a fork. It was so good, we finished it too quick to take mental notes about all its wholesome goodness. And it was guilt free since we had to ride our bikes across town back to the trailer across town.

Though we missed the milking demonstration, we did get up close and personal with the stars of the show. Don’t tell René the picture is actually of an Angus (Mmmm… Beef!) with her calf, not a dairy cow.

And while we attended many a Humboldt County Fair in Ferndale – serious dairy county – I have to admit, Crow County blows them away! This fair had an incredible amount of exhibits, vendors, displays, and lots of animals. They even had horses (of all sizes) and poultry which we haven’t seen at the Ferndale fair for years. I guess they’re not afraid of bird flu out here. We passed on the extreme bull riding exhibition but did get our first taste of fried cheese curds. Though I wish we would’ve splurged and spent the $5.00 at the stand serving up the authentic homemade-looking battered ones instead of the cheaper ones we got which were obviously once frozen and looked like tater tots.

Did I mention admission to this awesome fair was free!?!? And since we don’t have kids, we got away with a full day’s entertainment and some good fair fare – the obligatory corn dog, and some excellent corn bread and beans – for less than twelve bucks!