TASTE THE FUN!

Camel Milk Challenge becomes part of "TASTE THE FUN" at the San Diego County Fair.

The San Diego County Fair opens June 11, 2010. Between our Exotic Bird Show, Wild West Turkey Stampede and the Oasis Camel Dairy Exhibit and Show, we have been fortunate to be a part of this American extravaganza for nearly a decade.

When deciding what to highlight at this year's fair, it was an easy decision to share our experiences with Mike Rowe and the Dirty Jobs crew by bringing our Dirty Camel Dairy stars to the fair!

But let me ask you: Do you ever get really excited about something and say a crazy idea out loud without really ever thinking that people might actually get excited too and then you find yourself doing something... well... crazy? If you have, then welcome to our world at the San Diego County Fair!

Gil and I thought the 22 day event would give us a perfect field laboratory to test the diet parameters of next year's Camel Milk Challenge. Surely you would agree that going a month eating nothing but camel milk, water and dried dates while caravaning five camels through the desert wilderness sounds like a pretty major challenge! We would be smart and rather scientific to test some of the elements before hand.

So, in a flutter-by, breezy conversation with San Diego County Fair exhibit and program designers, we opened our big mouths and sort of mentioned the idea... and they LOVED IT!

And as an extra bonus, it just so happens to be pretty hilarious that the theme of this years San Diego County Fair is Taste the Fun! Well my friends, for two weeks... TWO WEEKS... of the fair, Gil and I will live inside the Camel Dairy Exhibit in a tent, eating our Challenge Diet: camel milk, water and dates. I can just taste the fun now!

What in the world were we thinking?!? I can tell you what we weren't thinking. We weren't thinking that we would be in survival mode while completely surrounded by the BEST FAIR FOOD IN THE ENTIRE WORLD! I'm talking cinnamon rolls that roil scrumptious globs of brown sugar down your throat and the freshest, crispest battered corn dogs ever stabbed by a paper stick! It's everywhere! It's boiling and grilling and deep frying and filling the air with the most delicious, enticing, intoxication aromas joined in unison singing TASTE THE FUN twenty-four hours a day. This is going to be a looooooooong two weeks!

Came milk will most likely be provided fresh daily by Tula and Jamila. This in itself ought to be interesting! Our Camel Dairy Exhibition stars have always been steady, reliable, loyal old gals like Sheba and Goldie. Both are great with people and very bonded to Gil. But Tula has only been with us since last May and although she is much more trusting than when we first met her, she is still likely to give us a nip or a kick when unsure.

And Jamila, although one of Gil's first camels ever, is a diva through and through!j For those of you who say us on Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe, Jamila landed a beautiful round-house kick just eighteen inches from director, Dave Barsky's, lens.

Let me put it another way. We've nicknamed this year's milking team: the Drama Queens.

We are also planning a few ways for our friends and fans to get in on the fun!

FAT TUESDAY: Help us choose our last meal.

On June 15, Gil and I will have one crazy taste of the fair before we embark on fourteen days of our Challenge Diet. We are compiling a list of 25 fair food favorites. You can go to our Camel Milk Extreme Challenge page at http://www.cameldairy.com/ and click on up to five of your favorites. The top ten delicious selections will be our smorgasbord!

WHICH WAY SHALL WE GO? THE CAMEL MILK DESERT CHALLENGE

Come visit our exhibit at the fair and help us plan next years trek. California, Arizona, Nevada? Death Valley, Sonora, Borrego... even the LA River Wash have been suggested as routes for our Camel Milk Caravan to take. Come view the trip option highlights (and low lights) and vote for your favorite.

WHERE IS THE LADIES ROOM? Design my portable bathroom:

If you have been following our blog, you know how squinky I am about being out in the middle of nowhere without a bathroom. Well, thanks to our friends and fans, I have gotten some pretty cool suggestions. Submit your prototype for display at our Camel-Lot Base Camp at the Fair and be eligible to win great prizes from the Oasis Camel Dairy.

GILLY & THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY:

Gil will host a special presentation (date to be announced) at the Taste The Fun Exhibit featuring Camel Milk Chocolate! Learn how this camel milk confection is made and maybe even try a piece. We are also working on having camel milk chocolate available at the Tast The Fun Gift Shop.

TASTE THE FUN: #1 Fair Food Reveled!

With our Challenge Diet officially ending on June 29th, June 30th Gil and I will be at the San Diego County Fair's, Taste the Fun Theme Exhibit to enjoy a taste of the fair's #1 fair food voted by the Taste the Fun visitors!

Sounds like a full plate doesn't it? For those of you who know us, that's just how we seem to roll! Gil and I are really excited. And admittedly, I am getting a bit nervous. Just the other day, Gil and I had finished milking Tula and were pouring her warm milk into bags for the freezer. Gil reserved the last few ounces, tipped the bucket to his lips and drank it! I immediately curled my lip and said, "eww"!

Then it hit me... Come June 16th, that is going to be me... all day... every day.. for fourteen days. I don't think my wilderness potty is my biggest concern any more!

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