Everyone knows that, as a Portlander, you’re required to go to a pumpkin patch in October. It’s on the test.

This is part of our 100 Things in 2016 challenge. Here’s the full list.

We were joined by our two friends who just moved here from San Francisco with their baby, and another friend who still lives in San Francisco but loves Portland deeply. We love all of them, and are always looking for more excuses to spend time with them. We all drove out to The Pumpkin Patch, with the same idea as a full third of the Portland metro area – we got there shortly after opening, and the extended lot was already half full.

We all came prepared for some level of mud, with boots that were allowed to get dirty, but we honestly weren’t prepared for the sheer volume. It was a gooey, ankle-deep swamp of liquid mud through the whole maze. We had to reassess the situation, and three of us ended up sticking our feet in plastic bags before entering.

It was great. This seems like a pointless and silly tradition, but it’s an excuse to get outside, eat elephant ears, endure some light-and-safe hardship together, and enjoy the gorgeous pacific northwest autumn. We had a lot of fun.