There are any number of fields of these thing where folks harvest them else where and put out "artificial patches" - all precut and cleaned off..the immaculate pumpkin so to speak. My granddaughter prefers the natural places - and armed with a vine clipper and a radio flyer wagon you set off with the honor system of 'if you clip it you own it". She is still under 3 years old and can do pretty well with putting a 4-5 pounder in the wagon but of course the wagon gets too heavy to pull but that's part of the fun. It is all fun.
Just some pumpkin facts...Illinois is where you find most of them but they grow everywhere in the world except Antarctica. The biggest on record is 1725 pounds - the same weight as an old VW beetle. ... oh and my granddaughter thinks they are cool.