Washington state is divided into east and west by the Cascade Mountains. The mountains create a rain shadow for much of eastern Washington. Last Friday I had a workshop to attend in Yakima. We decided to make a little holiday of it and spent a few days enjoying the sun and warmth. My hubby and I visited a few of the wineries (there are literally hundreds). He was there for tasting and getting a few bottles of vino. I was there to enjoy the gardens and views topped off with warm sunny weather and great vistas. Here are a few highlights of the varied landscapes. Wine fields in Eastern Washington State ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) newly established vinyards ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) The Yakima Valley and surrounding areas that flow down to the Columbia River are primarily agriculture. The rivers are fed by snow melt and support (by way of ditches and canals) a lot of orchards and variety of seasonal vegetables. The older vineyards are about 40 years old. Prior to that only orchards (peaches, apricots, apples, cherries, pears) hops, mint, and vegies were grown. grapes and vinyards ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) another winery ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) One of several wineries we visited ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) they hold weddings at this lovely setting ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) This winery had the best gardens, but a lot of the larger ones had lovely roses. more roses ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) the smell of the blooms was delightful ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) winery gardens with living bouquets ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) This winery didn't have gardens but what a tree! The leaves had to be 18 inches across and the individual flowers were 3 inches long. tree with huge fragrant blooms ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) roses everywhere-how lovely ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) When you leave the Yakima Valley and head north you travel through drylands of sage brush. It would have been incredibly hard to travel through this area prior to cars, and I can't imagine trying to live there. When you top a small pass you look out over the valley where Ellensburg is located. This is cattle country (too cold in the winter/spring for vinyards and orchards). Lots of hay fields. With a university in the town wind and solar power are becoming common sites. out of the drylands into Ellensburg valley ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) the old fashioned wind generator ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) The wind generators passed through the port here in Olympia. Here are some set up on the foothills of the Cascade Mountains outside of Ellensburg. Each blade is sixty feet long. The grain silos in the foreground are dwarfed when compared to the wind generators. Wind generators are huge ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) the old and the new ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Passing through Ellensburg you start to climb into the pine forests and mountain valleys. I made my sweetie stop to take a few pictures of wild flowers. One of the many different species of lupine in WA ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Then it was up and over the pass. Home to the wet, green side of the mountain. Over Snoqualimie Pass to the wet side of the state ( photo / image / picture from Jewell's Garden ) Good bye warm sunny days with temperatures in the high 70s for all of the day and not just a few moments about 4 PM. Actually its in the 50s today and damp and dreary, but I like it that way.
Thanks for the tour of the wineries and the gardens on the warm side of the mountian. I hope you didn't sample too much wine for the drive back home. Those roses are amazing and I love the photograph of the tree with the 3" long flowers.
Oh, thanks for the wine country tour. We have several vineyards in Texas that we are planning on visiting on our next get away weekend. The gardens are amazing. And you have snowcapped mountains what a beautiful sight!
thanks for the tour. that was really pretty. Looks like an incredible amount of labor. which = lots of employees. I love to see the vineyards, but I don't think I would want one. My FIL has 3 rows of grapes in front of my house and they are too much along with all the other gardening there is to do around here.
That was a great series of fotos and explanation, Jewell. I enjoyed seeing all the winery fotos and of course the gardens and flowers. It is probably no surprize that I find pic # 8 a specatacular foto. I can almost smell the flowers. What A picture! It looks like you had a very good time over there.
That is a trip I would enjoy...two of my favorite things wine & flowers. Great photos, thanks for sharing. The flower gardens were beautiful.
I enjoyed the travelog Jewell. The Cascades has created two different worlds, something we rarely see much less experience. Thank you for sharing your trip. Jerry
Hi Jewell, what a lovely trip you took us on,..the flowers,..and the roses in particular had me thinking of wine tasting then sitting outside taking in the lovely scenery,..i hope you both enjoyed the trip,..oh and i presume you had some wine to drink,..apart from the tasting,..thanks for sharing your nice trip.
A delightful and educational tour of an area I know practically nothing about. I justed assume all of the state is cold and wet all of the time! Beautiful photos... each and every one.
hey jewell, great tour of the land past the mountain passes. we haven't been there for several years now. it sure has grown up!
