A Little Get Away

Before the frantic hub-bub of hay season, I was able to sneak away for a day of leisure. Actually it was more like my sister kidnapped me and forced me (with an outstanding day trip) to enjoy time away from the farm.

We ended up going along the coast to see what some of the rest of the world has been up to while we have been cocooned in our own little bubbles. Since it was mid-week before the busy summer season and not during the holiday, we had benches, lookouts and scenic areas mostly to ourselves.

We made it north along the coastline and gawked at areas where the mighty Columbia meets the ocean from both the Oregon side and the Washington side of the river.

We glimpsed precarious (or what seemed precarious to us) perches where lighthouses have stood sentinel over the wild and turbulent storms of the Pacific Northwest.

We watched old docks that were only a few rocking pilings now as the ravages of the waves and time eroded the structures above and the bases below. 

Me made it to the inland road and landed at The Cranberry Museum located on the Pioneer Road out of Long Beach.

The Pacific Coast Cranberry Research Foundation was formed to purchase the Cranberry Research Station owned and operated by Washington State University.

When WSU decided to close the Station in 1992, cranberry growers formed the Foundation and purchased the Station and 40 acres of farmland. WSU continues to support the personnel, while growers join together in farming the bogs.

Cranberry farming in the SW corner of Washington State has a more than 100-year history. A Massachusetts visitor observed the native berries growing in the marshes and was impressed with the area’s resemblance to Cape Cod. Convinced that the peat soil could be successfully adapted to the cultivation of commercial cranberries, a partnership of 4 entrepreneurs purchased more than 1600 acres of Peninsula land between 1872 and 1877 for as little as $1 an acre.

We were thrilled to tour the museum as well as take the walking tour of the grounds. Harvesting equipment of the fruit filled the old house that had been turned into the museum. The cranberry vines are just now beginning to blossom with what will turn into berries for the October crop of fruit. It was interesting to find out that the blossoms were originally called crane berries because they are shaped like the head of the sand bill crane with a pointy beak.

I may have to make a get-away trip again in October just to get my share of fresh cranberries for the winter holidays, I’m thinking of kidnapping my sister for this one.