| An outdoor performance area, near a playground we found in Walla Walla | The whole park was quite artfully done | The main attraction was a tour of some farms, but we found lots of other stuff to do | Playgrounds being a major component | The biggest playground we found was in Pioneer Park | Pioneer Park has a large duck pond, along with a decent-sized aviary |
| Walking around the duck pond | A duck, oddly enough | There was a gaggle of geese too | The first farm is just at the bend | Some dated-but-trusty tractors | Combine harvesters |
| A really dated tractor. Not so sure how trusty this one is. | Even in early May, Walla Walla is getting warm | Farm scenery | A wind farm backdrops the cattle grazing | That’s a good-sized mower right there | Innaias hanging out by the combine |
| There was a pretty good-sized crowd | The kids got along well with the farmers’ family | The woman with a ponytail is from PCC, the fellow in the white cowboy hat next to her is the owner of the first farm we saw | He explained his philosophy on organic farming, some of the challenges he faces, and what kinds of crops he focuses on | We didn’t wander very far from the farmhouse; here we listen while standing along rows of hay drying | Next stop, a field of peas |
| Ironically, these peas aren’t for market. They’re grown as a cover crop, and don’t produce marketable peas. But the greens are delicious! | The pea greens taste just like the freshest, sweetest peas. They are grown just to protect and improve the soil for the next crop. | Bee hives and cattle on neighboring farms | Flynn in the barley grass | Guinness with a handful of pea greens | Innaias picks prime pea green leaves |
| Out standing in their field | The second farm we saw was a dairy | More of the nearby wind farm | Close-up | That’s a lot of cows, and there are a bunch more the other direction | These dairy farmers (two brothers) seemed less gung-ho about organic, more “willing” than “enthused” |
| Delivering hay for lunch | The truck drops the hay off in a long row, and the cattle graze on it through the fence | The cocktail party has temporarily been suspended due to human observers | One of the brothers explains how a little detergent in the hay keeps cow tummies settled | A serious tractor | Some kind of hay mower |
| Another mower | Climbing aboard for the hay ride | Plow blades gleam in the sun | We first rode just a quarter mile or so down the driveway a bit | It’s the biggest hay wagon we’ve ever seen ☺ | It takes a lot of hay to feed all those cows |
| More wind farm scenery | Irrigation rainbow | Flynn checks to make sure no one is taking his picture | Guinness jumps | Back aboard, ready for the next stop | We rode back out, and then onto the main road, to visit yet another farm a mile or so down the road |
| It was pretty dusty until we got to the pavement | Walla Walla onions have to be grown in Walla Walla | The onion farmer explained to us though that Walla Walla onions spend a lot of their time in Arizona getting sun | Putting black plastic down in sheets over the dirt helps heat the soil, killing microbes and pests without chemicals | More onions | Back on the hay, ready to head back |
| One last view past Debra and Flynn, of the cows | Walla Walla has a great pioneer museum | It occupies the old site of Fort Walla Walla, and includes lots of great historic artifacts, like this mule-drawn harvester | A steam-powered tractor | Early combine harvesters still needed mules for propulsion. A lot of them. | The crew of a half-dozen or so was needed to operate this harvester |
| Of course, the combine harvester revolutionized wheat production | Here’s a somewhat less-organized display of pioneer wagons, equipment, and other artifacts | A cozy little trailer | Family portrait | There was also an example jail cell | A nicely restored fire wagon (steam-powered, horse-drawn) |
| Innaias and Guinness check it out | Inside a pioneer cabin | Not counting the lack of insulation, some of these places look quite comfortable | Definitely a step up from the basic log cabin | A leather-worker’s shop | A duplex log home! |
| Predecessor to the modern garage | Bridge key | The things we take for granted these days | Doctor’s office | The eye chart hasn’t changed very much over the years | Half the duplex had a bed, loom, and spinning wheel |
| The other half had the dining table, stove, and a big fireplace (well, big for the cabin) | Historic tractors abound | As do historic harvesting machines | Various implements | A hardy-looking little tractor | The museum had a pretty good playground too |
| Rearranging the deck chairs | Flynn and Innaias work together | Wide shot | Right behind the hotel where we stayed were railroad tracks and this grain depot | An even bigger depot on the other side of the freeway | The sunset made for some very nice photos |
