Yakima Valley Close To Bursting With Blossoms
It’s blossom time in the fruit orchards of the Yakima Valley, with the warm spring weather (so far) prompting experts to predict springtime blooming about two weeks earlier than usual.
The estimated bloom schedule, from the Yakima Valley Visitors & Convention Bureau:
Apricots: End of March through mid-May.
Cherries: Mid-April through mid-May.
Peaches: End of March through mid-April.
Pears: First of April through first of May.
Plums: First of April through middle of April.
Apples: Mid-April through first of May.
For more information, including the route of an easy driving tour, call (800) 221-0751 or (509) 575-1300.
Short takes
Bits and pieces from around the Northwest:
Canada’s biggest fun run, which last year attracted a record 18,000 people, is April 30 in Vancouver, British Columbia. The 10-K route, featuring music by 13 bands along the way, runs through Stanley Park and ends with a free party at B.C. Place Stadium. For information about registration and package deals, including hotels and airlines, call (604) 689-9441.
The sixth annual Oyster Olympics, featuring experts from 20 Seattle-area restaurants in a variety of oyster-related contests, including shucking, is Tuesday evening at Anthony’s HomePort restaurant in Seattle. Proceeds benefit Puget Sound cleanup programs; for information, call (206) 286-1309.
A free slide show on wilderness travel in Alaska is being offered Tuesday night at North Idaho College. The hour-long program begins at 7:30 p.m. in the Kootenai Room of Edminster Student Union; for more information, call (208) 769-3366.
Book report
New books of interest to Northwest travelers:
“The San Juan Islands, Afoot and Afloat” (Mountaineers, $14.95). More than 110,000 copies of this book by Marge and Ted Mueller have been printed; the updated third edition has just been published.
It includes updated information on boating, fishing, beachcombing, hiking, bicycling and camping opportunities on the islands.
Veteran Northwest travel writer Archie Satterfield, whose stories occasionally appear in this section, has a new book: “Vancouver, Seattle, Victoria” (Pipeline Books, $11.95). Subtitled “a pocket guide to the evergreen triangle,” the book is aimed at travelers who are visiting more than one of those cities on the same vacation.
The guides for each city are quite useful, though obviously limited in scope, and the “between the cities” chapter has good ideas. Satterfield also knows what he’s talking about; he’s written more than 30 books on regional travel and history.
Red alert
Glacier National Park has been discovered … by Glamour magazine, which in its April issue lists the park as one of the top 10 travel destinations in the United States.
Its profound commentary: “The mountain scenery and wide-open spaces of northern Montana are so mind-boggling that you’ll wish more of the country looked like this.”