Deer Park offers big, beautiful supply of Christmas trees

My parents never bought a real Christmas tree. Our holiday tradition involved laying out color-coded branches and matching them up with holes bored into the skinny “trunk.” It finally had to be put to rest after surviving twenty-four Christmases and being pulled down about a dozen times by our cat, who tried to scale it.

As much as I loved that old tree and the memories it held, I found nothing compares to the aroma and holiday atmosphere that a real tree brings to a home.

But choosing and cutting your own is an even bigger delight, I discovered on a recent visit to Deer Park.

Yes, Deer Park, that little town just outside the big city. There’s more to it than the chain stores and strip malls you see from U.S. 2.

We drove over freshly plowed roads near Colville as we made our way toward Deer Park. Fog lay low in the valleys and crevices of the hills and mountains around us. The browns and blacks of cattle contrasted with the bright mantle of snow that covered the Inland Northwest.

Trees – in particular, lumber – are what put Deer Park on the map. In its beginning, the town supplied lots of board feet to the expanding Spokane Falls (later known as Spokane) and the railroad company. Before the town existed, railroad workers had already dubbed the area “Deer Park” for its abundance of white-tailed deer.

After arriving in Deer Park, we decided to load up on high-calorie goodies to take with us on the cross-country skiing trails near the airport. Our first stop: The Bake Shoppe. Homemade loaves, pastries and boxes of cookies gave off a delightful scent – a mixture of yeast, spices and sweetness.

We grabbed a hearty loaf, some sesame-seed snacks and the last box of molasses cookies.

Seven years ago, when Dana Larson opened the store along with his business partner, daughter Frani, he didn’t think people would eat old-fashioned molasses cookies. Thousands of batches later, he says it’s one of their best sellers.

“If you haven’t tasted real bread before, you’re in for a treat,” said Dana as he rang up our purchase. They grind the flour right before they make it.

From The Bake Shoppe, we drove into the heart of Deer Park for lunch.

Old brick buildings from the town’s early days still stand at the crossroad of Main and Crawford. We settled into a corner-window booth at the Main Street Bistro. From the table beside us, Dana Nelson gave us a playful grin and asked how we were doing. We spent our lunch talking with him and other locals about Deer Park and what makes it special to them.

“It’s a place where you can wave at people and they’ll still wave back,” said Nelson, 29, who originally hails from Lebanon, Ore.

Nelson explained that his dad, now deceased, was a musician, and they traveled all over the Northwest. He’s happy they finally landed in Deer Park, a place he describes as welcoming and friendly.

While sipping frothy coffee drinks, the restaurant patrons told me about how apple orchards use to grow all around the area and about the lumber mill and the old mill pond where kids would sometimes hang out – whether they were supposed to or not – and toss stuff into the water.

The coziness of the bistro makes it easy to strike up conversations with people you don’t know.

Josh Reynolds, 34, said that’s the way his uncle and aunt, Pete and Jackie Reynolds, both retired Deer Park High School teachers, envisioned it when they opened the restaurant more than a year ago. Their motto is “Come in and loiter,” Josh said.

Pete said the coffeehouse is the “last bastion of democracy” and the discussions that take place in the bistro range all over the place. So far they haven’t had to add “bouncer” to Josh’s list of duties, so things must stay on the friendly side.

Besides the good conversation, the food’s not bad, either. Fresh sandwiches, soup, salads and sweet things make up the menu. Jackie gets up at some insane morning time to make scones, breads and desserts. We sampled her individual caramel cheesecakes, which were served in itty-bitty jelly jars, almost too cute to eat.

Pete, who was born and raised in Deer Park, later shared some of his memories of the historic building that houses his restaurant. As a kid, he would come to the Antler Cafe to eat, and he said this was where his dad taught him how to shoot pool.

It was hard to leave the bistro. We had our talking britches on, and the people made us seem like part of the gang. But the afternoon was slipping away, and we needed to get to the tree farm before dark.

At Summerlin’s Trees, we met Bob and Kay Summerlin, who started the first choose-and-cut tree farm in the Deer Park area, according to Kay. With help from their children and grandchildren, the couple have been growing Christmas trees for 35 years.

A wood stove warmed the office where candy canes for the kids hung on strings strung across the windowpanes. Hot cocoa and coffee were there to heat up cold hands and tummies.

Kay said some people bring their own picnic and tailgate all day. “I’ve seen people spend three hours picking out a Christmas tree,” she said.

I asked for some tips on choosing a tree among the blue spruce, grand firs and other evergreens. The Summerlin’s son Dave, standing behind the register, said: “You know your tree when you see it.”

For me it was harder than picking a wedding dress.

Kay said grand fir is their most popular and most fragrant tree, and one of her favorites.

She dusted snow off several trees for me to get a better look. They sometimes have cones already growing on them, she said, and occasionally a bird nest will be among the needles.

After much debating and pondering, my husband, John, began sawing at the base of a Fraser fir. The branches were spaced out the way I like, to allow ornaments to be suspended in midair.

Kay reminded us to make sure our stand would hold enough water for the tree to get a good drink and to keep it refilled. A tree can consume as much as a quart of water per day during the first week in your home. Another important tip: Always cut a quarter-inch to an inch from the bottom of the trunk. If you don’t, the tree remains sealed where it was cut and cannot drink water.

For more tips on how to care for holiday trees, visit the National Christmas Tree Web site at www.christmastree.org. The site includes a Christmas tree personality quiz and an invitation to play “Attack of the Mutant Artificial Trees.”

I asked Kay if she had any suggestions on what to do with the tree after Christmas. She recommended chucking it on the annual Deer Park Winter Festival bonfire. (Winter Fest is scheduled for Jan. 21-22.)

Our dog Kah-less was disappointed that we had to skip the cross-country skiing, which made for a long day in the car. (Pets must stay in the car at Summerlin’s for obvious reasons. Dogs like to mark trees – not a good festive scent.)

Before leaving Deer Park, John walked Kah-less, allowing him to roll and make snow dogs in the powder.

When we got home, I heard a crunching sound coming from the living room. Kah-less was trying to pull pine cones off the wreath I bought at Summerlin’s.

Well, at least he’s not trying to climb the tree.