I hadn’t planned on hanging out in Yakima as long as I did, but after waiting to get my truck fixed I added another couple of days so I could hang out at a golf tourney in memory of my brother. So now I’m heading east.
The corn and tomatoes are excellent in Yakima right now. Hops seem to be taking over the valley. Yakima is the source for 75% of the world’s hops, and demand has been increasing hugely. Meanwhile, demand for apples is going up rapidly in Asia. I’m used to seeing so many “fruit trucks” ferrying apple bins around, but nowadays there are an equal number of trucks on the road with Asian-label containers.
Adding hop and apple acreage takes it away from grapes.
Tomorrow I’ll get to Spokane and spend a day or two looking around, then continue on I-90 to get through the mountains.