Festivals, Fairs & Driving Vacations
Technology makes it easier to plan an interesting weekend and if your choice is to drive to a festival or fair, some extra research can to add to your fun.
Craft fairs or festivals are scheduled nearly every weekend somewhere in the state and each celebration has its own unique theme. Just by previewing online event postings, you should be able to locate a celebration and location that appeals to you and your interests.
With some additional planning, you can make the drive to the festival interesting as well. Perhaps you can use the computer to locate a waterfall along the way that can be reached with a short hike? Possibly venturing off the freeway to a side road will turn into a scenic drive or it will have special interest or wildlife along its route? As we get further into enjoying the extra time that retirement grants us, this becomes a good time to quit picking a destination and just racing to get there. It is time to make sure that we enjoy the journey!
Piecing together the parts of a trip can be interesting or challenging subject to how you like looking up details. An example of a trip that I would recommend for interest would be to pick a weekend that Toppenish (just south of Yakima) had either a bluegrass festival or Pow Wow scheduled by researching dates by Googling “Washington Craft Fairs & Festivals”. Next, look up “Washington Scenic Drives” that might be taken either coming or going and pick your route. Since Linda and I love traveling along the Yakima River, we would probably choose Canyon Road out of Ellensburg as a leg of our trip and then take I-90 over Snoqualmie Pass to get there. This trip could easily include a short detour through Cle Elum to stop at their bakery. Keep a sharp eye out in the canyon for big horn sheep on the hills as you drive. We have seen several herds of five or more grazing plus an occasional deer or eagle. We almost always see rafters and lots of fishermen as they use their skills to bond with the river. A new fishing lodge mid canyon is promoting ownership interest in its units. You may even decide to stop here for a tour.
Once you get to Toppenish, make sure you tour the town and view the murals on the sides of buildings, as the town is famous for them. A Native American heritage center operated by the Yakima Nation offers admission to the public plus you might find interest in either the hops museum or Legends Casino, also operated by the Yakima Nation.
After attending the festival, consider taking the drive through White Pass (SR-12) on your way home.
As you pass through Naches, visit the new art gallery on the north side of the road. If you decide to bring a gold pan with you, possibly you can strike it rich in the Naches River? Roughly two miles east of town the highway turns south at its junction with SR-410. You can choose here between crossing at White Pass or Chinook Pass. At this intersection a right turn and ½ mile drive takes you to where they feed big horn sheep during winter. A left hand turn on SR-12 and a one mile drive will take you to the Oak Creek wildlife area entrance where Washington Fish and Wildlife maintains a feeding station for elk during the colder months. Plan your return route to include a stop at Northwest Trek near Eatonville to insure predictably good wildlife sightings any time of year.
Driving vacations give us a chance to really see our country. Attending a festival gives us a chance to get to meet people along the way as they celebrate. Combine the two activities and you may find that you have such an interesting weekend that you may wish to schedule another just like it in the near future.
Once we retire, it becomes easier to get permission to do these things.
