Apple empire: fruitful excursions start in Wenatchee, the core of Washington State's most famous industry

Travel America, July-August, 2002 by Randy Mink

Biting into that crisp, juicy apple, an unblemished sphere fresh from the tree, triggered memories of long ago. The sweet aroma made me feel like a kid again as I munched away on a Red Delicious while touring an orchard last fall in the heart of Washington State. Rarely do I get such a crunchy, flavor-packed sensation from supermarket apples.

It was harvest time in the nation's No. 1 apple-growing region, and I was out to satisfy my appetite for the fruit and all its lore. My visit coincided with the annual Washington Apple Harvest Festival, held in Wenatchee the last Saturday in September.

Just as savoring apples brought back thoughts of simpler times, so did exploring the town of Wenatchee, the state's undisputed "Apple Capital." Nostalgia abounds in this Main Street community, a place Norman Rockwell would have loved. I guess you could say it's as American as, well, apple pie.

Smack dab in the middle of Washington State, on the eastern slopes of the Cascade Mountains, Wenatchee stretches along the banks of the Columbia River. Across the river is East Wenatchee. Together the towns have a population of 33,613.

Sheltering the valley on either side are barren mountains, not the forested, snow-capped Cascades pictured on postcards and calendars. Indeed, on my first trip to the Evergreen State, I was surprised to find vistas were more brown than green. But the arid land, with its volcanic soil and 300 days of sunshine, is well-suited to growing apples, thanks to irrigation. The dry climate works against insect and disease problems, and gives the apple a smoother finish than in some other places.

There's a good reason that when we think apples, we think Washington State. It produces more apples than any other state and supplies more than half the fresh apples eaten in America.

Washington yields four to five times as many apples as New York, the second largest grower. Of the 12 apple varieties grown in Washington, the dominant one is Red Delicious (42 percent), followed by Golden Delicious (15 percent), and Gala (13 percent), with Fuji and Granny Smith not far behind. One-third of the state's crop is used for apple juice, cider, apple-sauce, and related products.

A logical place to sink your teeth into apple country is the Washington Apple Commission Visitors Center in Wenatchee. Exhibits and a 15-minute video bring you up to speed on the industry, showcasing its business and scientific dimensions. An orchard wind machine demonstrates how upper layers of warm air are circulated to prevent frost. In short, you come away learning that perfect apples don't just grow on trees.

The friendly ladies at the visitors center serve apple slices and cans of Tree Top apple juice. Its gift shop abounds with apple-themed souvenirs, from T-shirts to telephones.

Even more educational is a trip through the orchards. From April through October, Washington Apple Country Tours (866-459-9614, www. washingtonapplecountry.com) runs a variety of bus tours that include an orchard and packing house. A bonus is fresh apple pie, and some tours include a meal. For those providing their own transportation, the area's only tour operator of its kind can supply a ride-along guide.

For the Apple Harvest Festival in September, Washington Apple Country Tours offers, in addition to four-hour bus excursions, a self-drive Fruit Loop tour to orchards and fruit stands; cider samples, musical entertainment, and other diversions await at the various stops.

The 11-day Washington State Apple Blossom Festival, which runs from late April into May, is the oldest major festival in Washington, dating back to 1919. The spring fling features a food fair, arts and crafts fair, an entertainment stage, and what is billed as "America's seventh largest carnival." Its Grand Parade, complete with a queen and her court, attracts some 100,000 spectators. Vying with the festivities are the clouds of apple blossoms that blanket the countryside.

For a look back at Apple Blossom Festivals of yesteryear, swing by the Wenatchee Valley Museum and Cultural Center, housed in a former post office building downtown. Displays of colorful apple box packing labels and antique apple-sorting equipment are other reminders of Wenatchee's niche as the core of the apple industry.

Historic downtown Wenatchee is a vibrant place to commune with the past while poking into one-of-a-kind shops and eateries. Petunia planters dripping with pink, purple, red, and white blooms festoon old-fashioned lampposts. Sidewalk signs shed light on early-1900s buildings with pressed-tin ceilings. Art on the Avenues, a year-round exhibit of outdoor sculptures, enhances downtown streets with such pieces as "Coyote Reading a Candy Wrapper."

Wenatchee antique shops sell everything from violins to Coca-Cola memorabilia and weathered apple crates. Quilters gravitate to the Appleseed Quilt Shop. Pak-It-Rite ships gift boxes of Washington apples and pears, and carries apple-motif home furnishings, plus food products like apple pancake mix and cider syrup. Indulge in a fudge-covered apple at River City Spice, Tea & Coffee Co.