Salmon Days & Family Farms

We welcomed the month of October with a bang! We headed south on Saturday for the Issaquah Salmon Days Festival in beautiful Issaquah. We followed that up with the Festival of Family Farms in Skagit County on Sunday. Both days offered some of the best reasons of why we love the Seattle area.

On Saturday, we arrived early to downtown Issaquah to ensure good seats for the 10am Salmon Days Parade. Having experienced the Tour de Terrace parade in late July, we knew Ethan wanted to see it all up close. Well, without knowing it, we ended up in front of the announcer’s area where all the entries performed…and let me tell you ya, there were a lot of great entries to enjoy. From the marching bands to floats, emergency vehicles to salmon costumes, it was a very fun parade.

After the parade, we meandered through downtown where booths were set up for food and crafts. We quickly shuffled through the crowds for a glimpse of salmon at the fish hatchery and on the Issaquah Creek. They were in action making their way back home. Salmon are truly amazing creatures. They endure so much to ensure a healthy ecosystem remains in place, as well as to provide us with a tasty treat. They didn’t disappoint us today as we bought some smoked salmon for lunch. Next we headed over to the music stage where enjoyed watching Ethan dance away to the sounds. He loves live music and didn’t want to leave. We mentioned the word “dessert” and he was ready to go. Our last stop of the day was the Elephant Ear booth. Family size.

On Sunday, we chose to visit the Hedlin Family Farm, one of the thirteen farms on the Festival of Farms in Skagit Valley. If you haven’t visited Skagit, or even Snohomish, Valleys we recommend you make a stop in one of their great towns the next time you’re visiting. The valleys still provide a rural character with some of the most beautiful natural landscape settings around.

The Hedlin Farm didn’t disappoint. Located just along the town of La Conner, the farm provided 400 acres of enjoyment. For this occasion they provided free pony rides and vegetable car making and racing for the children. Ethan enjoyed both activities. The hay ride around the farm was an education lesson on organic gardening and the CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) work they provide. With local universities they allow agriculture research, and in association with the Nature Conservancy they set aside land for migratory birds. Following the farm tour, we headed to Anacortes to visit our friends Sally, Britt, Bryson, and Logan and collect some free flowers they were offering.

With two full days of activities in the Seattle area, we’re a little fatigued this evening and look forward to a good night’s rest.

>> View more photos of Ethan and the gang explore Seattele on our Seattle Area Photo Album.

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