A couple weeks late this year, but strawberry season has now arrived. I first noticed it earlier this week as I rode my bike through Puyallup Valley back roads on the way into work and got a nose full of strawberries. It’s pretty incredible, whether driving or riding, that as you pass Valley strawberry fields (sadly fragmented with older and new housing tracts) you are surrounded with the scent of the little red gems.
If you’re up for a relatively inexpensive experience for the senses… take a quick drive out River Road towards Puyallup for a bit of a strawberry scavenger hunt.
Farm stands should be full of berries at the moment…. Duris (often known for their cucumbers and pickling supplies) is on your right as you come down River Road towards Puyallup, before the first major stop light at 66th. And that’s not all, there are more stands down the road. Picha’s Berries, is just a bit further… if you go to that first big stop light on River Road, take a right on 66th (by the taxidermy and muzzle loader shops, haha… I said an experience for all your senses, no? is humor not a sense? no offense to those who frequent these shops) Anyway, carry on and take the first right, you’ll see the signs and the stand. If you’re really brave, stay on 66th and follow it around the bend as it turns into Stewart and runs along the railroad tracks, look for Fred’s Berries signs and follow them. And lastly, been to Orting lately? (I love to ride the Foothills Trail out there.) You could always check out berries at Spooner Farms”:http://dnr.metrokc.gov/wlr/Farms/farm_profile.asp?farmID=37….
You might not think of the Valley as the most glamorous of locales, but strawberries only happen once a year. Enough said. It’s worth it, and it’s also pretty cool to see what’s happening right in our own backyard. (Note – you can also just go pick up a flat at the farmers markets to stock the freezer for winter.)
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