We spent a few days in the Methow Valley and I was lucky enough to do a farm tour at Crown S Ranch in Twisp, WA as part of a blogging project I’m doing for the American Farmland Trust. I don’t want to give the whole story away, but Crown S is run by two engineers–Jennifer and Louis–who decided to give up their engineering consulting practice several years ago to start a sustainable ranch. They are inspiring, incredibly hard-working people that almost can’t seem to help but apply the scientific method to farming. They ask WHY a lot and constantly learn and improve their ranching practices as a result.
I really liked their pigs. And the bacon I bought.
We did a 70 mile ride yesterday from the Methow Valley through Okanogan, Omak, acres of apple orchards and finally stopped in Tonasket.
We pitched our tent on a patch of grass behind the Tonasket Vistors and Business Resource Center. This is something they encourage:
We have a bicycle campground in the backyard of our building, with a 24 hour open restroom. We are in the process of installing a solar shower. We are located on Highway 97, which is a popular bike route, and are only 21 miles from the Canadian border (British Columbia). We love having visitors, and are also close to restaurants and grocery stores. Tonasket is at the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 20.
An employee at the Business Resource Center said they host a lot of bikers in the “Bike Camp” in the summer. It’s a smart business development move for a small town like Tonasket to welcome hungry cyclists. Sean and I walked over to the Natural Food Co-op and dropped a chuck of change on local produce, cheese, cookies, and other tasty treats.
On to the Aeneas Valley to check out were my parents were “back-to-the-landers” in the 1970s.
