AHA! I stumped you this week! The question was: “Where in Washington can you spot Bigfoot?” I know; I’ve seen him!
If you drive from Spokane to Omak or Okanogan, going through Coulee Dam and up through Nespelem and over Disautel Pass (3552′), and keep your eyes wide open, you will see him walking along a rocky bluff up above the road. (This is my photo.)
Certainly, he is not real. He is a Virgil “Smoker” Marchand’s sculpture and looks to me to be about 12 feet tall. He’s totally awesome and quite visible. It certainly was exciting to me when I spotted him for the first time!
We will try again: Today’s Mystery: What are hops, what are they used for, and where are they mostly grown in Washington?
Hops are used in making beer. Washingtons Ezra Meeker had them in Puyallup, but my favorite place to see them hanging on the vines are East of Union Gap in Moxee where hundreds of rows of them are hanging from the vines. In the fall the fields are full of pheasants who congregate there to enjoy them
Don’t remember exactly ‘what’ they are, but they’re used to flavor beer among other things. Primary growth area is the Yakima valley, specifically around Toppensish and along hwy 22.
Here’s one for you – where are 90% of the nation’s red raspberries grown?
Hops are a plant used in making beer and are grown in Eastern Washington.
Hops are vines grown on a string; they produce small cones and that cone is separated from the vines; the cone is heated to remove the powder called Alfa; the Alfa is what is used to flavor the beer; 70% of the world’s hops are grown in Eastern Washington with many, many hops grown in the Yakima Valley.
Hops are an ingredient in the making of beer. They are grown mainly in the Yakima Valley area. In 1900 – 1910 hops were a primary crop in Wisconsin. The market in Wisconsin was destroyed when the Yakima area came into production.
A plant, making beer. Yakima area.
Hops are a vine plant. The blossoms are used in brewing beer. (My son uses them in his wonderful home brews!) One of the world’s largest suppliers of hops are in the Yakima Valley second only to Germany. I’ve seen and smelled them many a time driving from Yakima to Richland.