Around the Valley: With Karen Huwe

Allen and I and my sister and brother-in-law, Joanie and Scott, spent an enjoyable afternoon at the Airfield Estates Winery. Memorial weekend was our first venture to the Wine Country RV Park in Prosser, Washington.  The RV Park on Wine Country Road is known for offering wine tasting and being within walking distance of numerous other wineries.

There are 125 RV spaces at the park which makes for a good morning walk throughout the park. On one side of us were cows in the field. Luckily, we were upwind from the cows when dust flew around their hooves. Kids enjoyed the cows as they reached over the fence to pet them.

We saw two falcons outside an RV near ours. Though the owner did not want to impart too much information, I discovered he was a master falconer. He said he trains falcons to hunt birds that are a menace to crop fields.

He kept the falcons in a cage at night, took them to work during the day, and later let them spend some outside time tethered to posts by his RV. Occasionally, they made loud screeching noises which irritated Scott’s dog, Max.

An ice cream truck circled the park at least once a day, so we enjoyed a treat, as did many campers in the park.

The RV Park was near downtown, so we rode our bikes to see the area. At first, we thought Prosser was not bike friendly, but we found a bike path that led downtown. 

The downtown business district is known for its Parade of Ponies. Local businesses or community members sponsored artists to decorate the four-foot fiberglass ponies. Each has a plaque identifying the sponsor, artist, and each pony’s name or theme. The Historic Downtown Prosser Association hoped to find artists and sponsors for 8 to 12 ponies. They ended up with 20, which were placed permanently around town.

Prosser is part of the Yakima Valley AVA and has over thirty wineries in the city and surrounding areas. Many of them are within walking distance from each other.

It was a pleasant Memorial Day weekend in Prosser and would be worthwhile for any wine enthusiasts.