Take an hour-long tour through the organic fields of the Pelindaba Lavender Farm on San Juan Island. Learn about the thousand-year history of the uses of lavender from personal care to kitchen. See the farm's oil distillation operation, the demonstration gardens, and store with over 80 products handcrafted on site from the fields. Detailed horticultural sections are offered for individuals interested in growing lavender. Contact 360-378-4248 or on line at www.pelindaba.com.
Watch wild salmon being hand-filleted, cured, smoked, canned, and packaged on this half-hour tour of the Kasilof Fish Company in Marysville. Tours are available for groups of 12 or more. Reservations must be made two weeks in advance by calling 1-800-232-7552.
MinterCreek Salmon Hatchery located across Carr Inlet/Henderson Bay near Gig Harbor on the Key Peninsula, is run by the Department of Fisheries and was recently renovated to now include a viewing room and visitor center. Tours are informal allowing visitors to stop by at their convenience. The Hatchery is open year-round (except major holidays) to the public from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. free of charge. Visitors can learn how salmon "fry" are hatched and raised until they're big/old enough to be released into the wild. The hatchery releases more than seven million Coho, Pink, Chum and Chinook salmon into area streams each year. The biggest salmon can be seen September through November climbing the fish ladder. For information, call 253-857-5077.
Get a first-hand look at different varieties of cranberries, irrigation systems, and how crops are planted and cultivated at the Pacific Coast Cranberry Research Foundation, www.cranberrymuseum.com, in Long Beach. This self-guided walking tour showcases various farming operations needed to prepare the ground for planting that takes place in April or May. During October, visitors can also see the crops being harvested. Open daily 8 a.m. to dusk. For more information of for group tours call 360-642-5553.
To see how the beautiful Pendleton Wools come to life, visit their weaving mills in Portland, Pendleton, Ore., or Washougal, Wash. Tours are free, but filled on a first-come first-served basis. Group tours can be scheduled by calling 800-760-4844 for the Washougal facilities and 541-276-6911 for the Pendleton mill.
Tour the world-class, automated machine shop in the Martha Lake area or a circuit board assembly plant in South Snohomish County of the Eldec Corp., which services the airline industry. Tour groups are small. For reservations, call 425-483-7774 in advance.
Ever thought of taking a laundry tour? You can visit Overall Laundry, a huge industrial laundry facility in Everett, for industries that include hospitals, hotels, and restaurants cleaning uniforms, coveralls, commercial floor mats and more. For reservations for group tours call the plant manager at 425-353-0800 ext. 243.
Lampson Cranes, makers of the world's largest cranes based in Kennewick, provide in-depth technical tours, or merely informational and educational tours to interest all. Call 509-586-0411 for reservations.
Get a working tour of the Cedar Creek Grist Mill, a 120+ year-old flour mill and national historic landmark, still in operation today. Huge pulleys and belts spinning above and below turn and churn to produce flour, corn meal and even apple cider. It is the only grain grinding mill in Washington that has maintained its original structural integrity, grinds with stones and is water powered. Visitors are given samples to take home. No gas or electricity is used, only mother nature's water power. Call 360-225-5832 or online at www.cedarcreekgristmill.com.
The Georgia-Pacific paper mill in Camas creates paper and pulp, manufacturing a variety of products such as paper towels and printing papers. The one-hour tours are offered mid-July through mid-September. Those touring the mill must wear closed shoes, be over age 12 and be able to climb stairs and withstand temperatures up to 100 degrees. Call 360-834-2116.
