White Salmon - where?

The New York Times list of best places to visit in 2013 contained a major surprise this year. Tucked in among some of the world's most fascinating places, such as Paris, Oslo, Rio, Ghana and China, was White Salmon, Washington, which came in at No. 13, above Paris and Washington, D.C., the last two places on the list of 46.

Few people have probably ever heard of this small town on the Columbia River. It's a pretty little town that we've driven through a few times when we chose not to take the freeway to Portland.

White Salmon made the list because of its potential to become a major whitewater rafting destination. A dam on the White Salmon River was removed last fall for fish conservation reasons. But its removal meant the river can now flow freely from its headwaters in the Cascades to the Columbia River. The river boasts Class IV rapids, making it a challenge for rafters and kayakers. The newspaper predicts a slew of rafting companies will begin offering trips down the river.

If rafting doesn't appeal, you can always cross the river to Hood River, a major center for wind surfers.

Washington apples

Washington State is justifiably famous for its apples. They're crisp, delicious and nutritious. They're one of the state's top agricultural exports.

Saturday we made our annual trip north to Tieton, a small community in the foothills of the central Cascades, where we spent the day making apple juice at my husband's cousin's farm where they have a small apple orchard, growing a variety of apples that all go into the juice.

This is an event we look forward to every year around Halloween. There is nothing better than drinking a glass of fresh-squeezed juice as it comes off the press. Most of us don't even wait until it's been through the strainer to remove little bits of peels and apple chunks that might be in it.

This year wasn't as much fun but only because of the weather. It is no fun picking apples, washing them in a huge iron tub, throwing them into the apple press when it's raining and then bottling it. We were human Popsicles by the time we were through.

Luckily, we didn't have to squeeze as many gallons as we usually do, somewhere between 200 and 300 gallons a year. That's because not as many people showed up due to the rain. The cousins have a rule: You can have as much juice as you want as long as you help make the juice for their freezers. Usually we spend the morning squeezing juice for all of us and the afternoon making their 70 gallons or so. This year, we'd started on their juice well before lunch time.

The jugs of juice freeze well, which means we can enjoy this treat throughout the year. Yea! for Washington apples!