Yakima’s summer festival
After 17 states and calling stops at over three dozen towns and cities, Yakima is the most American town I’ve visited on my epic American road trip. Located almost in the center of Washington state, Yakima is well-hidden in the mountains and doesn’t get too many international tourists. In 2015, it won the 10 most American cities award, and rightly so!
Just like my luck in Chicago, I was just in time for the summer festival where there was a live band, a beer garden, plenty of food, and a cheerleading squad selling tickets to a high school ball game. I had a slice of Papa John’s with a bottle of Crush Orange while admiring the sunset behind a water tower and a backdrop of dusty barren hills. Does it get more American than that?
Papa John’s pizza stall
Railway tracks run right through downtown, and on some of the city streets…so what’s with all of this steel on asphalt? Yakima is a proud owner of the last remaining interurban railroad that is still operational since 1907. The railway museum does heritage runs between Yakima and neighbouring Selah on their 1923 trolleys and is in the process of restoring several historical carriages from Seattle. Do go onto their website and check for opening hours though because they only open on weekends in summer.
Stay a night and enjoy an authentic all-American town.
