Who Ever Would've Thought???

Dry, desert, southern Nevada is home to a huge orchard! It really was quite surprising! Ever since October 2007, our pumpkin patch tradition has been to go to Half Moon Bay in California. We loved going there and just letting the kids run through the patch and the dirt. So once October rolled around here in Henderson, we started searching for a new patch to visit. There are lots of patches with rides, bounce houses, etc., which we did visit with a preschool group (I"ll post later about that), but we really just wanted to get out in the field!

So we heard about Gilcrease Orchards. It was awesome! It's a huge farm where you can pick your own produce from the field and orchards, and just pay by the pound. They also make fresh apple cider from their apples, which was so tasty! We also bought some hot, fresh, apple donuts that they were making at the stand where you pay. So yummy!

Here's Hallie getting ready to pull her pumpkin from the vine. She thought that was pretty cool! It was also educational and she learned about how the pumpkins grow from the vine.

Then it was Gavin's turn. He needed a little help from Dad to yank it off the vine.

That home in the background was beautiful! Lots of trees and greenery! It reminded us of homes you would find on a vineyard in Italy, not that we've been there.

Me and my kiddies! We really wanted a picture with the 4 of us, but we chose a good day to go to the orchard. There weren't a lot of people around.

The orchard is getting ready to close up for the winter, so we'll have to return next year, but much earlier in the year and pick some other produce. The kids loved it and Gavin managed to eat some more dirt. All in all, Gilcrease Orchard would make for a fun tradition!