Apple Orchard Trip

Tuesday we joined some fellow homeschoolers on a field trip to the Okaw Valley Apple Orchard. We learned how their family owned orchard operates, got to pick our own apples, and learned how their apple cider is made.  We had a great time.  The weather was perfect and we got to see some of our friends.

picking our own apples

honey bees are vital to apple production.  did you know you can rent honey bees?

apples are dumped onto a belt where they are washed...

and sorted.  the apples that are too small go into the bins for apple sauce and cider.  the apples on the platform are bagged and weighed and then sold in their country store.

this is their cider press.  this machine presses the apples into mush that is then pressed to get the cider.

the tank behind this holds the cider that is then pumped into gallon jugs through these nozzles.

after the tour we had apple crisp donuts and apple cider slushies and then it was time to play with friends.

Before we headed home, we bought some more apple crisp donuts to share with Dodger and I got some homemade jalapeño mustard and fresh ground horseradish sauce.  I haven't tried the mustard but the horseradish is the best I've ever tasted.  I'll never go back to the store-bought, processed stuff.