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EPISODE TWO: Thurston Bountiful Byway · Talk Thurston to Me

• 0:04
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Talk Thurston to Me, where we explore the people, places, stories, and experiences that make Thurston County an unforgettable place to visit.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: Today, we're discovering the Thurston Bountiful Byway.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: We're taking a little road trip, so buckle up.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_00: To set the stage before we dive in, I want to tell our listeners what the Thurston Bountiful Byway even is.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: At the heart of the Byway is something called agritourism.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: It's literally where agriculture and tourism come together.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_00: The Thurston Bountiful Byway is a 60-mile scenic route that winds through Thurston County and connects our farms, food, outdoor recreation, and our smaller communities in which we call South County of Rainier, Yelm, Tinaino, Bucota, Rochester, and Grand Mound.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: The loop showcases authentic agritourism experiences, outstanding scenery, friendly towns, and exciting recreational adventures.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: You can learn about the agricultural aspects of our region on a farm visit, when you visit a farmer's market where products produced locally are sold, and at businesses sourcing from local farms.
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_00: You can explore dozens of special stops and activities, including creameries, might be my favorite, nurseries, distilleries, and breweries, maybe my second favorite, sculpture gardens, and historic sites.
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_00: There are more than 50 different stops along the Bountiful Byway.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: One of those places is Summit Farms, a family-owned sustainable farm along the Byway near Miller Sylvania State Park.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: I'm Emily Brooks, and joining me to help you learn about the Thurston Bountiful Byway is Mitch Lewis from Summit Farms.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: Mitch, welcome to Talk Thurston to Me.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so glad that you are here.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Hello, Emily.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: It is a pleasure to be with you here today.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_01: And we are so excited to promote the Thurston Bountiful Byway and all the local businesses along the Byway, too.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, awesome.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so excited to have this conversation with you.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: I know that you have been part of the Byway for many years because you have an interesting story about how you got into agriculture and agritourism.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_00: Can you tell us a little bit about that and why you started Summit Farms?
• 2:22
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, thank you.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's a story that's really hard to believe.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: I spent most of my career in corporate America working in an office like many of us do.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: A number of years ago, I would tell my granddaughters a story about Billy the bad goat.
• 2:37
  SPEAKER_01: And Billy lived on a farm with a big red barn, and there were lots of talking animals there.
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: And then about the same time, I started getting involved with some agricultural innovation work.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_01: And then during the pandemic, we ended up looking for small farms.
• 2:54
  SPEAKER_01: We ended up purchasing this farm here, about 30 acres, which had been an old dairy farm, and we've been working since then to kind of fix it up and bring tourism and agriculture together here.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 3:06
  SPEAKER_00: Uh story that it comes to actual fruition out at Summit Farms.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: And we have actual fruits here as well.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: So yes.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: So now on to a little bit about the byway.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_00: Since you are very familiar with the byway yourself, I really just want to pick your brain.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna ask you a series of questions.
• 3:29
  SPEAKER_00: It'll just be conversational.
• 3:32
  SPEAKER_00: But what would surprise someone experiencing the byway for the first time?
• 3:38
  SPEAKER_01: I think what would surprise anyone is the variety and diversity of both the local and community, small business owners and individuals and community.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_01: We have a very unique culture here, a very unique setting.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, being halfway between, say, Portland and Seattle, we got a lot of visitors who haven't really seen a lot of the Pacific Northwest, especially in the Olympia and beyond area.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_01: So I think what would surprise people is how many different experiences you could have along one 60-mile stretch of byway.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: Mm-hmm.
• 4:16
  SPEAKER_00: I think too, I love telling people, you know, you can be at the Olympia Farmers Market and seeing the products and businesses that are there.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_00: And within 30 minutes, you can be out at that farm in the rural part of our county.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_00: And so I love being able to tell that story.
• 4:35
  SPEAKER_00: It's a great product that we have here in Thurston County, just to be able to say you can be in the urban core but within 20, 30 minutes, you can be out at the farm and actually seeing where the growers and producers, where their vegetables and fruits, just like you were talking about, come from.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: You're right.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: And also during the you-pick season, you have the opportunity to go to the Rutledge Family Farm and tour the corn maze or pick some sunflowers or maybe some blueberries.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: So it's the opportunity to get personally involved with your hand and also kind of throughout the different seasons.
• 5:10
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's also interesting, is what's here in spring or summer or fall or winter.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_01: We have something different for everybody throughout the year, right?
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: We absolutely do.
• 5:20
  SPEAKER_00: You were talking about being personable with the farmers and the growers and producers.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_00: What does the byway mean to you personally?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think the byway means to me community and locals that we can show to visitors our deep and rich agricultural history, our history of pioneers, of Native Americans, really coming together to grow this region from the ground up.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_01: We love to show people visiting all that we have to offer here that people are just not really aware of.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_01: And we can take them on the byway depending on what they want to do that day to really see what they would like.
• 5:59
  SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
• 6:01
  SPEAKER_00: And when you take them on the byway, if you could show a visitor just one thing, and just one thing, I'm gonna be strict on this, along the Thursday Mountable Byway, what would it be?
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe a business, maybe just the scenery, maybe that you pick sunflowers.
• 6:19
  SPEAKER_01: I might, as you mentioned, I might take them to the Olympia farmers market, kind of being a central hub there.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_01: You've got really the port of Olympia, you've got seafood restaurants nearby, you've got walking paths, and from there you can meet some of your fellow farmers, your arts and crafters, your brewers, and also get a feel for other local farmers markets as well.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_01: So I think kind of their starting-wise, really close to downtown, and you can spread out from there.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_01: So I hate to pick just but one because I have 10 or 60.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_01: But if we go with one, we'd stick with that one.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think that you mentioned just get a feel for different farmers markets.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: I know has a farmers market during the summertime as well.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_00: And Yelm, the Yelm farmers market is great.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_00: There's a really good cookie business at the Yelm farmers market.
• 7:07
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, I have a sweet tooth today, but I think that farmers market, obviously, the Olympia farmers market is the second largest in the state of Washington, second to, of course, the obvious one up north.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: But we're very, very lucky to have that asset in our community for sure.
• 7:25
  SPEAKER_00: What's a moment that made you think, this is why I do this?
• 7:30
  SPEAKER_00: This is why I do what I do here at Summit Farms.
• 7:35
  SPEAKER_01: For us, it was being at the new agricultural innovation park and going to see some of the local stores that accept, like Jennifer Colbin's Colbin Ranch provisions that are there.
• 7:47
  SPEAKER_01: You've got small cafes, you've got meeting places.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I think sitting there and being around fellow business owners and other folks who are really committed to the welfare of this county and growing it was that moment of feeling like, okay, we have a group of folks here who are built on growing the area.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_00: We definitely have generations of farmers and producers in Thurston County and along the byway.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_00: I know one of my favorites is this isn't about me, but one of my favorites is Johnson's Smokehouse.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_00: Um, and I just know, I mean, growing up here, I used to go there with my parents, and now my husband and I are going there with our little one.
• 8:32
  SPEAKER_00: It's just, it's so good.
• 8:34
  SPEAKER_00: Them and Latins, just there's so many places that have been here for so long.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: And like you said, it's really just built on that community and from literally the ground up.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: And I I like the mention of Johnson's, it's right near us too, right along Rich Road.
• 8:49
  SPEAKER_01: And you can stop in there, they have live music during the summer.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_01: You can actually get a brew if you want, sit out on an outdoor patio.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_01: Fantastic hot dogs and cheesesteaks, let alone sausages to go.
• 9:02
  SPEAKER_01: But but we diverge, we're uh on a hunger kick this morning.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we are.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_00: We are.
• 9:09
  SPEAKER_00: If you could describe Thurston County in three words, what would it be?
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_01: I have those three words, but before that, I wanted to give a shout out to the South County near where we live down here.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_01: Some of the towns like Bucoda and Grand Mound and Tenaino have such rich history behind them.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: And places like you can go to Lucky Eagle Casino if you want to get some food or drink or you know, gamble a little money.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_01: There's Sandstone Boat Distillery and Sandstone Restaurant.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_01: There's a lot of local stone cutter places down in Tinaino.
• 9:44
  SPEAKER_01: And besides that, the the drive is lovely.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_01: I get off the highway, might put the top down, you know, the trees are changing, the leaves are falling.
• 9:55
  SPEAKER_01: I love seeing the different type of scenery throughout the year.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_01: It's very relaxing, very peaceful, and it's a lovely drive down south.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: Now, for my three words, I am gonna say historic, authentic experiences.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_00: I love those three words.
• 10:17
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_01: We feel very strongly, both my wife and I, who are co-owners of the farm, that we have such a rich history here going back to the 1850s pioneers and our Native Americans who are here thousands of years before that.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: And what's amazing for us is to be still be around the generations of the same families here.
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Authentic, you know, we all do Instagram and other social media, but when you're here, it's the reality.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_01: When you come to any farm or any business, these are real people doing real work, trying to make real money.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: And as a tourist, you're really helping not just them out, but the county to grow by allowing us to invest more tax dollars and experiences.
• 11:02
  SPEAKER_01: I was spending some time on Experience Olympia and Beyond last night.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_01: I love how it's categorized whether you want to run walk, bike, or have wine while you run walk, bike.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: So many different areas there.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I think the experiences is something we have that's unique to us.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: So historic, authentic experiences.
• 11:24
  SPEAKER_01: That's my final answer.
• 11:25
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 11:26
  SPEAKER_00: I love that.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and I'm gonna tell you my three words here very soon, too.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_00: But that's a very awesome point of South County, and we have those six very different rural areas, but then the byway also has places you mentioned wine, so I'm gonna go there.
• 11:42
  SPEAKER_00: The awesome part about the byway is we're in rural areas, we can be in Olympia, you can be in Lacey at Stoddle Winery, they're a part of the byway, the Billy Frank Jr.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_00: Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge.
• 11:57
  SPEAKER_00: You can be out there just within minutes of each other.
• 12:01
  SPEAKER_00: And the byway really takes you through all of those different areas.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_00: And that's one special part that we really want people in the community to know and to be able to tell visitors about is just how diverse the byway really, really is.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna add too that you mentioned the wildlife refuge.
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_01: And I would say one of our big experiences we have here is around conservation and environment.
• 12:27
  SPEAKER_01: Everywhere you go, it's green or blue with water.
• 12:32
  SPEAKER_01: And all of the farmers and growers and ranchers that we know sit at the intersection of agriculture and tourism and conservation.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so many of us work with Thirst and Conservation District, with U.S.
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_01: Fish and Wildlife, with the USDA.
• 12:49
  SPEAKER_01: So it's really important for all of us that we both look after the environment, but the food and meat that is going into us and our families.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_01: So when you're along the byway, you know that if you bought beef or eggs, or as you mentioned, dairy, that it might be organic, but at least it certainly is local community and very healthy for you too.
• 13:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love that.
• 13:14
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm gonna tell you my three words because I was also asked this question.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_00: And when I answered, I said more than meets the eye.
• 13:22
  SPEAKER_00: Now that's five.
• 13:24
  SPEAKER_00: I know it, but that's you know that that's me, Mitch.
• 13:27
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but I think that those five words really encompass the byway because on the map, it might look like a loop, the 60-mile loop.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_00: But once you dive in, you really discover so much more.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_00: You go down a random street, you find a farm, you go down another random street, you find the you pick, like you were talking about.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that more than meets the eye really encompasses the byway.
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: And so that was my answer I wanted to share with you.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_01: I like that, but how come you've got five words?
• 14:02
  SPEAKER_01: Ah, you get those, yeah.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Because there is, because there's more than meets the eye.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, exactly.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_00: So we're nearing the end.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_00: We've mentioned a lot of businesses along the byway, but who along the byway deserves some local love?
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm gonna put a shout out to one of our newest members of the Byway, which is the Tumwater Craft District.
• 14:26
  SPEAKER_01: We talked about some of the South Cities, we've talked about communities, we talked about Olympia.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Tumwater is an area that's been known, of course, for its beer, but it also has the craft district, has restaurants and arts and crafts nearby, and it's just a lovely place to spend the day even throughout the season.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_01: So I wanted to give a shout out to Tumwater here.
• 14:46
  SPEAKER_00: The craft district is a great place.
• 14:49
  SPEAKER_00: I was just there a couple days ago.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_00: Actually, we went to brewery park at Tumwater Falls and then the craft district for a nice beverage after at Mount Olympus.
• 14:58
  SPEAKER_00: So it's definitely in my rotation of places along the highway.
• 15:04
  SPEAKER_01: Absolutely.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, so we've talked about the people, the places, and what makes the byway special here in Thurston County.
• 15:12
  SPEAKER_00: But before we wrap up, I want to give you one final word, Mitch.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_00: If you can finish this sentence, Thurston County is first word that came to mind, Thurston County is our people.
• 15:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's places, but it's really about all of us.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_01: And we want all of our visitors to feel welcome and to come back again early and often.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_00: People are what make us a big community.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_00: We've officially given everyone a reason to put the Thurston Bountiful Byway on their list to go and explore.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_00: Visit Thurston BountifulByway.com for even more information.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_00: Now we've talked about it, you've heard the story, you've gotten a taste of what makes Thurston County special, and hopefully you're ready to discover it for yourself.
• 15:57
  SPEAKER_00: Are you ready to see what else is waiting for you?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_00: Head to experiencelympia.com and meet Ollie by Golly.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_00: She is your guide to discovering more places to go, things to do, and adventures to find throughout Thurston County.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because sometimes the best adventures aren't the ones you planned, they're the ones that you discover.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_00: Until next time, talk Thurston to meet.