Note: This is the 1st part of our Fraser Valley Adventure. Read Part 2 and Part 3.
Photo: Erin tries to find the perfect pumpkin at Maan Farms. Photo by Robyn Hanson.
On Tuesday, October 18, my sister Erin and I embarked on an autumn adventure out to the Fraser Valley.
We had been kindly invited by the Coast Hotel Chilliwack to spend the night at their hotel and then go sturgeon fishing with Great River Fishing Adventures the next day. We were thrilled! Neither of us had ever gone sturgeon fishing before, despite the fact that we had both grown up in a fishing village at the mouth of the Fraser River. Although Erin had gone fishing once before, this was my first time. Needless to say, a fishing adventure was long overdue and we were ecstatic about what was yet to come!
We left Vancouver around 2:30 in the afternoon – early enough to bypass the rush hour traffic. The weather was absolutely beautiful for October: sunny and warm at 18 degrees Celsius. Traffic was a breeze, the driving was easy, and by 3:30 we were already in Abbotsford.
First stop? Maan Farms.
Photo: The pumpkin patch at Maan Farms. Photo by Robyn Hanson.
Maan Farms
On our way to Chilliwack, I wanted to make quick detour off the highway to visit a pumpkin patch. Coincidentally, Erin had brought along a Circle Farm Tour map for Abbotsford which gave us a few additional ideas on what to see along the way. Maan Farms was on that list. I figured that it would make the perfect pit stop for us.
Situated in the beautiful rolling countryside of Abbotsford, Maan Farms is just 7 minutes off the highway. Their market is located in a big red barn, and it’s surrounded by their pumpkin patches, corn fields, and berry patches. With the golden autumn light and pumpkins galore, it was postcard perfect picturesque.
Unlike other pumpkin patches that I’ve visited in the past, Maan Farms grows over 25 varieties of pumpkins! There were pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and colours – some were deep orange, some were speckled or patterened, others pure white and light yellow, and some were even a light blue-green! Erin eventually picked up a beautiful geometrically-patterned miniature pumpkin while I kept to the more traditionally-shaped.
While we quickly eyed the petting zoo (goats!) and admired the fruits and veggies in the market, we also noticed Papa Jo’s Corn Maze. Apparently Maan Farms has Abbotsford’s only corn maze, and we had found its entrance. We could hear the giggles of children and their parents from within the maze, but we didn’t venture in this time around; we had to continue on our journey to our next stop: Birchwood Dairy.
Birchwood Dairy
On our drive to the pumpkin patch we had passed the Bakerview EcoDairy, and we had intended to visit it on our drive back to the main highway. However, as we left Maan Farms we noticed a sign pointing ahead to Birchwood Dairy. Both dairies were on the Circle Farm Tour map and we figured we’d check out Birchwood this time around and visit Bakerview on the way back home.
Photo: Birchwood Dairy. Photo by Robyn Hanson.
Driving east through the scenic Abbotsford farmland, we arrived at Birchwood Dairy only 10 minutes later. Family owned and operated, Birchwood Dairy is perhaps best known for their ice cream, of which they sell by the cone or by the bucket in their farm market. In addition to a wide variety of dairy products (milk, cheese, yogurt, etc.) they sell a unique mix of specialty products, from imported Dutch licorice to organic, locally-grown and milled flours.
We didn’t waste any time. We went straight for the ice cream.
Photo: Chocolate raspberry truffle & pumpkin (left), black raspberry cheesecake & S’mores (right).
We took our ice cream out to the picnic tables and simply relaxed in the autumn sunshine. Here we were in October without our jackets on, eating ice cream outside, admiring the pastoral landscape. A tractor was harvesting corn across the street while people of all types came by for an ice cream break: Abbotsford Policemen, Baby Boomers on Harley Davidsons, young families with kids, and couples in love. And us, the two sisters.
Photo: The scenery across the street from Birchwood Dairy. Photo by Robyn Hanson.
While eating our ice cream we noticed that you could stroll into the different buildings to watch the dairy in action. We saw the cows being milked in one building, and the calves being tended to in another. But it was much too nice to stay inside, so we ventured back outside and made friends with farm animals before making our way to our next stop: the Coast Chilliwack Hotel.
Photo: Erin makes friends with the cows at Birchwood Dairy. Photo by Robyn Hanson.
Photo: Birchwood Dairy. Photo by Robyn Hanson.
