I don’t have a motorcycle, but I have friends that do! So I went along for a bike ride out to Carnation, WA (pop. 1,786 from 2010 census). To get there, we took State Route 520 across Lake Washington, and then turned south on State Route 202 where it ends in Redmond. Another 10 or 15 miles, and a left on NE Ames Lake Road got us to the city of Carnation*. Any connection to the Carnation Evaporated Milk cans my mom used to bake with? I wondered (modern version of the can below). Why sure .. in fact, Carnation refers to a nearby research farm which had been operated by the Carnation Milk Products Company. The farm supplied the whole area with dairy products and was later bought by the giant food company Nestlé.
*In the USA even small towns use the term ‘city’ to describe themselves. Settled in 1865, Carnation was officially incorporated in 1912, as Tolt (still the name of its main street). The name was changed to Carnation in 1917, back to Tolt in 1928, and finally back to Carnation again on October 29, 1951.
