We had time to make a decision since the road doesn't fork until just after Boardman. We debated our options (go north, go south) and decided to go north, then catch I-90 east and go across Montana. We will dip down in Wyoming catching the site of Custer's last stand, then head east through South Dakota. We are hoping to see Mt Rushmore. We travelled this route many years ago, but the Presidents were hidden in the fog (Presidents in the mist). Maybe we can catch them this time.
The Gorge was beautiful as always. The river had lots of surf, but not a wind surfer in sight. We stopped at the rest stop just before The Dalles. Went for a walk to stretch my legs and noticed lots of picnic tables, no people. Then I saw the signs.
I braved the path and was rewarded by a great view through the truck parking lot.
After The Dalles, we entered goat country. This is dry country with wheat-colored grass, sparse patches of green bushes or trees with black rocks peaking through. The black rocks become black cliffs. We've travelled this road many times, but I've yet to spot a goat. Most of the rest of the family have spotted them. No luck this time
After milepost 105, we were in windmill country. Huge ones on every hill. We turned north and headed past Umatilla to the Tri-Cities. This country seems very Kansasesque. No trees, golden grass. You can see the horizon in all directions.
Miss Direction earned her keep getting through Kennewick and Pasco. Lots of turns and exits. We have her this trip instead of a trip-tik and she is working well. She doesn't like directing you without an address, so I've gotten good at making up addresses in cities in the direction we want to go. Just have to remember to keep changing them.
Kennewick means "winter paradise" in Yakama tongue. Irrigation transformed the desert into farmland. The annual rainfall here is under 8 inches. And it was raining (what are the chances?)
Pasco is the oldest of the Tri-Cities. It started out as a railroad camp and is still a big rail center with the BNSF railway yards. Elevation here is about 380 feet and population is about 60K. A construction engineer named the settlement Pasco after a Peruvian mining town named Cerro do Pasco. There's a trivia question for you.
We passed the turnoff for the Hanford Reach National Monument. This is a reserve of 195,000 acres set aside in 2000 protecting the last wild running stretch of the Columbia River. It would have been about 70 miles to the overlook. The last 8.5 miles are via a gravel road. This gets you to a panoramic view "encompassing the bluffs, the river, and a series of former plutonium production reactors on the Hanford site." Sounds like the good, the bad and the radioactive. Somehow, I couldn't convince Jim to take the turn-off.
He did take the turn off for the next rest stop. That is until he saw that we had to follow the sign that said "to Pullman." He was torn between the call of nature, and the call of a Wazoo alum and avid football fan.....nature won.
This is the warmest driest part of the state, and it's still raining. Still raining through Spokane. We wondered when we would reach Idaho, until we saw a sign that said "Leaving the apple maggot quarantine area." Sure enough the "Welcome to Idaho" sign was right around the corner.
We decided to stop in Coeur d Alene and try to stay at the same motel as on our first trip in 2008. We put the address into Miss Direction and off we went. The motel is called the Flamingo Hotel and it is just at the end of the main downtown street within walking distance of all the shops, restaurants, and lake. When we got there the "NO VACANCY" sign was on. Jim had me call -- just to make sure, but they were full. They said the only other motel in the area was across the street...so we turned around and found the Resort City Inn. They had a room on the ground floor -- perfect!
We really like this town. It has grown in the 5 years since we were here before. I don't remember all the outside seating in the many restaurants and drinking establishments (and it was STILL RAINING). We walked down to the lake and the fancy resort and harbor. They have a floating pier that you can walk on and feel like you are out on the lake. We saw a sea plane back up then go forward and jump up onto the pier next to what looked like a sea plane gas station. Sea planes must be very agile.
We stopped into an establishment called Scratch Restaurant. Sat in the corner window where we could watch people dodging the rain and a variety of cars (It's about time to replace the Buick, so Jim was casing the cars). We had salads and I had a local beer. The food was great. Highly recommend.
When we were here before they were building a new high-rise complex. Well it was finished and we also noticed that the block behind, which I remember as being park-like before, is now under construction -- more high-rises I expect. It's obvious this is a fast-growing area -- just hope it can keep its character in the process.
On to Montana tomorrow......
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