Days 75, 76, Th. August 18th; Fri. the 19th; 2011 Omak to Richland (2 days

Days 75, 76, Th. August 18th; Fri. the 19th; 2011 Omak to Richland (2 days)

There is a very weak signal here so I will post pictures in a day or so . (Patience)

Day 75 , Thursday August 18, 2011---The Columbia River. I’ll bet you cannot draw, anywhere near the route that it takes on it’s journey to the Pacific Ocean? I thought I knew some of it, as a geographer of sorts, but while passing over it four times, and driving along side of it on both sides. I was totally confused as to which direction it travels. Well, don’t be baffled , it travels south (out of Canada) west (into Washington) , north (in Washington again) and then east as it tries to make it’s way to the southern boundary of Washington on the north side of Oregon. It makes a sharp northerly turn at Grand Coulee Dam (where the Dry Falls are located. It is as if it used to go there to the south (probably did if you see “Dry Falls” ) and then turns north again to get up steam, pick up a few rivers and then head south. Here at Richland it picks up the Yakima River (which runs west to east) and on the southern border it picks up the Umatilla River (which runs south to north) and many others. It is almost as if it picks up everything that is remotely close, absorbs it, and moves on. It runs through the desert country, the mountains, the great farmland (thanks to its water source for irrigation and it provides power, (we saw three of many dams for power) and provides fish for the table as well as water for general use. Without the Columbia River Eastern Washington would be a vast desert. It is mostly, but its abundance in fruit and wheat is due to the Columbia.

From Omak to The Dry Falls, we do see many fruit orchards and fruit stands that accompany them. This is along the lower reaches of the Okanagon River as when it reaches the Columbia the road keeps going along the Columbia. (N to S) There are many wheat fields (dry farmed) and three other lakes that have resorts and fishing activity. Then we move a bit SW and lo and behold there is the Columbia River again.It begins to move east again. We lose it as we continue south and get into the completely dry and arid grass land that make up the area of the Hanford Reach National Monument (Signed by President Clinton on 2000) and skirt the vast dry grasses of that 135,000 s.m. area until we reach the outskirts of Richland where the RV Park is located.

That evening we tried to cash traveler’s checks. Hey, no one told us that in the time we were gone that the policy of banks and credit unions would practically ban them from being cashed in. We tried three institutions before a Bank of America Officer kindly did that for us after checking his regulations. (I think he went over his boundaries.) Even the US Post Office would not cash them unless we purchased 50% of it from them. ($200.00 - $100.00 = $100.00) Are you kidding me? There is a problem that needs to be solved for future trips. (We do not use ATM’s if you think that would work). Any suggestions?

We aborted our haircut possibilities, (we were low on cash) but finally a shopping trip to stock up on foods since up in Canada, The Safeway took our Discover card (Canada and much of Washington would not. Advice is to carry two types of major credit cards). It was very frustrating for Ruth especially. We finally arrived back in the trailer and at 90 F we turned on the AC for the first time on the trip. It was a quiet night . a clear sunset, and great stars after 10:00 The sun sets here now at 7 :30 or so.

Friday the 19th (daughter Therese’s 49th birthday). Ruth put the crock pot on with pork chops and rice to cook, while we were gone. We were determined to see some part oa\f the Hanford Reach NWR. We ran into too many dead ends, as noone seemed to “really” know how to access it , and advised that we shouldn’t try as it was not ready for public use. Even the Kennewick Visitor Center with Sue who ran off some directions to one road, was not able to come up with more. We decided to go on two suggestions to look for N. Road 68 across the river out of Pasco. We did that and found a road that was about 2 miles long that accessed the Columbia River adjacent to many orchards and fruit farms. We did see some birds there and enjoyed the personal sight of the Columbia with some fisherman in boats trying their luck and the fish jumping near shore. An Osprey favored us with a rest on a nearby tree over the water, and some songbirds were seen. The workings of the orchards with irrigation was intriguing with the ditches returning water to the Columbia River and how they use their props for the trees. (see) . Ruth then wanted to see the Yakima fruit farms and stands. We drove west on I-82 until we came to Yakima Valley Road thinking the fruit stands would be on the “side” roads. All the way to Yakima (68 miles) and we did not see one fruit stand. An inquiry at a small store brought some help from Phong (Vietnamese woman) who directed us to a small town about 10 miles back the way we had come bit on a different road. So we dd that and found the fruit stands , many of them , made some purchases and returned by 4:15. Time for a rest and some log and blog before husking the fresh corn for supper. It was good and sweet and the pork chops were a change of pace for us. I did get the internet to work after some help from one of the staff. (Eldon) He taught me more in 10 minutes than I had ever heard before about Wi-Fi. There are ways to get better reception than depending on your computer . There are antennas , and power units that will help.

The evening was beautiful again and at 9:41 it is 73 F outside and cooling The moon has set and the stars start to shine. Tomorrow we head through Oregon and end up just over the border in Fruitland ID. The temp today was 90F , of course that is DRY heat!