Day Three--Guess What's 30 Miles North of U.S. 2!

We were up, hitched, and rolling out of Daroga State Park at nine o'clock promptly. We got the tanks emptied before we headed out and were soon thankful we weren't carrying any extra weight. The climb out of the Columbia River Valley was arduous as we were behind a semi and the max speed reached was about 30 mph. But the views were breathtaking and the slow speed let us enjoy them that much more.

We stopped at a delightful little coffee stand in Waterville and were told the storms we experienced near the river Saturday night were nothing compared to what was up on the plateau. Winds 75 mph had downed trees and power was out for several hours. But it happened that the stand was celebrating its tenth anniversary that morning and drinks were two-for-one. There were road crews clearing some mud in places, but we saw little sign of any damage and farmers were out in the fields harvesting and baling hay.

Q and I started laughing as we crested the ridge to head back down toward the Columbia and saw the sign for Ephrata. If you listen to radio ads, you know that Ephrata is where WGU's one billboard is located. (That's an on-line university. WGU.edu.) Just beyond the junction was Coulee City. We'd had coffee and traveled an hour and a half, so we were ready for breakfast and a bathroom. Nothing in Coulee City opens before 11:00, except, perhaps, the lawyer's office. We hung around until 11:00 and had lunch at the Stampede Bar and Grill. Q declared the chicken strips to be among the top five she'd ever had. (How many has she had?)

The big discovery was that Grand Coulee Dam was just 30 miles north and the drive is one of the most beautiful in Washington. The principle of the trip is never pass up an opportunity to see something cool, so we took the detour along Banks Lake.

Gorgeous. As to Grand Coulee Dam, touted locally as the eighth wonder of the world, yeah it was cool. They say that the concrete in the dam, if made into a sidewalk, would be four feet wide, four inches thick, and circle the globe twice. For sheer beauty and magnificence, I'd take Hoover Dam, but the work was certainly impressive.

We pulled into Spring Ridge Estates at exactly five o'clock and met with owner/developer Gary Chantry.  He showed us a couple of available sites and we chose to use the RV guest pad at the home of Jim and Mary Stoll. I'm sure we'll have some stories to tell here, but this site is shaded, quiet, secure, and lovely. The trailer will stay here for a couple of weeks as I settle into the life.

Off to bed early so Q and I can drive to Glacier National Park on Tuesday.