June 15, 2013

Spokane

The bed is great!  Slept very well.

From Bend we went north to Moro.  Small farm town that has a fairgrounds and associated RV park.  Not fancy but it is quiet, clean, well maintained, nice view, and very reasonable.  $16 for full hookup, WiFi, and cable.  Showers also.

View from RV park - Mt Hood (20x)

The 14th we headed east up the Columbia River.  When the river turned north we continued east to Pendleton.  Have wanted to visit the woolen mill for years and we were again in the area so why not?  Nice tour shows you the entire process from wool to woven blanket.  Lots of amazing machines.  The weaving machine can weave a twin bed sized blanket with an intricate design/pattern in it in 15 minutes. 

Original building - well over 100 years old

Sample of intricacy possible on looms at this plant

Demo of various stages of wool processing

North from Pendleton through Walla Walla to a quiet little RV park four miles from the main road and near a river.  Passport America saved us 50% so only cost $12.50.

Today we went north through eastern Washington farm land. Miles and miles and miles and .... of wheat.  The topography here is not like Kansas.  The land is hilly.  Rounded top hills but rather deep and narrow gullies between.  Every bit of the hills is planted with wheat in patches that circle the hills.  Farm/ranch buildings are nestled in the gullies.  Lots of up and downs to the roads.  

We arrived at the home of our good friends, Mike and Gladys, about noon.  After settleing in the carbus and a nice lunch they took us on a drive south to Pullman, home of Washington State University. 

 

Goal was to visit a creamery that is part of the universitys Ag program.  "Best ice cream in state."  Unfortunately the creamery was only open on week days and we were there on Saturday.  Still we got a tour of the campus.  Big school built on a number of hills.  Walking to class would keep you in shape there.  On our return toward Spokane we stopped at Steptoe Butte.  This is a peak of hard volcanic bassalt in the middle of softer land of the general area.  Over eons the softer land has eroded away leaving the harder peak sticking up in the middle.  Sort of like the Sutter Buttes but condensed to one peak.  The peak must be 1000 feet above the surrounding land.  From the summit you can see over 50 miles  in all directions.   Watched a crop duster from above.  Pretty neat.

Town of several hundred people that we drove through on our tour

 

Brings to mind a golf course designed by the Devil

Before our trip to Pullman we visited a state/city park in Spokane.  Lots of walking/hiking/biking trails.  Camping sites AND the Spokane River flows through it.  The city Parks and Rec Dept does a rafting concession on the river.