Wagons Ho

We hitched up the Biff and headed West young man! We followed the path of the original settlers along the Oregon Trail which follows the course of the Snake River through this part of the country. The land around Idaho and eastern Oregon is arid grasslands. There was plenty of grass for the livestock and water to be found but still a harsh climate. We unhitched and rested in Baker City, OR and decided to stay for two nights. Pretty little town. The next day we visited the Interpretive Center on the Oregon Trail.  Truly amazing what these heroic pioneers went through to settle this wild land.  I highly recommend checking it out if you are in the area.  We started the drive towards Hells Canyon, be warned – this is much longer drive than you think on twisty roads over rolling hills. We gave up and turned around not wanting to drive all day. Hmm, maybe next time. 

We continued on through Oregon in a northerly direction towards Washington. Most folks picture Oregon and Washington as lush rain swept forests.  This area is dry and more reminisce of New Mexico than I was expecting. We were headed for the Grand Coulee Dam. The closer we got to the dam the more dramatic the geography of the area.  This was the flood plane for the Ice Age Lake Missoula noted for biblical proportioned floods.  The landscape showed the evidence with odd large boulders randomly placed over the flat lands, and then turning into the dramatic  Dry Falls dwarfing current day Niagara Falls. Okay, so all my life I thought Coulee Dam was named after someone but “dam” I was wrong.  This area is called the Grand Coulee with coulee being yet another name for dried ditch.  What?  Just a fancy name for a dry gulch, ditch, arroyos, wash, etc - I’ll add it to my list.  

Dry Falls

Natural spring fed lakes dot the area and a few RV parks too.  We stayed at Sun Lake which is private and adjacent to the Sun Lake/Dry Falls State Park.  A little confusing but the private park has full hookups. This area is a big weekend destination for the locals providing swimming and boating.  The campground was nice enough but I have never seen winds like we did in this canyon.  I don’t know if it was just the time of year or always this way due to the geography but they were almost hurricane force at times! The Biff was a rocking and rolling and not in a fun way.

Mr. Rattlesnake

We stayed a few days in the area.  Checking out some of the trails in state park (and rattlesnakes)  and visiting the famous dam.  The Coulee Dam is the largest in the North American Hemisphere, yup even bigger than Hoover Dam in Nevada.  Impressive! The tour is free and the views of the Columbia River from atop the dam can’t be beat.  We did not get back to see the laser show,  we heard they are even worth staying up past 10:00 pm! The town has strict rules about preserving the original houses. You get a real feel what the place looked like in the 30's when the dam was built.  A little bit of engineering history preserved. Interesting area but tomorrow was moving day.  Canada here we come!

Grand Coulee Dam