On to Yakima WA

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After our stay in Tri-Cities, we still had 6 nights before our reservation in Mount Vernon. There weren't a whole lot of options from a camping standpoint that appealed to us. We had contemplated trying to camp somewhere near Mt Rainier, but we were unsure which roads and campgrounds were open - yes there is still snow in some parts of the park. There is an Elks Lodge in Yakima with 30 sites so we were nearly positive there would be room for us there. The 92 miles to Yakima would leave us with just over 200 miles left to get to the next stop so that seemed like the thing to do. The drive up Interstate 82 was pretty mundane which was fine with us.

The Yakima Elks Lodge is at a golf course so there were some cars in the lot when we pulled in. But by getting there early afternoon on a Monday, the parking lot wasn't packed which was good because getting into the some of the RV spots could be a challenge if the lot was busy. All the spots are situated in a grassy area with a handful of mature trees. There were 4 other rigs there and sprinklers running in many of the open spots. Thirty bucks a night gets you 50 amp electric and water on site. There is also a dump station on the opposite side of the parking lot. We moved a sprinkler out of the way and backed into a somewhat shady spot.

The next day we headed to Gingko Petrified Forest State Park about a 60 mile drive northeast of Yakima. It is where I-90 crosses the Columbia River. At the visitor's center, there are numerous outdoor displays of various species of petrified trees. Based on the name of the park, you may be able to guess what one species is. There are also a series of petroglyphs that were moved from a lower elevation along the Columbia River after the nearby dam was constructed and the rising water level would have hidden them. Turns out the visitor's center is more like a museum, with hundreds of samples of petrified wood. Many of the pieces are polished and quite stunning. Some of them are also incredibly large.

View of Columbia River from Gingko Petrified Forest

Large Polished Sample

Petrified Wood Outside Visitor's Center

Petroglyphs 

We watched several of the informational videos about how this area came to have something like 30 different species of trees that were petrified. Some of the flooding events that occurred here thousands of years ago sounded rather incredible. After enjoying our picnic lunch, we headed out to go to the trail system that takes you through the petrified wood specimens still in the field. It is a few miles drive away from the museum. Along the way is a rock and gem store that had several dinosaurs lurking in the parking lot. We had to stop not only for a picture but for the geocache hidden nearby.

You can definitely tell we are still in a dry desert environment. In some ways, it isn't very attractive since most of the vegetation is low brush and lots of extremely dry grasses. The trail take you up and up until you finally get to some of the dozens of samples of petrified wood. Each one has a large concrete bunker built around it and a big iron grate covering the sample. It was a strange contrast to our experience in Arizona at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. In Arizona, the volume of petrified wood permitted them to use the pieces as steps along the trail. Here each piece was caged in concrete prevent damage and theft.

Trail Through Barren Landscape

Caged Petrified Douglas Fir

On our way back to Yakima, we stopped at Olmstead Place State Park. I wouldn't call this place a park as much as it is a country museum. It is a preserved pioneer farm from the 1870's with some of the old buildings and many old pieces of farm equipment. Most of the implements had a sign describing what the thing was used for. I found it interesting but probably not a "must do" stop.  Being somebody that used to go to a bunch of farm auctions, I would often see implements and have no clue what they were for.

A Petrified Wood Bird Bath

Old School House

Farm Implements Galore

As we got closer to Yakima, we started to see a fair amount of smoke and even the fire in the distance. On the local news that night, we discovered that indeed there was a wildfire burning only 6 miles away! Over the next couple days we could sometimes smell the smoke at our site but we were never in danger. I think the fact that the sprinklers were often left on overnight would help in case the wind had shifted!

Scenic View Along the Way

The next day we headed to Cowiche Canyon to do a several mile hike along the Cowiche Creek on an old railroad line. The Yakima area apparently is known for growing much of the nation's hops used in beer production. One of the homes at the start of the trail had a small vegetable garden and a rather large area where the hops were just starting to climb the support structure built for them.

Hops

Cowiche Creek

The landscape along the whole hike was mostly dry and brown with the exception of right along the creek. The water was running pretty strong probably from snow melt in nearby mountains. The dry grass on the side of the hill made for an interesting challenge in two ways. It was every bit as slick as ice would be back home in the winter. Getting up the hill to look for a geocache was challenging and somewhat dangerous. The other issue was the seed heads would come off and imbed themselves in your shoes and socks making for incredibly uncomfortable walking. We stopped at a bench along the way and spent a full 15 minutes trying to remove the things from our footwear. Once done, we opted to skip some of the remaining geocaches to avoid needing another round of seed extraction.

Flower Found While Looking for Geocache

Looked Like a Stonehenge Head to Us

WATCH OUT!

Rough Section of Trail

At one point along the trail was a sign that pointed out a side trail that went up to a couple of wineries. We found it a bit odd if for no other fact than it looked to be a pretty good climb and was an additional 1/2 to 3/4 miles to get there. Since we still had a mile to go back to the trailhead, we decided to pass on this side trip. If they had an option to send a Saint Bernard down with wine samples, we likely would have tried them out.

Faint Trail (lower right) Leading to Wineries

We headed to the Yakima Arboretum one morning to see what it was like. It was pretty and not very crowded being a weekday morning. There were a couple groups of young kids on some sort of field trip. One group was running around with butterfly nets but they appeared to be more likely to hit each other with them rather than actually catch one. We have definitely been spoiled with all our visits to Cornell Plantations so this place doesn't quite measure up but was still a nice stop.

Entrance to Arboretum from Trail

Japanese Section of Arboretum

From here we headed to a couple wineries. I guess our hike yesterday tempting us with wine tastings had gotten to us. Our first stop brought us to the town of Zillah Washington. When I googled the town, one of the first things to show up was a picture of a teapot building. Intrigued, I searched for its location and we headed there first. It was build in the early 1920's and moved a few times before ending up in its current location.

I'm A Little Teapot

Teapot Gas Station

The first winery we stopped at was Silver Lake Winery. There are a multitude of wineries to choose from and in that way the area reminded us of the Finger Lakes region of western New York. We picked this one partially based on the wines they produce and the views they have from their deck. One other couple arrived just before us and they were going to have their tasting out on the deck we we decided to do the same. The wines were good and the views were nice but not anything close to many that we have been to overlooking one of the Finger Lakes. After picking out a bottle, we headed out but only after playing with the cute little puppy that belongs to one of the owners of the winery.

Nice Landscaping at Silver Lake Winery

View of Nearby Fields

How to Use Old Wine Barrels

Our next stop was Treveri Cellars. This place has a beautiful tasting room with a large outdoor patio. That was a good thing since a group of a dozen people showed up for a tasting just as we were starting ours. This place specializes in sparkling wines - technically not champagne! This was a good way to wrap up the day.

The last time I had washed the rig was in late March back in Benson Arizona. So many places don't permit washing of vehicles so we hadn't had a chance to do so. We figured since there apparently isn't a water shortage here given the sprinklers were running overnight, we asked if we could water the grass right next to our motorhome while washing it. They were fine with it and no other rig was close enough to get sprayed accidentally while we washed ours. After that we headed to a disc golf course in town. It was only a nine hole course, but based on the aerial, there didn't appear to be any water hazards. Other than needing to ask another player where the course started, we didn't have too much trouble following the course. That doesn't imply we did well, but no discs were lost - a good round in our book!

With only one full day left, we decided to take a drive along a "scenic route". US Route 12 heads west out of Yakima into Snoqualmie National Forest. Our first stop was at an elk feeding area at Oak Creek Wildlife Area. Apparently in the winter months, this area, with its tall fences to prevent elk/human contact, is used to actually feed the large elk population. It sounds like a really fun thing to see with the exception of needing to be here in the winter. This one will likely not make it to our bucket list.

Rimrock Lake is a pretty stop. Created by the dam in the Tieton River, there seemed to be a fair amount of recreation activities around it. We hadn't stopped with the intention of exploring this so we continued west. At many points you would get glimpses of Mount Rainier. It is hard to miss being huge and covered in snow. We seemed to keep getting drawn closer towards it with numerous viewpoints to pull over and take a look. We eventually saw the sign that we were entering Mt Rainier National Park. Hmmm! We hadn't consciously decided to come here, but since we were here, we pulled out our National Parks Pass and headed in.

Distant View of Mt Rainier

Low Clouds Near Mountain

 We were coming in the southeast corner of the park at the Stevens Canyon Entrance. As I was driving, Chris read over the newsletter/map you get as you enter the park. Turns out the Paradise Inn and its associated visitor's center had just opened the day we were there! Talk about being fortuitous. Of course the other several hundreds of cars had likely planned on coming here on opening day. This meant some serious jockeying for parking spots at many of the scenic pullouts on the 19 mile drive to Paradise Inn.

At Reflection Pond

Getting Closer

 As we approached the visitor center we saw signs for a picnic area. We stopped with the intention of eating our lunch. It was a busy area but not packed. We got out in search of a picnic table only to realize that many were still surrounded by a couple feet of snow! Who knows how many were completely covered? Guess that is why this place was just opening even though it was July 1. We eventually found a spot to eat that we could get to and enjoyed the scenery.

Snowy Picnic Tables

Some Flowers are Blooming Where Snow has Melted

We got back in the car to go the additional 1/4 mile to the visitor's center only to get stuck in traffic for 15 minutes or so. The walk from the picnic area would have been dramatically faster and less frustrating. This place was just a sea of people. There were numerous large groups of people with full backpacks apparently waiting to start some hike. It wasn't clear if they were hiking to the summit of Mt Rainier or if they were going to hike the 93 mile Wonderland Trail that circumnavigates the mountain.

Large Crowds

The inside of the visitor's center wasn't any less crowded. Many hikers were sleeping on benches. We suspect they were in the middle of hikes and needed a nice warm place to crash. We watched the welcome video and then headed over to Paradise Inn. Since it too had just opened, it was a flurry of activity. 2017 is the 100th anniversary of its opening. A string of old cars were out front. The main lobby is quite large and very interesting to explore.

From Upper Level of Visitor's Center

Old Cars at Old Inn

Beautiful Big Building

Massive Clock in Paradise Inn

Hand Painted Lamp Shades

Close Up of Shade

As we wandered around outside, there were some spots where wildflowers were starting to bloom but many others where there was still several feet of snow on the ground. Just about everywhere you looked, there was massive amount of runoff from the snow melting on this warm day. I suspect that the bulk of the snow will be gone in a couple weeks. There had been no attempt to clear snow from any of the paved walking paths in the area so after trying a few and running into deep slick snow, we opted to head out.

This Trail Isn't Open Yet!

Another Trail Only Partially Melted

Some Flowers in Bloom

Entrance to Rainier

We seemed to find enough to do in the Yakima area for our six nights here. By the time we left, that pesky wildfire had been brought under control. We may have only scratched the surface but it was all the time we had before moving on down the highway.