We have travelled throughout the U.S. at almost every time
of the year and this one we are taking today is in November, when there are
many pretty fall colors to see. This
being our first fall season in this area makes it all the more enjoyable to see
the sights. We began our travels driving
through the Okanagan in BC where the leaves have turned and which I have shared
at other times.
Click here. to see more of that.
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| Okanogan County, Washington |
We are in the Okanogan County in Washington State, the
valley which continues down from the Okanagan Valley in BC but has a different
spelling. We are on Hwy 97 which follows
the Okanagan River through the northern part of the state. We stay on Hwy 97 for most of our travels
through Washington other than a jog onto I-82.
We pass through quiet country with small towns sprinkled along the way.
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| Orchards in Okanogan County |
The terrain is so similar in both Okanagan Valleys and they
are growing similar crops as the other, as well. The BC Okanagan was known for its’ fruit
orchards as is the US Okanogan but BC seems to dominate with vineyards, as
well. Both sides of the border have a
long history as fruit growers.
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| Reflections in Okanagan River |
A nice calm spot on the Okanagan River reflects the hills
and the orchard that borders the shoreline.
This is so like seeing the Thompson River flowing into Kamloops Lake with
very similar hills to reflect. There is
no doubt we are following the same valley down, so far.
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| Concrete Flume at Yakima, WA |
We found a nice RV park just outside of Yakima for an
overnight stay and saw this irrigation flume on our way out. This one is concrete whereas the only other
ones I’ve seen were wooden and certainly never able to last as long as this
was.
Click here to see those ones.
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| Mt. Ranier |
Mt Ranier is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range and
although presently dormant, is one of the most dangerous volcanoes that could
erupt. According to history, Captain
George Vancouver named this after his friend Rear Admiral Peter Ranier but it
was also known to be called Mt. Tacoma.
The debate about the name was re-ignited when Mount McKinley went back
to the original name of Denali in 2015.
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| Biggs Junction |
We are approaching the Columbia River where we cross the Sam
Hill Memorial Bridge into Briggs Junction, Oregon. This part of the river was the location of
“very bad rapid” mentioned in Lewis’ journal dated October 22, 1805, who was
part of the Lewis and Clark expedition.
Biggs Junction has a population of 50 and the main business is for
refuelling at this junction of Hwy 84 and 97.
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| Colorful trees |
We followed Hwy 97 which was taking us on the scenic byway,
“Journey Through Time” and called the WW 11 Veterans Historic Highway, home of
Army Camp Rufus, 1944-1945. It was a
quiet stretch of road. This part was
such a pretty stretch lined by the big trees with changing colors and cattle in
the nearby fields. A nice drive on a
country road.
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| Mt. Hood |
Mt. Hood is a giant landmark that can be seen for 160 km
(100 miles). It is the highest mountain
in Oregon, at 3424 m (11,235 ft) at last count.
It seems to vary over the years.
It is considered dormant but that is an informal statement, as it is
considered to erupt one day. Hopefully
not in our lifetime. Mt. Hood is also
home to 12 glaciers,
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| Mono Lake |
We’d been travelling Hwy 395 after leaving Carson City,
Nevada and at heights of over 1800 m (6000 ft.) we were certainly surprised to
see this sight as we came around the bend.
Mono Lake is a shallow and saline
soda lake formed a zillion years ago.
The salt makes the lake alkaline and you can see some of the salt
accumulated at the water’s edge. The lake is very huge and sits at an
elevation of 1946 m (6383 ft). It
provides a nesting habitat for two million migratory birds who come annually.
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| Country towns on Hwy 395 |
We followed Hwy 395 the rest of our day and saw a few small
towns along the way. Bishop had the
mural on the way and the other has what looks like the ‘real McCoy’ with the
old western town storefronts.
This trip was very different with quiet country roads and
small towns to pass through. It makes
for a nice change from the busy freeways that we often travel. It may take a bit longer this way but gives
us the chance to enjoy some of the scenery.
RV parks are quite easy to find and we had no snow to deal with in any
of the mountain passes we drove through.
It was a great trip.
