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On my birthday weekend we decided to take a mini-vacation to the eastern side of Washington. I have been wanting to see the Grand Coulee Dam for quite some time and we just hadn't made it over there yet. This ended up being one of my favorite short vacations.
We headed over the mountains on US 2 over Steven's Pass. Once on the eastern side, the road follows the Wenatchee River. We stopped by a small spillway for a quick stretch of the legs and to enjoy the beauty of the area.
We turned north just before the city of Wenatchee and drove along the upper portion of the Columbia River. Once out of the mountains the lower elevations are desert but have lots of trees along the river banks. There was a small island in the river that was called Turtle Rock and it really did look like the face of a turtle.
We spent the night in Omak which is less than 50 miles from the Canadian border. There were some high clouds which made for a nice sunset. In the morning, we were off to see Grand Coulee Dam. It was about an hour's drive from Omak. The views were gorgeous as we approached the base of the dam. We scouted about town and then took the tour which was about an hour long. Very interesting and informative. John even made it to the edge and looked over the side.
The visitor center had an interesting video about the geological forces that shaped Washington and had lots of information on the area before and after the building of the dam. We drove up to Crown Point which is an observation vista above the dam. Only about five miles but had more spectacular views of the dam and the surrounding valley.
As we left the dam and headed south we passed several lakes. The bluffs that formed the canyon walls on either side of the road were amazing. We spent the night in Pasco and had a couple of hours to visit with Artie and Heidi.
As we headed home the next day, we passed a sign that caught our attention for the Wild Horse Wind Facility. Couldn't pass that up, so we drove a few miles out of the way, just off Interstate 90 to check that out. The Visitor Center is run by Puget Sound Energy in co-operation with the Ellensburg Chamber of Commerce. It is located high on a ridge. It currently is generating most of its electricity from wind but has some solar panels. Very informative and again beautiful views.
Click here to see Saturday's pictures of the trip to Omak.
Click here to see Sunday's pictures of Grand Coulee Dam and the valley.
Click here to see Monday's pictures of the Wild Horse Wind Facility.
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