Day 72 - Ellensburg to Vernon

Departure Ellensburg. First, coffee. Of course.

Small towns and farm country are on the agenda today as we head up Washington State's Okanogan towards BC's Okanagan.

They appear to have a language here that we have not experienced before.

Finally - a dramatic discovery! We have found the long lost SS Minnow as she furiously attempts to escape our sights with her recently installed super charged detection avoidance system and all terrain travel adaptations.

Our route today takes us east of Ellensburg on I 84 until we depart towards Ephrata on 283 that becomes 28. We then take Sage Brush Road - through Farmer to Withrow on 172, then B Road NE to Bridgeport. Amazing backroads drive in fabulous weather. The cliffs in this pic are reminiscent of the Vermillion Cliffs in Arizona. Just not so red!

Farmer Community Hall

Land stretching out so far and wide .....

It feels so peaceful and calm out here after yesterday's crazy weather interstate driving.

The landscape is dotted with massive boulders, we suspect are likely volcanic in origin. Certainly lots of volcanoes in the vicinity!

This leftover Beryllium Atomic Trigger was found near the Hanford Nuclear Reservation installation of Wildfire Lab. The locals have put it to good use in a playground. A useful side effect of your kids using this playground is: it makes your kids glow in the dark - which comes in handy in these "dark skies" towns.

See, nuthin' happening here - it's just a playground.

The Chief Joseph Dam at Bridgeport.

Yes, Bridgeport has a bridge.

We are losing track of the number of times we have crossed the Columbia. It must be more than six by now.

The Chief's dam site has absolutely everything you could possibly need for a roadside refresher.

Further evidence of Wildfire Lab in these parts. The locals think it has something to do with all the recent UFO sightings and strange happenings with farm livestock. The Government denies everything, including all knowledge of these radio antennae. They say antennae "grow well" here, so here they are.

Suddenly - we're not in Kansas anymore! Just don't try getting to Vancouver on Hwy 3 right now. The Hope Princeton is completely shut due to a recent massive rain event with floods and slides all over. Could be closed for quite some time. Welcome Home!!

We're not headed to Vancouver right now anyways. Northward we go and into our local wine country. Destination Enderby. Enderby?? Whaaaat?

The wee town of Oliver. Wendy's grandparents lived here through their retirement years, after they left "their boys" in charge of the Smithers ranch. Very brave of them!!

Wonder what's playing next at the theatre? Hope it's on line!

 

 

 

 

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