Hey, today is my birthday. I keep track of other’s birthdays but am not so attuned to my own and was surprised when I got a message from Facebook that it was my birthday. Now, isn’t that a sad commentary?
Today we move on to Grand Coulee, WA, to see the Grand Coulee Dam. The road out is the same road we took in, Rte 20, the only road through the park. On the way out, we got to climb up to Washington Pass and then coast down the other side. But the pass has a nice parking lot and we got out to stretch our legs and take the scenic trail to the overlook. But, not only a scenic trail but a scenic view all around.
We passed through Winthrop, WA on our way. Small towns often become a blip on the highway, maybe a stop for a bite to eat, maybe a stop for gas and a soda but not much else. Unless they take steps to make themselves a destination. And this is what Winthrop did. Back in 1972 while Rte 20 was being built through the Cascades, linking the two sides, Winthrop, knowing it would be on the highway, wanted to become the place to stop. And, they turned their main street into an old time Western main street. And, everyone bought into this scheme. All the businesses made their store front look like a piece out of Tombstone.
To show its progress: In 1912, Winthrop was ranked #2 in a National Motorists Association listing of its "Worst Speed Trap Cities" in North America (with a population less than 50,000). How anyone could speed through this town with its Western theme, tourists wandering everywhere and rte 20 making a right turn on main street I can’t imagine.
We enjoyed seeing how the town pulled together to become the place to stop. And, my, it seemed as if everyone on rte 20 had stopped at the same time. Lines throughout town, especially a the ice cream, deli, candy and gift stop on the corner. Guess who else also stopped? You bet, and I had the best Methow Valley Mud Pie (huckleberry ice cream, fudge stripes and huckleberry bits) I’ve ever had.
Below the deck where we all ate, there was an evil putt-putt golf course. Look at these holes, the top one is not only on a slant but has holes to shoot through. Evil, evil. And, the bottom one is no slouch either.
We rolled through the orchards of western Washington, the high desert cliffs and sandstone and the sagebrush to get to Grand Coulee where we were to stay.
We visited the Dam, took the tour and saw the laser light show in the evening with fireworks afterwards. However, we also relaxed and got caught up since we knew the next week would be busy.
Gary did 5 loads of laundry over the 2 days we were in Grand Coulee. We obviously had a lot since we hadn’t had any hook-ups in North Cascades NP. When we wash t-shirts we like to let them go through the first dryer cycle and then take them out and spread them out in the RV. Now, in Mesa where we were over the winter, they dried very quickly and we had them folded and put away by 2 or 3 and we can do another load. In Oregon and Washington, sometimes it took almost 2 days for them to dry. Well, here in the high desert of WA, we’re back to being able to do 2 loads a day. It’s very dry out here in this area since the mountains such every last drop of rain out of any rain clouds that seem headed this way.
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