Monday 11 August
Trip Start
Apr 13, 2008
1
126
155
Trip End
Oct 27, 2008
Pateros,
Washington,
United States
Friday, August 22, 2008
We left Coulee City this morning. The drive along State Highway 2 was very impressive. I expected Washington State to be green and lush and full of pine forests! We couldn't even see one tree! It is like a desert here. We now know that on this side of the mountains there is very little moisture and therefore it is pretty arid, but on the west side going to the coast and Seattle it is much greener and wetter. It is also extremely hot on the east side. Everyone has been telling us that it has been unusually cool here this summer, but as I am writing this the temp is supposed to be climbing back up to around 100 degrees.
So we headed for Wenatchee which sits on the edge of the Cascade Mountain range. This area has several dams along the Columbia River and we went to visit one of these today
Cafe at dam
. It is called Rocky Reach dam and is open to the public, although it is not a dam that you can drive across. We arrived very late in the day but managed to see the fish ladders that were installed to help the migration of fish up and down the river. They discovered early on that the population of various species of fish was seriously being affected by the dam process and some species were actually endangered. So the fish ladders have helped to overcome this along with other projects such as fish hatcheries in the area to help re-populate the rivers.
What was unique about this place was the under water viewing area which meant we could actually see the fish moving up and down the river, through the chambers that make up the ladder.
We also went to the museum there but ran out of time to have a decent look around as they were closing for the day.
We drove on to Chelan which is a bit resorty, on a big lake - called Lake Chelan. We were not prepared to spend $38 a night to park up in a noisy campground so we headed out of town, found a Walmart to do our grocery shopping and then we drove on to a tiny place called Pateros
dam
. By this time it was getting a bit late and the light was fading. It must have been around 9pm. That is pretty late for us trying to find a spot to park but some time it just works out that way.We found a gas station by the river that had set up a little RV park right next door. He wanted $25 plus tax to park! Steve drove down a little further and found a sign saying overnight camping $10. The town had decided to let RV's park on the road side by the river, next to a little park and there were showers and flush toilets provided in the $10 fee! It was perfect for us and so we parked close to the toilets and right next to a children's play area.
