Home (not so) Sweet Home

Wednesday June 29, 2011

We got up this morning in the campground at the city park in Coulee City, WA.  We ate a leisurely breakfast of eggs, hash browns, and pizza before we took off for home.  Okay, not everyone has pizza for breakfast, but it was good, and something we had on hand that made it through both border crossings. We didn’t take some of our regular menu items because we didn’t know what would make it across. But as usual, we didn't suffer for lack of food!

The only thing on the agenda for the day was a stop at the Whitman Mission National Historic Site near Walla Walla.  From Coulee City, we headed south on route 17 toward Soap Lake, WA.  Just a few miles out of Coulee City we came to the Sun Lakes Dry Falls State Park visitor’s center.  We thought a quick stop was in order to see what the park was about.  It proved to be a very interesting stop.  They had an excellent video on the area and some interesting displays.  One of the displays had a number of stuffed animals, native to the area, in their natural environment.  One of the stuffed animals hidden in the back corner of the display amid some native reeds was a small Sasquatch.  Imagine our surprise at seeing a stuffed Bigfoot.  The VC also had a couple of state park stamps which were quickly applied to our passport books.



Sun Lakes Dry Falls

The remainder of the drive to the Whitman Historical Site was relatively uneventful.  When we got to the visitor’s center there were several of the Park Service employees in period costumes.  When we asked what was happening they told us that they were celebrating their 75^th year of affiliation with the National Park Service.

What timing!

It was a very good cake.

After getting our passport books properly stamped, we headed outside to a canopy that had been set up for the festivities.  Park Service Employees served each of us a piece of cake in honor of the celebration.  

It was a very interesting and fun stop, and we “just happened” to be there at the right time! We seem to have the knack.

After having dessert we continued on to Walla Walla to visit Taco Bell for the main course.  After lunch we dropped in at Color Press to say hello to Bam Bam.  She gave us a quick tour of the facility then we were back on the road to home.

We did make a quick grocery stop in La Grande, OR.  Shortly before we got to Ontario, OR, Betty got a call from her sister who let her know that the refrigerator in their permanent cave had gone out and the place was quite odorous.  Betty’s sister had cleaned up the mess but it still smelled pretty bad.  Aside from the surprise at home the trip was very enjoyable.  The Canadian Rockies are truly beautiful to see. 

The Bigfeet went to Bigfoot and also saw a stuffed Bigfoot.  Is that great or what?