What did surprise me happened during the drive from the Tri-cities to Yakima. All of a sudden in the
distance I spot some strange white blob protuding from over the mountains. At first, I thought nothing
of it, a cloud maybe. Then, it dawned on me -- that is the top of Mt. Rainier some 60 - 70 miles away.
It is that large and that dominating over the landscape. I had heard that people in Seattle can see it.
Unlike some Midwest cities, the Tri-cities use their river for recreational purposes. The river is huge,
several times wider than the Missouri River. It rivals the Ohio River in width. When you see the photos,
you can see both points made -- recreation and width.
Because the rental car was caked with bugs (one person commented
that I must have ran into a huge swarm and had never seen so many on a vehicle -- and he worked for a
trucking firm), I went to the nearby Elephant Carwash. After choosing either exterior only (my choice) or both
exterior and interior, you are directed into the bay by two teenagers. These two initially spray the car
with various soaps and chemicals and attack the car with large brushes on long handles. They chuckled
when they first saw my bug-covered front end. But after three scrubbing and rinsings, they got the front
spotless. Then the car is dragged through an automatic car wash. After that, a large blower removes most
of the water. Then, four more teens with rags quickly wipe everything spotless, including the interior
door rims. In and out of there in under five minutes. That experience was definitely worth the $7.95 price.
Southeast Washington State
Southeast Washington State is rarely heard in the news or known for much. The bigger cities in other parts
of the state get most all the notariety. However, the southeast part of the state has its own personality.
At least some of those famous Washington apples are grown here as evidenced by the apple orchards along
the highways. While driving down I-82 that diagonally bisects and seeing the farms, one might think they
were driving I-70 in the Midwest -- until you glance at the mountains in the distance. My first impressions
as I entered the state was being impressed that they have taken huge swaths of nothingness, including
mountain sides, and turned them into fertile farms, many of them lush green, depending on what is grown.
Otherwise, the mountains appear to be just huge hills that are mostly covered with weeds.
The Tri-Cities
The Tri-cities area -- Kennewick, Richland and Pasco -- seems to be a very nice area (based
on the little I saw). It has the Columbia River bisecting the tri-cities, just like the Mississippi River
bisects the quad-cities in Iowa and Illinois.
Yakima
The jury is still out on Yakima. From what I saw, it appears to be an old town although there are some
blocks where newness has been built. I picked Yakima because it is so close to Mt. Rainier yet still has
some of the amenities of a larger town.