Pulling into the park, I slowed to pay the fee, but there was nobody on duty, and a sign saying the office was closed. Given that there were only a handful of vehicles (it was a Friday), I don't see how they could have made enough to pay the wages of a collector. I would expect weekends to be different, though.
Amazing how green is the grass, due to watering, and how brown the background landscape. A general view of the park.
SR-127 crossing the Snake River. This bridge looks vaguely familiar, and is almost the correct colour!
Fun on the river.
Although the Port of Central Ferry is located on the other side of the bridge, there is a facility across the river from the park. More grain silos.
After drinking some water, it was time to continue. SR-127 continues until US-12 at Dodge, then onto Dayton, which seemed like a town with large amounts of civic pride, and perhaps an important past, as there was a quite distinguished building on Main Street. But alas, I was heating up, and didn't stop to explore. Next time, though...
Continuing on leads to Walla Walla. Yes, Road Runner cartoon fans, there really is a Walla Walla! I rode through Main Street, which was somewhat unpleasant due to the "stop at every traffic light", and the driving skills of the locals, and the increasing temperature. There are a number of substantial buildings in the city, and I plan to return one day and explore some more.
Escaping from Walla Walla on US-12, the next destination is Wallula, where I plan to turn south on US-730 and head to Umatilla, Oregon. But then I noticed something unusual on the hills to the south.
Them's not Injuns! They're wind turbines!
The western end of the farm.
They are big!
By following the GPS, which had a different route in mind, I didn't turn off US-12, and headed past Wallula before realising the error. So back to the junction and head south. But the heat was affecting me, I'm sure, because then I realised I should buy some gas for the bike. Well, the GPS basically said "Go to Kennewick". So another U-turn and past Wallula again (no gas station there!)
Colton Vicinity