Grand Coulee Trip

Where the TV show Northern Exposure was filmed.

801 Milwaulkee Road, South Cle Elum, WA 98943 509-674-2006 Check website for hours of operation: www.milwelectric.org and www.TheDepotCafe.com

The Milwaukee Road’s mid-west train line embarked on a bold Pacific Coast expansion from 1906 to 1909, turning the railroad into a transcontinental giant with over 1300 miles of new track being built simultaneously from many points in the west. The Depot, built in 1909, was the site where train operations were organized, crew changes were made, and telegraph communication was possible.

http://kittitashistory.com/sites/ Lots of museums listed on the above site Telephone Museum 221 E. First Street Cle Elum, WA 98922 Open: Memorial Weekend – Labor Day, Noon to 4:00 p.m. www.nkcmuseums.org The oldest complete telephone museum west of the Mississippi with displays covering the history of telephone technology from 1876 to 1970.

11640 N. Thorp Hwy. / PO Box 7, Thorp, WA 98946 509-964-9640 Open Memorial Day – Labor Day, Thursdays – Sundays, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m. www.thorp.org From 1883 to 1946, Thorp Grist Mill served the residents of Kittitas County. A unique horizontal water turbine, which is still operational, powered the mill’s original rollers, complex system of grain elevators and other equipment, all of which are on display.

Open April 1-Nov. 15, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Tours:Weather permitting, free guided tours depart daily, April through November 15th from the Renewable Energy Center at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. No reservation is needed for these tours. To schedule a separate, group tour of Wild Horse, please call 509-964-7815. Join us for a 45-60 minute walking tour that explores the 52 kw solar array, wind turbine blade, turbine generator, gearbox, and lets you take a look inside the base of an active wind turbine!

Summer: Interpretive center open 10am-5pm Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park is a 7,470-acre park with year-round camping at Wanapum recreational area.One of the many features of the park is a Trees of Stone Interpretive Trail. The trail is split into two segments. There’s a 1.5-mile loop through sagebrush-covered hills, or you can hike a longer 2.5-mile loop. The trail follows an exposed section of prehistoric Lake Vantage and wanders past 22 species of petrified logs that were left where they were discovered in the 1930s. Sections of the trail are quite steep and can test a body’s endurance. Taking along a bottle of water is recommended. If, after visiting the center, you decide to go in search of your own piece of petrified wood, Saddle Mountain, 14 miles east of the center, is the place to start. The mountain is Bureau of Land Management property and open to the public. No permit is required to dig for petrified treasure as long as it’s for personal collection and not commercial use. Collectors are limited to 25 pounds a day or 250 pounds a year.

Must stop to see and take pictures.

Towering over an otherwise lonely stretch of Interstate 90 in central Washington state are 15 life-sized, metal horses. The equines are suspended mid-gallop, their race along the ridge line of a steep cliff overlooking the Columbia River interrupted.

509-764-3842 11-7 most days. $12 a person. Lakeside aquatic park with a large pool, 3 slides, a river for tube floating & a surfing simulator.

The Dry Falls scenic overlook is always worth stopping, but when the visitor center is open, it is mandatory. One could easily spend an hour reading the various exhibits and watching the videos, or staring out the windows at the magnificence of Dry Falls. It is only a ten minute drive down into the base, near Dry Falls lake, for a scenic and easy hike around Umatilla Rock, including a scramble up to a high notch. We often go to Deep Lake and jump off the cliffs. NOT recommended with little kids as you will have a harder time keeping track of them, and there isn't much shade. The cliffs are approximately 10 ft and 25 ft heights for jumping - they are not marked and there are NO lifeguards.

Where we are staying.