FTJ, Entry 108: The Coolest Coulee

The trip from Everett, WA, to Grand Coulee, WA, was full of wonderful scenic vistas and views.

The Cascades, seen through the trees. Yes, that's snow on the mountain- in August!

Unfortunately, the beauty of the trip came to an abrupt halt when we arrived at our not-so-scenic, crappy RV park. OMG.

Hope we didn't get brain cancer from our three-night stay.

Oh well, we survived (for now). Wish I had gotten a photo of the RV park manager, though. Nice guy, but Jesus Mary and Joseph, he had horrific teeth. Looked like one of those rhubarbs from "Deliverance." ...Da da dum dum dum dum dum dum DAH.  "You got a purty mouth. Don't he got a purty mouth?"


I'll Be Dammed

The gigantic Grand Coulee Dam.

Quickie facts about the Grand Coulee Dam:

• The dam is what is known as a "gravity dam."
• It is bigger than the Great Pyramid of Egypt. 
• The Grand Coulee Dam is the largest hydropower producer in the United States and the fourth-largest electricity producer in the world.
• Its total generating capacity is 6,809 MW, compared to Hoover Dam's 2,078 MW.
• The dam contains nearly 12 million cubic yards of concrete.

The Coulee holds back the Columbia River, which, as we mentioned in a previous blog, is one of the largest rivers in North America.

Beau at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Center.

The center had quite an interesting display of artifacts from the dam's construction. Here, Beau tries out a jackhammer.

Beau doing one of his fake smiles....sigh.

 

We took the free tour of the dam. Very edifying.

Beau in front of one of the generators.

View from the top of the dam. Dizzying.

The Columbia from the top of the dam.

Next to Roosevelt Lake, created by the dam. A nice bust of FDR here. (Beau says he could have had some fun with this caption....)

We also traveled to the nearby Dry Falls State Park -- a giant ravine that is the remains of one of the greatest waterfalls in geologic history: three and one-half miles wide with a drop of more than 400 feet (compared to Niagara's one-mile width and 165-foot drop). They say the Ice Age flood sent water 300 feet deep roaring over this precipice at 65 miles per hour. Astounding.

Finally, we were blown away by the beauty of Banks Lake, about 10 miles south of Grand Coulee.

Steamboat Rock on Banks Lake.

Doesn't look like Washington, does it?

An amazing view of Banks Lake.

Love this shot.

We took our lunch to this beautiful town park one day (below), right alongside Banks Lake. For a while, we were the only people there.

 

Tilting at Windmills

Oh, besides our horror of an RV park, there was another oddity -- a windmill garden, in the middle of, well, nowhere.
 

Amber Waves of Grain

Enough of Grand Coulee. Our next stop was Coeur d'Alene, ID. And on the way there, we discovered how vast the eastern part of Washington is -- or at least the area we had to drive through to get to Coeur d'Alene. We went through mile after mile after mile of rolling wheat fields -- yup, wheat fields -- pretty much as far as the eye could see. Quite amazing.

This is nothing. The camera would have to have a wide angle lens to convey the immense scope of the farmland we drove through. The vast golden wheat fields flanked both sides of the highway.

Then we were floored by Leavenworth, WA. One minute we were in wheat fields, the next minute we were transported to Bavaria. Apparently, the town went through some hard times in the 1960s, and was transformed into little Bavaria by its residents in an attempt to build tourism. Seems like the plan worked. When we drove through, the joint was jumping.

We felt like yodeling while we drove through town. Well, I did anyway.

Even Starbucks (above) and other retailers are built with the Bavarian architecture theme.

I think the whole town qualifies as one of my "oddities."

We loved loved loved Coeur d'Alene, ID -- for next time.

Tanks, Panky