Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 11 - May 31, 2026

 FORT WALLA WALLA; BACK ON THE LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL; GUESS WHO WE RAN INTO?

Today was mainly a travel day to get us to Clarkston/Lewiston on the Washington and Idaho border. We started off by visiting the Fort Walla Walla Museum.

It is the site of a U.S. military fort built in 1858. No original structures are left, but there is the military cemetery that dates from the 1850’s. The museum features farm machinery and artifacts from the past 125 years of Walla Walla history. It’s O.K., but as Karen would say, “if you’ve seen one wheat thresher, you’ve seen them all…”.

A life-sized replica of a 33 mule team pulling a thresher.

An exhibit on the history of the nearby (and still continuously operating) maximum security Washington State Penitentiary.

Cheerleaders from

Walla Walla High School Class of 1926.

The military cemetery.

After our morning dose of local history, we were ready to hit the road. We got back on Highway 12 east. This route follows, in a general sense, the 1806 return trip of Lewis and Clark.

Once again, we were surrounded by miles of lush green wheat fields. When we got a few miles west of the town of Dayton, the fields gave way to steeper slopes with only a few farms. 

Here is where we stopped at Lewis and Clark Trail State Park. You can camp in a tee pee in a couple of selected campsites. 

We were here to see (at least one of us was) the historical marker showing where the first campers stayed.

Just up the road is Dayton. Everything’s closed on Sunday, so we checked out the local courthouse, railroad station, and moving pictures theater.

The road continues east up an increasingly narrower valley to the town of Pomeroy. It was also closed up. But, it had a courthouse, too! 

And, a Lewis and Clark exhibit.

In a nod to mid-20th century highway kitsch, it also featured some nostalgic roadside curios.

Further east, Highway 12 climbs Alpowa Summit before dropping down toward the Snake River and the towns of Clarkston and Lewiston. The topography becomes more barren and rugged as you get near the cliffs lining the river.

In a coincidence of travel plans, it turns out that our friend, Bob Mytkowicz, flew into Lewiston last night to begin a nine day riverboat cruise. He’ll be going west down the Snake River and then the Columbia River to Astoria, among other stops. We met up with him for dinner tonight before he leaves in the morning.

NEXT: Jet boat tour on the Snake River

NOTE: Karen and I want to thank everyone who is reading our blog. We also ask that if you leave a comment, that you mention your name in the comment itself. Otherwise, the comment shows as being submitted by ‘anonymous’ (unless you are already signed into your own google account). Thanks!

Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 10 - May 30, 2026

 CONFLUENCE; OVERLOOKS; IT’S SATURDAY NIGHT, AND I AIN’T GOT NO QUARTERS

The weather has turned back to cool temperatures the past two days. This morning it was windy and cold when we drove west on Highway 12 toward Pasco.

When we climbed out of the Walla Walla Valley it started to get warmer and sunnier. Our destination was Sacajawea State Park, at the confluence of the Columbia River and the Snake River.

This is where Lewis and Clark first saw the Columbia River, after floating down the Snake River from the east. They arrived in October of 1805. Back then, the rivers were free-flowing and quite swift. Today, the many dams above and below this site have produced what amounts to a large lake. I’ll bet those guys would have liked to have had one of these vessels to paddle around.

October is peak season for the annual running of Chinook salmon. Clark’s diary said that there were so many fish, that he could find no way to adequately describe the sight. That’s really saying something, for someone who had just come over 3,700 miles through largely uncharted territory! While the explorers camped here for two days, they met with 200 members of the local Wanapam and Yakama tribes.

There is a nice interpretative center at the park with many exhibits on the expedition. The building and most of the surrounding structures were built in the 1930’s by the Works Progress Administration.

An example of what Clark described as a ‘barking squirrel’ (prairie dog).

A metal frame showing the vertical dimension of the keel boat the corps used to go from St. Louis to the Great Falls of the Missouri River, along with a small wooden model of the boat.

A circa 1880’s railroad bridge spanning the Snake River.

A large family of geese out for a Saturday paddle on the Columbia River.

When we left the park, we drove to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Overlook in Richland. This is near Bateman Island, which is close to a place where the expedition paddled while they were camped at the Snake-Columbia site.

From there, we headed to Burbank and the McNary National Wildlife Refuge. There are usually lots of waterfowl here, but in the afternoon they were elsewhere. A (non-barking) squirrel was kind enough to make an appearance, however.

On our way back, we got a look at what Lewis and Clark might have seen as they traveled east up the Columbia River. Before the Walla Walla Valley and the surrounding region was populated with settlers from the east, the topography was mainly sagebrush, prickly pear cactus, and volcanic rock. There were virtually no trees in this arid part of Washington. The buttes on either side of the river show this.

A little further down the road we got another reminder of how dry it is around here: local emergency vehicles came speeding up behind us with sirens and lights on their way to something ahead of us. This is the second wildfire we’ve seen so far.

Ten days into our trip had us running low on clean clothes, so the next stop was the Southgate Laundromat in Walla Walla. 

By then, it was time for dinner. We went to the Green Lantern Tavern in Walla Walla, which is just down the road from downtown and Whitman College. If you’re ever in town, check it out.

The Green Lantern reminded us of some interesting pulp hero trivia: Adam West, a.k.a. Batman, was born in Walla Walla and attended Whitman College. The town celebrates Adam West Day every September, on or around his birthday September 19.

There’s a lot to do and see around town and we did our best in the time we had. One event going on this weekend featured a demolition derby on Friday night. It was just too cold and windy that night so we took a pass. Maybe next time?

NEXT: Lewiston/Clarkston on the Snake River

Corps of Discovery Trip - Day 9 - May 29, 2026

 EARLY MORNING VINEYARD STROLL; MID-MORNING WOOLEN MILL TOUR; VERDANT WAVES OF GRAIN 

Today was a rest day. After a night of being serenaded by the large bullfrogs lining the pond outside our patio door, I took a short walk around the hills here at Eritage. 

It was just me and a few of my fine feathered friends.

A view of our bungalow from across the little pond.

The vineyards.

After breakfast, we drove south on Highway 125, which is the little two lane road that gets you to and from our winery resort. This area also has some other resorts along the way. 

One that caught our attention each time we passed by has an ‘extended stay’ sort of approach to its guests.

We then got on Highway 11 south through the Walla Walla Valley toward Pendleton, OR. This route takes you through miles and miles of rolling hills covered in wheat waving in the wind. The wheat is a rich green color at this time of year.

Later, we took an interesting guided tour of the Pendleton Woolen Mills at the original factory built in 1909, which is still in operation.

Spools of yarn.

Automated looms.

Quality control done by hand.

Woven blanket rolls ready to be sent out for finishing and packing.

NEXT: Sacajawea State Park