More wheat. Everywhere. Kinda getting used to it now, the tan hills as far as the eye can see. There was something new though, wind turbines and like the wheat there were lots of them. Very windy in this part of Washington, as in grab your hat when you get out of the car windy. These turbines are huge, with towers 200 to 300 feet tall and blades 70 to over 100 feet long. The blades generally turn 22 revolutions per minute and with the longer blades the tips can be moving over 200 MPH.
After about 30 miles we changed to Highway 730, headed for the Oregon border and Interstate 84 Westbound. We followed the Columbia River for quite a ways through a very stark but scenic canyon cut by the river before dams harnessed its power. Nothing for miles and then a grain elevator waiting to load grain on a barge.
At the town of Umatilla, Oregon, we turned South on Interstate 82 for a few miles before catching Interstate 84. Umatilla is home to McNary Dam, the first of the dams on the lower Columbia River. Once headed West on Interstate 84 Barb began texting her brother Don, who with his wife was headed East on 84 to Deadwood, South Dakota. If you have been reading along you might remember Barb and I were in Deadwood on Day Nine. We passed and waved to each other at mile marker 161.
We continued on 84 to Biggs, Oregon, where we turned South on Highway 97. This final stretch of road took us all the way to Redmond and home.
Eighteen days, close to 5,000 miles, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Mt. Rushmore, Little Big Horn, Glacier, buffalos, elk, eagles, bears, casinos, two hats and lots of white crosses to remind us to drive carefully.
So that was our trip. We really enjoyed every minute of it and hope those of you who went along with us did too. 269 miles today.
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