Day 10 - Pendelton to Yakima - Part 1

We left Pendelton at 7:15am and headed Northwest on I-84 to I-82 North and crossed the Columbia River into Washington state. We turned onto WA 14, which runs down the North shore of the Columbia for nearly 90 miles through the famous Columbia Gorge. The Columbia is one of the largest rivers in the world and drains a basin that begins just South of the Yukon in Canada. Along the way we saw an old stern wheeler heading down the river (pics).

We turned North on US 97 toward Goldendale, where we stopped in the old town for a coffee (cappuccino and a latte) at Coyote Coffee, a coffee shop run by a fellow and his wife transplanted from Tucson, Arizona. The coffee was great, and the conversation about Goldendale and things in general most interesting.

From there we were back onto 97 climbing into the Pine and Douglas Fir forests lining Satus Pass (3,146 ft.) On the descent, Suzanne was stopped by a Wapto police officer - not for speeding, but because he didn't see a front license plate, and couldn't read "Florida" on the rear plate due to the license plate bracket. Front plates are mandatory in Washington. He apologized for his error and we had a great conversation about the trip and the area.