Day 19 - Wenatchee to Lewiston

We left Wenatchee at 8:15am and headed North to see Dry Falls and the Grand Coulee Dam. We stopped in Coulee City for a coffee and bought some wonderful snacks called "Wheat Dudes." They are only made in Coulee City and are simply whole wheat kernels treated with something, and they taste great. Bringing some home, and have the address to have more shipped.

From Coulee City it is about 3 miles to Dry Falls. This is a most interesting spot. The falls were created about 15,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age. The glaciers had moved down from Canada and blocked both the Columbia River and the John Clark River in Idaho. The latter, backed up into Montana and created Lake Missoula, which at its peak covered over 500 square miles and was up to 2,000 feet deep - larger than any lake in North America.

Finally, the pressure of the water broke through the ice dam and Lake Missoula drained rapidly through eastern Washington and Oregon to the Pacific. At its peak, the flow was over 500 feet deep and rushed along at over 65 miles per hour creating the largest flood the world has ever experienced. It scoured the area and was hundreds of miles wide. It carried with it pieces of the shattered glacier and deposited boulders, some weighing up to 200 toms, across thousands of square miles of Eastern Washington and Oregon. The main flow created Dry Falls, which is over 400 feet high and 3 miles wide, dwarfing Niagra, and once the largest waterfall in the world. I saw it when I was very young and was awed, I am still awed.

We then went to the Grand Coulee Dam, once the largest Dam in the world. There is enough concrete in the dam to pave a highway across America, and it generates an enormous amount of hydro electricity. While there we met a few other bikers from Utah and shared tales. We also ran across a number of antique racing cars, all of which ran and sounded like they were brand new. Amazing to see and hear.

We then turned East and headed for Spokane and then South to Lewiston. This area is the "Breadbasket of America." It is mile after mile of wheat and other grain fields. It is like a sea of grain for hundreds and hundreds of square miles.

We arrived in Lewiston at 4:30pm after the two Garmins took us on a merry chase over some side roads - can't figure out why. Ultimately, and with the help of a road worker, we found our Comfort Inn, checked in and went for drinks and dinner.

Lewiston is a nice town of 31,000 people, but it is really hot in the summer! As I dropped down from the high plateau to the Lewiston, which is located at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, the temperature was around 100 degrees. I was glad I had my Cool Vest on.

All is good and tomorrow we head for Butte, Montana - where my Mom was born. More from there.