Day 245

Today Rob and I headed out for another adventure on the road.  Our ultimate destination was to see the laser light show at the Grand Coulee Dam.  But yesterday I was online checking our our traveling options, and discovered the Coulee Corridor.  Turns out the very route we were planning to take has been designated a National Scenic Byway.  So we decided to travel like tourists, making a day of our trip with several stops along the way.

Once again we readied ourselves, dropped the pups off with mom (Thanks Grammy), and headed north.  Our first stop was Moses Lake for a quick bite to eat, and then back on the road again.

We stopped off in Soap Lake to check things out.  One of Rob's phone apps indicated the world's largest lava lamp was located here...but as it turns out...that project has never really come to fruition.  We did stop at Soap Lake Park, where lots of folks were enjoying the warm weather down on the beach.  We even saw several people covered from head to toe in the Soap Lake mud, taking advantage of its reported healing benefits.  We also heard several different languages while we were there, clearly people were visiting this tiny town from far corners of the globe! In the park was a sculpture of Father Sky and Mother Earth...Calling the Healing Waters - the world's largest human figure sundial.  Turns out Soap Lake is a very interesting place to stop.

We traveled up the road just a few miles and stopped at the Lake Lenore Caves.  We hiked up a trail to these caves that were created from water erosion and rock flaking, and were once used by tribal people who traveled through the area.  They weren't exactly the kind of caves we were expecting, they were really more like cliff overhangs.  But once we climbed up to them, the view below of Lake Lenore and and the surrounding area was quite amazing.

We got back on the road and traveled just a few more miles and reached Dry Falls.  We tried to head into the interpretive center there, but it was just minutes before 4:00 when we arrived, and wouldn't you know it, that's when they close!  We were only able to take a few quick glances around...but I have a feeling I would have liked to have spent a little time there learning about the falls.

I had absolute no idea that this place existed.  As it goes, these falls, although dry now as the name indicates, would dwarf Niagara Falls.  They are roughly ten times the size!  These falls are thought to be the greatest known waterfall that ever existed...and they are right here in our own backyard!  It was a pretty amazing site, but admittedly it was kind of hard to wrap your head around the shear size and magnitude of what once was.  It too was a very interesting place to stop, and I'm so glad we did.

Once again we got back in the car, and this time finished the last leg of our journey as we headed into Grand Coulee.  We made a quick stop at the Gehrke Windmill Garden...another roadside attraction Rob had seen in his app.  It is an interesting collection of artistically created windmills made from spare parts and scraps.  We had some time to kill, so we toured the little town, and got a look at the dam in daylight. We checked out the visitor center, then headed down to the lawn to grab a spot and spread out our blanket...and awaited the grand finale of the day...the 37 minute light show.

The light show was interesting, but I have to say the experience of getting there was much more enjoyable.