Small Towns in Southeast Washington

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Elks Lodge

Happy 14^th Birthday, Garrett.  Hope you had a wonderful day.  Looking forward to seeing you in October.

Yesterday we ventured into Yakima to see the sights but did not find much of real interest other than a visit to a nice antique store where I purchased two books (what else).  Afterward we did a bit of shopping at the local Wally World Store and headed home.

Today we had a quiet day just relaxing in our outdoor chaise lounges and just enjoying the quiet.

This afternoon four more RV’s arrived and we invited all the couples to join us for drinks and conversation late in the afternoon.  Couples were from Arizona, Oregon, California and us from New Mexico.  We had fun talking about our travels and comparing notes.  Three of the four couples are full time including us.  One couple has been full timing for 17 years and still going strong.

Below is a photo from before other RV's arrived.

Monday, July 31, 2017

Toppenish, WA

We take a drive about 30 miles south to visit the town of Toppenish which was established in 1855 and located on the Yakima Indian Reservation. Toppenish is a Native American word meaning “people from the foot of the hills.” It is known as the City of Historical Murals for it contains well over 70 murals throughout the city depicting pioneer life in the area.  We are disappointed that both the Northern Pacific Railway Museum and the American Hop Museum are closed.   It seems every time we venture out to see the sights in small t owns, the attractions, museums, etc. are closed on Monday.  Guess we have not learned to stay home on Monday and venture out other days.  Oh, well I was able to take a few pictures shown below.

Hops Museum

One of murals on back wall

The three murals on the back wall

The murals really are quite amazing and many include a descriptive plaque so you know what is being depicted. We have come across many murals in the cities we have visited, but never as many as here or as well done as all of these are.

After taking our mural pictures we drive down the road a bit further south to the town of Zillah which was incorporated in 1911 and named for the daughter of the president of the Northern Pacific Railroad.  An architectural oddity  in Zillah is the Teapot Dome gas station which was built to parody the Wyoming oil lease scandal of the early 1920’s.

Returning to the Elks Lodge we see all these orchards along the highway.  Also come across a Del Monte packing plant. 

We arrived back at the Elks to find the park full of RV's with some trailers attached.  Later on we found out what was inside which is what is below.  Cool, huh?  I love old cars.  These cars will participate in a car show at the Fairgrounds in Yakima this weekend.