We’re staying in (and actually on…) Crescent Bar, WA. This little bar of sand is right on the Columbia River in central WA, surrounded by high cliffs. It’s high desert, and beautiful. We’ve been here in the summer to see shows at the Gorge Amphitheater (if you’ve never seen one here, we highly recommend you do). It’s positively scorching in the summertime. Now, though, it’s pretty mild. Cold nights, mild days, hasn’t rained much. Kind of what you’d expect.

When you drive through you don’t see much: sparse vegetation, nothing for miles but brown rolling mountains, sheer cliffs and sky. That’s what makes it so amazing when you come upon a little farm or a town - all of a sudden you’re surrounded by fields of green or yellow. It’s almost a shock to the eyes.

The closest “big town” is Wenatchee. They have a nice farmers market and a beautiful state park right in town- Wenatchee Confluence State Park. Marley took a swim there (at the park, not the market)- and he was a very wet, happy dog! We bought some produce at the farmers market and made our first ever batch of salsa. It turned out really good. We picked up some fresh tortillas at a tortilleria here in town and had tacos. (Big shocker for those of us who know us well! Taco night usual happens at least two nights a week at our house.)

We also took a trip south of here to check out some other scenic points. The Wild Horses Monument is just outside of Vantage. It’s surprising to see it if you’re not expecting it- a sculpture high above the highway made up of several wild steel horses running across the ridge.

Our other big “find” was the Gingko Petrified Forest. There is a trail through the park that takes you to see several petrified trees (or parts of them anyway). If you are a big petrified wood fan, you should probably stop reading here as you may find what comes next offensive. We’ve been to a couple of petrified forests and let’s just say, we haven’t found them to be super exciting. Of course the first time you see a petrified tree stump you may say something like, “Oh, that’s interesting.” The second one is good for comparison purposes, “Yes, yes, I see that this one looks just like that one.” But then, after that, it’s really all lost on those of us who are not trained in the petrified wood sciences. So, if looking at 11 varieties of ancient tree stumps is not what you’d consider a good time, don’t psych yourself up that you’re going to be blown away. The hike is just good exercise. And if you do love petrified wood and read that last part anyway- okay, we know- we don’t get it. We’ll work on that.