It was a bit awkward trying to capture the river while barreling down the interstate. No, I wasn't driving at the time.
Thursday morning we continued north on US 97. It was scenic drive by Klamath Lake going out of town along the lakeshore then driving through miles and miles of pine forest. As we continued north, the forest thinned out and was replaced by well-farmed plains. Continuing north the farms gave way to vast fields of wheat and grazing lands.
Approaching the Columbia River, the road twists and turns through a canyon ducking through golden fields of wheat and range land to emerge at the interstate that hugs the south shore of the river. At the interchange, we ate lunch, got gas, before turning east. The land in this area of the river is surprisingly arid, with the only green around the water and the water itself. We passed a couple of dams on the river pondering what the river looked like before they were built.
We arrived in at the hotel in Walla Walla about 3pm, which is walking distance from downtown. We took the opportunity to explore a bit on foot, looking for a couple of restaurants that had been recommended in both the LA Times and Sunset magazine. We located both and reviewed the menus posted at the entries of the eateries – deciding to make reservations at 26brix. We also stopped into the Waterbrook tasting room to start our oenophilic adventure, and ordered three bottles (Meritage) to be shipped home.
Our dinner at 26brix was exceptionally good. Jonathan had an appetizer of selected cheeses, while I selected the salmon tartare. The main course Jonathan selected (which also determined the restaurant selection) was sweetbreads with smoked pork belly. I had the in-house fettuccini with olive tapenade and piperade. I thought the piperade was going to be peppercorn based given that Piper niger seemed to be the root of the word, but instead it turned out to be roasted tomatoes and bell peppers (Capsicum not Piper). It still was delicious. The wine we ordered on recommendation of our waiter was a sangiovese from a local vineyard specializing in Italian varietals, Yellow Hawk Cellars. For desert Jonathan had a ginger glacée and I had a blueberry tart with basil sorbet. Because I don’t think Applebee’s makes for a memorable birthday dinner, I treated Jonathan.
It was a bit awkward trying to capture the river while barreling down the interstate. No, I wasn't driving at the time.
As we approached the bend in the river where the river turns north, the rock bluffs over the river seem to open up.
Another view of the rock bluffs over the Columbia.
Yes, he did drive sometimes.
We slept in (for us) till about 8am before going in search of breakfast. We got back to the motel room about 10:30 or so before going out to some vineyards. We had picked up a brochure from the Walla Walla Wine Alliance that listed over 50 (!) in the area. We wanted to check out Yellow Hawk Cellars, but they were open by appointment only and when I called I could only get the answering machine. So we went out west of town visiting three wineries, sampling the reds. The first establishment was L’Ecole 41, which uses a refurbished schoolhouse for their tasting rooms. From there, about 1/4 mile further west on US 12 was Woodward Canyon Winery where we repeated our tasting of reds. We thought they were a bit better than L’Ecole 41. From there we drove back towards town to the Three Rivers winery.
While we were at L’Ecole 41, we asked the server for a recommendation for lunch. On her recommendation, we made reservations at Creek Town Café for 1:15pm. We finished at Three Rivers at about 1pm and headed off to the restaurant. We finished lunch around 2pm and took a nap when we got back to the motel.
We went out to a tasting room in-town for a vineyard based in Pasco WA, some 30-40 miles away. By this time we were getting seriously wined out, and decided we’d done enough tastings. We took a short drive to Fort Walla Walla, arriving 5 minutes before closing time. We decided that the $6 admission for 5 minutes of museum time was not worth it, and walked to the cemetery where the graves date from the period of the Indian wars at which the fort stood at a critical crossroads.
Fort Walla Walla cemetery.
Fort Walla Walla cemetery.
Right now, we're ensconced in the local Starbucks with the NY Times to catch up on the journals.
From Starbucks we wandered over to a wine & tapas bar where we sat out on the shady deck and enjoyed the evening breezes. Towards the end of our meal, the wind kicked up and a dust storm blew through town. It was very much like an evening thunderstorm without the rain and lightning. The car at the hotel was covered with dust.