Yakima, WA
We head east along the majestic Columbia River, then turn back north to the Yakima Valley in Washington, a prolific producer of fruit and hops. We learn some history at the Yakima Valley Museum before stopping for lunch in downtown Yakima. We finish our quick tour at the Washington Fruit Place.
Along the Columbia
We spent the night at Dad's house in Hood River, Oregon, about an hour east of Portland. The next morning, we enjoyed a change of pace with home-cooked breakfast on a dining room table -- much preferred over yet another hotel buffet.Continuing our drive east, we watched the forests of Oregon taper away into rolling hills, then high-desert canyons, the waters of the wide Columbia reflecting the shifting colors as we traveled. Railroad tracks lining each side of the river brought long processions of rumbling freight, but these loud and imposing steel machines felt like such small things viewed across the river against the majestic backdrop of the Columbia River Gorge.
At Biggs Junction, we crossed the river and climbed the bluff into Washington. We soon reached a road sign indicating the view of four famous snow-capped mountains in the Cascade Range: Hood, St. Helens, Adams, and Rainier.
Yakima Valley Museum
We continued on through gentle hills, forests, and the Yakama Indian Reservation. The Yakama Nation (which recently changed its spelling from "Yakima" to "Yakama") today covers more than 2,000 square miles and has a population of over 30,000. It was created in 1855 through a treaty signed by Washington Territory Gov. Isaac Stevens, a guarantee of rights and untouched lands from the United States government.But tensions remained high. Some tribes felt there had not been enough consensus to cede specific territories. Meanwhile, gold-rush prospectors began to arrive in numbers. Two of them assaulted and killed two Yakama women and an infant. Mosheel — the husband/father of the women and the son of the Yakama chief — gathered friends and killed the prospectors. A Bureau of Indian Affairs representative investigated and was also killed by Mosheel and his men. Remarkably, the Yakama chief offered to give his son over to the American authorities. But he was overruled by the Yakama tribal council, and they joined with seven other tribes in a three-year war they eventually lost.
We entered Yakima from the south, along a highway that parallels both the Yakima River and a line of railroad tracks. When the Northern Pacific Railroad came through here in 1884, more than 100 buildings scattered through Yakima County were placed on rollers and pulled by teams of horses to establish a new town close to the tracks. Then called North Yakima, it was later renamed Yakima.
We made our first stop, as we do, at the local museum — the Yakima Valley Museum. Near its entrance is a Landau carriage commemorating President Theodore Roosevelt’s 45-minute visit to Yakima to celebrate his government’s reclamation law that spurred improved irrigation in the fertile Yakima Valley.
Yakima currently has a population of just under 100,000 and a metropolitan population of more than 250,000. Agriculture has been Yakima’s economic engine for much of its history. It still produces most of the nation’s hops (77 percent in 2011), which makes it a vital national interest that we must protect at all costs. It has more than 55,000 acres of apple orchards — hence the name Yakima Valley Pippins, our home team later that night. The valley also produces significant crops of cherries, peaches, pears, melons, peppers, corn, and beans.
The museum is a nice, big space with a blend of modern interpretive displays and antiques gathered from families and organizations in the area. It was another example of an excellent local museum capturing the history and culture of the place in an engaging way, helping to orient us on our constant travels.
