G&T's Excellent Adventure

TUE., JULY 16th thru MON., JULY 29th, 2024

The pod arrived at Sage Hills Golf & RV Resort in Warden, Washington on Tue., July 16th (2024), after traveling 148 miles southwest from Coeur d’Alene, ID. The town of Warden is in the southeastern portion of the state.

Washington is the #1 producer of apples, blueberries, hops, pears, spearmint oil and sweet cherries. Who knew?! We saw lots of irrigation happening in the fields along our drive, but we weren’t sure what crop had been planted. We also experienced the weird sensation of a train going over a bridge as we were passing under the bridge!

lt’s been a hot week here with 100+ temps and the overpowering smell of manure at various times of the day from all the nearby farming. lol. The “resort” only has 42 sites and the sites have large shade trees, which we appreciated with the high temps. The trees were also a nice perch for the 10,000 sparrows that started singing at 5AM each morning. They sounded lovely… perhaps they would have sounded a bit more lovely at 7 and not 5AM, but I digress. The sparrows almost drowned out the traffic noise on WA-17!

Because of the 100+ degree temps, we’ve spent a good portion of the week inside playing board games with Cheryl & Joe rather than venturing outside to do any exploring. We also enjoyed delicious pizza from the outdoor wood-fired pizza oven at the campground, got caught up on some projects around our tiny home, made some camping reservations for next year, and chatted with friends and family via phone. I also had an unexpected visit to an eye doctor after I started getting floaters and flashes. I was diagnosed with PVD… Posterior Vitreous Detachment. Apparently it’s not uncommon in our age group. Lovely. It could be way worse so we try and take these things in stride! I was told the flashes and floaters will quiet down.

We are now ready to move on to wine country in Washington!

On Tue., July 23rd (2024) we drove 90 miles southwest to arrive in Prosser, Washington at Wine Country RV Park. We passed a long line of white BNSF box cars all decorated with graffiti. Quite impressive! Shortly after that we passed a large freight yard. Prosser is considered the birthplace of the Washington wine industry, and we passed vineyard after vineyard along our drive! The Yakima River runs through the city of Prosser. The streets in town have fitting names like Wine Country Road, Chardonnay Avenue and Merlot Drive. 

Our first day was the hottest topping out at 95 but the remainder of the week was mostly low 90s and high 80s. We didn’t complain! There are cattle right next to our site but thankfully no manure smell. The picturesque Horse Heaven Hills are located just behind the campground. 

There was a wildfire in nearby Yakima (about 45 minutes away). We could smell smoke periodically, and one night a red sky was also a telltale sign. We kept tabs on the wildfire situation during our stay but all was fine in Prosser. 

We thoroughly enjoyed our week exploring this charming town located in the heart of wine country with over 30 “boutique” wineries in the area. We passed hops plants growing – many on Wine Country Road. lol. And we also did a few wine tastings. One was at the campground. We didn’t even have to travel for it! Gone are the days of free wine tasting! At $15 for each of us, we limited how many tastings we did! For $15, you got 4 small pours.

Prosser is a small town with a population of about 6,200. They have pint-sized colorful painted ponies all over town. We enjoyed a self-guided walking tour of historic downtown where we saw majestic trees, and old stately homes including the Harry Fisk home, built in 1907, made of Prosser Stone on the lower half. The stone came from a quarry at the base of Horse Heaven Hills. We also saw “Queen Anne Tower,” built circa 1905 with a “witch’s cap.” And a 1903 craftsman bungalow in the midst of getting an overhaul!

We enjoyed seeing the local historical museum. The director was a delight and filled us in on all things Prosser! Native Americans were in Prosser first, and then homesteaders tried to make a go of it. It took government-sponsored irrigation to finally make this area successful, becoming an agricultural hub.

We visited a farmer’s market on Saturday morning, and then enjoyed music at a local winery, Coyote Canyon, Saturday night. We purchased 2 bottles of wine to enjoy with the music, and the Hannafords were able to get a little dancing in. The owner at Coyote Canyon Winery had her paintings turned into a series of labels for their wine. Such pretty labels. There was a second winery right next door to Coyote Canyon called Martinez & Martinez. Both wineries had lovely tasting rooms and seating areas. Unfortunately, we were not able to tour any actual wineries. They were all located out of town, and not promoting tours. 

One of my favorites was visiting Chukar Cherries where we got lots of free samples and made a few purchases. Chukar Cherries was founded in 1988. The company pioneered natural, no-sugar-added dried cherries and chocolate-covered cherry products. Yum! Lastly, but definitely not least, we celebrated Joe’s birthday with games and a delicious dinner! A lovely relaxing week!

Next we move on to Mount Rainier NP!