September 3…. Dam! (again)

She didn’t even flinch this time when I said it. 😞

We’ve spent the last several days at Pearrygin Lake State Park outside of Winthrop, Washington.

Really nice park on the shore of a small lake and just covered in the greenest lawn grass I think I’ve ever seen. They spend hours each day watering and moving sprinklers around to keep it lush. It works, AND it attracts deer like crazy. Every evening around 5:30 or so, the deer just show up and wander into the campground, along with huge flocks of turkeys.

We spent some of our time exploring Winthrop, a tiny town that looks like a set for an old western movie. Lots of wooden fronted building, wooden boardwalks out front. They swear it’s never been used for a set, but they look ready if Hollywood ever calls.

After walking the town, we hung out in the Methow River just outside of town to cool off. (It was 102 degrees here on Tuesday 🥵)

This morning we headed out early for a camp in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and passed by one of the largest dams I’ve ever seen.

Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River, built in the 1930’s, started out to be just 280 ft tall and part way through construction, funding was approved to almost double the size to 550 ft.

In 1974 a third powerhouse was added which increased the total length of the dam to almost a mile, and more than doubled the electricity generated to over 7000 MW, or almost six times the capacity needed to send a DeLorean into the future. Grand Coulee was the largest in the world when it was built, and is still the largest hydro-power generator in North America today.

My sister mentioned it in a call yesterday, that we are finally on our way home. I guess that’s true, but there’s still a lot more to see. Haven’t found a place for The Moose Ranch yet, or seen the Biggest Ball of Twine. Gotta keep looking. 🧐