We have spent the past 5 days at the southern end of Washington State in the Tri-Cities area.......Richland, Kennewick and Pasco, seperated by the Yakima and Columbia Rivers. The combined population of the three cities is 250,000 people and their main claim to fame, other than the wonderful wines produced in the area, is that the atomic bomb was created here (in nearby Hanford). The majority of all plutonium used in nuclear weapons was generated here but following the end of the Cold War the focus changed from the creation of nuclear weapons to the disposal of nuclear waste. A huge new plant is nearing completion, 9 years after it was started so there is obviously still a lot of nuclear waste that will need to be disposed of. Many of the people we have met down here work at "The Site" or industries supporting it. We passed by a recreational area called Atomic Bomb Park and a high school whose team nickname is the Bombers.
The Horn Rapids RV Resort has been our home, a wonderfully kept park with a nice hot tub that we have been using every day. We spent the first two days touring the many wineries in the area. Our favourites were Terra Blanca, Hogue, Kestrel, Mercer and Willow Crest. The van is now comfortably stocked for the next few weeks. Hopefully the glow in our cheeks after consuming several bottles is a result of the quality of the wine and not the soil from the Site! The past two days we golfed at Horn Rapids and Canyon Lakes (great track). Tomorrow we will play Columbia Point and then head out of town. The weather has been lovely...........18-20C with sunny skies but the forecast changes to cooler and wet starting Friday so we plan to head south and west along the Columbia River gorge with a close eye on the weather.
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