We were looking forward to a rest day. Both of us were feeling a bit worn out. Flo let us sleep in and so we started our day rested. We did housekeeping chores around the motorhome, took Flo for some long walks and then headed for 14 Hands Winery.
Mural outside 14 Hands Winery.
The winery is named for the small wild horses that once roamed the area.
Outside 14 Hands tasting room.
We really enjoyed this winery. Good cheese, good almonds, good grapes and of course good wine. We purchased a couple bottles of their reserve. Special occasion bottles.
The RV park hosted another wine tasting in the evening which we attended. The haze had cleared significantly, there was a full moon (which we could see) and a perfect evening to sit outside. What a perfect rest day. Tomorrow we are looking forward to visiting our friend Trish. We have lots of catching up to do.
When we left Spokane Valley on Monday the air quality was very poor – we could smell smoke. We didn’t have reservations in Prosser until Tuesday so we headed for Richland to do the Walmart thing. We had shopping to do so it was very convenient. And there was a Krispy Kreme right there!
It was a really pleasant drive to Prosser, the hills were covered with orchards and vineyards. We arrived at Wine Country RV early on Tuesday and got settled into our site. We had some very good neighbors.
Down on the farm. They were very good neighbors.
There are several wineries nearby so we decided to do some winery hopping on our bikes. One problem, they were all closed. They do a Thursday thru Sunday thing. We toured Prosser and put in a few miles.
Wednesday morning we headed out to ride the Lower Yakima Valley Trail. We road from Prosser thru Grandview to Sunnyside and back. Near Granview there were acres and acres of hops fields.
Near Sunnyside there were fields of corn, herds of cattle, vineyards and more hop fields.
This gives an idea of how large these plants grow.
This area grows 75% of the hops used in the US and makes up 20% of the worlds production.
Pretty plants up close.
Thursday morning we drove into Richland to ride the Richland Riverfront Trail and the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. We really enjoyed riding along the Columbia River.
Near end of Riverfront Trail. When will we see blue skies again?
The area near the marina in Richland was really beautiful, nice condos and apartments overlooking the river.
Can’t resist kids on bikesFlying bikes along the Richland Riverfront Trail.
We road the length of the Riverfront trail passing thru beautiful parks and then headed for the Sacagawea Heritage Trail. There was a very steep climb to get up and over a bridge.
View from high atop the bridge. Needed to catch our breath here.
This was also along the Columbia River, thru parks and in one area high above the river along a dyke. This reminded us of riding along the Mississippi River in Louisiana. Wind and all.
Follow the long white line.
Somewhere along the way we passed our 100 mile goal for Washington. Love these “100 mile done”days.
We went to a wine tasting at the RV Park in the evening. It had been a windy day and we were able to see a bit of blue skies. YAY!!
We awoke to smoke haze here in Spokane Valley. Our plan was to ride early before the heat of the day. We rode on the street about a quarter mile to the Centennial State Park Trail and headed west.
Big Foot was staying at the KOA too.
This trail follows the Spokane River. We had great views of the river while riding thru pine forests. It was hilly, but nothing extreme. Just fun!
You can see the haze but was beautiful with forest and sound of river.
There were a couple areas where the trail was along the street. That is our least favorite place to ride especially with lots of traffic. The trail passed through the Gonzaga University campus. Moving in day for some of the students.
We made our way to Riverside Park in Spokane which was a 17 mile trek for us.
Giant Radio Flyer in Riverside Park.
We only saw a few other bikers, some walkers and joggers. Many people fishing, wading and swimming in the river. The water was crystal clear with huge rocks and boulders throughout.
These huge boulders were in the middle of the river.
We returned to the trailhead in Spokane Valley and decided to ride east for a few miles. From the trailhead it is 6 miles to the Idaho border. We went out 4 miles but the smoke haze seemed much worse so we headed back. We were beginning to smell the smoke. We completed 43 miles.
Oh yeah, we saw a moose near Riverside Park in Spokane.
The smoke haze continued to increase throughout the afternoon. The sun was red – what an eerie feeling. Air quality now in hazardous range. Tomorrow we are headed for Prosser, WA – wine country. If air quality doesn’t improve we may adjust our plans and travel closer to the coast.
