On the 9th Month of our Christmas Trips, we went to Vantage, and the Ginko Petrified Forest State Park. It was a fun day trip that the little guy talked about for quite a while afterwards... the best kind. =]

Heading out
We started out after a light breakfast, and packing. It was a bright an sunny day... not my favorite, but the Shadow Lady liked it.

Into the Mountains
A drive up to the Mountains is always fun!

Too Sunny, but nice views
It was an enjoyable drive, even if the Sun was too bright for my liking.

Hints of color
The camera didn't really pick it up, but you could see hints of fall in the brush along the slopes of the mountains.

The Mountans
I really enjoy the drive through the pass. I really hope that I never tire of the views available right from the Interstate!

Widening the roadway
The project to widen the roadway has made considerable headway. They're trying to get as far as they can before they have to stop for the winter... which will be all too soon!

Fog Bank
I thought the view of the fog flowing over the point was pretty impressive.

The 'other' side
Once you're through the pass, its like you're in a very different place... it quickly goes from green and lush, to brown and dry... its quite striking!

The Power of the Wind
Puget Sound Engergy has put a lot of focus in Wind Power... mostly to comply with the 10% alternate forms of energy requirement imposed by voter initiative a few years ago. True to form, the folks who supported the initiative are now the same folks complaining about the eyesore...

Down into the plain
It really does feel like a whole new state...

Heading into Vantage
Heading down into the Columbia River Valley, and into Vantage, which lies on the banks fo the Columbia.

Vantage
Vantage is one of those small places that leaves you wondering how much grit the people who live there have to have.

The State Park
There's not much at this state park, that's for sure!

The Dinosaur place'
We stopped at this Gem Shop after the little guy spotted the Dinosaurs out front.. which is why they're there, I'm sure!

Good tourist draw
The very obvious display did its thing... it got us to stop! =]

Bright Colors
The little guy referred to this as 'the big scary dragon'. I wonder why they painted it so brightly...

Solid Wood
It was interesting to see the details of the wood preserved in the rock.

Interesting Patterns
Some of the rocks really do look a lot like wood.

Checking out the big one
The little guy kept going back to 'the BIIIIG one!', as he called it... it was fun.

Having fun
He really had a good time running from display to display.

Sheets of rock
Every so often, I'd be distracted by an interesting formation... rocks are pretty amazing, I think... especially when they used to be wood.

Checking out the shapes
Checking out the polished surface of a stump.

Fish
Inside the store, a hobby gone wild! There's a lot of stuff for sale in there.... These petrified fish went for $20 to $50, depending on the details.

Rockhound haven
Out back, a lot of unsorted rocks to peruse

Cutting the stump
They had a contraption apparently used to cut the stone logs. The blade looked heavily worn!

Into the State Park
The sign to the park's information center

Ginko Trees
Outside the 'museum'... Ginko Trees. Apparently, these trees no longer grow in the wild... all of them are tendered by humans.

The museum
The park's inforation center

Entering the Museum
We went in to check it out. its small, but there were quite a few displays that were interesting.

Rock garden
They had a pretty good assortment of rocks in a self-guided trail around the center's grounds

Oak tree
Several species of 'trees' appear in the park.

Telling the story about the park
A large portion of the center was dedicated to how it came to be.

Interesting displays
I lingered from time to time... seems my childhood fascination with rocks was making itself be heard. =]

More places to visit!
The map showed places across the US where much larger forests existed.

The view from the Museum
The information center has a great view of the river.

Overlook
We spent some time enjoying the view of the river from above.

Having fun
The little guy enjoyed going back and forth along the low wall.

The 'I was there' Picture
Back when I was stationed here in the 80's, I took a similar picture... now all's I have to do is find it. =]

Interesting Patterns
Rocks that don't look like rocks...

Petroglyphs
Down below the welcome center, a short trail led to some petroglyphs that were saved before a dam was put in down river... they would have been buried by the rising water.

Saved history
A display was set up for the ancient art.

A family preserved
This seems to be a drawing of a native chief's family.

On the old road
The road heading to the trails in the park was the road leading into 'Old Vantage'.

Heading into Old Vantage
This used to descend into the town of Vantage, before it was moved to its present location. The area where the old town was is now under water.

Heading home
I-90 Westbound heads through the Snowshed, built to keep snow from falling onto the roadway in a particuarly slide-prone area.

In the snow shed
The snowshed was built for the roadway that pre-dates the Interstate, which was known as State Route 10.

Widening the road
They're adding a lane in both directions, and working to make the roadway less prone to snow and rock slides. They've been talking about this for years, but other than resurfacing, no improvements have been made to the roadway since it was built in the mid-60's.

Lots of progress
They've done a lot of work, but there's a lot left to be done!

Setting Sun
On the other side of the pass, as we were coming down out of the mountains to where we live, I noticed this picture of the last rays of sun streaking over the ridgeline along the highway. We had a fun trip, and we'll likely visit that place again... there was more to see than you'd think at first.

 

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