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Lake Easton State Park
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While driving to Leavenworth "the long way", I saw a bridge as
I was crossing over a bridge on I-90, and decided to try and
drive back to it... I ended up finding a nice place to stretch
our legs, and got treated to some impressive scenery at the
same time. The bridge I saw is part of the main roadway in
the Park, and is part of the Old Sunset Highway, the first
reliable auto road between western and eastern Washington.
It follows the path along the Yakima River. When it was
active, it ran between Seattle and Ellensburg, where it
connected to a cross-country route, "The Yellowstone Trail",
which heads west by way of the Columbia River Gorge. |
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An information marker said that the view on the left was taken
from the bridge in 1928, about a year after its completion.
The picture below is a picture taken in 1930 of a rest stop
that was several miles East of the bridge, and it marked the
halfway distance from Seattle to Ellensburg. |
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The Yakima River Dam, completed in 1930, changed the river
scene to the lake scene we see below... Lake Easton was formed
with the emplacement of the Dam. The Lake Easton Reservoir
is used to retain water for use in irrigating the Yakima
Valley in the dry summer months, enhancing the growing season,
and reducing the effects of drought. |
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The lakes water is VERY clear and clean. There were LOTS
of open campgrounds at the park, and it was July, so it seems
that we'd have no trouble landing one if we were to come back.
Here's a picture of me doing my Luke Impression (ala Gillmore
Girls)...
We didn't stay there long enough, but we had a great walk,
and we got to stretch our legs, which was the goal... finding
a place to come back to was a bonus! |
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