MONTANA CANADA TRIP - Day 19. Vernon, British Columbia ->Yakima, Washington

This is our last day in Canada. We have a fairly long drive, 350 miles to Yakima, Washington. We get a late start because of a delightful conversation with our Okanagan Valley hosts Roy and Liz, and savor our last Canadian moments. The Okanagan Valley extends from Vernon, where we are staying, to the U.S. border. Once on the road we make slow, unpleasant progress along a road under construction that ought to be a freeway.

Anyway, we finally arrive at the border. I have mixed feelings about leaving Canada and stop at the duty free gift shop for a few more souvenirs of Canada to take with me.











Back in the U.S. at last we drive straight south on Hwy 97 to Yakima.

Another surprise! I never knew that Central Washington was as much a desert as the so-called desert states of Utah, Western Colorado, or New Mexico. Here's an example:


We arrive in Yakima in the early evening. Yakima is a city of 84,000 and the population center for central Washington. It's a farming center and also the nearest city to the Yakima Reservation. After we settle in at our B&B we head for town for a twilight dinner at an outdoor cafe.

This is the 4th of July, and again, I'm looking forward to a small town celebration of this uniquely American holiday, but without much luck. There is a large fireworks display which we hear but barely see from our seats in the cafe. The only impact of the holiday is negative -- the freeway exit back to our B&B is closed because of the fireworks, and Jonathan did some quick talking to the highway patrol, and they removed the barriers especially for us out-of-towners.

Accommodations: Birchfield Manor Country Inn ****