Driving Pacific Northwest Backroads | Columbia River

Thank you for joining me for a peaceful drive along one of Washington State’s hidden backroad gems - Huntzinger Road, hugging the eastern bank of the Columbia River near Wanapum State Park where we stayed last year in Vantage. This was the kind of road that doesn't show up on most travel lists.. Wide open skies, the river stretching out beside us, and that special kind of quiet that only a backroad can give. Nowhere to be. No rush. Just the empty road and the view we shared with the birdies. There are so many neat spots along this road, I can’t even begin to share it all. So here are some tidbits of info I found, should you ever find yourself staying at the Wanapum campground, besides the stops we made at the Huntzinger boat launch, Huntzinger pier, and the Cove (which is a haven for birds). The basalt cliffs we drive past here aren't just pretty scenery. The rock formation in the Huntzinger area is literally named “Basalt of Huntzinger" - part of the Columbia River Basalt Group, formed by massive lava flows millions of years ago. Just up the road near Vantage, highway workers discovered 15.5-million-year-old petrified trees in 1927, which became Ginkgo Petrified Forest State Park - now home to Washington's official state gem, petrified wood. The forest is buried underground beneath that arid sagebrush landscape, turned to stone between ancient lava flows and Ice Age floods. I have another video where we’ll explore here plus a little more from the “other side” of I-90 that was included on this day. Long before any road, dam, or orchard, this stretch of the Columbia belonged to the Wanapum, whose name comes from the Sahaptin word wánapam - meaning “River People." They have lived along the Columbia for at least 12,000 years, sustained primarily by salmon fishing. Their spiritual leader Smohalla (who died in 1895) taught that the land should never be disturbed - a belief that put them in direct conflict with westward expansion. Unlike many tribes, the Wanapum never signed a treaty and never relocated to a reservation. They still live along the Columbia today and maintain the Wanapum Heritage Center near Priest Rapids Dam. Vantage - Named for a Ferry Man The town of Vantage, sitting at the north end of this road near 1-90, got its name from a ferry-boat operator named Van Slack, who ran a crossing over the Columbia until a bridge was built in 1927- ending his route. The bridge put him out of business, but his name stuck to the place. The dam we pass (or see from the road) is Wanapum Dam, built by Grant County Public Utility District between 1959 and 1963. At the time of construction, its spillway gates were the tallest in the world. The dam: Is 185 feet tall and 8,320 feet long Creates Lake Wanapum behind it Generates 1,185 megawatts of power- enough for a significant portion of the region Was named in recognition of the Wanapum people whose ancestral lands it flooded In 2014, inspection divers discovered a 2-inch crack in the spillway - traced back to a mathematical error in the original 1959 design. The $61 million repair used steel cabling and rods to literally stitch the dam to the bedrock. The reservoir was lowered 26 feet during repairs, temporarily exposing hundreds of Wanapum archaeological sites. At the south end of Huntzinger Road sits the Vantage orchard of Gee Whiz Fruit (Auvil Fruit Company), one of Washington's most storied fruit dynasties. Founded in 1928 by Grady Auvil and his brothers on just 22 acres in Orondo, the company expanded to the Vantage/Kittitas County area in 1979 - planting 1,000 acres along the Columbia. Grady Auvil is credited with: Introducing the first commercialGranny Smith apple crop inWashington State (1972) Pioneering Fuji apple production in the state Marketing Rainier Cherries to the mainstream Today Gee Whiz farms over 6,000 acres, but their Vantage orchards still grow right along that same riverbank road you travel on. So much stuff here, and it’s such a great example of Washington’s unique and simple beauty! Now. If you made it this far down to the bottom of my description, thanks for being here! And.. next Saturday there will not be a video, as we are off to the Oregon coast and I am anticipating a glorious stretch of much needed time off. I’ll be posting updates in real time of our daily outings, so I’ll be around. Until then, enjoy this bit of unexpected scenery from this pretty little corner of the PNW, and I’ll catch ya next time!🌿💚 #scenicdrive #relaxingdrive #columbiariver