Washington Wine Country

After driving along the Columbia River, with its scenic beauties, we crossed the bridge into eastern Washington, and the countryside lost its luster - a reminder that up and down the West Coast, the prettiest areas are along the coast and the coastal mountain ranges, and the inland landscapes are drier and less interesting. 

Yakima, though, was more attractive than I expected.  There are hills surrounding it, and even though they are covered by brush rather than trees, it's a more interesting look than the rest of south-central Washington. 

The Yakima Valley is one of the major Washington state wine regions.  On a drizzly day we walked into the Kana Winery tasting room in downtown Yakima and were impressed.  They concentrate on Rhone-style wines, and we especially loved their wonderful, reasonably-priced reds.  We bought their Dark Star (a mix of Rhone varietals) and a dry Reisling.

We drove a half hour to the Rattlesnake Hills wine region and toured a couple of family-run wineries there in the countryside.  Friendly people, nice tasting rooms, but the wines were disappointing.  So a lot of Washington state wines are great and some should be avoided.

Heading for the Canadian border, we drove northwest, and as we approached the Cascade Range, the rain turned to snow.  Magnificent views of snowy mountains and hills covered with trees - lush green with splashes of yellow color.  The snowfall was fairly heavy, and driving seemed a little dicey, but to be honest, on our crossing through the mountain passes we never climbed above 3000 feet, and the temperature never dropped below freezing.