Dayton

Columbia County Courthouse

Last weekend I went up to Dayton for the town's annual car show. I was expecting maybe a couple dozen cars, something pretty small, but was pleasantly surprised by the hundred+ cars there.

Dayton was platted by Jesse and Elizabeth Dayton on November 23, 1871 and was officially incorporated about ten years later. According to Wikepedia, Dayton boasts the oldest train depot in Washington (1881) and the oldest continually-used courthouse (1887). Dayton is the county seat of Columbia County. The population is about 2600 as of the 2000 census. Several years ago the Jolly Green Giant company had a canning plant in Dayton; there is still a "hill carving" of the Green Giant just outside of town.

Aside from all the beautiful classic cars, I was also treated to drag racing down the main street of Dayton. Several community members raced those little razor scooters down the street--dressed in drag.

Lumber Store

Drag Race. They were going pretty fast! I think the lady in orange won overall. "She" also won the beauty pageant after the races.

Cool car interior.

Image of the Green Giant. 1000 years from now, scientists will be trying to figure out the meaning of the Giant, and will attach all kinds of incorrect interpretations to it.

Return to Bickleton

Windmill at the Carousel Museum

I took a trip back to Bickleton a couple of weeks ago, because the Carousel Museum was open and the carousel itself was supposed to be operating for the only time all year. Unfortunately I got there a little bit too early--the carousel is set up at the rodeo grounds but the horses are stored in the museum--and they hadn't been moved yet. That was to take place later in the afternoon, but I couldn't stick around that long. But the museum was very nice, and I did get to see the town in the summer rather than the dead of winter. The town was also getting ready for its 99th annual rodeo, but that was to take place on Saturday and I was heading to Seattle that day, so alas, I missed it. I also missed the annual Combine Demolition Derby in Lind, WA which is another quirky little event I wanted to see. Next year, I guess.

Horses with feet wrapped for protection, ready for the trip to the carousel site.

Bickleton Church

To and From

Here are some pictures on my way to and from Kahlotus:













Farm

Star School--the only one-room schoolhouse left in Washington State











Lower Monumental Dam--Snake River. 810 Megawatts. Completion of the dam flooded the Marmes Rockshelter, which at the time had the oldest known human remains in the United States (about 10,000 years old).

Kahlotus

Kahlotus is a very small town (pop. 214 at the 2000 Census) located in Franklin County, Washington. According to Wikepedia, Kahlotus is an Indian word for "hole in the ground." I, however, am doubtful. I think this is an example of someone getting into Wikepedia and changing things for a joke.

Kahlotus has seen more populous times--when I was in high school, more than 30 years ago, its population was 365. One for every day of the year, as my high school history teacher used to joke. When I was a sophomore, I was the equipment manager for the freshman basketball team. We traveled to Kahlotus for a game, and I swear all 365 people were in attendance, crammed into their tiny gym. Kahlotus won by four points. It was our only loss of the year. Our coach (the same one who made the lame joke about the population) got kicked out with four seconds left, protesting something I can't even remember.
Sometime in the late 70's the town spruced itself up by putting up frontier town-like facades on all the main street buildings. 30+ years later, the facades are still there but could use some more sprucing. Hopefully better times will return; it's really kind of a pleasant, if isolated, place for a little town.

Memorial Day 2009

This is the Henri Chapelle cemetery in Belgium. There are 7992 American soldiers buried here. As Memorial Day winds down, don't forget what the holiday is for.

It's been a while since I've been able to get out and take pictures. My apologies to the four people who've actually read this blog and who, I am sure, have been anxiously checking at least every other day for new and exciting posts.

Today I had some spare time, and the weather was awfully nice, so I headed off to the little town of Benton City. It's actually a bit larger (2624 at the last census) than what I originally intended this blog to cover, but it's nearby and hey, I haven't exactly been prolific with posts. Benton City sits along the Yakima River, and the low-lying areas flood every year about this time. I had a pretty decent hamburger and fries at Wolfie's Drive-In. Stop by next time you are in town.

The bridge into Benton City, off of I-82. Wikipedia claims this bridge is on the National Register of Historic Places. I'm not sure why; it's not a particularly interesting bridge design.

Main Street

Benton City Cemetery. Nobody living within city limits can be buried here.

Whitstran is an unincorporated wide spot in the road about 25 miles away from Benton City, and accessible only by a somewhat windy two-lane road. There is no access to the interstate which probably is why I've never been there although I have lived within 50 miles of it all my life. The town consists of a few houses, an elementary school, a grocery store, an abandoned gas station (I should have taken a picture of that, sorry), and some agricultural buildings.

I bought a Coke and a candy bar here.

Grain elevator in Whitstran.

Mabton, Washington

I visited Mabton on January 23, 2009. I actually stopped here first before heading on to Bickleton. Mabton has a population of about 1800 (2000 census) and is primarily a farming and ranching community.

Mabton gained some fame, or infamy, a few years ago when a small nearby ranch was home to the first confirmed case of Mad Cow disease in the United States. Mabton was also the home of Mel Stottlemyre, who pitched for the New York Yankees in the 60's and 70's, winning 164 games against 139 losses. He had a fine ERA of 2.97, and once hit an inside-the-park grand slam home run, which I vaguely remember watching on TV.



Mike's Garage



Mabton's water tower. Note the grafitti.




Hop field. The hops used in the next beer you drink probably came from somewhere near here.

Journey to Bickleton

Today, despite the generally uninspiring weather (overcast, cold, and damp) I decided to take my first journey to a small town for some photography. I chose the little town of Bickleton, WA (population about 100) because it's not too far away, I've never been there, and it has a neat name. It's also the self-described bluebird capital of the world. boasting thousands of bluebird houses. In addition, Bickleton boasts the state's oldest tavern, the Bluebird Inn, which opened (most likely under a different name) in 1882. The town website (http://www.bickleton.org/) also boasts of the Carousel Museum, open seasonally (alas, not in the middle of winter). The carousel may be ridden on June 12, 13, and 14 for 50 cents, so I will probably have to make another trip just for that. If possible I'll get pictures of the tavern, too.

I almost didn't go on the trip because of the weather, but I am glad I did. Bickleton is up in the hills aways (about 3000 feet) and as I got closer I was treated to a winter wonderland of frozen fog (rime) covering literally everything. It was quite beautiful.

Here's a few pictures:


Typical Bickleton Bluebird House


Either a very large bluebird house or an outhouse.


A farm on the road up to Bickleton.

Getting Started

I live in the eastern, dry, part of Washington State. This surprises many people since Washington has a reputation for lots of rain. However, much of the eastern side of the state, particularly the southeastern portion, is actually desert. It only rains 7-10 inches a year where I live, compared to over 200 inches on the Olympic Peninsula in western Washington.

When I was a kid, my family made many trips each year along US Highway 395 and then onto Interstate 90 to Spokane, the largest city on the east side. On the way, I'd often wonder about all the little towns the road signs would point to--Lind, Eltopia, Kahlotus, Sprague, Washtucna. Unusual names. Some of them I've been to or through...before the interstate was complete, we had to drive through Sprague, and usually stopped at Stan's drive-in for a hamburger or ice cream. Kahlotus is right on the way to Pullman, WA, where I attended college, so I drove through there, and sometimes stopped, numerous times. Ditto for Washtucna--more or less a wide spot in the road on the way to school, but impossible to avoid. There was a pretty good hamburger joint in Washtucna that I think only existed because college students stopped there to and from school. I remember I'd almost always see someone I knew there when I stopped, despite the fact that Washtucna boasts less than 300 people.

I've always wondered what life is like in these little towns. I decided that, one of these days, I was going to take a road trip with my cameras and visit many of those towns on the highway/interstate and off the beaten path. There are dozens to visit, each with a story to tell--mostly one, probably, of dreams that didn't pan out, of just enough work (farming, mostly) to keep a small town going. Over the next several months I hope to get some pictures taken and published here. Why not now? Well, it's the middle of winter. It's cold. And bleak. I'll wait till spring when things green up a bit.