Vantage, Washington

April 28–29, 2022

At this point in the trip, I rounded my final turn of the compass and began heading east toward Vermont (eventually). As my stopping point between Tacoma and Boise, I chose the little town of Vantage, WA. I chose Wanapum State Park Campground largely because of its proximity to something called Ginkgo Petrified Forest. After my astounding experience in Petrified Forest National Park, I was eager to see another. Unfortunately, and somewhat cryptically, this park opted to put their petrified trees in cages. (Maybe they can’t afford to pay enough rangers to keep any eye on the trees to make sure marauders don’t carry them off?) The stony trees along the trail were interesting, but the dry, eastern Washington vistas and the abundant wildflowers and strange lichens were the sights I found most captivating. After a pleasant evening at the campground, we headed southeast, passing through northeastern Oregon and checking out the historic Arch Bridge on our way.