Wednesday 9 March 2016
Gingko Petrified Forest – Soap Lake – Coulee City, WA

The adventurers awoke to high winds rocking their trailer with a chilly wind they opened their door to. They had a quick breakfast and headed off for the road. The Explorer was sputtering and having issues, so Sir Thomas tried to clean off the engine, and that did worse than good. They almost stalled on their way out of the Wanapum State Park. They made their way up to the Gingko Petrified Forest, which the museum was closed and they took a brief hike on the trails. Not exactly the pristine petrified forest they were expecting.

They then headed east on I-90 towards Moses Lake. They stopped for chai n’ wifi there and lunch at McDonalds so the Prince could play in the playground. Some 12 year old kid started pushing around the 4 year old prince, so Sir Thomas intervened. This upset the mom who yelled profanities at him and stating her son was special needs. Sir Thomas believed that didn’t matter with the age difference – a four year old won’t understand bullying and it could affect him substantially in the future.

Back on the road, they headed north on highway 17 towards Ephrata. The town of Ephrates was a bit run down although possessing some 60’s – 80’s era classic businesses and store fronts. They made their way over to Soap Lake on highway 17 where they stopped to investigate the magical suds waters that the town was infamous for. They splashed the magic waters on their faces and played with the Prince at the park. The town of Soap Lake was also run down and semi-deserted. You could tell it was an attraction in its day, just not at present. They drove on up the Coulee to Coulee City where they would be meeting with their team and checking into the hotel with the crew. Tomorrow Sir Thomas Leaf would begin archaeological survey with his team at Coulee City. Sir Thomas got online and worked out some new payment programs and gateways.

Mileage: 70