On I-90 in Washington, about 10 miles west of George (Yes, folks, there is a George, Washington), there’s a view area on the west side of the interstate. It’s at the top of a long hill, which has a right angle turn at the bottom before you take the bridge across the Columbia River and go up another long hill, and who designed that I’d like to know, it’s a real delight in the big truck, let me tell you. The view area is a delight, however. There’s a large parking area, and several trails that lead to the edge of the canyon the river has cut in the rock. You can look down to the bridge you’ll be crossing in a few minutes, across to the layers of rock that the water has worn down through over the eons, up to more river and canyon. The wind is always blowing. The rolling hills around you are pretty bleak, not many trees, a lot of scrub brush and grass. Turn and look across the interstate and up to the top of the ridge to see “Grandfather Cuts Loose The Ponies”, 15 horses cut and welded of now rusting steel plate, racing across the barren hilltop. The 200 foot long display symbolically recreates the Great Spirit turning loose a herd of the wild horses which once roamed the area. I now read that you can walk up to the sculpture from the eastbound exit ramp, but are advised to not cross the freeway from the view area on the westbound side. The whole spot, the views, the horses, the bleak loneliness of it, take you to a different place and time, and you can almost see the ancients riding those ponies, looking into the distance from the hilltop to scout for enemies, for a good place to camp, for food.
For more on those long-ago people, get back on the highway, cross the river and get off in Vantage to visit the Ginkgo Petrified Forest, where the remnants of those tropical trees tell of the climate change over the thousands of years of creating our lands, and where petro glyphs tell stories of the native tribes who first occupied these lands.
If you’re heading south towards Yakima on I-82, stop at the first view area for a sweeping view of the countryside to the north and east.
Taking Route 97 south from Toppenish to Oregon, at the top of the hill just before the river, there’s the Stonehenge Memorial, a tribute to the fallen military members in the shape of England’s Stonehenge. When you get down the hill to Route 14 head west a bit, there’s a little campground and parking area with a wonderful view of Mount Hood, with the Columbia River in the foreground, makes a great photo op, especially at sunset.
