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Today we are home. We put in the last leg of our trip. 39 days on the road!
Starting mileage 9372.2 as we left La Grande

Oregon
Going North

More pretty Oregon

Glad to be on the way home

Our first stop was the Whitman Mission
Lon is getting his Jr. Ranger badge.
History Bit:
In 1836, a small group of Presbyterian missionaries traveled with the annual fur trapper's caravan into "Oregon Country". Among the group, Narcissa Whitman and Eliza Hart Spalding became the first white women to travel across the continent. Differences in culture led to growing tensions between the native Cayuse people and the Whitmans. Their mission became an important stop along the Oregon Trail, and passing immigrants added to the tension. A measles outbreak in 1847 killed half the local Cayuse. Some of the Cayuse blamed these deaths on Dr. Whitman. Dr. and Mrs. Whitman were killed along with eleven others; Forty-seven other mission residents were taken hostage. The deaths of the Whitmans shocked the country, prompting Congress to make Oregon a U.S. territory, and precipitated the Cayuse War.
In more recent times, the site has been excavated for important artifacts, and then reburied. A memorial obelisk, erected fifty years after the event, stands on a nearby hill.
The historic site was established in 1936 as Whitman National Monument and was redesignated a National Historic Site on January 1, 1963.

Getting his badge.  He LOVES these things! He learns alot! 

He liked the baskets and beading. He was sad that they were refurbishing the figures in the museum so we could not see them. He was having fun. 

Just down the street is Fort Walla Walla.  We did not know how huge this place is!  We did not see all of it. We will have to come back, good thing it is not so far away

Information Bit:

The Fort Walla Walla Museum comprises 15 acres of the Fort Walla Walla Park, and includes four exhibit halls and a 17-building pioneer village. The museum offers living history performances each season on weekends and children's programs.
The pioneer village includes several cabins, an outhouse, harness shop, blacksmith shop, schools, a jail, train depot, doctor's office and other structures.
The exhibit halls include displays of military weapons and artifacts, tools, agricultural equipment, antique vehicles and firefighting vehicles, clothing and textiles.

Looking at the beading. He wanted to know if I could do that. Well, maybe, but no where near as nice. 

Looking at the old toy exhibit. He told me the old Heinz truck was really cool.  and the train, and ....

A bit of stuff from the hospital

Doing the seek and find at the Lewis and Clark display. 

The Civil War solider display, they also had memorabilia in cases to look at. Swords, programs, more uniforms, papers, etc.

Diorama! 

We talked about sheep shearing. 

How some people would travel around and sheer your sheep for you. 

Of course, it being a museum in Walla Walla, they could not leave out the prison. There is still a major prison there. 

Having lunch at Cousins in Pasco.  What a wonderful place for lunch!  Lon had pancakes! Our waitress was wonderful

Goofy Daddy!

We got fuel here too!

Mileage: 9521.3

5.0 gallsons @ $3.59 We wanted to make sure we had enough gas to make it all the way home

Tea Pot Dome Gas Station!

History Bit:

The Teapot Dome Service Station in Zillah, Washington is one example of novelty architecture listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The Teapot Dome Service Station was built in 1922 on what later became U.S. Route 12. The building has a circular frame with a conical roof, sheet metal "handle", and a concrete "spout". The station was intended to be a reminder of the Teapot Dome Scandal that rocked the presidency of Warren G. Harding and sent Interior Secretary Albert Fall to prison for his role in leasing government oil reserves in, among other places, Teapot Dome, Wyoming. The unique service station continued operation as a full-service gas station for some years. When Interstate 82 was constructed near Zillah, the station was relocated less than a mile down the Yakima Valley Highway. It is no longer in operation. In 2007, the City of Zillah purchased the station, and is attempting to raise money to keep it operational. In 2012, the City of Zillah relocated and rehabilitated the Teapot Dome Gas Station. The new location is 117 First Avenue, Zillah, Washington.

We stopped at the visitor's center in Yakima. We were looking for a fruit stand. The visitor's center is not easy to get to. But she did give us directions to a fruit stand just down the road

Precision Fruit. 

They started in 1946!  Fun place. Good fruit, and other good things to eat. 

Getting closer! One more mountain pass to cross, Snoqualmie!  No problems! 

A traffic jam.  We heard on the radio that there was construction. Then the fire truck went through the middle of everyone, lights flashing. Then a State Trooper. This was not a good sign. We did not have any idea what was going on. We sat. And sat. I pulled out Lon's Nintendo. It was easiest to grab.  We sat some more. Lon leveled up on a game.  For a little over an hour we sat.  We inched up very slowly. Until, sadly, we saw what happened. It seems that two cars were involved. One rear ended the other. The one that did the rear ending was a smoking hulk. there was nothing left of the car but a blackened shell.  The occupants seem to have gotten out all right. We did not see any ambulances.  I am going to think they got out all right.
Final Mileage: 9748.3miles.  One more day and we would have gotten to 10,000! 

We did make it home, just a little late. We have done the fist pass of the mail, we will finish more as the week goes on. The car has been cleaned out, the laundry started. I am starting to plan another road trip!