Quincy, Washington

Good morning, my friends. It was a beautiful drive from Electric City to Quincy, Washington, yesterday. So much of the way, we were driving alongside Banks Lake. We’d driven through the little town to the state highway. As we passed through this canyon, we could see the lake on the other side.

Remember what I said about the dam in yesterday’s post. The pumps we saw on our tour pump water from Roosevelt Lake into some large pipes where it is then dumped into Banks Lake. This is the water that is used to irrigate over 1 million acres of farm land in Washington. Given the number of small “islands” we could see on the lake, we presume it is a rather shallow lake.

Beyond was a portion of the Grand Coulee. It was on the far side of the lake for the entirety of our drive.

Grand Coulee is a large geological feature, approximately 50 miles (81 kilometers) long and averages about 1 mile (6 kilometers) in width. It is designated a “National Natural Landmark.” Within the coulee there are illustrations of a series of geological events beginning with a low range of granite mountains through which the ancestral Columbia River flowed. Outpourings of lava built up the Columbia Plateau, diverting the course of the river. That was followed by deformation of the lava beds, advance and recession of glacial ice, the cutting of a new river course, the formation and retreat of waterfalls, and the return of the Columbia River to its present channel, leaving the Coulee high and dry until humans turned part of it into a huge reservoir by artificial damming. 

There were only a few barns…maybe they’re garages…along the way. This is farming, not ranching, and so barns aren’t really necessary.

We did see a lot of silos, but I didn’t take many pictures of those.

This one though…what do you suppose this is about? Coffee, maybe?

We saw some fall color, but not that much. What isn’t farmed here is an arid grassland…amost no trees except those planted within town limits.

In this next image, we were crossing the "dry dam" portion of the Columbia Basin Project. Banks Lake (mentioned above) covers nearly 27,000 acres within the northern portion of the Grand Coulee and was formed by building dams at both ends of the coulee channel. At the other end from here is the Grand Coulee Dam. To create a reservoir, dams are required at both ends. The reservoir is filled by pumping water uphill from Lake Roosevelt behind the Grand Coulee Dam to supply irrigation and power generation. The lake is named after Frank A. Banks, the construction supervisor for the Grand Coulee Dam.

Looking to my right, this is Banks Lake, stretching to the horizon. Indeed, it was the lake beside our campsite at our last location in Electric City.

I thought it might help to show this to you on a map. The red pin marks where Grand Coulee Dam is. The large circled area shows the extent of Banks Lake. The smaller circle in the lower left is where we are now.

We came down a long winding path to reach our campground. After driving through the towns of Soap Lake and Ephrata, it was good to see the river again…pretty much free-flowing here…until it reaches the next dam, that is.

It was a pretty downward spiral getting to where we’re situated.

And Welcome to Quincy!

We’re actually camped on a little spur off the river. It’s like a small peninsula and we’re surrounded by water on three sides. We can only see one side, however.

It comes at a big bend in the river.

And this is the view from our campsite. It’s a lovely place…quiet.

Turning around 180 degrees and looking in the other direction, there’s another coulee. This trip has taught us a lot. The definition of “coulee” is just one of the things we’ve learned along the way.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, our one agenda item for this stop is to hike the Ancient Lakes Trail. I’ll tell you more about the trail in my next post. Scouting out the location of the trailhead, I realized that we’ll be walking on the other side of the coulee pictured above.

Today’s hike is a loop, approximately 4 miles, and so you’ll want your most comfortable hiking boots. I recommend a good breakfast too. That’s what’s up next here. Scrambled eggs are sounding good. The weather is looking sunny, and I’ve read there’s not much shade on the trail. Hats are recommended.