We only had the weekend to explore the Hanford Reach National Monument, a place of sweeping vistas, towering bluffs, and stark beauty. This area is one of the driest and hottest portions of the Columbia River Basin, a shrub-steppe habitat identified by the U.S. Department of the Interior as an endangered ecosystem. 
We spent several hours exploring the preserve, hiking, and canoeing.
While hiking these bluffs we found old bleached skulls, five of them placed there by other hikers. Somebody even included a rattlesnake head. 
The canoeing was great - although we were careful to paddle up-river first, then float down - we weren't sure of currants or the weather. We paddled to an island, into a slough. The water became shallow, filled with aquatic life. We watched a beaver on the shore, and deer.
We beached the canoe and had dinner. We saw only one lone fisherman casting his rod over the water. When he left we had the entire place to ourselves - and thousands of crickets who sang through the night.
A storm hovered over the distant plateaus. Coyotes called to one another. The wind intensified throughout the night, pushing the storm clouds away. A stark full moon remained, reflecting shimmering patterns on the water. George took so many photos on this trip, we had to put them in sets:
Sunset on the Wild Columbia;
Hiking the Hanford Reach;
The Hanford Reach - Columbia River
The View from Camp Nuclear
We visited with Ruhiyyih and Matt in the tri-cities area, then drove along the Naches Highway up through the pass.
Tipso Lake was beautiful in the late afternoon light. Fog swirled in patterns through the trees, and it was cold. 
We stopped along the Naches River for dinner, which I prepared quickly from left-overs, and enjoyed watching the antics of an American Dipper, catching his dinner in the stream.It was a weekend filled with so many different landscapes,and such intense weather, hot and cold. I'm amazed that so much could be experienced in such a short time, so close to home.
