May 25th

We were still staying at the Ice Harbor Dam, so we did a loop to visit Wallula Gap, Frenchtown, and Walla Walla.

Wallula Gap is the place on the Columbia River where the rock walls became the closest and forced the rampaging flood waters to back up beyond the Gap. We stopped at the Twin Sisters Rock to take in all the directions. Notice the photo of the far side of the Columbia River from Wallula Gap (water was flowing south, to the left) – those rocks were scoured by the flood waters, and proceeded to flow along the path of the Columbia River into the Pacific Ocean and Oregon’s Willamette Valley. I took photos of a number of bulletin boards with the story and history of Wallula Gap.

Frenchtown is a historical site with lots of history. It was part of the ongoing relationship between native Indian tribes and the settlers. It was also the site of a long battle with the Walla Walla tribe.

Walla Walla was a key location as things changed from fur trading to confrontations. The Fort Walla Walla Museum had a lot of interesting displays of the early stages of life.

Be sure to see the main page for this set of travelogues so you can learn more about the Ice Age Floods. Go to: 2025 Ice Age Floods.