After 20 months it was finally time to visit home...

Then I broke my ankle. The day my family was finally gathered together in Spokane, I was having surgery here in Portland. Life can be unpredictable. Last week it was finally my time. Andrew and I hit the road to Spokane, as we headed east on Interstate 84 the skies turned smoky.

It was hot (the high in Portland that day was 103) and while the blue skies we left behind at home were also filling with smoke, we were driving into the worst of it. Those are wind turbines...
I can't tell you exactly where the smoke was coming from, there are several fires burning in the west. I know Oregon's Bootleg fire was partly to blame. 

This looks like damage from a past burn.
Andrew wanted to stop at the Yakama Nation Museum in Toppenish, WA—that's where I spotted this fabulous ride. It wants to haul plants don't you think?
In case you were wondering what that door sticker said...
In the back...
The view from the other side.
Unfortunately the museum was closed for a private meeting, so we were unable to walk through. 
We got a late start from home and didn't make the six hour drive to Spokane in a single day, instead we spent a night in Richland, WA: "along with the nearby cities of Pasco and Kennewick, Richland is one of the Tri-Cities, and is home to the Hanford nuclear site" (source). We stayed at the Holiday Inn and I was thrilled to discover they had a nice planting of Yucca rostrata...

Looking back towards the entrance...

I counted five different growing points on that crazy plant to the far right.
While I trim the old leaves on my rostratas, I thought the leaves left in place, and the resulting skirt, was a good look here.
Exploring more of the Holiday Inn landscaping...
The hotel sits beside the  Columbia River...
There was a lot of lawn.
I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the room's bathroom wallpaper.
The next day we set out headed east, the air was still miserable.





We eventually arrived in the small town of Colfax, WA, and headed north on Highway 195—toward Spokane.
All of these landscape photos were taken from the car, as we sped along the highway. For the most part I managed to avoid strange window reflections, but thought this image worth sharing even with the reflections, because the juxtaposition of wind turbines and the old wooden electric power line poles was interesting.
Finally we arrived in Spokane! Unfortuantely the air quality was still in the extremely unhealthy category, so we weren't able to be outside and enjoy my parents garden.
But that didn't stop me from snapping a few photos.
Things were looking quite lush along the north side of the garage.
Syneilesis close-up...
Out in the sunshine the liatris looks rather striking against the brick red of the fence.
Virginia creeper on the back of the garage...
Finally a peek at my dad's tomato crop. June's excessive heat (popularly referred to as the "heat dome") messed with his usual tomato production and things are running a little late. I'm sad to have missed the ripening of these tasty fruit, but oh so glad to have finally been able to spend a couple of days with my parents.