We just returned from a nice long tour of the Washington State grape growing regions. A wonderful trip, so I thought it might be helpful to post something of our experiences here.
We left the Seattle area and spent one night in the town of Prosser. In Prosser we stayed at the
Wine Country RV Park.
Unfortunately the Park didn’t quite live up to our expectations and we likely wouldn’t return. It was extremely hot without a reasonably sized tree anywhere within the park to provide a hint of shade. The park did offer WiFi, but required permission from management to connect, and utilized an odd connection process in an apparent effort to keep non-park visitors from stealing bandwidth. The sites were small, and our electrical hookup seemed weak. We didn’t try the provided cable TV connection, but a fellow a few spaces over said it gave very poor picture quality. There was a pool, but it is closed in the early evening, so by the time it was within the shade, we were unable to use it. Lastly I should mention that the bathroom/shower facilities were very nice, but alas there was a fee for using them. Nightly rates seemed about average for the area.
We may have enticed one of our neighbors in the park to give Airstream a try. He was in a brand spanking new SOB, and came over to ask about towing as he was shocked that we were able to pull our Overlander with a
1500 Silverado. Apparently his SOB has been giving him a good deal of sway problems. In any event he was curious to learn that we have not had his bad sway experiences, and he seemed quite interested in the fact that an Airstream as old as ours could be so nice inside. Perhaps his next new RV will be of the silver variety.
Beyond the RV Park Prosser is a great place to taste wine because the wineries are mostly located in a compact area, and some of them are quite beautiful. The staffs are generally very friendly and knowledgeable, and some fun wines can be found.
From Prosser we moved to Walla Walla where we stayed at the
Fairway RV Resort.
We enjoyed this park, and stayed for three nights. While again it was without much in the way of shade trees, it is a brand new park, and they seem to be making heroic efforts to get the little guys growing. The WiFi was easy to use and fast. The park offers no pull through sites, but the sites were reasonably sized and easily accommodated us. The bathroom/shower facilities were quite nice. No other amenities were offered or advertised. Nightly rates seemed about average for the area.
Two items seem to merit special mention. If one stays at Fairway, it is gated at night, and one had better keep the gate code handy for it is closed up at 6:00pm each evening. Also, the park is divided into two sections with buildings separating the sections. These sections are not visible too each other. We did however walk to the second section, and it is obvious that we were in the nice half. The second area seemed quite dumpy. We don’t know if rates are cheaper there, so some folks deliberately choose it, or if the staff directs visitors to one half or the other based upon their perception of the RV one arrives in. We do know that we were surrounded by very large and newish motorhomes in the nice section, while the other section seemed populated by old looking SOB trailers. Assuming that the staff directs based upon look of the RV, they must not have realized just how old our Airstream really is.
Generally speaking the wineries in the Walla Walla area are not as nice to visit as those closer to the Prosser area. They just don’t seem as large, or as fancy. That said many of them have dedicated tasting rooms within the town, which is quite nice as one can walk from room to room and sample a great variety of wines. It is also our opinion that Walla Walla area wines are of better quality than those from elsewhere.
Spring Valley and
Otis Kenyon should not be missed and both have tasting rooms conveniently located downtown.
We did, while staying in Walla Walla, travel to Pendleton Oregon, and one restaurant experience there merits special mention I think.
Hamley Steakhouse offered an amazing dinner and their own-labeled wine was superb. While there a visit to the
Hamley store shouldn’t be missed.
Our last night was spent in Ellensburg, where we stayed at the
Yakima River RV Park.
This park was like a step back in time. It offered no amenities, but the location was beautiful, with full hookups and all pull through spaces. Self-service, you pick your spot, and leave your money in a box. It was quiet, in the middle of a working cattle ranch. Surrounded by large trees, and close to the river, we loved it, and will certainly return. A newer Classic was parked next to us, the only Airstream we shared a park with on this trip. The rates at this park were a bit high for the area, especially given the lack of any amenities, but it was so peaceful that we were quite happy to pay them.
While in Ellensburg we found another superb restaurant,
Pearl’s on Pearl Bistro. Simply amazing food, with a wine list to match.
We did drive into the two other RV parks in Ellensburg; Yakima River RV is clearly superior provided that one can live without amenities.
Lastly I should mention that on the way back home, driving just east of Ellensburg we were passed by an Airstream so well polished that it made the eyes hurt just lookin at it!
I see that this post has grown quite long; I hope that it proves helpful to those traveling through Washington’s Wine Country.
1973 Overlander
washington wine
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