7/16 and 7/17 - Yakima

We've had a very nice weekend in Yakima.  Yesterday we went to the Yakima Valley Genealogical Society to check old city directories for grandparents' addresses so we could try to find the houses.  The little house my grandparents lived in for about a year (1946) is still there but certainly wasn't something I wanted a picture of (and wouldn't have posted if I'd taken it).  After 70 years both the house and the neighborhood are in rough shape.  In fact, it's a miracle the house is still standing. From 1947 until they died (1949 and 1955) they lived with their daughter whose house I visited in 1961.  That house was replaced by a freeway.  Gabe's grandparents' house is still there and is in very good shape, but there was a yard sale going on with a lot of people around so we didn't stop.

Today we went to see Gabe's and my cousin Marcella Cyr Mulcahy.  She and her sister Dolores are my father's last living first cousins. Dolores is 89 and Marcella is nearly 88. We were very disappointed not to be able to see Dolores but she was admitted to the hospital with a leg infection yesterday. Marcella calls her a "tough old broad" so expects she will recover soon.

Marcella is doing very well and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with her.  She and her daughter Kathy went out to the cemetery with us so I could see my grandparents' markers and take pictures for my Ancestry.com family tree. We all had a good laugh about Marcella's plot being between her two husbands (she's been widowed twice, the second time just a few weeks ago). Kathy said she'd have to be buried looking straight ahead with her arms crossed so as not to favor either of them. :-D

The cousins, left to right - Kathy, Marcella, Val and Gabe.  Marcella doesn't look 87 and certainly doesn't act it.

Some of the low mountains on the north side of Yakima.

More low mountains.

There are lots of brown hills but the areas where houses are built are quite green. 

Yakima has about the same population as Asheville (estimated at 93,700 in 2015).  Its greater metropolitan area is also similar to Asheville's metro area. It's trying to build up its tourism industry but can't compare to Asheville in that department.

The Yakima Valley has a semi-arid climate with little precipitation (8.2" per year average). It was turned into an extremely productive agricultural area by extensive irrigation from the Yakima River.  As of 2011 the area produced 77% of all hops grown in the U.S.  It's also a big producer of apples, pears, peaches, cherries, and melons.  There's a growing wine industry here with over 50 wineries.  This is due mainly to the soil conditions being very similar to those found in France.  

A view from the RV park.  The mountains beyond the golf course are similar to those found all around the city, many of which have houses built on top or sides.  

Close-up of one of the houses at the top of the mountain.  The mountainsides look so dry and then there's all this greenery around the houses.  Can't imagine that city water would be available up there so they must have very deep wells.

We had about ten drops of rain this evening, but what was in the air was enough to produce a piece of a rainbow.  The very rocky mountains in this shot are part of the scab lands caused by the frequent flooding from Glacial Lake Missoula during the last ice age.

Tomorrow we're headed for Mount Vernon which is between Seattle and the Canadian border.  Gabe is heading back towards Olympia where we'll see her again on Saturday.