On Friday morning, it dawned clear and sunny again in Goldendale. After breakfast at the Quality Inn, we checked out and startle the final leg of this state park trip. The first stop was Brooks Memorial park that was about 20 minutes north on Hwy 97. It’s located on the Little Klickitat River and was a nicely wooded camping and picnicking park. We only stayed a few minutes because it was quite cool outside.
On to our next park of the day: Fort Simcoe. This park is located on the Yakama Reservation and is fairly remote. There aren’t any highway signs guiding a driver to the location. It’s the site of an Army fort from the 1850s and there are several rebuilt buildings representing the originals.
When we arrived, we were surprised to see cattle grazing on the mowed grass of the park while an employee worked nearby on the sprinkler system. We were the only visitors. As we walked around, we frightened some of the cows, which trotted off. There were many Lewis Woodpeckers in the oak trees, which was interesting to see, since they don’t show up in the western part of Washington. But we were disappointed that there weren’t more interpretive signs telling about who the fort was named for, nor the history of the area.
After leaving Fort Simcoe, we drove to the final park of this trip, the Yakima Sportsman park. It had been developed by a Yakima Valley Sportsman Association in the 1940s and given to the state. We parked near a small lake to relax and look for birds. Nothing unusual showed up, so we moved on. Our breakfast hadn’t really stuck with us, so we found an Olive Garden restaurant in downtown Yakima and ate an early lunch. Then we headed west for the 2+ hour drive back to Issaquah. It was the end of another enjoyable state park trip.
Lori's Travels 