(a story in pictures)
Wow, we are really ‘out here’. At least that’s how I feel.
That’s the moon, above the KOA sign.
All the country side near here looks like this….like desert.
A railroad track runs through it…
And a river runs through it:
Sunset on the Snake River, from Lyons Ferry Marina.
The ‘town’? of Starbuck is about 6 miles south of the KOA. The KOA store sells shirts. 🙂
But the town itself, isn’t so fancy…and no shirts for sale there, either.
I think it says the population is 188, but it could be 138.
Here’s the….umm….gas station. Actually 2 pumps, no building. Credit Cards only. Across the street with the US flag is the post office. the red brick building next to the post office is boarded up. I think they might be remodeling though. I don’t know what kind of store it is.
And then there is the little community church, and that about sums it up for Starbuck!
On the far side of Starbuck, nearer to Dayton is where you find the ‘amber waves of grain.’
Much of it has already been harvested.
Rolling hills of it….
And then the grain elevator thingie, which I happened to catch in action…
Wheat? Corn? I don’t know, more likely wheat.
Wow. This is such a big country….so much space….so open….so free…..so varied….from the town of Starbuck to the city of Seattle, from the town to Quartzsite to New York City ….from the desert to the amber waves of grain to the purple mountains majesty.
And I have to opportunity to roam it….explore it….from sea to shining sea….if I wish.
I really do love this country.
Wandering Spirit 
How nice to embrace all environments as home, rather than having to choose just one. I enjoyed looking at your golden agricultural desert while listening to the rhythm of rain on my roof.
Hi Kathleen. (Kathleen F, right?)
Well that sounds nice. Humidity here today is supposed to run 7-14%, high temperatures, high winds…praying for no fires. You know Big Sur has been of fire big time, I’m sure. :-((
I would say that the population on the sign is 138. The census for 2010 had a population of 129. I devoted some Google Search time to Starbuck, WA and found that there were 147 pupils attending school at Starbuck in 1892. But it sort of went down hill from then with the railroad closing down the High School closed in 1956 and students were then bused to Dayton, WA.
Those “amber waves of grain” refer to wheat and that is what is grown on the Palouse. The phrase from ‘America The Beautiful’ by Katharine Lee Bates was inspired by the wheat fields of Kansas and the Great Plains. Whereas “purple mountain majesties” where found in the Rocky Mountains as viewed from Colorado Springs, CO.
Hi Ed, thanks for all the info! Rumor is that they were going to build a paper mill in Starbuck, and they were going to be able to employ about 75 people. But…the guy with all the money to start it ran off to Europe and hasn’t been heard from since.
Happy to see you are enjoying your stay at the KOA. We have stayed at Lyon”s Ferry State Park that used to be across the river before it closed. We used to enjoy watching the trains cross the high trestle and the occasional barge traffic. The last time we were in the area we stayed at the Tucannon River RV Park on the other side of Starbuck. After a long day’s drive we were happy to see it. We were on our way home from Texas after picking up our Casita.
Fun to see your pictures of Starbuck. Is the little cafe still there? I don’t remember the name but we have been there a few times for breakfast. I think the people who owned it wanted to retire so it was up for sale.
Love your photos of the area. The eastern part of Washington is near and dear to our hearts. The countryside is so varied and has that wide open sky that is so different from the westside, not to mention less rain!
I hope your journeys in Washington continue to be enjoyable!
Kitt
Hi Kitt, well that little State Park on the other side of the bridge is open, but just for day use I believe. I went to Palouce Falls State Park too, just to see the falls. They have some tent camping available. No RV’s though. And yes, I was thinking I was going to stay at Tucannon RV park but they had no real shade available and when I looked disappointed she quickly told me about KOA.
I’ve been enjoying watching the trains go ever so slowly over the trestle as well, and I saw my first gigantic barge this morning!
Yes I think eastern Washigton is as different from western Washington as night and day!
No cafe in Starbuck anymore. 😕 The only place you could call a cafe in this area is here at the KOA park.
All of this is what makes our country so fantastic!! It is unfortunate when we limit ourselves to just our little corner of the country and miss what makes us all unique.
Great pics!!
Hi Gerri, yes, it’s so fantastic and so big! I think if I could travel for 20 years I still wouldn’t get to see everything I’d like to see. Quite an amazing place!
Fantastic post! Just love the pictures. Hope you are still on the mend. xxoo
Hi Krystina, glad you enjoyed the pictures! Yes, my back is still improving. I wonder if it will make it back to what I used to consider ‘normal’. Time will tell!
Hope all is well with you and that growing grand Baby!
It is an amazingly varied country that we live in. Thanks for giving us new windows with which to view it!
Hi Marcia, I’m thinking that part of what has enabled this country to be great is that there is so much variation, not only in geography but the human factor as well….