Maryhill Museum

on the road to oregon eclipse festival, riding shotgun with bob;
hoyt and heidi roll with igor in tuna the vanagon. we take the scenic
route via yakima valley, stop for mexican food at a colorful hacienda
along the way. just last night my neighbor was recommending a visit to
the public observatory in goldendale, which is where we happen to stop
for gas. maryhill museum is a slight detour past an epic windfarm, so we
spend some time looking at romanian monarchist bling, the largest collection
of rodin west of philadelphia, first nations' folk art, disappearing sculpture, curious parisian fashion
dioramas, and the view from the cafe terrace, columbia gorge yawning deep below us. sam hill, who
named the mansion for his wife, was a visionary road builder who saw the tourist potential of winding
scenic highways, kind of the robert moses of the west, and i gotta say the vistas were spectacular.
we ended the day at the balch hotel, a quaint enough place to close out the first leg of our journey.