Wanderlust Traveler: June 2012

Downtown Walla Walla

We visited Walla Walla, Washington for five days in May of 2012 for our two year anniversary. Although the majority of our sightseeing time was spent exploring the area's many wineries, this post will highlight the few non-winery sights that we saw. For a detailed listing of the wineries we visited in Walla Walla please see my blog entry here.

Downtown Walla Walla:
This charming and well-preserved historical town has one of the most beautiful main streets that I have seen in Washington State. The downtown area is filled with countless wineries, restaurants, cafes, and fun shops to poke around in. We always found something new to explore and photograph during each of our stops in town. Just outside of the downtown area visitors will find numerous Queen Anne, Neoclassical, and Craftsman-style homes just waiting to be featured on the over of Better Homes and Gardens.

Downtown Walla Walla

Walla Walla's Farmers Market:
This lovely farmer's market occurs on both Saturdays and Sundays May through October from 9:00-13:00. We had a great time exploring the several dozen vendors at the market including J. Franklin Willis, a photographer who calls Walla Walla home. Being an avid fellow photographer myself, Jim and I had a lengthy conversation about photography and the wonderful undiscovered virtues of Walla Walla.

Walla Walla Farmer's Market

J. Franklin Willis Photography at the Walla Walla Farmer's Market.

Walla Walla Farmer's Market

Puppy for adoption at the Walla Walla Farmer's Market.

Walla Walla Farmer's Market

Whitman Mission National Historic Site:
This National Historic site is located at the former Whitman Mission at Waiilatpu. In 1836 a group of missionaries traveled to Oregon Country, settling near what is present day Walla Walla. The mission eventually became an important stop along the Oregon Trail. However, this influx of visitors, combined with a measles outbreak in 1847 which ended up killing half of the members of the local Cayuse Tribe, caused severe tensions between the two groups. The Cayuse blamed these deaths on Dr. Whitman and his wife. In November of 1847 the family of Dr. Marcus Whitman were ultimately massacred by several members of the Cayuse Tribe. Today none of the original structures remain from the mission but visitors can see the outlines from the original brick foundations of the buildings. The most interesting part of the National Historic Site for me was a section of the original Oregon Trail which featured a covered wagon. Visitors can also walk up the steep hill to view the Whitman memorial shaft where they will be rewarded with a beautiful view of the surrounding valley.

Whitman Mission National Historic Site in Walla Walla.

Fort Walla Walla Museum:
Located on 15 acres within Fort Walla Walla Park, this living history museum features more than 45,000 artifacts, exhibit halls, and a 17-structure pioneer settlement including a 1867 schoolhouse, a railway depot, and a barber shop. The museum also contains one of the country's largest collections of horse-drawn agricultural equipment including a 33-mule team which was incredible to see in person.

Fort Walla Walla Museum

Saturday, June 23, 2012

Walla Walla, Washington (Sightseeing)