For those of you who think Moses Lake was named after that old guy in the white robe and with the long white beard who brought the rules down from the mountain top, this is not the case. Chief Moses was the tribal leader of the Sinkiuse Indians and apparently was a really nice guy. They were a tribe of friendly hunters and gatherers that lived along the shores of the colossal lake in the 1800s. As usual, white guys came along and there erupted quarrels over water and land rights in this fertile valley and we all know the final score on that one.
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| Chief Moses |
The town itself was originally called Neppel and the 300 energetic
residents labored in orchards, potato and onion fields and played a large part
in the construction of Highway 10, ending decades of isolation. In 1938, they agreed to rename the town Moses
Lake to match the lake. The roughly
12-square-mile lake is only 18-38 feet deep and is actually a reservoir created
in part by the O’Sullivan Dam, constructed in the early 1900s. Due to the fact that it is fairly shallow
(compared to nearby Lake Chelan, which is roughly 1,500 feet deep), the temperature
of the water is warm enough for a variety of water sports. That includes paddleboarding for the
geriatric set.
We spent one whole day driving around in search of the possible remains of Larson Air Force Base. Originally established as Moses Lake Army Air Base, it has massively long runways and was the training center for the B-52 Stratofortress and during WWII, the P-38. It was also used as a training center for the C-17 for some time. The base was renamed Larson AFB in honor of Donald Larson, an Air Force pilot and WWII flying ace originally from Yakima. He flew 57 missions and was shot down and killed in Germany in 1944. Larson AFB was closed in 1964 due to defense budget cuts and strategic planning during the cold war. We thought for sure we would find remnants of the AFB somewhere, possibly a museum or a few of the older mothballed planes or barracks but after hours of searching, we found one 787, which neither of us had seen in real life, probably the prototype. Otherwise, we gave up and set our sights elsewhere.
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| Holy buckets! A 787 Dreamliner! Cool! |
We began the search for an easy-access beach where we
could inflate and launch our paddleboards.
Along the way, we came across Camas Cove Cellars, creator and purveyor
of a number of fine wines. We stopped in
to nose around and, as luck would have it, were told by the proprietor, Kat,
that we could launch our paddleboards right there at the dock of the small winery! Well now, how convenient is that?! Mixing pleasure with pleasure! The hook was set for the next day’s activity.
We didn’t leave empty-handed, of course. Kat gave us a taste of one of their signature wines, Thelma and Louise blend of chardonnay and roussanne. The name is no coincidence. Kat’s two grandmothers’ names are Thelma and Louise, what are the odds of that?! Obtaining a bottle of this fine wine was obligatory and it paired perfectly with our seafood dinner.
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| Tiny and hidden, the home of Thelma and Louise chardonnay- roussanne blend white wine. |
The next day, we killed an hour or so paddleboarding in the little lagoon that edges up to The Parr’s small boutique winery. It was nice to be protected from motorized water vehicles with their noise and scary wakes. It was quiet, peaceful, sunny, the water was warm and fairly shallow. Really a delight. And the treats just kept on coming. We sat down on the pretty patio to relax with a glass of Thelma and Louise and soon, the Parr family began to gather around us. The patriarch and founder, Dennis, sat down at our table and soon, Kat and John joined in. It didn’t take long for more friends to settle at our table. We felt like we were at the, “stammtisch table,” and I guess you’d have to say that we were. Several hours of pleasant conversation was to follow and it was a wonderful way to wrap up our visit to Moses Lake.
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| Hi Rob! |
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| Paddling on Moses Lake |
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| Ready to dock. |
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| Hi Krauser! |
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| Mamma Duck and her pups paddling along with us. |
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| A glass of wine at the outdoor patio at Camas Cove Cellars. |
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| The Parr family's Camas Cove Cellars pretty, serene outdoor patio. |
Oh my, Moses Lake!!!
ReplyDeleteIn 1979, Moses Lake was a training base for Japan Airlines.
In my capacity as a mechanical liaison engineer, I was assigned to accompany a DC-10 delivery flight from Yuma to Moses Lake.
That chance of a lifetime assignment triggered a chain of events that changed forever the remainder of my professional career.
Moses Lake = Fond Memories.
Happy Traveling!!!
F & L
Now, that sounds like fun!
ReplyDeleteFrank Flemming, QC, Az – 08/11/25 - Ah! You’re touring through some of my old stomping grounds! I’ve had visitors over the past couple of weeks, so I’ve been unable to comment on your tour through some of your other Eastern Washington sites. Yep! I did a ton of hiking, skiing, and RVing in that those areas! You may recall Moses Lake was a Boeing test site for several years. We’d fly the Yuma, Moses Lake route to collect flight control, and structural data. Moses Lake was our landing gear and brake test site. There we’d manage to get the brakes red hot! Are you telling me you couldn’t find any walleye restaurants out there in Eastern Washington? Take care, and be safe, and as always keep posting those interesting T-Log stories and pictures. Frank
ReplyDelete