Toppenish is a cute little town with an Old West feel on the Yakama Indian Reservation in Southeast Washington State. It’s home to the wonderful Yakama Nation Cultural Center which was one of the better American Indian museums I’ve visited in the state. You can also find the Northern Pacific Railway Museum and the American Hop Museum which cover two of the main industries in the town’s history (both were sadly closed during my visit). Toppenish gets its name from a Yakama word meaning “landslide”. It is probably most famous for its 75 downtown murals which depict life in the valley between 1840 and 1940. I had a pleasant stay in Toppenish, and was treated to one of the best sunsets I’d seen in months while I was there. I hope you enjoy these photos from Toppenish, a town of museums and murals in Yakima County.
It’s been a busy week out here on the road in Central and Southern Washington. I’ve traveled down some beautiful roads this week, many following winding streams and rivers, and stopped in some really cool little towns. I’ve been listening to a great radio station out here playing real oldies – like oldies that were oldies when I was a kid. I haven’t heard a lot of those songs in decades and my toes have been tapping as I cruise down the road. This is apple country and it’s cool to pass through the apple orchards and see many with fruit still on the trees, while the leaves have turned bright orange with the season. Empty apple crates dot the landscape from earlier picking. There are plenty of grapes out here too as this is Washington’s wine country. The weather hasn’t been great, but it hasn’t been terrible and there have been some wild clouds in the sky overhead much of the week. The days are short, but I’ve been trying to make the most of the daylight I have as I wind up my time in Washington State.
