Photo from Fort Walla Walla Museum

I recently shared about our visit to the Fort Walla Walla Museum – but this was just a small part of what we did while we were in Walla Walla, Washington. This community was so much fun to explore. It has a small-town feel while still offering a wide variety of community programs, restaurants and a charming downtown.

With temperatures between 90 – 100 degrees we probably didn’t do as much as we would have liked outside, but here’s a highlight of some of the things we did while in town.

The first full day we were in town the local Grand Cinemas movie theater had $5 movie day (it’s every Tuesday!). All admission is $5 – even for new releases. So we went and saw the new movie, Inside Out. What an adorable movie. We all loved it and it was awesome to catch a new release in the theater at a discount.

After the movies, we spent the afternoon down at the local Jefferson Park Pool. . .

At just $1 per person, the kids packed in a whole lot of fun for just $2. Being on the road – it’s places like this that replace our backyard that we left behind in Olympia. Places where they can be active, play and just be kids!

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While staying at Sun Lakes State Park, we ventured the 38 miles north to tour the Grand Coulee Dam. The drive has some fantastic views and took us about 45 – 50 minutes.

We stopped first at the Grand Coulee Visitor’s Center – free admission – this visitor’s center is a MUST SEE. The exhibits are very high quality and appropriate for both young kids and adults.

This particular exhibit had big “power plants” with cranks. When the kids cranked the power plants, the map lit up so you could see where the electricity was sent. It has a detailed 3D replication – and you can see the power go from the dam, through the power lines all the way to a house that lights up!

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We just spent four days, three nights at Sun Lakes State Park and we I can’t wait to tell you all about. The drive from Lake Wenatchee State park was only a few hours, but lots of elevation changes (read: big hills) which made me a little nervous towing the trailer. Our truck managed the hills fine but it was my nerves that needed a break by the time we rolled into Sun Lakes.

We had a back-in spot, spot 63, in campground E (see Sun Lakes campground map here). It’s the farthest from the lake and set up for larger RVs and trailers. We were really happy with our spot – it had a big patch of grass that was shared by all the campsites in the loop. Since we were there over the weekend, every campsite was full, and our kids had lots of fun playing with other kids at the park. As a mom, this always makes me a happy. Knowing that we moved away from “home” but that my kids are making friends all across the country – and get social interaction with other kids their ages.

Our campsite was surrounded by beautiful terrain and amazing skylines. But we heard there were rattlesnakes – new to us Western Washington folk – so we didn’t venture into the shrubs too much. There was a BIG rock across the road from our campground that we’d let the kids climb, with careful supervision. My son, especially, loved climbing the big rock.

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