Day 17 – Monday : Richland to Mt Rainier (296 km) We need the windows open early this morning due to the heat, but that lets in traffic noise. Interestingly a distribution centre next door has their liveried semi-trucks passing us at all hours, but the diesels in these hardly made a noise.
So, what are we doing in a car park at 8am on a Monday and what is Hanford B?
Hanford B was one of the first nuclear reactors and was developed during the Second World War. I’ll leave others who are more qualified to describe the process of extracting the correct isotope of Uranium in order to make a weapon; but essentially that is what this site did. Although we can all regret the loss of civilian life in Japan from the dropping of these weapons, we cannot replay history differently to see what the loss of life would have been had a Normandy-style invasion of the Japanese mainland been required, or the consequences had Hitler got his act together and focused more of his efforts on creating a nuclear weapon of his own rather than expending his resources in Russia.
Judging from the surprisingly large number of people who turn up for the tour, we are lucky to get a place leaving booking until as late as yesterday. The tour is free and is well worth doing for adults who are interested in history or science. I think you would need to be more selective about taking teenagers or especially children on the tour unless they are very interested in this type of thing. Bored teenagers spend their time messaging their friends (probably about the tiresome tour their parents are forcing them to go on). Actually, given they would be on their smartphones whether sat on the couch at home, in a folding chair at the campground or on the bed of the vacation condo, there isn’t much excuse these days for making bored faces, since kids can’t pretend they are being deprived of the really interesting thing that they would otherwise be doing – since that allegedly really interesting thing is now portable.
The 8am to 12pm tour starts with a talk and slides (showing my age there since no-one actually has slides any more) and then a 40 minute bus ride out to the site, which is situated on the Columbia River a sensible distance from the town that grew up to support it.
By modern nuclear power station standards the building is tiny, but inside is fascinating. It is like a model version of how to make a nuclear reactor set out in easy to see visible pipes, rods, valves and gauges.
The big draw is the charging face of the reactor – all completely open rather than hidden away in pressure vessels.
The control room is the other big thing to see – no computer monitors here, but simply banks of temperature gauges and miles of beautifully neat cable-lacing.
A notice on one wall warned operators to be careful what they knocked into to avoid an accidental reactor scram.
A huge amount of water had to be pumped through the reactor from the river to cool it with various backup systems, some relying on gravity, to ensure the flow was sustained to avoid a melt-down. The tops have been removed from the valve assemblies. According to the guide this is due to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty whereby Russian inspectors fly over to buy jeans from Walmart and while passing took a look to see the reactor is still decommissioned. Like anyone is going to power up this ancient beast given the more modern plants in the vicinity. Apparently they were here 4 days ago.
I’m really pleased we managed to visit this. I have been inside a conventional coal-fired power station, and several hydro-electric generating stations, but never a nuclear reactor (even though this is not a generating station, you know what I mean).
The temperature is now in the 90s and back at the truck we were keen to gain some altitude to cool off. We steer west through the vineyards, past the Yakima Training Centre and follow the Naches River.
We soon start to see Mount Rainier’s snow-capped peak, looking like a real mountain.
I stop at a small gas station for some diesel. I’m initially impressed with the price being so cheap for such a tucked-away location, until I realise I haven’t noticed first number is a 3 not a 2 – it is $3.79. I decide to only put 10 gallons in.
Route 123 is great – there are so many wonderful views of the mountain.
We are soon up in the snow with frozen lakes below us.
It is also evident that this is where all the glaciers are hiding.
We stop to look down on a slot canyon, although the real reason is so that I can get a closer look at a road tunnel roughly hewn through the rock, to make sure we would fit.
There are plenty of waterfalls. This year’s substantial snow falls has seen to that.
I want to find somewhere to camp, but my first attempt, the White River Campground just off route 410, is closed. We drive further on and pull up to the park entrance on Stevens Canyon Road to see what camping options might be open. A bunch of young (well, in their 30s) Russians block the road ahead with rented SUVs. I wander forward to investigate. It isn’t after all the plot of a Bond movie (they are far too friendly and chatty for Bond villains), and neither had they just been inspecting nuclear facilities. They are pleased to have a day off after purchasing a couple of jets (Hmmm, Washington State – I’m sure there is somewhere you can buy planes there, let me think). They are heading back to Seattle and their GPS suggests turning down here, but the entrance is unmanned and they are worried about driving through without paying – all they want is to drive back to Seattle. I realise later that this is quite a slow, twisty road, so they would have been better off turning around. But I tell them I am sure it will be fine. Given their hesitation at breaking a minor rule I suspect they have images of armed officials stopping them and demanding large bribes for not having the right paperwork, or state troopers hauling them into custody. I’ve never been to Russia, but I suspect there are parts where law enforcement officers who have not been paid for many weeks are forced to let us say “improvise” to make ends meet.
We pull into Couger Rock Campground. Most of the sites are not particularly suitable for our size of vehicle and our need to level it – inevitable since the campground is on the slope of a hill. But we find a good spot near the entrance to one of the loops directly opposite the campground host and pay our $20.
Stepping a few yards from the camper frames the dome of Mount Rainier amongst the trees, now covered with a cap of fine cloud that probably indicates it won’t stay visible for many more hours.
