The Columbia Basin in E Washington, is made of thousands of feet thick basalt built by hundreds of lava flows, later carved by over 100 catastrophic Ice Age Floods, and covered by farmland, livestock ranges, and greatly diminished areas of sagebrush-steppe communities. The Flood-created coulees, cataracts, potholes, flood bars, giant current ripples and other landforms are spectacular and fascinating as the geologic mysteries behind them are still evolving. The area hosts great wildflowers, animals and birds, many endemic and/or endangered, though they may be hard to find in a seemingly barren environment. Historically significant cultural sites abound, whether of early settlers that eked out a living on the arid landscape, or of prehistoric Columbia River Basin peoples.

Ok, so my initial photos are less about the van life and more about illustrating my forum questions.