5/11 Saturday, sunny. Hot: 88°F in Portland. Drove to Richland very early for the 11:45 B-Reactor tour. I was told that I could just show up waiting for a cancellation. I checked Friday evening, still no availability. When I arrived at the visitor center 5 minutes earlier, I was the 3rd person on wait list. I still got on the bus. 
The tour is advertised as 4 hours, and it took 4 full hours, with every part of the visit timed. 2 hours are wasted in transit. B reactor is 40 minutes drive, and our Greyhound-size bus was quite full, with many kids and a grandma on walker. Our driver also missed the turn + fiddled with the dashboard with some dis-functioning light for a few minutes.
The tour starts with a 10 minute video and a 10 minute talk (which repeats what the video said, but in a more friendly and comic fashion. Our guide is quite funny with a journalist major. Then we were loaded to the bus. 
Along the drive, our guide pointed to the features of the local landscape, including a bird nest on a power pole. 
The entire site is fenced in. As soon as we disembark by the building that houses B-Reactor, inside a taller fence, I used one of the two porta-potties recommended by the guide. It sure is nice. B-Reactor is the very first real nuclear reactor (in this case, to produce plutonium) in the world. The plutonium 239 generated here was used in the Fat-Man bomb dropped in Nagasaki on 1945/8/9. Horizontal and vertical boron rods were inserted to stop the chain reaction, when shovel fuel out per pipe (200+). They measure the incoming water pressure and outgoing water temperature of each pipe to guess the reaction progress. The finished fuel cylinders (in various degrees of plutonium content) were trucked to different facility to extract plutonium with lots of deadly chemicals. We were allowed to wonder around the building to see the water pipes (pumped from Columbia River), the control room, various fans and power unit. I didn't have enough time to look over everything and videos. This place reminds me of the muon lab in Fermi. There's an on-site docent who gave a a main presentation and 2 short presentations in 2 different rooms. Two guides were available to answer questions through out. I liked the tour. When I returned to my car at 1:45pm, it registered 101°F. After driving off a few minutes, the sensor showed 92°
I was too late for the monthly tour (2nd Saturday) at LIGO (1:30 & 3:30pm). It's about 15 minute drive. The lady at the visitor center played the short video for me and answered my question. She is very nice. She has a physics bachelor and education master degree. Seems there's an extra night of the touring next Saturday. Shall I drive here again? 4 hours!
Now, it's on my way home. I stopped at Yakima River where a row of white pelicans were waiting for fish (the B-Reactor guide pointed this out from the bus). Three young men were fishing. They look like native American. Not sure if other folks are allowed to fish here.I detoured along Columbia River to Sacajawea State Park
to checkout an installation by Maya Lin, part of the Confluence Project. The two rivers here are so big, hard to see which one is flowing into which.
At the HQ of McNary NWR (closed when I arrived) has a trail along the river. I only went to the first blind. It's huge. Still too hot to wonder around. Back to my car with AC in full blast. The brochure doesn't have any map on it. Odd. I made two stops: Two River and Wallula. I didn't even get out of the car. Saw people fishing.
Only trail I did today is Twin Sisters. There's another TH shortly north of it. Very pretty. It looks like they might be linked by footpath. However getting in and out of the TH parking is a bit tricky, because the speed limit is 60mph and you don't see traffic coming. It was past 7pm, not so hot. There're a couple of trails here. 
Pick your vintage point. Great view of the river and some homestead. Very scenic. I waited for the sunset here. A family of 3 were there, had the same idea. On my way out to the car, met a group coming in, a little too late.Stopped by Hat Rock State Park briefly. Surrounded by private homes and an RV park.
5/12, Sunday. Warm & hazy. Pleasant morning temperature. Went to McNary Wildlife Nature Area, an Army Corp installation around McNary Dam. Many power lines. Without a guide, I'm incapable of seeing birds, can only hear them. A few trails here, benches, and a small blind.
An curiosity (found in Atlas Obscura) here in Umatilla is the chemical depot. Rows upon rows of dirt mound, housing chemical weapons! Difficult to get a good photo: either I'm too low or I'm moving too fast. The access roads require special authority. I can only zip by on the highway.
Drove to Umatilla NWR, which is not by the river. I drove all the way to the river amidst of farmland with irrigation wheels, and found granary to the left (west) and fish hatcheries to the right (east). I stopped at the first hatchery. An employee was checking the ponds when I arrived, so we exchanged greetings. He ended up giving me a private tour of the facility. This hatchery is one of many owned by the tribal consortium along Columbia River basin. Well water is used here to keep constant low temperature for the incubation. There's a log book to record temperature used in each tray, some were raised to quicken maturing, so a number of trays can be released in the same pond at the same time. Eggs were harvest in Pendleton (upstream of Umatilla River), and the babies will be released there too. Their feed is produced in Canada. There's automatic food dispenser over the ponds.
On the way out, stopped at McCormach Slough in NWR. Not much water eles where in the refuge. Didn't see any burrowing owl.Filled gas in Boardman.
At Celilo Park, the river is calm and flat, no any indication of the former roaring Celilo Falls. I didn't know about another Maya Lin's installation here. A pity that I didn't see her walkway.Another goal of this weekend's drive to the east is balsamroot. I visited the 3 main trails along Hwy 30 between Rowena and Mosier.
First is McCall Point from Rowena Crest. This is a Nature Conservancy property. No dogs allowed. Lots of cars and people here. So different from 3 weeks ago. Lupines were starting to seed. Last week's 80+°F heat had fastened the flowers. A little past prime time, but still a great show. Best of the 3 trails today. Vetch was vibrant purple. Windy. So no umbrella. Clear view of both Adams and Hood.
Hiked Memaloose Hills from Memaloose Overlook. Again crowded. I went to both Marsh Hill and Chatfield Hill. Found some tree where had lunch in the shade. Ran into Li and Matt at Chatfield Hill, less balsamroot here. Most of the pedals were blown away.
Last, Mosier Plateau. I did some trail work here with Friends of the Gorge a few years ago. 
It's one of their properties. Feels less than 3 miles. 600' gain may be correct. Passed some headstones. Mosier Creek Falls looks quite refreshing. Flowers are different here. More bachelor button, blue dick and buckwheat. Only at the top had withered balsamroot. Increasing clouds.
Arrived home not too late, thirsty and dusty. 
5/13, Monday. Went to Camassia before returning the car in the morning, even though I knew it was too late for the camas bloom.
