Bennington Lake — Thursday, Apr. 28, 2016

Eastern Washington > Palouse and Blue Mountains

Mike Denny and Jeremy Nguyen were kind enough to show me around this delightful little lake just east of Walla Walla during my time out there this week. Quite popular with locals, Bennington Lake is a gorgeous place, a green oasis in the sometimes arid landscape of Walla Walla. We walked along the Meadowlark Trail to the diversion canal, which allows water to flow from Mill Creek into Bennington Lake in times of high water. Mike pointed out birds, plants and fauna along the way, and Jeremy explained how the Army Corps of Engineers manage the water for Walla Walla -- all very interesting and educational. We took the higher Whitetail Trail back to the parking lot -- an old service road that's now a trail. In the parking lot, we heard a great horned owl hooting and saw three owlets watching us closely on the cliffs nearby. A fantastic treat for me, though it sounded like they were a relatively common sight for Mike and Jeremy.