Flour Power!

If you find yourself heading out to the Blue Mountains sometime soon, you absolutely have to check out the Pataha Flour Mill just east of Pomeroy. The mill operated from the 1880s to the 1940s supplying flour for various staples, among them macaroni for my paesoni in San Francisco! There's not much else in Pataha these days, even though it was briefly the county seat of Garfield County. The US Congress helped the seat go to Pomeroy. Never before or since has the US Congress declared a county seat. Damn Arthur administration meddling with state's rights! Anyhow Garfield county is a fascinating place. Washington's least populated county-only 2,350 residents-1,500 of them in Pomeroy-I love this place. In 1910 the county had over 4,500 residents. Now, if only King County could shrug 50% of its populations it too would be fun to visit!