His sister, Lelah Buck, invited future users to experience the sacredness of the setting. Johnny Buck said it was home to an 18-mile village and gathering spot. The children of the late Rex Buck, the leader of the Priest Rapids band of the Wanapum, spoke about a landscape that has nurtured – and been nurtured by – native people since long before a railroad came through. It is a worthy destination on its own, offering sweeping views of a stretch of the Columbia that has hosted Indigenous tribes for millennia. State engineers noted the freeway bridge lacks any semblance of facilities for non-motorists, making it a “dicey” proposition for trail users crossing from one side to the other.īeverly Bridge is more than a convenient bridge. It links the two sides of the east-west trail and ends the need to trek north to the Interstate 90 bridge to get across the Columbia River. Jay Inslee joined a crowd of more than 300 to officially open the former railroad trestle near Vantage to hikers, cyclists and horseback riders on April 8.Ī $6 million facelift transformed the abandoned railroad trestle into a friendly crossing with new decking and protective rails high enough to accommodate people atop horses. Fierce wind raked the Beverly Bridge but the challenging weather didn’t deter crowds who turned out to dedicate the Beverly Bridge, the newest link in the Washington State Park system’s Palouse to Cascades State Trail.

She Rode The Rails by Beverly Adam