Walla Walla WA to Spokane WA
GREETINGS FROM SPOKANE,
Washington (WA), USA
A bit of “border hopping” again today to take in some wonderful scenery along the way !
When we start out each morning Adrienne has the GPS set to take us to our first stop. Inevitably, if we are in a town the GPS will always take us the “back route”, usually through the industrial heart of the town. And so this morning we got the tour of Walla Walla industrial area as we set off (mainly grain silos along the railroad tracks if you are interested).
Dirty Windows !
Our first proper destination was Palouse Falls State Park, north of Walla Walla. Not far out of town we soon hit miles and miles of grain fields. And I mean miles and miles of nothing but grain fields covering undulating hills – no trees, no fences, no structures, no animals. At this time of year it is all golden yellow and brown (in the spring it is green). The only change was the black road weaving in and out of the hills. In fact, if you are
Windows Desktop
familiar with the Windows Desktop it will look familiar (just think of mine as Dirty Windows !)
It’s a big job !
Of course we know from experience in the USA that this will just as suddenly change and sure enough the hills began to turn to rocky outcrops. This then changed again to more rocky gorges as we reached the Snake River. A bit further on we came to the Palouse Falls State Park. We have our annual National Parks pass however the state parks are all managed separately in each state. There is usually a fee which can vary from a couple of dollars to $10 or more. At Palouse Falls it was $10 and as it is a bit “off the beaten track” it is an honesty system. You fill in an envelope – a bit like a “Quick deposit” bank deposit slip – and tear off a receipt, then put the envelope with your cash in a locked box. We wondered how often they actually came and checked but we were honest and after parking went off to take our photos.
Palouse Falls
The flow of water over the falls at this time of year is not a lot however it is an interesting location none the less. The falls are fed from a river which has cut through a rocky gorge then drops further to another eroded gorge. The main viewing is from above the falls down into the pool created below. We took shots from various vantage points then went back to the car. Another 3 or 4 cars had arrived after us and as we were leaving a ranger did arrive. As we put our gear back in the car it looked like everyone of the others was getting booked for not having a receipt. Suspect that visit to the state park became very expensive for them !
After briefly back-tracking, we started heading east again – to the twin towns of Clarkston in Washington and Lewiston in Idaho. Lewis & Clark made an epic journey of discovery across the USA from the east coast to the Pacific Ocean. A lot of the ground we have been covering traces parts of their route, particularly along the Columbia River.
Old Spiral Highway – view from the top
We stopped in Clarkston at Arbys – a lunch restaurant chain that makes fresh sandwiches as well as burgers. We ordered a “small meal” each – turkey, bacon and ranch dressing – but realised half way through that sharing one probably would have filled us ! With tummies more that full, we headed into Idaho – state 29 now ticked off. We then took the “Old Spiral Highway” as we started north. The area around Clarkston and Lewiston becomes very hilly straight away as you head north. The Interstate pans around the hills however the Old Spiral Highway was the first route over the hills and it winds back and forth and around and around to reach the top. It provides some spectacular views back down the hills.
View from Steptoe Butte
From here the road was again bordered by vast fields of grain. But our next stop was Steptoe Butte – a volcanic outcrop which juts out of the rolling hills. It has a road which winds around it to the top and the summit provides amazing long distance 360 degree views. With all the fires about, the horizons were all pretty hazy – and in fact we could see a small grass fire not too far away.
Back down the butte and we really just headed to our destination for the day – Spokane Washington. We followed the Palouse Valley Scenic Byway most of the way – which is primarily the rolling hills and pastures. Just so vast and although we probably weren’t seeing it at its best, it is still an amazing sight.
Grass fire from Steptoe Butte
Our hotel in Spokane is very good – the Oxford Suites. It is right on the river and our room overlooks it. Our room rate included welcome drinks so we sat on the verandah near the bar with our drinks whilst we waited for our washing cycle to go through. We ended up just having dinner there also as the bar menu looked easy.
Oh ….. and the hotel is right across the road from the Spokane Valley Mall – with Macys, Sears and JC Penney – which was open till 9pm so “easy tea” meant enough time for a quick visit !
Tomorrow we head for Glacier National Park so this might be the last blog for a few days. The internet generally has been very poor this trip so far and in the park it is likely to be non-existent. We are at Bozeman & Red Lodge on Friday/Saturday so hopefully back on air then.