Forum Index > Trip Reports > The Palouse, 4/17-18
 Reply to topic
Previous :: Next Topic
Author Message
Gil
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 4057 | TRs | Pics
Gil
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 12:53 am 
I took a road trip over my weekend, basically to see Palouse Falls, but also to explore other parts of eastern Washington that I hadn't seen before and take a few hikes in the bargain. A noon start, a lunch at The Brick in Roslyn, and I was chasing the light across eastern Washington late in the day.
palouse1
palouse1
In trying to make it to the falls by sunset, I missed several great photo opportunities along the way -- and I still didn't make it in time. Ah well, I still had moonrise. Note to self: Don't give up the photo you can take for the photo you might get to take.
Palouse Falls at night
Palouse Falls at night
Moon and Saturn over Palouse Falls
Moon and Saturn over Palouse Falls
I stretched out in the Prius for the night (yes, with the seats folded down, there's full room for a 6-footer) and got up the next morning to clear, cold, windy day. I tried my hand at an HDR image, but it's too artificial for my tastes.
Palouse Falls at dawn
Palouse Falls at dawn
After a cup of coffee, I watched the friendly locals perform their morning rituals.
marmot1
marmot1
marmot2
marmot2
I wandered around the head of the falls, wondering who it was that created some of the trails.
Not an easy way down: Trail between basalt cliffs at Palouse Falls State Park.
Not an easy way down: Trail between basalt cliffs at Palouse Falls State Park.
I drove down to Kahlotis to walk the old railroad grade there. You could walk miles in either direction, but I contented myself with the impressive tunnel there.
kahlotus1
kahlotus1
Nikkor 50-300mm f4.5 ED AIS. Taken in the middle of the quarter-mile Kahlotus tunnel with a very slow shutter speed. The end is still more than a football field away. A pretty good flare test!
Nikkor 50-300mm f4.5 ED AIS. Taken in the middle of the quarter-mile Kahlotus tunnel with a very slow shutter speed. The end is still more than a football field away. A pretty good flare test!
Back in the car to head west again. I was looking for a cafe for lunch -- good luck on that! The towns I drove through looked pretty bleak, nearly all the businesses kaput, boarded up. Even in Othello I couldn't find a sit-down American-style cafe, just fast food. Finally I passed Judy's just west of town; turkey sandwich ensued.
palouse2
palouse2
I drove to the Crab Creek Wildlife Area just before Vantage and walked the old Milwaukee Railroad line there. A pretty spot, but it was spitting rain and windy as heck. Now imagine you're a coyote walking along, passing the odd cattail, when you stumble upon an LP of Barbra Streisand's "The Broadway Album" lying there. What would be your reaction?
crab1
crab1
Babs in Crab
Babs in Crab
I got back to the car just in time to witness a hit-and-run. The offender disappeared in the distance. I didn't get a plate number.
crab3
crab3
crab4
crab4
crab5
crab5
crab6
crab6
Anyway, at Vantage, I drove on to the Gingko petrified forest center. Very interesting, but I was accosted by a large dinosaur guarding a petrified log. Fortunately, it was very slow moving and I was easily able to avoid its grasp. But be warned.
gingko1
gingko1
I drove back to Ellensburg on state Route 14. PGE has a pretty impressive wind farm on the summit.
pge1
pge1
Back over the pass, to a snowstorm outside of North Bend. In April. The world is a weird place.

Friends help the miles go easier. Klahini
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
GaliWalker
Have camera will use



Joined: 10 Dec 2007
Posts: 4916 | TRs | Pics
Location: Pittsburgh
GaliWalker
Have camera will use
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 4:23 am 
Very entertaining; you need to write more reports. smile.gif I never managed to see the Palouse, which I really regret now that I'm so far away. Palouse Falls, which you captured really nicely, looks like a great spot to explore, with all those trails. (My favorite shot of yours is the one with the trail.)
Gil wrote:
Note to self: Don't give up the photo you can take for the photo you might get to take.
Amen.

'Gali'Walker => 'Mountain-pass' walker bobbi: "...don't you ever forget your camera!" Photography: flickr.com/photos/shahiddurrani
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Jim Dockery
Member
Member


Joined: 12 Sep 2007
Posts: 3092 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lake Stevens
Jim Dockery
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 4:52 am 
Nice shots Gil, I really like the falls at night. When to stop on a photo expedition or hike is a tough call I wrestle with all the time trying to get to a planned photo op. If I'm by myself I'll often take the bird in the hand, but that can drive my wife crazy if we waste too much time, so I'll often keep cruising when she's with me.

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
wildernessed
viewbagger



Joined: 31 Oct 2004
Posts: 9275 | TRs | Pics
Location: Wenatchee
wildernessed
viewbagger
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 7:54 am 
up.gif Nice, I drive by there when I visit my daughter in Moscow. I need to visit the falls.

Living in the Anthropocene
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
kite
Member
Member


Joined: 28 Sep 2009
Posts: 1414 | TRs | Pics
Location: Olympia
kite
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 8:00 am 
Most excellent trip report and awesome moon rise image

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Obi Tony Kenobi
Waterfall Crazy!



Joined: 25 Jun 2007
Posts: 1899 | TRs | Pics
Location: Marysville, WA
Obi Tony Kenobi
Waterfall Crazy!
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 9:37 am 
I need to get myself there! Thanks for the TR, the pics are great!

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 9:48 am 
Jim Dockery wrote:
If I'm by myself I'll often take the bird in the hand, but that can drive my wife crazy if we waste too much time, so I'll often keep cruising when she's with me.
That's why I perfer solo road trips. I can spend an hour at a pioneer cemetery or perched on a boring hilltop looking at giant ripples left from the Bretz floods. Wonderful trip report Gil. I wouldn't walk that trail you photographed, but people do. I go around the easy way. Love the photo of the falls & moon & saturn. Next time, walk through the tunnel at Kahlotus and continue the RR grade. Absolutely idyllic. Great trip report. Do more! More photos! Barbara Streisand album. embarassedlaugh.gif

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
BirdDog
Member
Member


Joined: 09 Jan 2007
Posts: 1067 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle
BirdDog
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 10:13 am 
Beautiful pics, love the night shots of the falls.

"There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country." Teddy Roosevelt August 6, 1912
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
stacymarie
Member
Member


Joined: 22 Jul 2008
Posts: 251 | TRs | Pics
Location: Seattle, WA
stacymarie
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 1:30 pm 
I second, triple and quadruple the awesomeness of this post smile.gif more please!!

life is short, but sweet for certain my website: www.lostintheecotone.com
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
MtnGoat
Member
Member


Joined: 17 Dec 2001
Posts: 11992 | TRs | Pics
Location: Lyle, WA
MtnGoat
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 2:09 pm 
nice shots. love the advice..."don't miss the one you can get for the one you might get". So often true, and then you many times wind up not getting either one! The pic of the trail on the bench between cliffs is cool. And I think there is only one more appropriate place for a Streisand album, but this is a family site.

Diplomacy is the art of saying 'Nice doggie' until you can find a rock. - Will Rogers
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!



Joined: 27 Mar 2003
Posts: 16874 | TRs | Pics
Slugman
It’s a Slugfest!
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 2:25 pm 
What, no picture of the sandwich? suuure.gif embarassedlaugh.gif Very nice, thanks. biggrin.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore



Joined: 15 May 2003
Posts: 14152 | TRs | Pics
Quark
Niece of Alvy Moore
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 3:10 pm 
a guy eating a sandwich
a guy eating a sandwich

"...Other than that, the post was more or less accurate." Bernardo, NW Hikers' Bureau Chief of Reporting
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Hikingqueen
Member
Member


Joined: 12 Nov 2007
Posts: 2946 | TRs | Pics
Hikingqueen
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 7:57 pm 
Love the yellow-bellied shot! I wanna go back there we went in Feb and it was cold but beautiful! biggrin.gif

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Gil
Member
Member


Joined: 29 Sep 2004
Posts: 4057 | TRs | Pics
Gil
Member
PostWed Apr 20, 2011 11:01 pm 
Hey! That guy's eating my sandwich! Hikingqueen -- it was your trip report that got me thinking about the Palouse. Thanks for the tip! Take the road less traveled.
At the intersection of loneliness and forgetting.
At the intersection of loneliness and forgetting.

Friends help the miles go easier. Klahini
Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
Stefan-K
Member
Member


Joined: 10 Aug 2009
Posts: 522 | TRs | Pics
Location: seattle
Stefan-K
Member
PostThu Apr 21, 2011 12:29 am 
nice pics! Looks like you captured it well Gil. An inspiring place for sure. and then there's the fairly recent kayak drop, another spectacular scratch on the history and space which is the palouse not that the owls or coyote care...

Back to top Reply to topic Reply with quote Send private message
   All times are GMT - 8 Hours
 Reply to topic
Forum Index > Trip Reports > The Palouse, 4/17-18
  Happy Birthday speyguy, Bandanabraids!
Jump to:   
Search this topic:

You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum