SPOKANE and the PALOUSE

FRIDAY SEPT 20 - MONDAY SEPT 23rd

I was invited in early September to join my good friend and Photo Buddy, Lin, to go to the Photography Society of America's Annual Conference. It did not take much persuasion to say yes for a roadtrip to Spokane, and a photo trip to the Palouse area of Washington State.

We would driving up, and then Lin would deliver me to the Portland, OR airport as she headed on to the Oregon Coast to visit her house and do some needed repairs. We had a good time seeing some new country and taking time to photograph along the way.

We took three days to drive to Spokane via the Eastern Sierras to Mono Lake, and then on into Nevada; to Winnemucca, Eastern Oregon, Western Idaho; and then into Eastern Washington.

The first day we drove to Hawthorne, NV with a sunset stop at Mono Lake prior to turning East. We both had been to Mono Lake a few times, but it had been awhile. Sunset is not the best time to photograph here as the sun sets over the Sierras to the West early. We got there just as it was getting dark. But sometimes you get lucky so you at least try.

PAOHA ISLAND

SUNSET SKY OVER THE SIERRAS

TUFA 

LATE LIGHT

BLUE HOUR 

Afterwards we headed to Hawthorne, NV, a 55 mile drive. The road was empty. We had one car  pass us. Hawthorne greeted us with a small fireworks show as we approached!

We were off early Saturday morning in case we might find a location for sunrise. Nothing materialized. We saw lots of open country this day as we drove 625 miles to Pendleton, OR. It was an interesting drive and enough variety to keep us interested. In Pendleton we stayed at the Marigold Hotel in downtown. It was a quaint hotel, and it served our purposes with a clean room and plenty of hot water.

Sunday, Sept. 22nd, once again we were off early on so that we could explore the Palouse area as we headed for Spokane. The Palouse is a distinct geographic region of the northwestern United States, encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon. It is characterized by gentle rolling hills covered with wheat fields. The hills were formed over tens of thousands of years from wind blown dust and silt, called "loess". Seen from the summit of 3,612 foot high Steptoe Butte, they look like giant sand dunes.

In the spring they are lush shades of green, and in the fall they are dry shades of brown. We are visiting after the crops have been harvested so we are seeing shades of gold and brown.   We would be returning to the area after the Conference, but we had a bit of time so we visited Steptoe Butte, and Palouse Falls to get a feel for the countryside.

 We enjoyed a lunch in Colfax, WA.

On Monday, Sept. 23rd, we went separate ways but met briefly at TURNBULL NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

I was exploring on my own here and saw four trumpeter swans,

TRUMPETER SWAN

a hawk, 

a few ducks, and some flora.

Lin was busy working on her presentation on Photographing Yellowstone in Winter, so I was on my
own in the afternoon, and enjoyed a pleasant walk along the Riverside Walk which runs right behind the hotel. Sorry no pictures this evening, I just enjoyed the sights and sounds.