Gettin' Loose in the Palouse - 5.18.19 - 5.24.19, Part 1 of 3
When we bought the Navibahn we thought the relatively small size (25’) would give us the flexibility to take it most anywhere including dirt roads and trailheads. Heading into our fourth summer with it, we now know it is not really designed for rugged terrain. After much research, we bought a 2019 Toyota Corolla with manual transmission to use as a tow vehicle. After getting the tow package installed on both the Navibahn and the Corolla we needed a shakedown cruise to get familiar with it.
Ever since moving here I’ve had my eye on an area I had never been to in southeastern Washington. I had seen postcards of a really cool waterfall called Palouse Falls and beautiful photos of an odd place known simply as “The Palouse”. It gets brutally hot over there in the summer so it made perfect sense to head over in the spring when everyone is still in school and the temperatures are warm but not fry an egg on your car hood hot. Andrew is still taking classes in college so along with our good friends Dana and Bob, Bridgit and I got the car all hooked up to the Navibahn and headed out for a new adventure.
Hooking up the tow car was easy enough and we felt great for about a half hour until we got a nasty warning light in the Navibahn stating we should head in for repairs. After a call to Mercedes (who built the chassis) we were assured we could continue and bring it in when we got back. We were positive it must have been something to do with towing which later we determined had nothing to do with the problem. So back on the road we went, east on I-90, crossing the mighty Columbia River at Vantage and then heading into virgin territory for us on Highway 26. By a very odd coincidence, when we got to the town of Othello for lunch, Bob and Dana’s RV got the same warning light. What the …!!??
But Mercedes assured us we would be fine so we continued on. When we were almost to the Idaho border we headed south and immediately we were surrounded by big smooth rolling hills, some covered with bright green wheat crops and some with plowed dirt covered with wavy tractor lines that gave them a look almost like a topographic map. This was our first taste of The Palouse and it was very different than the dry flat desert we had just driven through. Driving through a very picturesque valley between these high hills, we soon came to a very steep grade that dropped us down, down, down to the Snake River Canyon. Once we reached the river a short drive led us to our first camp, Boyer RV Park and Marina. Happily, there was barely anyone camped there and the place was very quiet. May is a great time to travel if you want to avoid the crowds.
Snake River Canyon from Boyer RV Park
Baby geese on the river
Just up the road from our camp was the Lower Granite Dam so we hopped in the Corolla to go check it out. I love dams and this was a cool looking one. Remarkably, the place was crawling with none other than pelicans! I had no idea that pelicans could be found in Washington State. Next thing you know we’ll have Orcas in Florida!
Pelicans below Lower Granite Dam on the Snake River
More pelican
And more pelicans
Old vehicle collection on a farm
The morning after we arrived we had big plans so we hopped back in the Corolla and drove back the way we had come to a little town called Washtucna. Heading south from there we were pretty much in the middle of nowhere until we reached Palouse Falls State Park. What a cool place! In the middle of the desert with nothing around for miles, Palouse Creek tumbles over basalt cliffs and carves a gorgeous canyon on its way to where it joins the Snake River.
Palouse Falls
Palouse Falls and Palouse Canyon
Palouse Canyon
There were various trails along the high cliffs surrounding the falls. Another trail led down to the river bottom but we didn’t get that far as we had other plans for the day that didn’t allow time to hike the river trail (naps, cocktails, etc…).
Continued in Part 2 of 3