Vast wheat fields in the Palouse.

A lone green-roofed barn dots the landscape of the Palouse.

A menacing sky adds drama to the fields of the Palouse.

For more landscapes, be sure to check out this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge: Landscape.  

The Joy of Running Together, Spokane

If you’re lucky enough to be in downtown Spokane, Washington, (to paraphrase an old saying), then you’re lucky enough.  And indeed you are.  Because if you have kids in tow, there’s more than enough to see and do — all in Riverfront Park downtown.

1.  Slide down the Red Wagon.

Who wouldn’t want to climb this 27-foot tall Radio Flyer and slide down the handle? Kids love it, but some grown-ups have been known to take the challenge, too! Designed by Ken Spiering, this Radio Flyer wagon is nine times the size of the original little one you may have owned as a kid — and way more fun.

   2.  Feed the ducks.

When you’ve had enough of the Red Wagon, go to water’s edge to feed the ducks.  Don’t be surprised if they come “atcha” all at once.  Ducks love food from kids and adults , and some of us love “honkin” back at those quackers! Be sure to take a look at the sculpture across the way and admire the bridge.  It’s just part of the prettiness of Riverfront Park.

3.  Ride the Looff Carousel.

In operation since 1909, the Looff Carousel has offered adults and kids the opportunity to ride colorfully painted horses, fierce tigers, and proud lions (oh, my), while a recording of the original Ruth & Sohn Band Organ plays in the background.  If you’re a teen or adult with long arms, try reaching out to grab the gold ring as you go by.  And maybe you’ll win a prize for that little one who wanted to ride this thing in the first place!

4.  Take pictures in City Hall Plaza

OK.  So your kid looks great today.  Having fun.  Happy and contented after a ride on the Carousel.  So what could be a better time than now to snap pics on the steps of City Hall Plaza?  Nice background, pretty flowers, lovely setting — don’t you agree?

5.  Stare at the falls.  (Or be daring — ride a gondola!)

Keep walking down the steps to Huntington Park where staring at the falls is all you’ll want to do.  Get close but not too close that the spray messes with your camera lens.  If you’ve got audio to put with your video, turn it on.  You don’t want to miss the roar of the falls and the joy of being right there with the action.  Or, if you dare, take a Gondola Ride lasting about 15 minutes for only seven bucks or so.  It’s a thrill your kids will write about in their back-to-school essay, “What I Did Last Summer” — for real!!

6.  Act like a kid in The Joy of Running Together

If you come back up through City Hall Plaza and look right, you just might see The Joy of Running Together, a sculpture of 40 life-size runners by David Govedare commemorating the annual Spokane Bloomsday Run.  (Click here for a previous post.) And if you look closely, you’ll see a kid or two lining up among the runners in imitation of their swing-arm, foot-raising action.  Oh, wait a minute.  Is that an adult doing that, too?  Wait another minute.  I want in.

An adult mimics the form of The Joy of Running Together

7.  Get wet in the Riverfront Park Rotary Fountain!

If you’ve waited this long to get wet, you may have waited too long.  No matter how hard you try to resist, you just may have to let your kids go.  Didn’t bring a towel you say?  Well, save this treat for last and just let ’em run dripping to the car.   Kids of all ages love toe-dipping, arm-waving, and full-fledged, body-soaking action in the Rotary Fountain!

Have fun in Spokane — either with kids or as a kid yourself.  What a great place to visit! For more information: Visit Spokane: http://www.visitspokane.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visitspokane For more on our travels through Idaho and Washington, click on the Inland Northwest page at the top of this blog.  Thanks!

Just look at the fish — scales and all — at Pike Place Fish Market, Seattle!

Want scale?  Look no further than Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle! Scaly fish.  Scales to weigh fish.  Or scales in your hand if you let the guys toss one “atcha”!

Fishy hugs? No problem. Bring ’em on!

And on a scale from 1 to 10, I’d rate this hug from this always-smilin’ fishmonger a 10 plus!

For more entries in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Scale, click here.  

For more entries in the WordPress Weekly Photo Challenge: Angular, click here.

Palouse Falls, La Crosse, Washington

There’s something about a waterfall.  Especially one that cascades 200 feet over a bold precipice, rushing to join the Snake River, eventually making its way through deep cuts of rock.  Perhaps it’s the rush of water.  Or the spray.  Or the sound.  Whatever it is, you can’t avert your eyes — at least for a few minutes — as you stare into the hard-driving flow, marveling at the power of nature.

Palouse Falls takes you away.  And not just when you get there.  First, you have to follow Washington Highway 261 west from the agricultural area known as The Palouse into an area of bare rocks and scrubby bushes and almost deserted areas as you wonder if driving 23 miles from Washtucna, Washington, really will get you there.

Picnic area — Palouse Falls State Park

But once you pay the entry fee to the park and unload your picnic in the designated area, you’ll have to give the falls their due.  You’ll rush over to the edge bounded by a strong fence and just stand there, staring at the falls and watching hikers headed for a closer glimpse.

Hikers walking toward Palouse Falls

We had hoped to take great pictures – you know, the kind you get when you use morning or evening sun to capture the best moments.  Instead, we arrived in the heat of the afternoon when the relentless sun washed out the colors of even the formation to the left of the falls that resembled the drip castles we make each summer at the beach.

Rock formation at Palouse Falls

Our reward, however, of an afternoon arrival was the appearance of a sliver of a rainbow at the base of the falls.  So special.  And so unexpected.

Rainbow at the base of Palouse Falls

After a picnic lunch, we strolled along the fence line, peering into the canyon formation where once loud, rushing waters turned quiet as they meandered along to wherever they were going next.

View from the rim at Palouse Falls State Park

Palouse Falls State Park, La Crosse, Washington

For more information on camping, fees, and viewing times:

http://www.stateparks.com/palouse_falls_state_park_in_washington.html?

Directions:  From SR 261 : Drive 13.5 miles west of Starbuck, or 14.4 miles southwest of the SR 261 and SR 260 junction and take Palouse Falls Rd. east.

For more on our travels through the Inland Northwest, check out the page at the top of this blog: Inland Northwest.

At the top of the 65-foot Codger Pole, Colfax, Washington

It’s legendary, this story is, and pretty remarkable to boot:  old guys playing a rematch just for the fun of it! And that’s why the Codger Pole in Colfax, Washington (between Pullman and Spokane on Hwy. 195) celebrates the idea that old rivalries don’t just die out.  They sometimes get relived, even after 50 years. At least that’s how the story goes.

Carved by Jonathan Labenne, the Codger Pole resides in Codger Park, Colfax, Washington

In 1938, Colfax High lost a football match-up with St. John with a score of 6 to 0.  But Colfax never forgot.  After 50 years, one Colfax player, John Crawford had the idea to suit ’em up again and hit the gridiron.  And so they did. With fanfare accorded to war heroes and the like, Colfax held a parade honoring the now 70-year-old players and turned out en masse to cheer the old codgers on at the rematch.

One of the 51 players carved into the Codger Pole

Wearing their original colors (but not the original leather helmets), two aged but determined teams went head to head on a fall day in 1988.  With a surprise run by Colfax’s Babe Lyons, it was a win for the Colfax Bulldogs reversing the original 6 to 0 score in their favor as they defeated the St. John Eagles! Ah, sweet revenge!

In 1991, the remaining players dedicated a 65-foot red cedar pole by master carver Jonathan Labenne — grown-up likenesses of all 51 players sculpted into the five standing poles known today as the Codger Pole.  It’s said to be the largest chainsaw sculpture of human likenesses and the world’s largest football monument, but we like it for its Roadside America appeal and what it must have meant to the old codgers who took the field that day in 1988, playing the sport they loved.

In the park commemorating the event is the The Codger Pole Legend with this insight by John Crawford: The ghosts of our youth revealed glimpses of gridiron brilliance. Unfortunately brief and few but even so, that glorious afternoon of fun gave us guys a chance to fulfill that dream every seventy-year-old kid secretly hangs onto: playing one more game. And how many old rascals ever get to do that?

The real stars were those brave souls who went back out onto the field after fifty years — The Codgers!

Even if you can’t get to Washington to see the pole, you’ll love the YouTube video narrated by one of the players, Joe Henderson, chronicling the whole event.  (Click here.) The Codger Pole, 324 South Main Street, Colfax, WA For more information: “The Codger Pole.” Roadside America. Retrieved from http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/2944 “Codger Pole.” Skeeterbuggins Productions on YouTube.  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yNaS5mcdhiY To read more of our travels through the Inland Northwest, click on the page labeled Inland Northwest at the top of this blog.

Dahmen Barn, Uniontown, Washington

Frank Wolfe built the barn in the 1930s for Jack Dahmen to be used as a commercial dairy, but Jack sold it in 1952 to his nephew Steve Dahmen and wife Junette. It was Steve who began the construction of the now-famous wheel fence.  Over 1000 rusting, quirky wheels and spokes form the fence that has become a haven for photographers.  You can see photos of this folksy, farm artistry in numerous publications such as National Geographic.

The fence at Dahmen Barn — over 1000 wheels meandering around the property

Because both Steve and Junette were artisans in their own right, they donated the barn to the community in 2004 to be used as artists’ studios.  Throughout the long process of restoration, the barn was cleaned, gutted, stabilized, and then outfitted with new flooring and interior timber frame support.  Last came the additional modern necessities — heat, restrooms, etc. (Click here to read about the barn’s extensive transformation.) Today, the Dahmen Barn is a tribute to the donors and visionaries of Uniontown as well as to the artisans who fill it with both fine art and folk art of the area.

Weathervane designed by Steve Dahmen sits atop the barn.

Other notables at the site include a red barn bearing a quilt pattern and a folk art cow made of gathered metal parts gazing at the passing cars.  But it was the juxtaposition of the weathered, rusting wheels on that long, meandering fence that made us take cameras in hand and snap away.

If you want to visit Artisans at the Dahmen Barn, be mindful of the hours. The barn is open Thursdays through Sunday only from 10 AM to 6 PM with early closure at 4 PM during January and February.  No admission fee. Be sure to bring your camera.  You don’t want to miss this piece of Americana on the Palouse!

Artisans at the Dahmen Barn

419 N. Park Way P. O. Box 36 Uniontown, WA 99179 509-229-3414 www. ArtisanBarn.org Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DahmenBarn?ref=br_tf My Pinterest board — Barns, Farms, and Country Things: http://www.pinterest.com/rushasams/barns-farms-and-country-things/ If you want to see more of our travels throughout the Inland Northwest, click on the page at the top of this blog:  Inland Northwest. Thanks for traveling with us!

Pastoral setting on the Palouse

So, it was with delight that we picked up a brochure from the Pullman Chamber of Commerce in Pullman, Washington, entitled Photographing the Palouse. ( See it online here.) Four photographers — noted for their love of the Palouse and their unique styles — contributed tips for maximizing anyone’s photographic adventure.  Many of the tips, however, can be adapted for use in other situations where landscape is the subject matter. (Note: Verifying websites listed in the brochure proved unsuccessful.  Only the one listed for Alison Meyer is still available.)

Here are some of our favorite “best ideas” from Photographing the Palouse.

Photography Tips:

1.  From Alan Caddey: teacher, workshop presenter, judge, and internationally renown photographer

Keep the horizon line in the upper or lower one-third of the photograph.  If the line is in the middle, your photo will look chopped in half.  So, either go with two-thirds sky or two-thirds land.

2.  From Kevin Nibur:  photojournalist with Moscow-Pullman Daily News and The Spokesman-Review; transplant from California

Although May and June may be the months with the most dramatic light, the weather can be problematic, especially if you’re on a tight photographic schedule.  Best seasons at the Palouse:  late spring and early summer.  But winter after fields are powdered with snow can also provide a prime opportunity for picture-taking.

Early morning light casts shadows on the Palouse in Moscow, Idaho

3. From Alison Meyer: professional photographer in North Idaho with prints displayed in public and private collections around the world. http://www.alisonmeyerphotography.com

Consider taking several pictures of the same landscape but change the camera’s lens and/or perspective.  In one picture, you can focus on a close-up shot with the landscape in the background.  In another, a long lens of 100 mm or more can offer a more “painterly, abstract” image from a greater distance. (Great example from her website here.)

A barn with white fencing in foreground invites interesting angles and lens changes

4.  From Alan Caddey:

Minimize the number of main subjects.  By decluttering the picture, you allow the eye to focus.  Also, think in terms of “odd” numbers — 1, 3, 5 rather than “even” numbers, especially of subjects that are similar in size and shape causing the eye to struggle to “find a place to rest.”

5.  Capture the magic light.  Almost all favored early morning or late afternoon times to take advantage of the best light.  Recommended:  half an hour before sunrise or sunset and up to one hour after sunrise/sunset.

Location tip:

A location tip from Doug Davidson (award-winning photographer from Moscow, Idaho, whose photos have been published in calendars, magazines, and visitor’s guides) led us on a search that merited the sweetest barn picture we took:

A Palouse excursion I always enjoy is taking Highway 95 south about 5 miles from Moscow, ID and turning left onto Eid Road.  In less than a minute, you’ll experience picturesque rolling hills with a classic salt barn in a little draw.

A red salt barn just outside Moscow, Idaho

A Google search (photograph the Palouse) will turn up other sources.  We like the websites of Jack Graham and Gary Hamburg who offer tips, excursions, and photography for sale.  We purchased several photos by Alison Meyer at Artisans at the Barn in Uniontown, Washington.

May your photographs always remind you of the best wherever you travel!

For more information:

Alison Meyer Photography: http://www.alisonmeyerphotography.com/

Graham, Jack. “The complete guide to photographing the Palouse region of Eastern Washington.” Retrieved from http://jackgrahamphoto.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/the-palouse-the-complete-guide.pdf

“Photographing the Palouse”  Brochure by the Pullman Chamber of Commerce. http://www.pullmanchamber.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/Photo-Brochure1.pdf

The Palouse Guy: Photography by Gary Hamburg: http://thepalouseguy.com/

To see all the posts from the Inland Northwest, be sure to click the page entitled Inland Northwest at the top of this blog.

Green rolling hills of the Palouse with a planting of yellow canola

The Palouse is almost spiritual.  You can ride for miles among the rolling hills carpeted with the greatest expanse of wheat and grains in the U. S., taking note of a horizon that seems to move fluidly toward clear blue skies of puffy clouds.  Or you may be awed with the expanse of sky — gray ceilings filled with impending storminess.

Palouse sky

Sometimes you wonder why anyone would live here with farmhouses so far apart.  We drove for miles before we sighted men on harvesters or sheep grazing behind tattered barns.  It didn’t matter.  We were drawn to the quiet and the mesmerizing flow of the topography. We crested hills only to spill into valleys of flowing farms and colorful crops — a place for solace, production, and scenic beauty like no other place in America.

Landscape of the Palouse

Located south of Spokane, Washington, the Palouse extends through eastern Washington, western Idaho, and parts of eastern Oregon with about 3,000 square miles of crops planted in swirling patterns. With questionable derivation, the name “Palouse” may have evolved from the French word pelouse meaning “lawn,” but to us, the land means so much more.  The Palouse is productive, “greening up” in the spring, pushing out grains and legumes in summer, then yielding to the harvest in its golden state.  The fields and their holdings remind us of Robert Frost’s “Nothing Gold Can Stay”: Nature’s first green is gold/ Her hardest hue to hold. And even though it was our third trip, we were seeing spring for the first time. If you ask which view we prefer — autumn harvest, winter snow, or spring green — we won’t be able to tell you.  In this odd land of silt dunes formed during the Ice Age, all seasons greet you differently but in ways you won’t forget.

Colors touch each other as curved fields offer complementary form and function.

Occasionally, a barn or abandoned building or farmhouse interrupted the landscape, and we grabbed our cameras in an effort to capture life as it is on the Palouse — sometimes vibrant, sometimes fading as time takes its toll in its own unhurried way. Spring has a newness about it as colors touch colors: the pure green of wheat, lime green of garbanzo, and brilliant yellows of canola. A symphony of new growth.

We make note of animals, too — an occasional magpie on a fence or big-horned sheep in a field or an Arabian horse carrying a solitary rider home for the night. The sighting of an Appaloosa reminds us of who was here before — Palouse Indians who lent their name to the beautiful spotted creatures we point to on the landscape.

You can see the Palouse driving I-95 between Coeur d’Alene to Moscow, Idaho, but we prefer the not-so-beaten path. We begin in Lewiston, Idaho, and drive north on Hwy. 195 through Uniontown, Colton, and Pullman. Then we head up Hwy. 27 to Palouse, west to Colfax on Hwy. 272, and north to Rosalia on 195.  Besides enjoying the coffee shops and vintage goods in the small towns, you can walk a forest path at Kamiak Butte near Palouse or take the winding road to the top of Steptoe Butte off 195 near Steptoe. No two trips are the same. Varied crop plantings and ever-changing shadows at sunrise and sunset create new pictures with each journey.

In “Natural Wonders: Singing the Praises of the Palouse,” Eric Sorensen, a Seattle Times science reporter, let Utah native and organic farmer MaryJane Butters share her thoughts on living in the Palouse, a place she’s made her own: “Landscape has a personality, it has a weight that you feel about it, and it affects your behavior even. . . The Palouse is very pastoral to me. It makes you want to have a milk cow.  It makes you want to grow food.”

Perfect spring day on the Palouse

And for us who are only passing through — it makes us want to come again.  At any season.

For more information:

Maps of the Palouse Scenic Byway: http://www.palousescenicbyway.org/maps/

Sorensen, Eric. “Natural Wonders: Singing the Praises of the Palouse.” Seattle Times. Retrieved from http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/about/articlesawards/palouse100702.asp

MaryJanesFarm website: http://www.maryjanesfarm.com/About/

For a previous post on the Palouse entitled The Palouse, Amber Waves of Grain, click here.

To see more of our posts on the Inland Northwest, click the Inland Northwest page at the top of this blog.

A John Deere tractor waits for a run in Green Bluff, Washington

Green Bluff‘s roads loop around apple orchards and farms offering spectacular views of the fresh greens of spring and glorious cloud-dotted sky.  But you can also see the metal that makes it all run smoothly in the form of tractors, wagons, plows and so forth.

Even old farm implements whose productive farm time has ended are pressed into service as holders of colorful spring annuals.

Old farm implement planted with flowers

And at stop #6 — Harvest House & Orchard — several metal snare drums hold mixed arrangements ready to greet summer visitors.

Blue metal snare drum repurposed as flower pot at Harvest House

Our favorite metal, though, just might be this doughnut machine that Todd, the owner of Harvest House,cranked up just for us early-morning seekers of something sweet to go with our coffee.  That little metal machine spit out fresh, hot doughnuts  ready for the the cinnamon sugar cycle and our welcoming hands!

Ah, yes.  A porch-rocker morning on Green Bluff sipping coffee and downing a doughnut!

For more examples of the Travel theme: Metal challenge from Ailsa’s Where’s My Backpack blog, click here.

To learn more about Green Bluff — the growers and events — click here.

Interested in the places we’ve seen in the Inland Northwest?  Take a look at the page Inland Northwest at the top of this blog for more stories and photos.