Palouse Falls, WA

[Martin Hash]

After one of my kid’s graduations from WSU in remote Eastern Washington, my wife, Gwynne, & I stopped to see Palouse Falls on the way home. It was about an hour out of the way in the middle of nowhere but worth it: a hole carved in the earth by a millennia-old waterfall: very Tarzanesque, the whole river complex is 100’ below ground level. Gwynne had mentioned it a few times over the past couple decades so when she asked if we could stop there again on the way home from Spokane, I immediately set the GPS because mostly it’s me who sets travel itinerary. At that time it had not been developed, with no organized parking; in fact, and we were the only ones there; but this time we were struck by the bizarreness of a lighted freeway emergency sign in the middle of a desert nowhere along a long gravel road: we literally had to stop the car for a few minutes to read all the scrolling text: apparently nothing is allowed.

Highway Emergency Sign.jpg

It was way better: not only had the Park Service got involved in bathrooms & signage but there was a whole additional hike down to the river I didn’t even know about? Because we hadn’t planned to do anything but look, I was still in my flip-flops when we set off along a rough trail that signs warned us of people dying but that only made it more enticing. On one of the most treacherous sections, another couple fully appareled, including walking sticks, passed us and the gal commented in awe, “You must be experienced hikers to wear those?!” I replied, “The worst was climbing Uluru in Australia:” however in reality, soft soles on my feet make me more sure-footed, plus I could easily dangle my feet in the water. It was steep, it was dangerous & it only took an hour: perfect for Gwynne & me. When we got back in the car I admitted it was one of the best random excursions I’d ever been on.

Martin's Feet in the Water.jpg