Eastern Washington » Palouse Falls State Park, WA

2009-07-21: When one thinks of Washington, I would guess that one envisions lush temperate rainforests, foggy coastline, and cool mountains. These were my expectations. I was going to be camping at a place called Palouse Falls, so I assumed that anywhere with a waterfall would have to be cool and verdant. I came out of the mountains and drove into Spokane, where I was confronted with a temperature of 100° F. I considered not buying another blanket, but where I was going, I thought, it will be cool at night. My GPS guided me down an empty state highway lined by dusty fields, some of which were bare earth, while others produced a golden crop of wheat. I was ready to second guess the directions, but I continued on. The temperature was not getting any cooler. Massive dust devils could be seen in all directions. I actually drove though a couple of them! This area resembled the wastes of Wyoming. How could a waterfall be anywhere near here? It seems that the Cascade Mountains stop much of the rain and cool air coming from the west.

Eventually I did reach the park, and as can be seen in the photos, it was much different from what I had expected. The river had cut its way through the arid steppe and spilled into a circular canyon, its spray creating rainbow patterns as the sunlight filtered through it. In the photo with the waterfall, fishermen can be seen near the bottom of the falls. The canyon opposite the falls reaches to the edge of vision. I strolled around the unfenced clifftops surrounding the falls for a short time, keeping watch for rattlesnakes, before I began to feel tired and weak, which I knew was likely from being dehydrated. I went back to camp and relaxed. There were many noisy birds, which I had not previously seen or heard, darting around the campground's few trees. I saw a number of yellow-bellied marmots as well. The heat finally abated some time after sunset.