Travels with Fred & Susan Magness: NORTH CASCADES to POWELL JUNCTION, IDAHO

Thursday - 9/11/14 - Leaving the Cascade Mountain

We wind our way down through Washington Pass, leaving the Cascade Mountains behind. At the bottom of the pass is the quaint little western town of Winthrop, "Gateway To The Cascades." They've done a good job of keeping the wild west look alive with old timey buildings, curio shops and interesting looking little cafes. If we'd had more time we might have stopped just to look around, but we got a late start again and we are hell-bent to make up for it.

We do, however, make sure to take a side trip and check out the local deli in the little town of Mazama, highly recommended to us by another VW Westfalia camper while at the Diablo Lake Overlook. Well, of course, we can't pass that up. Myrna, you will be happy to know we even bought some leafy greens and vegetables there. We have been getting a few comments about the high cholesterol vacation we are on, ha!

Anyway, if you are ever in the neighborhood, be sure to check out the Mazama Deli & Bakery, you won't be disappointed.

We are on Highway 20 WA heading for Highway 153 but there is a detour and Highway 153 is closed - we don't know why. As we zip along Highway 20 we start passing miles and miles of ashen hills and burnt pine trees. There has been a major fire and evidently subsequent heavy rains have caused flooding and part of the highway is washed out. We wonder if maybe that's why Highway 153 is closed.

Evening is approaching and we find a suitable campsite at Coulee City Municipal Park on the banks of the Grand Coulee. The Grand Coulee is an ancient river plateau, and is "ancient" by description due to the underlying granite bedrock that formed deep in the Earth's crust 40 to 60 million years ago.

The park is the site of Mc Entee's Crossing, named after an historical pioneer who first established a crossing at the Grand Coulee in 1880. Phillip McEntee would drive a herd of cattle from where Coulee City now stands across several hundred miles of "unbroken" wilderness up into British Columbia, where he would sell them to miners , together with his pack horses, and make the returning journey on foot. Ah, for the good old days.

So now you know more than you ever thought you would about the history of the City of Coulee, WA.

Camping in the City of Coulee

We sit by the campfire and listen to Canadian Geese calling one another as they look for a good campsite for the night...just like us.

It's morning and I wake early, trying not to awaken Fred, but that's not easy in a room that is only 4 x 12 feet. we take off for Highway 17 along what they call the "Columbia River Plateau". High walls of volcanic rock tower over us as we wind our way along the lakes that have been created by the Coulee Dam - Lake Elsinore and Soap Lake.

Our destination is the city of Pullman in the Palouse area. If you have never been in that part of Washington, it is a most fascinating and beautiful part of the country, famous for its rolling hills of green, gold, and brown. We wind and curve through miles and miles of golden humps and valleys. The wheat has been harvested and the hills glow with the stubble of harvested grain. I can only imagine what it must have looked like before the harvest, with its "amber waves of grain."

There are many theories as to how the area came by its name "Palouse". One is that it's a variation of the name of an Indian tribe "Paluss". Another is that the French-Canadian fur traders called it pelous, meaning "land with short and thick grass" or "lawn". All of this, of course, is according to Wikipedia.

However it got its name, it is a magical land.

Where's Fred?

And more photos of the Palouse:

We are thwarted in our attempt to get to Pullman as Highway 195 is closed due to an accident and we must detour to Highway 6 and the town of Potlatch, Idaho. We are still in what is considered the Palouse area, and rounded hills and valleys continue to roll by.

We arrive at a little campground called Scenic 6 that is run by the City of Potlatch. We are so glad to finally find a camp site. The local high school is just across the street and it is Friday Night Lights. We can hear the cheer leaders and roar of the excited crowd.

We sit by our campfire listening to the football fans having a great time. We are excited to once again see our Canadian Geese friends fly by. We shout "hello" and "good journey" as they pass overhead.

Scenic 6 Campground, City of Potlatch, ID

We leave Potlatch behind as we head south on Highway 95, destination Lolo campground on Highway 12. Fred and I have been taking turns driving and the two-lane country roads, though picturesque, are not my favorite to drive. Too many vehicles and impatient drivers. But, Fred and I are both good about pulling over and letting the more anxious drivers speed by.

We are now following the Clearwater River as we stop in the town of Kamiah, Idaho, to get some firewood for the night. We pull over at a sign that says "Tree Trimming" and "Firewood". We are greeted by a howling hound dog, a young blond-headed mother and three adorable children, one boy and two girls, ages probably 3 to 8, the boy being the oldest.

Mom walks with Fred to the stacks of wood as the boy tells me they drove to Onofrio that morning to the fair. I said, "How fun. Did you go on the rides?" "No," he says. "We were in trouble so we couldn't go on any rides." "Well," I say, "maybe next year you'll get to go on some rides." "Yeah," he says, "we won't be in trouble next year."

As Fred and mom load up firewood, the oldest girl asks me where we live and I tell her Ventura, California. She says, "Do you know where I live?" I immediately try to think of the name of the town (Kamiah) and say, "Kamika?" "No", she says. "Kamooki?" "No," she says. "Kaliaka?" "No", she says. So I ask her, "Where do you live?" and she says, "Idaho."

We say goodbye to mom, the kids, and the hound dog and get back on the highway.

We are in Clearwater National Forest on Scenic Highway 12, labeled a "Scenic River Corridor on the Lewis and Clark Highway." We are following the Lochsa River and the path of Lewis and Clark, the Corps of Discovery. This is the route they took during the winter of 1805 as they continued their journey onward to the Pacific Ocean. Meriwether Lewis was disappointed to find there were even more mountains after they crossed through the pass. He had hoped to see flat plains to the sea.

Smoke from a distant fire.

We continue along two-lane Highway 12 passing intriguing road markers such as "Dead Man Creek", "Eagle Mountain", "Indian Meadow Creek", "Parachute Hill Road", and "Dead Mule Flats". We are worried we may not have enough gasoline to get us to the next gas station at the city of Lola.

We continue onward, through the dense cedar forest following the winding path of the river. The gas gauge is getting lower and lower and it's getting late. We see a sign "Powell Junction" and a sign showing a teepee and a gas pump, meaning there is a gas station and a campground in a half-mile down the road. Our spirits are lightened.

We camp at Powell Junction, safe and secure in the knowledge that we have a full tank of gas and a home for the night.