B
Saturday, June 5, 2021
The Observer & Baker City Herald
A ‘One-Tank’ Trip
From La Grande to ...
P ALOUSE F ALLS
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
A stitched composite panoramic photo of Palouse Falls, Washington, taken on Sunday, May 30, 2021. For a few weeks in spring, the falls will sport green foliage that quickly
turns golden brown in the summer.
W
ith one tank of gas,
there’s a lot you can
reach from the hub city
of La Grande.
Admittedly, our region is abso-
lutely chock-full of photographic
vistas that lay out before you when
driving down narrow gravel roads,
and each obscured corner seems to
promise some new sight to behold.
Over the weekend, and with only
one tank of gas, I drove out with my
girlfriend to the site of my fi rst ad-
venture in photography — Palouse
Falls — nearly three years after I
had last visited. This time, however,
I was driving to the falls in the day-
time rather than at night.
Starting in La Grande, two routes
were recommended by Google maps
— complete with the shrieking voice
of an android whenever I’d want to
turn off the road to look for photos.
The phone dutifully allowed me to
choose the slower path up north —
through Tollgate and the Blue Moun-
tains as opposed to the faster and
familiar I-84 through Deadman’s
Pass and Pendleton.
The last time I drove through
Tollgate I found homes completely
submerged in snow. That was Febru-
ary. Now it is May and the snow
is middling but determined in the
deepest of shadows. I stopped by a
small clearing that gave way to a
sprawling mountain view — one
I had photographed a few months
ago by climbing atop 10 feet of sheer
snow pushed aside by the blowers.
As a perfectionist, I thought that
the photo would look better another
time — today it was not meant to
be. I snapped a few short photos and
continued on.
Along the way, Google Maps had
recommended to me an almost secret
road — the quickest way, in this case,
was through paradise and Harvey
ONE-TANK
TRIPS
ALEX WITTWER
‘One-Tank’ Trips
This is the fi rst in an occasional
series of travel stories about
destinations that can be
reached from La Grande with
a single tank of gas. Today’s
feature is Palouse Falls in
southeast Washington.
Shaw Road and Lyons Ferry Road.
I cannot stress this enough — once
you leave Walla Walla along High-
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
way 125, you must take this road,
Immature wheat grows along Lyons Ferry Road north of Walla Walla on Sunday, May 30, 2021.
or risk losing out on one of the best
drives in the region.
The winding road led through
some of the most dramatic curves of
wheat fi elds I had seen. It was like
driving through the iconic back-
• From La Grande, Highway 82
ground of Windows XP, but instead
to Elgin, Highway 204 (Tollgate)
of a short small hill in Napa Valley,
to Highway 11, on Highway 11
it was here just mere miles north of
(Highway 125 in Washington)
where I live. It also stretched for an
through Milton-Freewater to
eternity, it seemed.
Walla Walla.
Daylight was quickly waning and
• From Walla Walla, north on
I needed to get back on the road if
Highway 125, then turn left
I was to make it to Palouse Falls
on Harvey Shaw Road and
before sunset. The rest of the drive
follow it north to Highway 124.
wasn’t as memorable — a small sign
Continue north on Lyons Ferry
advertising Clyde’s Shooting Pre-
Road to Highway 261.
serve gave a chuckle, and an aban-
• Follow Highway 261 across
doned half of a pickup on the side of
Alex Wittwer/The Observer
the Snake River through Lyons
the road led to personal anecdotes
Landscape photographer Danny Seidman waits for the sun to set at
Ferry State Park, then turn right
about how it got there — until we hit
Palouse Falls on Sunday, May 30, 2021.
onto Palouse Falls Road.
just a few short miles before the falls
themselves. There, the grassy vistas
gave way to a cornucopia of sage-
and I was a bit hesitant about joining
My small, point-and-shoot trusty
brush, while fi eld mice darted across
A grain silo stood against the
the scores of photographers lined up camera dangled from my wrist. Not
the road.
backdrop of overcast skies — slightly inches from the ledge and certain
nearly wide enough to capture the
ominous given that I wanted to cap- death with their expensive cameras whole scene. I would have to either
ture a sunset of the falls, not the falls — I have a rather stiff fear of heights, settle for a tighter frame, or suffer
clouded in pall light from the clouds. and that fear certainly wasn’t unwar- later by taking a high-dynamic-range
We stopped along the fi eld and made ranted.
panoramic shot, which meant manu-
our way across cracked brush for a
Palouse Falls is known for its
ally stitching together 10 photos
quick photo before moving on.
deaths. Sheer cliff sides with no rail- in Photoshop in order to emulate a
Over a bridge, under another, and ings are everywhere, and the drop is wider lens.
we arrived at Palouse Falls. Admit-
almost 200 feet — or approximately
Again, I chose later suffering —
tedly, I didn’t purchase a Discover
10 seconds to think about on your
but despite the nightmares, I’d have
Pass prior to this trip — a require-
way down.
to say I was much more pleased with
ment if you want to visit the falls.
I would pay for my arrogance later the photos taken during the vibrant
The overcast day was quickly clear- with nightmares of falling in the mo- green drive through wheat fi elds
ing up as the sun began to set, and
ments before I slept, but for now I set than I was waiting along a cliff wait-
the falls were surrounded by brilliant up alongside a landscape photogra-
ing for the sun to set over the desert.
ochre-colored rock and a hint of green pher named Danny Seidman. He had
I suppose it’s fair to say that the
from the brush — the green, as I was the best spot for shooting the falls,
journey was more important than
Alex Wittwer/The Observer told by one of the dozens of photogra-
and the best lens. He was assured to the destination — sage words that I
View of Lyons Ferry Road, north of Walla Walla, on Sunday, May 30, phers there, wouldn’t last long.
get a great photo of the sunset over
received from countless friends over
2021. You’ll follow this road through winding hills to Palouse Falls.
I had forgotten to bring my tripod, the falls.
the years.
The Route