48.0

Palouse Falls in eastern Washington was a draw too big for us to resist so we added it to our circuit through Idaho. It's just a few hours drive from where we were camped in Elk Creek, so we pack up and head west into Washington State. We travel through beautiful rolling farm land. The palouse of western Idaho and eastern Washington is just stunningly gorgeous. And then, after hours of rolling hills of wheat, we are suddenly on a sagebrush covered plateau that looks more like Texas than Washington. You cannot see the deep cut the river has carved until you are practically on top of it. Here the Palouse River takes a stunning drop of almost 200 feet, about 4 miles upstream of its confluence with the Snake River. I've timed our visit here so that a nearly full moon will be rising just before sunset around 9:20 pm. This is the perfect setup for a moon shot. I've envisioned the image for weeks, with the falls to my left, the moon rising just off the horizon and the river snaking along through the canyon. After we arrive and set up camp, I scout out the falls and find my spot. It requires me to set the tripod on the very edge of the canyon, it makes my palms sweat to stand there, but it's worth it. I can hardly wait for the moon to rise. Unfortunately, nature has a different plan. Just as sunset approaches the cloud cover becomes too heavy right along the horizon. The moon is completely obsured as is rises. A crushing disappointment. The falls are beautiful, but I'll always have a different image in my head. In the morning, I shoot again at sunrise, and we head back towards Idaho. Maybe next time...