The Palouse River country is a wonderful part of Washington State. The Palouse is a small tributary of the Snake River. The lower Snake River runs through eastern Washington and ends by emptying into the Columbia at the tri-cities; Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland. The path of the Palouse has changed drastically over the past many thousands of years. It was simply a small drainage on the banks of the Snake until the great ice age floods of the past glacial maximum. These great water floods, which began in Montana, were so powerful that they eroded the small proto-Palouse several miles back from the Snake River to its present precipitous point. Palouse Falls State Park is a small gem in the Washington park system. The 180 foot falls sparkles in the sun in the spring runoff and makes a powerful statement about the erosive ability of water both past and present.

We enjoyed exploring the Palouse country by foot, kayak, Zodiac and with the Sea Bird. The afternoon was spent traveling down the Snake, and along the way, we encountered a great squall that dropped rain, hail, and buffeted the Sea Bird with some mighty winds.