This past weekend, I took a drive out to the Palouse as it was a terrific day weather-wise and the visibility was fantastic. Plus being Super Bowl weekend, it gave me something to do before the big game.
As I mentioned in my original thread, I’ve always felt the area south of Spokane has plenty of interesting terrain and would make for some terrific golf holes. The area was originally gouged out during the glacial flooding as a result of the massive melting during the end of the last ice age. Then all the lightweight, silty dirt was eventually blown back over the same area as the prevailing winds come from the South/SouthWest, but without all the heavier material that was originally there. As a result, it made for some unique/interesting landforms in addition to ideal agricultural conditions to grow grains, specifically wheat, which is now king in the area.
In the following pictures, I hope to show just how extensive this area is. The neat part I think, is I never ventured more than 50 miles away from Spokane, which is key because if a club or two would be located out here, it would be hugely beneficial as its less than an hour away from the nearest major airport… as opposed to a place like Wine Valley which is 3+ hours away. So it could still get local play from the population living in Spokane, in addition to attracting visitors, given the assumption that it’d be a top notch kind of attraction.
So without further ado, here is a synopsis of my journey…enjoy!
A look at Mt. Spokane from near my place, as I'm ready to embark at the crack of dawn:
It’s a chilly morning, so I’d better fuel up at my local pit stop on the way out of town:
Within 15 minutes, I’m away from the suburbs and into the transition area before I hit the Palouse:
As this is wheat land, storage is huge. These silos dominate the landscape in every small town dotted all over the region:
One of my 1st glimpses of the Palouse as I’m starting to move away from the small mountains that ring the southern edge of the Spokane Valley:
I’ve fully arrived now and sipping on my cup of Joe and loving the scenic Palouse byway:
I encounter a bit of fog, but the landforms look primo:
Some interesting wavy landforms:
Oh yea….miles and miles and miles of just rolling goodness. I’m in full-on geek mode now!!
An example of some land with the larger land forms. As mentioned in the previous thread, there are no doubts large parts of this terrain that is just too massive for a golf course…but there’s plenty leftover that’s just perfectly fine.
A perfect example of some relatively flattish land that would make for some gently rolling holes:
As I carry further on, the terrain gets a little more varied…I can see the bunkering now!
More goodness:
The area is certainly not devoid of water or scenic natural features otherwise:
And the entire region is littered with train tracks and cool features like this for you sentimental types:
We’re now getting close to my destination….Steptoe Butte. (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steptoe_Butte). Its an ancient landorm that wasn’t washed away and now provides a terrific lookout point. This is the southernmost point on my journey.
The views are now more expansive as I climb the access road and provide a better look at just how massive it is. This one is facing NorthWest:
This one is looking directly north where you can see snow-capped Mt. Spokane in the distance on the left hand side of the picture. From here its about 75 miles away:
This is looking to the NorthEast…just fantastic undulations…and an even better view.
From the other side of the butte, this view is looking to the Southwest. You can see the seemingly endless sea of what appears to be dunes like formations of the silty soil.
Looking to the southeast, more interesting stuff:
One last final view to the Northeast from the very top of the butte:
On the way back to Spokane, a picture of an old farmhouse. There are tons of old structures like this out there as they’ve been farming it for over 100 years.
An interesting landform just off the highway…looks like some Pines have taken root 40 miles or so south of where they are normally found.
More interesting landforms…just imagine how one could route this section:
A last look at Steptoe before continuing back north:
A few last interesting pics of the gently rolling land….land certainly very well suited for golf!!
