The drive from Seattle to Pullman looks like a straight run on the map, but it doesn't feel like it. At Enterprise, I talked with a woman who grew up in Spokane and told me the drive is long. She likes the views on the Western side of the Cascades, but Route 26 southeast towards Pullman is a single-lane road through vast empty farmland. The Palouse is a dry farming area encompassing parts of Idaho, Washington, and Oregon.
Near Cle Elum, we pass majestic wind turbines slowly turning in non-synchronized patterns. Watching the Kittitas Valley Wind Farm as I try to focus on driving is mesmerizing.
When we cross the Columbia River on Vantage Bridge, traffic slows to a stop for construction. The bridge is light yellow and blends into the river's topography. We take Route 26 south. I-90 turns Northeast towards Moses Lake, Ritzville, and Spokane.
Route 26 is miles of sleepy crossroads and amber farmland with specks of farmhouses and silos in the hazy unforgiving sun. One of my kids says, “This looks like the Lorax.”
The Columbia Plateau's topography near Royal City, Othello, and Washtucna consists of basalt lava flows and semi-arid vegetation. The complexity of the environment is visually engaging.
The land turns arid through Hooper, La Crosse, and Dusty, and silhouetted industrial tillers create grain gossamers on undulating slopes. Thin green lines cut the endless amber fields where water sources trickle and snake. On steel storage structures, “GO COUGS,” but we are two hours from Pullman.
Along a flat open stretch, we drive through a surprisingly strong wind formation, like a mini tornado. The wind shakes the car and briefly makes me maneuver the rental car. Bug juices splat against the windshield, and several wiper fluid rounds are used to clean the window. I think I wouldn't want to drive this byway in the winter.
In Colfax, we sense a college town is close, but we drive for another fifteen miles before we reach the WSU campus. I noticed signs on the shoulder saying, “No Wind Turbines.” In Western Washington, tribes are trying to halt wind development on the coast.
A Coug eating at Porchlight Pizza.