2025 E. Washington Road Trip 03 - Palouse Falls and Washtucna

Palouse Falls State Park Heritage Site

Palouse Falls is a geologic wonder in east central Washington. The rock here is part of the Columbia River Basalt Group, which covers over 81,000 square miles of the earth's surface in eastern Oregon, eastern Washington, western Idaho, and part of northern Nevada. Most of the basalt erupted between 14 and 17 million years ago, or the middle-late Miocene epoch. We do not need to delve deeper into the volcanic history of the region, but consider that you see these remarkable basalt outcrops in many parts of the state east of the Cascades. 

The spectacular canyon and the waterfall at the state park are a result of immense floods that burst from Glacial Lake Missoula. Near the end of the last continental glacial era, about 15,000 years ago, a lobe of ice blocked the drainage of what is now the Clark Fork River. The water that backed up created Glacial Lake Missoula, a major body of water that may have included as much volume as the combined present Lakes Erie and Ontario. As the water level rose, pressure against the ice dam increased and caused the ice to float. The dam failed and a mass of water rushed westwards (see the figure below). Peak flow may have been as high as 386 million cubic feet per second (cfs). As a comparison, the flow of the Mississippi River at Old River Control during the record 2011 flood was 2 million cfs.

Floodwaters rushed across east central Washington towards the Columbia River valley and on to the Pacific. The waters carved an immense network of channels, canyons, and valleys, creating what we now call the Channeled Scablands. These included Grand Coulee, where the dam is now located, Dry Falls, and Palouse Falls. Flood waters even reached south deep into the Willamette Valley of Oregon, where they deposited masses of sediment. Geologists now estimated that there were at least 40 of these pulses of water that occurred over a period of about 2,500 years.

Consider the time scale. The earth is about 4.5 to 5 billion years old. The Missoula Floods occurred about 15,000 years ago, only a is a tiny fraction of earth's history. Humans may have come to North America during the last glacial maximum between 21,000 and 23,000 years ago (based on footprints found at White sands National Park). Therefore, predecessors of our present native Americans saw these floods. 

The Washington Department of Natural Resources has an excellent interactive presentation of Washington's Ice Age floods. 

Areas affected by floods (teal color), from the Montana Natural History Center, Glacial Lake Missoula Chapter. Note the ice lobe that extended south into the Puget Lowlands.

Palouse Falls from the visitor's center (Samsung phone digital file)

These amazing columns of basalt show lava flows of different ages. When the basalt cools quickly, it forms hexagonal columnar formations. Devil's Tower in Wyoming (where the UFOs land) and the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland are other well-known examples. A Wikipedia article lists other examples around the world.

View southwest (downstream) of the Palouse River. The terraces outline successive basalt flows. (50mm ƒ/2 Rikenon lens)

Do visit Palouse Falls State Park Heritage Site. It is an impressive example of geology and the amazing effects of flowing water. 

Washtucna

Washtucna is a small town in Adams County about 17 miles north of Palouse Falls and about a hour from Spokane, Walla-Walla, and Pullman. The town is at the head of the Washtucna Coulee (again, one of the remnants of the Missoula Floods) and is therefore lower than some of the surrounding terrain. 

The town looked like it had gone through a rough time economically. I saw some interesting subject material along Main Street (Route 261).

El Camino (28mm ƒ/2.8 Vivitar lens)

I took most of these photographs on Kodak Portra 160 film using a Pentax MG camera and Pentax, Vivitar, and Rikenon lenses.  Northeast Photographic in Bath, Maine developed the oilm. 

References

Waltham, T., 2010. Lake Missoula and the Scablands, Washington, USA. Geology Today, pp 152-159DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2451.2010.00763.x

2025 E. Washington Road Trip 02 - Murdock, Wishram Heights, and Kahlotus, Washington

Heading east through Eastern Washington on our May 2025 road trip, we passed through some picturesque small towns. Here are some examples.

Murdock

Murdock is a hamlet on the north (right) bank of the Columbia River just north of Dallesport. We drove through en route to the bridge that crosses to the Oregon side of the river. Murdock looked a bit tired, with some good motor transport parked on the grass and in driveways. 

Wishram Heights

Continuing east on the Lewis and Clark Highway (Washington State Route 14) and you reach Wishram Heights. The main part of town is down the hill next to the Columbia River, but the Heights is along Route 14. The impressive Oregon Trunk Rail Bridge crosses the Columbia about a mile downstream (west) of Wishram. 

The Heights was not too inspiring. The dead cars and rather beat-up cottages/houses were interesting.    

The Road North, Pasco-Kahlotus Highway

This is lonely open terrain, with an occasional barn and crossroad. In May, the temperature was comfortable, but it gets hot here in summer.

Kodak T400CN film, Leica IIIC camera, 50mm ƒ/2 Jupiter-8 lens, yellow filter

Kahlotus

Kahlotus is in Franklin County at the northern end of the Pasco-Kahlotus Highway. The population is 147? The town is in the Palouse terrain, with its gently rolling hills. 

Eastern Washington offers a wealth of interesting topics to photograph and explore. To be continued...

I took the color photographs with Kodak Portra 160 film using a Pentax MG camera and various Pentax K-mount lenses. These are still inexpensive and totally capable. Eventually, the inventory of these cheap 1980s and 1990s lenses will run out. Please click any photo to expand it and see details.

The black and white photograph of the highway is on Kodak T400CN film with my 1962 Soviet Jupiter-8 lens. 

2025 E. Washington Road Trip 01 - The Dalles, Oregon

Road Trip! A chance to explore, see new places, learn about new geography. 

Ready to roll in a rented minivan (it is not quite tall enough for bikes)

We headed east in May of 2025 with a rented minivan, bicycles, and cameras. For our first stop, we crossed the Columbia River at Dallesport and stayed in The Dalles.

The Dalles is a city on the on the left (south) bank of the Columbia River in Oregon. The city has a dramatic setting as the gateway to the Columbia Gorge. The site was a historic trading center for native Americans as well as European travelers on the Oregon trail. It is still a major rail junction and center for agricultural products. 

BNSF rail yard (135mm ƒ/3.5 Pentax-M lens)

The city has a historic downtown with early 20th century commercial buildings. We walked around town and looked for the typical topics that interest me.  

Alley facing Wasco County second courthouse

Wall art, 1st Street

Warehouse, Jefferson Street (50mm ƒ/2 Rikenon lens)

Sunshine Mill, view east from 1st Street

Where are the cars? Jefferson Street (50mm ƒ/2 Rikenon lens)

Time for a breakfast coffee and croissant, 2nd Street (50mm ƒ/2 Rikenon lens)

Where is the horse? View east from Jefferson Street

This ends our all too short stopover in The Dalles. Nice town, and I want to return. 

I tool these pictures on Kodak Portra 160 film with a Pentax MG camera and several lenses. The 50mm scenes are from my $25 Ricoh 50mm ƒ/2 Rikenon lens. This is a compact mostly plastic lens that was sold with many K-mount Ricoh SLR cameras in the 1980s. It is a light weight 6-element double Gauss design, and the optical quality is excellent. No complaints! Please click any photo above to see more details.

Tourist Notes

Restaurant: The Dalles Thai Cuisine is excellent! We were surprised considering what rotten food we have had in many Thai restaurants in the USA. We had the roasted duck.

A comfortable place to stay downtown on W. 2nd Street: The Dalles Inn

Small Towns in Washington: Packwood

Packwood is an unincorporated community in eastern Lewis County, Washington. It is popular with tourists because of the proximity to Mounts Rainier, Adams, and St. Helens. Many travelers probably zip on by on US 12, but there are some oddly painted houses and shops along 12.

Maybe Bigfoot will pump gas and clean your windshield.

This is just a hint of the local architecture. The overcast light and drizzle helped make the colors stand out. I need to return and do another pass through town.

I took these pictures on Kodak Portra 160 film with my Pentax MG camera and a 50mm ƒ/2 Ricoh Rikenon lens. This is a 6-element double Gauss design, quite conventional for the 1980s. Some elements may be multicoated. This was a $25 lens that really surprised me. Some of these 1980s optics are fully functional and still remarkable bargains. Eventually, these bargains will run out.

Seattle with my $13.50 Canonet (Sea 06)

Reflx Lab light meter

Some appointments took me to Seattle in early April. My intent was to take the Amtrak to King Street Station and then use one of the Lime rental bicycles. But rain was predicted, so I left my helmet at home. Well, as per typical Puget Sound weather, rain was falling in Olympia, but Seattle was sunny. 

OK, time to walk and try one of the Seattle Stairway Walks, the one from City Hall to Pike Place. Plus, it was another opportunity to test my $13.50 Canonet Camera. It is equipped with a 40mm ƒ/1.7 lens, a remarkably capable 6-element double-Gauss design, single coated. 

Because the camera's built-in light meter no longer works, I used a small meter that fits into the flash shoe. Mine is a model from Reflx Lab. At least ten electronics companies in China make compact light meters to attach to vintage cameras. They appear to be very accurate when used the right way (i.e., point them at the appropriate subject). This Reflx model has one of the larger fonts in its display, perfect for my vision.

King Street Station Area

Amtrak at the King Street Station

The Amtrak is only $14.50 from Olympia to Seattle (as of spring 2025). It saves you from the constant Interstate 5 traffic congestion at Joint Base Lewis–McChord. But the train is often delayed, so accommodate your schedule.

South Jackson Street at 4th Avenue

Parking garage, 400 4th Avenue

Business District

Seattle City Hall steps

Seattle's "green" City Hall is located between 4th and 5th Avenues. These impressive steps are part of the Stairway Walk. A stream gurgles down the left side of the steps. An employee inside told me that the fountain had just been restarted the day before. 

The 1914 Arctic Club Building with terra cotta walrus sculptures 

3rd Avenue view south (with a grumpy bus)

Federal Building steps leading to 1st Avenue

1224 1st Avenue

Pike Place

Public Market entrance from Pike Place

Vendor, main floor, Pike Place Market

Mmmm, nothing better than good ice cream

Lunch means Cioppino (Samsung digital file)

Maybe a hearty Cioppino in the market is better than ice cream. Maybe? 

Belltown

Waiting for riders on Pine Street

4th Avenue view south

By about 1 pm, the rain really started coming down. I took the trolley to Lake Union, completed my appointment, and returned to King Street station for the ride home. 

I took these pictures on April 7, 2025, using Kodak Portra 160 film, exposed at EI=100. I scanned the negatives with a Nikon Coolscan 5000 film scanner run by NikonScan software on a Windows 7 computer. 

Update: the Canonet has been overhauled and cleaned at Zacks Camera Repair in Providence, RI. I am awaiting its return home.

Wandering around Istanbul with Portra 160 Film (Nov. 2024)

Dear Readers, Istanbul is an amazing city, but you know that. I had not been there for almost 20 years. It was time to return. 

Istanbul tourist map (from Masha Pasha Travel)

Istanbul was the center of great empires, even before the era of the Byzantines and Ottomans. Today, Ankara is the capital of Turkey, but Istanbul is the commercial, industrial, finance and tourist powerhouse of the country. History is all around you, everywhere. You walk and breathe history. Romans, emperors, Crusaders, Persians, Greeks, Turkomans, and a myriad others walked these same streets.

Most tourists stay in the Sultanahmet district. The Romans were here 2000 years ago. This is where Hagia Sophia and other amazing mosques are located. The sultans lived here in Topkapi palace. They built cisterns to store water and paved streets with stone blocks. 

In late November of 2024, Istanbul was still crowded, even though this was supposed to be the off season. And we had sunny, clear weather until the last two days of our trip. Summer, during the humid heat and the crowded tourist season, must be almost unbearable. Here is a quick overlook from my short visit.

View of the Bosphorus from Topkapi Palace (Pentax MG camera, 50mm ƒ/2 Pentax-A lens)

Topkapi Palace ticket

In December, ₺ 1700 was about US $29. That is quite a jump compared to 2005, my previous visit.

The Golden Horn with the Karaköy district in the background

Bosphorus view from the Asian side (Samsung digital file)

Ferry boats take you back and forth across the Bosphorus for a low fare. You may recall in "From Russia with Love," James Bond (Sean Connery) and the pretty Soviet cipher girl are on a ferry boat. He asks her to talk into his Rolleiflex, which is really a miniature tape recorder. Love that 1964 technology.

 

Turkish kitty in the morning sun near Hagia Sophia (35mm ƒ/2 Pentax-A lens)

Stray dogs and cats get medical attention and neutering in Istanbul. People feed them and treat them like pets that belong to everyone.

Interior of Hagia Sophia (Samsung phone digital file)

Few domes anywhere are larger than Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. And this one was built between 532 and 537 by Byzantine emperor Justinian I as the Christian cathedral of Constantinople. It was an astonishing architectural feat for that era. It is a mosque again, so tourists can only access the balconies. The faithful can enter the main floor without fee. 

Arasta Bazaar - for the tourist trade (35mm Pentax-A lens)

You can have a Sultan or a warrior, too.

Many of the souvenir shops in the Sultanahmet area are expensive and sell merchandise for the tourist trade. Best to avoid. The ancient stone building is part of the Sultanahmet Camii (Blue Mosque) complex. Renting commercial space is one way how mosques make money to use for their operations and upkeep.

Büyük Yeni Han, Fatih District (35mm Pentax-A lens)

A Han in Istanbul was a covered building that served as an inn, marketplace, and warehouse. Built during the Ottoman Empire, they were centers of commerce, similar to caravanserai in rural Anatolia. This one, built in the 1700s, still had some workshops on the second floor, but many of the rooms/units looked unused. The brick section crossing the courtyard was a later construction.

Fatih rooftops from Büyük Yeni Han

Egyptian (Spice) Market

The famous Spice Market, also known as the Egyptian Market, in the Eminönü quarter near the Golden Horn, is modern. It was built in 1664. Isn't it nice to be surrounded by infrastructure that is still in use 400 years later? Compare and contrast with the typical crappy US strip mall, maybe 15 years old and already abandoned and trashed. At the Spice Market, buy your oregano, figs, Turkish Delight, and baklava. 

Don't feed the seagulls? Seems like it is done in Istanbul.

Grand Bazaar

The core of the Grand Bazaar (Büyük Çarşı) was started in 1455. It is a huge complex of shops and stalls selling jewelry, textiles, rugs, and souvenirs. Today, it is rather civilized, with LED lights, clean floors, and ventilation, and the merchants accept credit cards. 

In 1965, the Grand Bazaar was rather earthy. I miss the earthy. I wish I had photos of the earthy, but I think those family slides have disappeared. 

Well, you readers know what is next:

 

Dinner with a new friend

Time for a Turkish coffee and pistachio pastry. What else do you do after an exhausting day touring?

If you have never been to Istanbul, go. Just do it. 

More Istanbul to follow. I took these pictures on Kodak Portra 160 film with a Pentax MG 35mm camera and 35 and 50mm Pentax-A lenses. The MG is a consumer version of the compact M series of SLR cameras from the 1980s. I am amazed how well this little camera works. It does not have a manual exposure mode, so I used it as a point-focus-and-shoot. The Pentax K-mount lenses are superb and inexpensive.   

P.S., my 2005 visit:  https://worldofdecay.blogspot.com/2013/02/at-grand-bazaar-and-egyptian-market.html

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Tourist Information.  If you need the services of a knowledgeable, enthusiastic, and patient guide, call Lale Kosagan at KSG Tours. She is fabulous.