Parting shots of the Palouse!

It was good to be there, but oh so good to be home. Although we can't complain about the beds, showers, cars, etc. in Pullman, It really felt good to lie in our own bed, shower in our own shower, drive a "real" vehicle, and putter in our yard. Along with things I learned from the people at WSU, this area called the Palouse was a complete mystery to me. Different from any place we've visited yet, awesome in appearance; and now I know where lentils come from. Although I didn't confirm it with locals, I believe the green/yellow fields are lentil fields not ready for harvest, and the brown fields are lentils ready for harvest. We left Friday night to stay in Spokane. As we were leaving we got to see the bronze Cougar in front of the WSU football stadium and some of the beginning festivities of the World Lentil Festival (http://www.lentilfest.com/ ) which was held this weekend in Pullman. We missed that, but we should make the Urbana, Illinois Sweetcorn Festival this coming weekend where Greg will be Bono for an hour on stage. We took the advice of Dr. Mattoon (yes Illinois people; Mattoon), and took Washington state road 27 from Pullman. This road was smaller and more winding, but took us through "the heart" of the Palouse, through the town of Palouse, Washington. Since it quit raining, harvest was in full gear. Here are some pictures of harvest including the grain truck we got to follow for a while. We got a kick out of the lone eating place in the little town of Spangle, Washington. It appeared to be in the middle of a wheat field and the name was so appropriate for the time. Also, some of the farm homes in the middle of the wheatfields, appeared to be a bit opulent while others were quite modest.