I’m so happy you are hitting the road! I look forward to reading your posts! I’ll put in a good word with the God of the great outdoors!

It is cruel but, as I said, going down is worse than going up. The first time I started down there, my whole body was rattling and I honestly felt a crash was eminent. On icy surfaces, I just lean one way and put a foot down for support. On the washboard, you never know which foot to put down. And it takes a while to figure out how to finesse the brakes when you're going that fast on a steep grade with a rough surface. I'm starting to get better at that though.

Thanks Bill. Maybe you can use the same investigative skills you use to identify plants and animals to help me identify the language on the side of the fire truck. Thank you in advance for your assistance.

That washboard looks cruel!

Pretty cool! Maybe got the old obsolete crate for cheap and then $hipped it here... Not a bad idea for cheap transportation that gets only a few miles per quart of fuel.

But it is really cool!

Thank you for pointing that out, Henry. I did actually intend to take the Wawawai-Pullman Road as you suggested. I guess when I was creating the map I let the automated route-making function get carried away. Now that I've read your first-hand description of the road, I'm looking forward to riding it even more than I was before.

Here's a route from Spokane to the Snake River using mostly very quiet farm roads (I mapped it out after I saw your proposed route but before I saw that you're heart's set on US395). I haven't ridden all the roads on this route, but I rode a good chunk of it this spring, and the roads were lovely and very quiet. From Pullman to the Snake River at Wawawai, I would definitely take Wawawai-Pullman Road as I've shown; excellent Palouse riding, and I think a little shorter than US395 to Wawawai Road as you've planned.

Hello Keith. You can rest assured that if Idaho has a winery, I will find one of its products. Then, of course, I will write one of my world famous bike touring wine reviews. If Idaho has no wine, I'll have to review an eastern Washington wine. Stay tuned.

Thanks for the note Suzanne. I'm obviously excited to get this tour underway and I'm praying to the god of the Church of the Great Outdoors to keep all the holy smoke away from Idaho.

Hi Marilyn,
Wow, I was looking at both of those State Parks as camping opportunities for my tour. I probably will have left Hell's Gate before you get there, and I likely won't make it up to Heyburn before you leave that park. But if we keep track of each other, maybe we can meet somewhere in between.

Thanks Scott. I hear you regarding Hwy. 395, but I'm probably going to ride it anyway because, not only does it have great Palouse scenery, but it's also the most direct route to where I really want to go -- the Snake River Canyon. Plus, I did get to experience the Palouse more extensively on my tour two years ago.

Thank you, Emily. So far, the weather and the smoke situations are looking pretty good here in Spokane. That can change in a hurry, though. And yes, The Feeshko will be spending the entire time with her family. That's the main reason we're out here. I'd already be on the road if not for her niece's wedding on Sept. 4.

Alors mon p’tit voyageur,
Or as one might say in Minnesotan, “ well then, aren’t we the traveler! “ . Sounds like you could get in touch with your French ( and I’m assuming Canadian) roots. Actually the names the French fur traders gave to the tribes in that region are interesting, as is the history of their interactions on the whole. The Cœur d’Alene were apparently pretty sharp traders, as I understand it. Which reminds me, you probably aren’t the first to think of that region as the holy land.
Do they grow wine grapes in Idaho? I’m aware that there are some decent wines from Washington, but I have no info on Idaho. I’m charging you with on the spot research to answer this burning question.
Bon voyage et gardes nous au courant. (Safe travels and keep in touch).
Cheers,
Keith

Holy smoke, sounds like a great tour. Hopefully without smoke or other factors unfavorable to cycling. I'm looking forward to your journal. Happy cycling!

Hey Greg - this sounds like a great route. We're actually going to be camping at Heyburn SP near Plummer, ID Sept 6-13 and then continuing south to Lewiston, Hell's Gate Canyon SP for a few more days. It would be cool to see you on the road!