Part 23: Yaak, MT to Grand Coulee Dam, WA

20190616-19

The Trip

The Photos

The photos below are what we saw.

We saw a sign for Yaak River Falls and decided to check it out.  There were several segments to the falls, this is the upper one.

The lower segment of the falls ended in a slide and an abrupt cliff.

I spotted this nice flower in a field.  Note the pattern of the buds are in nested logarithmic spirals

The highway passed over a gorge and Kathleen got this shot of a power plant built into a cliff.

Our first view of Coeur d' Alene lake.  Our plan was to meet the two other trucks at a campground near CDA and then eventually head toward the Northwest Overland Rally site in Plain, WA.

We had been in text contact with our traveling partners and they showed up at the campsite right on time.  Above, is Mark and Gail's U500 with GXV living quarters.

Vince moved his living quarters to his ex-mil 5-ton truck and drove that from Dallas.

We were lucky enough to get 3 adjacent campsites.

We drove south and west into Washington state through the Palouse scab lands.  This area was heavily eroded during glacial floods leaving many canyons and cliffs.

The exposed basalt cliffs made travel in this area difficult.

Our destination for the day was Palouse Falls on Palouse Creek.  The large spring runoff created a spectacular sight complete with mid-day rainbows in the mist.

A closer view of the falls shows the tall basalt pinnacles above and to the left of the falls.

A view downstream shows the steep basalt cliffs.  These flows are collectively referred to as the "Columbia River basalt flows" and are over 10,000 feet thick in some areas.

Since there was no vehicle camping allowed at Palouse Falls, we literally did a side-of-the-road camp on a dirt road not far from the falls.  The skies were clear, the weather warm and the winds were calm; life is good.

The following morning we broke camp and the group headed north where we came upon this interesting field in bloom.

Our destination for the day was the Grand Coulee Dam.  Above is a view of a portion of FDR Lake at the dam.

Our objective was a dam tour.  On our way to the tour site, we could see the surface craft interdiction fences used to prevent boats from getting too close to the dam

A view of the dam from the reservoir side.

From the overlook point we could see the entire face of the dam.  Grand Coulee is the largest producer of hydroelectric power in the U.S.  As such, it is considered number one on the critical infrastructure list and has security to match that status.  Visible in the photo above are all three generator galleries and the spillway.

A closer look at the right power house.

Powerhouse number 2 is a clone of number 1.  Number 3 has special concrete siphons that deliver the water for the turbines.

Huge networks of power towers carry the dam's massive output to the west toward Seattle.

We arrived en-masse at the tour site and were treated to heavy security prior to being allowed to board a bus to take us to the dam.  All of us had our belongings carefully examined and we had to go through a metal detector.



After the extensive screening, we only got to see one generator gallery as the other areas were closed due to construction upgrades.  These units double as both generators and motors to pump water uphill for irrigation.



This unit is a motor generator that is used to create DC current as an excitor for the motors.  It is interesting to note the fan directed at the generator to reduce over-heating.

Coeur d' Alene is a very pretty area.  Our schedule did not allow spending more time there, but what we saw was great.  I was a tad dissapointed by the abbreviated dam tour, but operational considerations take precedence.

Tomorrow, we head to the Northwest Overland Rally.

Photos and Text Copyright Bill Caid 2019, all rights reserved.
For your enjoyment only, not for commercial use.