Abundant wildlife is one of the things
that make time spent waiting for trains to appear at Palouse Falls pass pleasantly. Ravens, meadowlarks, warblers, Canada geese, wild turkeys, grouse, ospreys, hawks, falcons, swallows, swifts, rabbits, porcupines, marmots — lots and lots of marmots — coyotes, mule deer, bull snakes and rattlesnakes are among the often-seen species. Ravens are the most commonly seen (and heard) birds along the railroad, although meadowlarks run
a close second. But the tiny canyon wren is one of the most charismatic. They aren’t exactly friendly, but then again, maybe they are. From a distance the basalt cliffs
and rock faces of Palouse Falls have a harsh, naked, almost sterile-seeming appearance, but when you get closer you find bumper crops of multi-colored lichen. But on a summer day it’s best to look and not touch; after heating up for hours in the August sun, chunks of
basalt are almost hot enough to burn exposed skin. Brown is the predominate hue of the Palouse Falls landscape, but wildflowers, which bloom from late April through mid-October provide a welcome splash of variety. And then there are those UP diesels. That has to be one of the all- time great color schemes. Saskatchewan grain hoppers are pretty cool, too. Some people call the area around Palouse Falls a desert. After all, the
Canadian Pacific power adds a splash of color to this northbound manifest running above the falls late in the afternoon toward the end of a blazing hot in August 2010. BELOW: Evoking the Union Pacific streamliners of old, the southbound UP 150th Anniversary Special darts between Tunnels 14 and Tunnel 13 on July 11, 2012.
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