This was another early morning start although not as early as some of the others. We wouldn’t need to drive very far anymore now that we’d settled into our temporary home in Lewiston, Idaho for four nights in a row.
The Washington Race
Sunrise came quickly and we soon found ourselves running another half-marathon. Thankfully this was just down the road even if it fell in a different city and state: Clarkston, Washington. Runners gathered at a parking lot near the riverfront and raced along the Green Belt Trail, a smooth asphalt bike path following the Snake River (map).
It was a bit warmer than the Oregon race, which actually made it about perfect. I didn’t need a jacket or gloves. And I improved upon the time I recorded two days earlier when I ran particularly conservatively. So I picked up the pace a bit and finished with a time of 1:50, and improved by three minutes. Nonetheless I felt like I could go even faster in the final race in the series.
Snake River
Naturally I followed the Snake River along the course but I couldn’t stop to appreciate it. So, once I finished running, I took a walk along the same route because it was actually quite scenic. I really couldn’t tell during the race because I was concentrating on my pace as I hurried along.
Once more it dawned on me how far ships can navigate inland here. The American West Paddlewheeler cruise ship docked right next to the route, some 465 river miles (750 km) upriver from the Pacific Ocean! I’m not sure what passengers thought of the runners passing their balconies repeatedly as we continued our out-and-back loops for hours. They probably considered us crazy.
University Towns
The race concluded and we went home and cleaned-up. Then we were ready to start the rest of our day and it was only mid morning. I planned a pretty casual tour with only a modest drive and some solid opportunities to stretch our legs. I focused north of Lewiston and captured two new counties along the way; Whitman in Washington and Latah in Idaho.
The route also passed directly through an anomaly identified previously on Twelve Mile Circle, and now I could experience it in person. Specifically, Pullman, Washington and Moscow, Idaho sat only 6.7 miles (10.7 km) apart from each other, which I know doesn’t sound particularly exciting but it is. The article “What State U” explained the proximity of these towns and their respective state flagship universities: Washington State University and the University of Idaho. It still seemed odd that this remote corner included even one major university, and yet there were two of them! And they practically abutted each other.
Moscow, Idaho also made a second appearance independently in an article called “Three American Moscows“. It focused on, well, three different towns in America named Moscow and their tenuous connection.
Kamiak Butte
We stopped for lunch in Pullman and for once we didn’t eat at a brewpub. To be completely honest, we couldn’t find such an establishment open in Pullman on a Monday. Of course we didn’t starve and we soon moved on to our real destination. We wanted to hike on Kamiak Butte, just north of town (map).
The underlying geology is interesting. Long ago, volcanic flows laid-down successive layers of lava that hardened into basalt over this entire area. But it didn’t cover everything. Some places were high enough to remain above the flows like islands. That’s what happened at Kamiak Butte, a quartzite feature once part of an even more ancient seafloor. Today this very distinctive standalone mountain rises about a thousand feet (300 metres) above the surrounding plain.
It was too steep and rocky for farming so it became a natural refuge for the region’s original flora and fauna. Visitors to the area don’t generally see a lot of trees, but there are plenty of Ponderosa Pines and other conifers at Kamiak Butte, especially at higher elevations. We, like so many others, hiked the 3.5 mile (5.6k) Pine Ridge Trail, which hugged the crest before looping back to the parking lot.
University of Idaho Arboretum
Then we drove back across the state line to the University of Idaho Arboretum. This was a large, peaceful space on the southern edge of campus (map). Naturally it included a lot of native plants but it also featured distinct areas covering Asia, Europe and the eastern side of North America. This space was distinctly green in contrast to all the tans and browns we experienced the previous few days.
I’ve started to become a fan of arboretums ever since the “Cicada Chase” in St. Louis last spring. I don’t know if this is a new thing for me so I guess we’ll see over time. Maybe I’ll compile an arboretum list someday.
Hunga Dunga Brewing
Finally we ended the day at Hunga Dunga Brewing in Moscow, Idaho. I really enjoyed the Quonset hut design. These structures had their heyday with the U.S. military during the Second World War but then began to quickly fall from favor, so fewer and fewer remain. Nonetheless the brewery seemed to put this one to good use. They also had a food truck out front and that made the whole experience rather convenient.
Incidentally, I never figured out the etymology of Hunga Dunga with any certainty. However I did notice the logo on the grain silo which seemed to imply something Tiki related. Also there is a small volcanic islet in the Polynesian nation of Tonga called Hunga Tonga (map). I bet that’s probably it. Because other Internet searches turned up a 1960’s San Francisco hippie commune and a vintage B-17 bomber preserved in a museum, and those didn’t make much sense. But who really knows? I was here for the beer.
Articles in the Inland Northwest Series
- Staging
- Walla Walla to Pendleton
- Let the Races Begin
- Lewis & Clark Country
- University Loop
- County-Centric
- Abrupt End
See also the albums on Flickr for Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
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