June 5, 2021 Day 6 and 55th Anniversary.
Today started early at 7:30 and ended at 10 PM after Day 5 and 6 for a combined 400 miles total driving. So this shows the size of the area of the Palouse. We were on the very east side of Washington state and also in Idaho for part of the day. After leaving the RV park on the Snake river at Almota we headed for Pullman, WA and points east.
The Leonard Round Barn on Old Moscow Road just south of Pulman was built in 1917 and is on the National Historic Preservation list. The many windows let in light to extend the working day. The animals were in a circle with their heads facing inward. It is considered the most photographed barn in the western US.
The yellow flowers in the photos are canola. In some areas, the plants were too immature to show the yellow flowers. The plants produce canola oil and are a member of the mustard and cabbage family of plants and I observed this in a closer examination of plants that were just starting to grow. They can grow as tall as 5 feet and are harvested in mid August. Canola oil is made by slight heating, crushing, and then pressing the seed.
The next photos were taken on several roads leading off from Route 95 south of Moscow, ID. It was a glorious day with the white cumulus clouds. I was lucky to find some high viewing spots for these barns.
There are more photos on the blog and a return to Steptoe Butte at sunset and a rainstorm you’ll not want to miss. Please click more.
The next few photos were taken near the actual town of Palouse, particularly the granary. I also found an example of a square barn. The many types of barns were very interesting with many having a cupola on top as in the example below.
We traveled north from Palouse on route 27 to Garfield and then the Garfield Farmington Road toward Farmington. The granaries were in Garfield. More barns were found along the way one with an old windmill. We came across more fields of canola and the storm clouds were starting to form.
It was time to head toward Steptoe Butte which we had visited the day before in the afternoon. The sunset was supposed to be the location of the premier photo shots. Initially as the storm was approaching the lighting ranged from rather dark to some openings in the clouds to give the low light giving the shadows.
As we drove up Steptoe butte, the rain showers were coming in from the west. Initially there was a partial rainbow that lasted for quite awhile. We did not get much rain, but the sky was filled with the haze of rain. Towards the end we did get some dramatic clouds in the east that were lit by the sun setting in the west. We then had about an hour drive in the dark to our RV park in Idaho which we reached at 10 PM. It was a glorious long day for us, but well worth it in terms of photographic opportunities as you never know what the weather brings.
Ophardt Photos 
Thank you! These are wonderful, the weather changes, the different barns, your narrative. Happy anniversary to you n JoAnn? Wow, how blessed you both are.
Again marvelous,green colored fields small farms heads make for beautiful pictures!
Great photos.