Wheat Fields, Waterfall, KOA

We woke up about 8am at the Idaho rest stop. We had planned on getting up earlier, but I guess we really needed to get some solid sleep so it was good that all the kids slept in too. We leisurely got dressed, ate breakfast, rearranged the van, etc., and it was about 9am when we finally hit the road. We planned to drive to Palouse Falls and then find a spot to stay the night, so another long day of driving through Idaho, Oregon, and Washington was ahead. The scenery through much of Oregon was a little monotonous - wheat fields after wheat fields after wheat fields! Hardly any buildings at all, except the occasional granary, and no cell coverage whatsoever. 

We found where they put all the harvested crop! This stack was enormous and went on for a long time.

Somewhere along the way the van popped up with a low fuel warning. We did not realize how far apart gas stations were out here and were slightly worried we wouldn't make it to the next gas station, but in the end we made it. Gas was more expensive here at $3.19/gal, and we loaded up with 26.095 gal. The tank capacity is supposed to be 31 gallons so I guess the "low fuel" indicator gives us plenty of warning.

We thought that everywhere in Oregon you weren't allowed to pump your own gas, but we stopped twice and both times we pumped our own gas. One of the gas stations was incredibly busy and there was no attendant in sight, and everyone else seemed to be pumping their own gas, so we did too. At the other gas station there was a sign that said "Self service now permitted" and the attendant said we could go ahead and pump our own.

In Walla Walla, Washington Joe made a surprise stop and pulled over at a great little park that had a splash pad. It was the perfect timing for lunch and to let the kids get out and run around for awhile. We ended up staying there almost an hour and a half, but unfortunately did not take any pictures.

From there we continued on to Palouse Falls. Joe had stumbled across this location on Reddit and it looked pretty cool. However, the water flow is not as strong this time of year, so our photos were not as impressive as the ones we saw on the internet. Still, it was pretty cool to find this amazing canyon in the middle of all those wheat fields.

"Panoramic" phone camera option

There used to be a trail where you could hike all around the canyon and the falls, but there have been a lot of deaths so that trail is now closed.

Which meant there wasn't really much for us to do there, and it was VERY HOT. We had thought about camping here, as there is a rustic campground. I think it would be fun to do, but the kids were not having it, so we decided to drive further and stop at a KOA campground instead. We found one with a pool and it was only $36.50 for the night. We were able to swim in an indoor pool with a hot tub, shower, do laundry, wash dishes, and connect to Wifi. Pretty good deal! However, the KOA Campground felt like it was in the middle of the city, right next to the highway, so it really didn't feel like we were out in nature like it would have at Palouse Falls. Still, we needed those amenities.

Road tripping! In this photo you can see the seat organizer we picked up at Walmart in the auto department. It has two square compartments so each kid on either side of it has a place to put stuff, and it also has two water bottle holders so that everyone has a cup holder. We bought everyone new double wall stainless steel water bottles before the trip.

I also bought a bunch of road trip "surprises" from the Dollar Tree and Five Below to help entertain the kids and break up the drive. On days where we are doing a long drive I hand out "blind bag" surprises. Small toys, stickers, activity books, candy, snacks, etc. I got Katy a packet of 295 princess stickers. She exclaimed "This is SO MANY stickers! This will last FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!" Spoiler: It lasted about 2 days. Haha!

Total Miles Traveled Today: 401
Total Miles Traveled on This Trip: 2594