Douglas and Crystal Falls
May. 15th, 2021 11:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerInland Empire Travelog #4
Remote Northeastern Washington - Fri, 14 May 2021. 2:30pm.
This morning we drove around to a few waterfalls west and north of Colville and then circled back through town for lunch (see previous blog). With a satisfying lunch in our bellies we're now headed east and north from Colville to visit more waterfalls. So far we're "two for two" on the afternoon leg, an improvement over the misdirections we suffered this morning.
First up was Douglas Falls, in Douglas Falls State Park just a few miles northeast of Colville.
![Douglas Falls, Douglas State Park, Washington [May 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/720186/720186_original.jpg "Douglas Falls, Douglas State Park, Washington [May 2021]")
Washington has a pretty nice state parks system. There's lots of natural beauty to protect and feature in parks, and the state has provided a really convenient way to pay entry fees via automated kiosks. California has truly magnificent parks but relies on 1950s era technology of requiring visitors to stuff money in an envelope when there isn't a paid employee sitting there to collect payment. And the fee is generally some odd amount like $6. You either carry exact change or way overpay with a ten or twenty.
Alas this state park was so small, or so new— or both— that there was no kiosk. At least there was a "15 minutes free parking" area... which we abused by staying for almost 30 minutes. We're rebels, I know. 30 minutes was about all we needed in this compact little park. And given its remote location and the fact it's still a weekday, we had it all to ourselves. We might have stayed longer but we still had other places to visit and many miles to drive before calling it a day.
Next, as we continued driving northeast on state highway 20, was Crystal Falls.
![Crystal Falls, Pend Oreille NWR, Washington [May 2021]](https://ic.pics.livejournal.com/canyonwalker/33413618/720629/720629_original.jpg "Crystal Falls, Pend Oreille NWR, Washington [May 2021]")
Crystal Falls isn't a park. It's just... a falls you can see from the side of the road. There's a barely marked pullout on the side of the country highway. A flight of terraced steps leads to a viewpoint atop a natural rock outcropping with metal rails to keep people from falling into the gorge. Technically the area is the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge... or at least that's what I think it is. Again, this highway pulloff is barely marked! But it's a nice place. And again, we had it all to ourselves.
Remote Northeastern Washington - Fri, 14 May 2021. 2:30pm.
This morning we drove around to a few waterfalls west and north of Colville and then circled back through town for lunch (see previous blog). With a satisfying lunch in our bellies we're now headed east and north from Colville to visit more waterfalls. So far we're "two for two" on the afternoon leg, an improvement over the misdirections we suffered this morning.
First up was Douglas Falls, in Douglas Falls State Park just a few miles northeast of Colville.
Washington has a pretty nice state parks system. There's lots of natural beauty to protect and feature in parks, and the state has provided a really convenient way to pay entry fees via automated kiosks. California has truly magnificent parks but relies on 1950s era technology of requiring visitors to stuff money in an envelope when there isn't a paid employee sitting there to collect payment. And the fee is generally some odd amount like $6. You either carry exact change or way overpay with a ten or twenty.
Alas this state park was so small, or so new— or both— that there was no kiosk. At least there was a "15 minutes free parking" area... which we abused by staying for almost 30 minutes. We're rebels, I know. 30 minutes was about all we needed in this compact little park. And given its remote location and the fact it's still a weekday, we had it all to ourselves. We might have stayed longer but we still had other places to visit and many miles to drive before calling it a day.
Next, as we continued driving northeast on state highway 20, was Crystal Falls.
Crystal Falls isn't a park. It's just... a falls you can see from the side of the road. There's a barely marked pullout on the side of the country highway. A flight of terraced steps leads to a viewpoint atop a natural rock outcropping with metal rails to keep people from falling into the gorge. Technically the area is the Little Pend Oreille National Wildlife Refuge... or at least that's what I think it is. Again, this highway pulloff is barely marked! But it's a nice place. And again, we had it all to ourselves.
