In the morning of our first full day in the Palouse, Fred and I decided to explore the area south of
Colfax. Afternoon found us back to where we'd started and continuing on north. The weather had
improved considerably from the morning's heavy overcast and light drizzle. A pleasant mixture of
cloud and periods of sunshine prevailed. On our way north up Hwys 27/271 I spotted this unique barn
and made a mental note for us to stop on the way back when the light was better. Tucked away down a
primative road, behind a small hill, it would be easy to miss. You had to be looking in the right
place at the right moment or you'd miss it all together.

Well the light was wonderful when we got back to the little barn so we turned onto the dirt road.
The Palouse is criss-crossed with hundreds of primative roads and if the weather is good, and you
don't mind the dust, we'd recomend spending the time exploring them. All the roads have big signs on
them, though, cautioning drivers to be aware of the potential dangers of driving these roads with the
disclaimer that you use them at your own risk. Well the primative roads we drove that weekend were
all fine--just dusty. Well this one proved otherwise. It was narrow with no place to pull over when
we reached the top of the hill where the barn was located, so Fred decided to drive a little farther
to find a place to turn around so we could pull into the driveway of the farm across the road and
park. We started down the hill on the other side and immediately started to lose control of the car
and 4WD wasn't much help. It was as if we were suddenly driving in the freshly plowed field in this
picture. Luckily for us, Fred managed to get back onto the firmer section of road by slowly backing
up the hill. They must have had a lot more rain here than the other places we'd been to that day and
the road hadn't had a chance to dry out. So if you're visiting the Palouse, please do explore the
primative roads, but heed the warning signs.

We saw hundreds of barns that weekend--each and every one different. I loved how this one was
perched high on a freshly plowed hill surrounded by the rich, dark, still damp soil.
Minor adjustments were made in PSCS2, digital 'polish' was applied, it was then resized for the web
and sharpened.