In the remote land of the Palouse ....

I'VE traveled most of the west, but until this out-of-the-way trip (October 2016), I'd never been to this area -- the Pullman, Washington and Lewiston, Moscow, Idaho region.
Sandwiched between Interstate highways that run far above (I-90) and far below (I-84), there are just two-lane roads that access this area, that I consider remote and isolated from mainstream travel.

                                                 The Pullman YMCA.

Yes, much of the center of Idaho is wilderness and lacks roads, but of the hard-surface road accessible portion, this is as remote as it gets here.
Spokane is more than an hour's drive north. Boise is more than 5 hours drive to the south.

It is also amazing that 2 major universities -- the University of Idaho in Moscow -- and Washington State University in Pullman -- are only about 8 miles apart -- and exist is towns about 30,000 each in population.
(IF you live in this area, it may not seem so remote, but excepting WSU and UI, there's little reason why you would go here ... It is a fairly nice area, lots of space and privacy ... )

                                              Downtown Pullman

                        The Kibbie Dome at the University of Idaho.

Another amazing factor here are the low elevations.
Lewiston, Idaho and Clarkston, Washington are just across the Snake River from one another -- but they exist at an elevation of just 750 feet above sea level!

                         The Snake River from the Clarkston, Wa. side, looking to Lewiston.

Even Pullman, Wa., is only about 2,300 feet above sea level.
That may not sound impressive in eastern U.S. geography, but Boise, Idaho is only about 2,000 feet above sea level and much of southern Idaho is in the 4,000-plus foot range.
AND, in my home state of Utah, no town is lower than 2,800 feet above sea level (St. George).

                          A mountaintop view found north of Pullman.

                                            Moss on a fence pole.

This is also the land of the Palouse.

And, leaving Lewiston to the north requires a steep drive up Lewiston Hill -- a 1,700-foot climb in 5 miles or so.
(Beware of low clouds here, creating foggy conditions at times on this crucial highway.

                Peering down into Lewiston with low clouds around.

--Accessing Lewiston from Boise northward requires a long mountain drive -- including climbing the unforgettable White Bird summit, where vehicles rise 2,700 feet in just 7 miles -- with a speed limit of 55-65 mph.

Missing the Eastbound I-80 turnoff at Sacramento

                                                   Eastbound I-80 in Nevada.
YOU'VE heard of making a wrong turn ... How about NOT making a RIGHT TURN literally and figuratively?

During an August 2016 drive from San Francisco to Reno and beyond on I-80, I didn't turn off as a should have.
In what is actually an unusual situation, I-80 eastbound at Sacramento requires a right-hand turn off the current road (and up and over a ramp to the northwest) to remain on I-80. Otherwise, the current road turns into California Highway 50, eastbound to Lake Tahoe, with little additional signage.
If you look closely at highway maps you can see this requirement, an important one to stay on the correct road.
But there are not a lot of prominent signs to spot before the turn.
As I sailed past the correct turn I thought I saw a Reno sign on a ramp headed over the highway, but at 65 mph, there's little time.
The rest of my family in the vehicle was oblivious -- either sleeping, or playing or texting on their cell phones and missing and sights to behold.
I didn't fully realize I was on the wrong road until "Freeway ends" signs appeared near Placerville.
As it turned out I went to Lake Tahoe and then had to head north to Truckee and I-80. That missed turn probably cost me 90 minutes and Lake Tahoe was somewhat hazy that morning and not its usual perfect blue self.
Also, I had turned down needing to use a GPS to guide me that day, as I didn't believe it was possible to get lost on I-80.
It is, though, if you miss just one sign ... Don't make my mistake.

Hollywood Sign hike probably not worth the effort ...

THE Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles might seem like an attractive hiking destination. However, be warned! There are lots of inaccurate directions and plain wrong hiking lengths on various Internet sites out there about such a hike.
Also, you can't actually hike to the sign, you end up just above it and to the side -- not an appealing photo angle or ideal destination.
In addition, fairly often it seems like either fog or smog -- or both -- may significantly hamper views during a Hollywood Sign hike.
The day I was in the area (August 2016), it took until late morning before the smog/haze burned off enough to even see the Hollywood sign clearly from the Griffith Observatory..
I HAVEN'T actually hiked to the sign. I wanted to, but was curtailed by totally wrong hiking information on several slick, seemingly accurate Web sites. They appeared very reliable, but when I arrived in the actual starting area, it was plain to see they were plain bogus.
What I had read was that it was only 1.5 miles one-way to the sign and that the Griffith Observatory parking lot was the best trailhead, 
As it turns out in fact, the distance from the parking lot at the Observatory is almost 4 miles away or over 7 miles roundtrip. (see official sign below as proof.)

-There apparently is in a residential neighborhood under the sign, a starting point where it actually is just 1.5 mile of a one-way hike to get an off angle view just above the sign. The problem with this:  you have to be hiking super early (by 6 a.m. or so) in the morning and your vehicle gone by 8 A.M. OFF THAT STREET  to avoid a parking fine.
Given the fog or haze early in the morning for many days a year, this is also not an ideal situation either.
--Personally, I'd just drive to the Griffith Observatory and enjoy that view from the grounds. (However, some music events in the area can jam pack the Observatory road some evenings.)

Hearst Castle is the manmade gem of the California Coast

ON my August of 2016, 2,150-mile driving trip to California from Utah, the Hearst Castle was my high point. I had always mistakenly believed it was simply a “Castle.” I had no idea of all the vast and diverse artwork therein. I doubt all but a handful of the world’s museums can match what resides inside and on the grounds of Hearst Castle. A 2,000 BC Egyptian sculpture and far too many others to name. For just $25 a person for the Grand Rooms tour, the value was also a bargain. Kind of ironic too today, that a newspaper kingpin could amass so much money back in the first half of the 20^th Century.

(I was upset though, that at one point on the Castle tour, the guide specifically mentioned that “publishing” any photos taken on the tour was prohibited without getting permission to do so. What? I don’t believe legally they can really say that on a tour that’s open to the paying public – plus in this era of social media and blogs – what does “publishing” really mean now? Purely an outrageous statement to make ….)

-Also, with a massive wildfire raging off the Big Sur Highway, I had few views to enjoy on that drive, thanks to smoke.

                              Lone Tree along the Pebble Beach Drive.

-The 17-mile Pebble Beach Drive was also surprisingly more than worth the effort and $10 a car.

                      A northern viewpoint on the Pebble Beach Drive.

-Low point of my trip was San Francisco. Far, Far too much of a crackerbox/sardine can for my taste. The Golden Gate Bridge seemed overrated to me, but my son, Steven, who lives there put together a one-day whirlwind tour of S.F. 

                                        San Francisco

(Give me Yosemite or the Oregon Coast any day over S.F., or any big cities for that matter.)

-For more information on Hearst Castle, go to: www.HearstCastle.org.

-For more details on the 17-Mile Drive at Pebble Beach, go to:

pebblebeach.com

--ALL above photographs by Lynn Arave.