George, the campground hosts told us LFSP officially closes the day after Labor Day, so I hope you're planning on a trip next year. Make sure your wife understands it's desert canyon country, not Glacier Park or the Canadian Rockies. That said, my wife and kids have enjoyed our visits there off and on since 1998 (I first visited the area in 1986). Sean was only three when we first brought him there; this time he was hiking around with me like one of the local mule deer, carrying his tripod and photo backpack.

Campsite fee is $17 per night, which includes hot showers. First-come first-served; no reservations that I'm aware of. We arrived Saturday morning Labor Day weekend and there were only three or four sites left. Most of the time, the park is not quite that full. I think some sites have RV hookups. The best sites are on the west side, facing Joso Bridge, with fine shooting of trains practically from your campsite. Plenty of shade trees, picnic tables, running water, etc. Sunsets are fabulous. Barges and paddlewheel cruise boats pass right by on the Snake. There's a beach on the Palouse River just across the highway. Soft, silty sand. Well, more like fine mud, probably soil washed down from the Palouse farm country. Across the Snake River, there's a marina that used to be a dump but is now a well-kept KOA campground and boat launch where you can buy gas ($4 a gallon, gas up at Ritzville instead!), ice, food, etc. They have a small restaurant that was pretty packed when we stopped in.

Trains give up old warrants and get new ones as they cross the short stretch of CTC between Joso and Ayer, so you can get a handle on what might be coming next. Great Northwest's Ayer Turn comes in on the low line from Lewiston late in the day and back east from Ayer around dusk Sunday, Monday, every other Tuesday, and Thursday or Friday.

I suggest visiting during late May or June, when the park is open, the landscape is still green, the days are long and not too hot, and there's no fire danger to prevent you from having a campfire or cooking with charcoal. There are mule deer, antelope, rabbits, and rattlesnakes to watch for. Oh yeah, military aircraft often come roaring down out of Palouse River Canyon on low level training flights. They used to be based out of Fairchild, but a camp host up at Palouse Falls S.P. told me most of these flights are now out of Whidbey Island.

Speaking of Palouse Falls S.P., it's just a few miles to the north; you'll pass its entrance on your way in from I-90. It has a few campsites, but none really offer a view of the railroad. The track is in a cut right along the edge of the campground, so on a cool evening you just walk a few feet and you're looking down at the glowing orange dynamic brake grids of units holding back unit grain or potash against the slight grade. The 200-foot waterfall is spectacular (especially during heavy spring runoff), and there are trails and viewpoints to the north and south where you can catch trains threading the tunnels or slicing through basalt rock cuts.