Latest Past Events

Lower Grand Coulee Field Trip

Soap Lake Senior Center 121 2nd Ave SE, Soap Lake

Monster Rock - Ephrata Fan Join Geologist, Mark Amara and Outing Coordinator Gene Wing of the Lower Grand Coulee Chapter for an exciting outing exploring the Lower Grand Coulee area. We will leave the Senior Center at 10am and drive South to the famous "Monster Rock" and the "Ephrata Fan area", Next we head North to the Lake Lenore area to see the Lenore Lake Monocline rocks and the Great Blade, and then we head North and do a short hike into the Deep Lake Potholes within Sun Lakes State Park and end the outing at the Dry Falls Visitor Center. Meeting Place: Soap Lake Senior Center, located at 121 2nd Ave SE, Soap Lake, WA 98851 Date: Saturday November 9, 2024 Start time: 10:00am More information: Contact Denis Felton Discover Pass is required

Cheney-Spokane Chapter Fishtrap Lake Scablands Hike

Fishtrap Lake South Loop

Fishtrap Lake, Washington (BLM Photo) Come join us for a 5-mile hike to explore the Ice Age floods features in the Fishtrap Lake area east of Sprague, WA! The Cheney-Spokane Chapter of the IAFI is scheduling a hike at the south loop trailhead of Fishtrap Lake on Saturday, October 26th . The hike will start at 10:00 a.m. The hike will be led by Don Chadbourne, geologist and board member of the Cheney-Spokane Chapter. You will meet the leader at the trailhead. Description of Fishtrap Lake Hike The hike will begin and end at the south trailhead at Fishtrap Lake. The hike will follow the south loop trail, with a total length of about 5.5 miles. The trail is mostly single track over dirt and rock, with an elevation gain and loss of about 500 feet. The hike will provide an intimate view of the channeled scablands that were carved out by the ice age floods. Features will include pothole lakes, rock benches, mima mounds, kolks, and streamlined and scarped Palouse hills. The hike will also provide wide open views of Fishtrap Lake and the surrounding country. This hike is included in On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods – Northern Reaches, by Bjornstad & Kiver. However, we will be following trails that were constructed after the book was published. Directions to the trailhead From I-90 take Exit 254 and proceed south 3.6 miles on the Sprague Highway. Turn left (east) on Miller Ranch Road and proceed 0.2 miles to the “T” at the Miller Ranch house. Turn right(south) and drive 0.8 miles to the trailhead parking lot. There is a vault toilet at the parking lot. (Google Maps Link: https://goo.gl/maps/9Zz7nwdwziMzHYh69 map coordinates: 47.33381100925525, -117.863529217959) Sign up for the hike on the iafi.org events website. The hike will be limited to 20 hikers. Items to bring with you: appropriate shoes, day pack, water, snacks, appropriate clothing for changes in the weather, sun protection, emergency items, camera and binoculars. Walking poles will be helpful. The hike is free; however, donations for support of Chapter activities will be accepted. For addition questions contact Don at 509-891-5875. A signed liability release form is required for each hiker. If you are able, please download the form and print a copy for each member of your group. Sign the form and bring it to the trailhead. (We will have extra copies on hand at the trailhead.)

Save the Date: 2024 Ritzville Flood Fest

Best Western Bronco Inn, Ritzville,WA 105 W. Galbreath Way, Ritzville

Join us for a weekend of lectures and sight seeing in Ritzville, Washington! There is a small block of rooms set aside at an event rate through the Best Western Bronco Inn (509) 659-5000, ask for the Ice Age Floods Tour rate when you reserve your rooms. $170* field trip fee– Registering as a non-Ice Age Floods Institute Member $150* field trip fee– Registering as a Ice Age Floods Institute Member. If joining now or renewing as an IAFI member, also include your IAFI Membership Application with your field trip registration, fees and liability release form. Please write one check to IAFIPF for registration and a separate check to IAFI for membership fee. $145* field trip fee – Registering as a Palouse Falls Chapter Ice Age Floods Institute Member (thank you for your support!) *FIELD TRIP FEE covers: 1) outstanding and knowledgeable field trip leaders, 2) a very detailed and well-illustrated Field Trip Guidebook, 3) delicious lunch, snacks, and drinks, 4) comfortable deluxe chartered bus with microphone system for lectures while in route, and 5) delicious Mexican banquet! -Friday evening: Dinner is on-your-own-adventure. Check-in located in the lobby of the Bronco Inn between 7 and 8 p.m., as well as after the FREE pre-trip lecture at 8:00p by Lloyd Stoess on the topic "Following the Course of the Columbia River" in the Bronco Inn meeting room. -Saturday: Check-in located in the lobby of the Bronco Inn between 7:15 and 7:45 a.m. FIELD TRIP LEADERS: Lloyd Stoess, Palouse Falls Chapter President and Dr. Eugene Kiver, Professor Emeritus Eastern Washington University. DESCRIPTION OF FIELD TRIP: This bus tour will revolve around Saddle Mountain with stops including Lind Coulee, Drumheller Channels, Corfu Landslide Complex, Corfu ghost town, Smyrna Bench, Vantage interbed exposure, Beverly Bar, Sentinel Gap, McCoy Canyon Landslide, Priest Rapids Bar, Saddle Mountain summit, Othello Channels, multiple exposures of the Ringold Formation, Collier Coulee, and the Staircase Rapids. ITEMS TO BRING WITH YOU: Binoculars, camera, sunglasses, and clothing for variable weather conditions. Snacks, drinks, and lunch provided. -Saturday evening: FREE post-trip lecture at by Gene Kiver on the topic "Bonneville Flood and the Snake River" in the Bronco Inn meeting room. Cancellation refunds will be made only if field trip registrar, Jacqui Hair, receives notice no later than September 22 and vacancies can be filled from a stand-by list. Registration and liability form are both available for download at this link.