Pullman Summer: Dead Or Alive? Some Things Are Closed, But There’S Still Lots To Do

We peeked longingly in the window of a creekside antique store. The tiny historic brick building, filled with Palouse artifacts, was locked.

Not surprising, considering the posted business hours: Monday-Wednesday: Nine to Four. Thursday: Chance. Friday: Might Be. Saturday: Maybe. Sunday: Probably Not.

It was a summer Saturday. This was not our first encounter with “Closed” signs in Pullman. Ferdinand’s Creamery, home of Cougar Gold cheese and ice cream, was shuttered. According to the schedule on its Web page, the next weekend it would be open would be during football season. The Bookie, WSU’s student-owned bookstore, isn’t open summer weekends. And the market on Main Street seemed similarly chancy.

The weekend we visited, there were plenty of crafts and fresh flowers, but no produce. I heard the vendors wondering if the produce people would show up.

Fortunately, that was the extent of our disappointments. Nearly all the shops in the charming pioneer downtown were open, and my family poked around the hobby, craft and clothing stores, enjoying having the place nearly to ourselves. Our favorite was the Bruised Bookstore. In an uncharacteristic spending spree, the three of us bought 12 books, and we were only 60 bucks the poorer for it.

From downtown, we went back to check on the grizzly bears. Earlier that morning, we’d formed quite an attachment to Patches and Irv when we stood nose to nose with them and watched them wiggle their enormous snouts and taste our scent. Only a metal screen separated our faces from theirs.

“Up close and stinky,” I said.

These bears were just two of nine grizzlies housed at Washington State University’s Bear Research, Education and Conservation Program. When we’d arrived earlier, we hovered outside the pens watching a troupe of workers bustle around.

“You can come in if you want,” one of the workers told us. “Right through that door down there.”

We looked at each other with raised eyebrows, but gingerly made our way into the building, sure that we were not really supposed to be there. We tried not to get in the way as workers stretched hoses and doled out what looked like Purina Bear Chow.

“What kind of research do you do?” I asked the man who’d invited us in. “A lot of it is nutritional,” he answered. I later read that research topics have included the value of wild berries for fall fat accumulation and the importance of herbage in grizzly diets.

We stepped over the hoses and plastic tubs and around workers as we navigated our way to the outdoor enclosure. Here we encountered Olivia and Sampson, huge adult bears that watched us through the cage’s metal mesh almost as curiously as we watched them. Although we knew these were wild, dangerous animals, we melted at the sight of their fuzzy teddy bear ears.

The next pen held two small cubs. All of the bears studied in the program are either orphaned cubs that would not have survived in the wild or have been produced at the research center by resident bears. The bears are turned out in pairs to roam a two-acre pen.

We still felt like we’d been admitted behind the scenes only because we looked like such avid bear lovers, but as we left, I saw a sign that said the public is welcome to visit during feeding times on the weekends between 8 and 8:45 a.m. So much for being special.

When we returned the second time, Olivia and Sampson were eating in the meadow-like outdoor acreage. What were they munching so avidly? Salmon? Elk? Road kill? They were grazing on clover, for heaven’s sake.

Our interest in wildlife unabated, we buzzed over to the Conner Museum, a wildlife display covering much of the ground floor of WSU’s science building. The museum collection was initiated by former regent Charles R. Conner, who acquired the first specimens from the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair. More than 700 species are now on display, making it the largest public collection of birds and mammals in the Pacific Northwest. Of the eclectic mix of local animals and exotics, like the farflung spider monkey, our family favorite was the tiny baby porcupine. We also liked the Raptors of the Palouse exhibit, the regional songbird display and the owl collection.

Half a dozen other museums on the WSU campus include an herbarium, a petrified wood collection and a museum of anthropology. The only one open weekends (other than the Conner) is the Museum of Fine Art. A “Museums and Collections” brochure available from the Pullman Chamber of Commerce lists hours and locations (see sidebar).

The outdoors and nature are major themes in Pullman, so we visited the Lawson Gardens (a pretty, formal garden with reflecting pool and gazebo in an odd tract home setting) and then we strolled along the Bill Chipman Palouse Trail, a seven-mile-long paved path that connects Pullman and Moscow, Idaho.

Finally, we topped the weekend off with a drive up Kamiak Butte for one of the summer evening programs sponsored by Whitman County (held through July 31; see sidebar for details).

The folk music in the woodsy setting was great, and the playground there must be among the most scenic in the state, but the sunset drive through the Palouse hills was the real show.

With a little squinting to blur out the farmhouses, we had no trouble imagining wild grizzlies grazing on clover on those now-tamed green hills.

IF YOU GO: Pullman Pullman is about 80 miles south of Spokane, taking Highway 195 to Highway 270. Kamiak Butte is about 12 miles north of Pullman off Route 27. Info on attractions: For a booklet that gives details on the attractions mentioned in the story, request the “Choose the Palouse” brochure from the Pullman Chamber of Commerce, (800) 365-6948. Bears: The WSU Bear Program on the corner of Grimes Way and Airport Road welcomes visitors into the building during feeding times on the weekends, between 8 and 8:45 a.m. At other times, the bears are usually visible in their pens or in the enclosed meadow. (509) 335-1119. Butte: For details on Kamiak Butte Saturday Night Amphitheater Programs, call (509) 397-6238. Theater: For information on WSU’s Summer Palace, call the school’s ticket office at (509) 335-7236. Lentil Festival: Pullman will really come alive on Aug. 21 with the National Lentil Festival. Children will enjoy magicians, bubble blowing and face painting in “Lentil Land.” Plus, there’s a food court, a 5K run and an arts and crafts fair. Request info from the Chamber of Commerce, above. Lodging: We stayed at both the Best Western Heritage Inn (800-528-1234) and the Holiday Inn Express (509-334-4437). Both have great indoor pools, hot tubs, continental breakfasts and cozy decor. The Best Western has fun theme suites and the pool is open 24 hours, but the Holiday Inn Express has better cookies (served nightly). Rates start at $70-$80.