Lewiston - talk to me about the smell (Boise, Idaho Falls: house, college)

[AlisonA]

Being almost done with our two-year stint in Texas (taking care of family matters), we are excited to pack up and move north and west again soon - hopefully not too much later than the next inferno that is Texas summer arrives again in mid-May.

Before Texas, we lived near the Big Horns in Wyoming and LOVED it there. That area is definitely on our short list, but we are also looking at Idaho. We have visited Boise, Twin Falls, and Idaho Falls, and liked them all. We didn't have time to head north towards the Panhandle to check out those additional areas.

From all the pics and stuff I read here on C-D, CDA looks beautiful, but is probably a bit too pricey for us. Lewiston looks interesting, but I've read that the air is smelly. Is that true for all of Lewiston, or just certain areas? And is it all the time, or just certain times of day or times of year?

Thanks in advance for your insights!

[Molokai100]

I would be interested in this as well. This Sept. I drove from Pullman to the Clearwater Valley which kind of skirts Lewiston. You approach the Columbia River Valley from the north and then there is this big grade to get down into Lewiston. As soon as I could see the city I got a very unpleasant blast of foul odor even though miles away.
I imagine it must have been the prevailing winds but I was seriously wondering how anyone could get used to the stink although everyone I talked to said you get used to it.
A very beautiful area in that stark, eastern Washington kind of way. Interesting to see what locals folks have to say.

[Parnassia]

The smell is from the large paper pulp mills. Whether you smell it or not depends on their operation schedule and wind direction.

[banjomike]

It's interesting.
The folks who live in Lewiston I've talked to all say they seldom notice the smell.
While I've never lived there, I used to go to Lewiston a lot while in college in Moscow, about 25 miles north, and I've passed through the town even more times.
Sometimes there's no smell at all, and other times it's quite strong. Most of the time, there's a little whiff of the pulp mills that comes and goes with a shift of breeze.

Life there must be similar to Milwaukee, where the yeasty smell of beer was always present. Portland Oregon used to smell like that, as there was a big brewery in the middle of town, and after a few days, I found I anticipated the smell as I approached the area.

It was just how Portland smelled until the brewery closed down. My kids who live there didn't notice it like I always did.

Lewiston is a real warm spot, because it's at sea level, lying in a big canyon bottom. The town is a lot sunnier than most canyon towns, too. It lies right at the convergence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers, which makes the canyons quite spacious.

That confluence is the reason why the pulp mills are there. Lewiston was the natural spot for floating all the logs downriver to a mill for both rivers. The mills have been there forever, and Lewiston is also Idaho's only sea port. A barge can be pulled from Lewiston all the way to the Columbia and then on to the Pacific ocean.

It's the 2nd largest town in the panhandle; Coeur d'Alene is the largest. While the surrounding scenery isn't quite as impressive as CDA's, it's still pretty, and the town has really a lot of amenities because of its size. But at around 40,000 population, it's still small enough to have a small-town feel.

I like that Palouse region quite a lot. The Palouse begins at Lewiston and ends north of Moscow, and it's different terrain than the rest of the state, all rolling hills with fewer rocky mountains.

The soil that makes it unique is loess, a very fine, fertile soil formed by ancient huge dust storms that scoured all the topsoil off of somewhere in China and dumped it in Idaho during the last ice age. The loess is the best farm ground in the world, and it's quite rare. In the Palouse, it's up to 3 feet thick in some places.

[AlisonA]

Thanks, Parnassia and BanjoMike! It sounds like we need to take a trip up there to check it out for ourselves, since our extended family (all of whom will be relocating together) is comprised of folks with varying levels of olfactory sensitivity.

For me, the little bit of extra warmth and sunshine would be a huge draw. My husband LOVES cold weather; he's the guy who only puts a flannel shirt on over his short sleeves when the temps drop to 30*. But he is very interested in the bit about the great soil, as he is quite the gardener with a tremendous green thumb. Our place in Wyoming had a greenhouse that was always producing something, even in the dead of winter.

Our house will be going on the market in about 45 days, and we will wait till it is in escrow before we make another scouting trip out that way. For more reason than one, I honestly hope that will happen sooner rather than later, since I'd like to scout NID while it is still wintery, just in case there is any substantial difference from the Wyoming winters with which we are already quite familiar.

Thanks again!

[Keim]

As others have said: Every Lewiston resident I've met claims after a short while you don't notice the smell.

I've noticed it comes and goes depending on the vagaries of mill schedule and weather.

I'd disagree with BanjoMike. I think arguably Lewiston is prettier than CDA. Certainly in a different way. HUUUUUGE wetern vistas. And, if you drive up into Hells Canyon and check out the beaches and cliffs, its awe inspiring.

[banjomike]

Originally Posted by Keim

As others have said: Every Lewiston resident I've met claims after a short while you don't notice the smell.

I've noticed it comes and goes depending on the vagaries of mill schedule and weather.

I'd disagree with BanjoMike. I think arguably Lewiston is prettier than CDA. Certainly in a different way. HUUUUUGE wetern vistas. And, if you drive up into Hells Canyon and check out the beaches and cliffs, its awe inspiring.

No disagreement here!
I love the entire Palouse area, including Lewiston. Everything you say above is exactly how I feel too.

But Idaho has such bountiful beauty everywhere that, to me, my favorite place here is the one I'm most familiar with. While I could happliy live in Lewiston, or CDA, or Twin Falls, I know the Idaho Falls area so well it's simply the place I'm most comfortable in.

I'm just glad that I can still take a trip to re-visit some scenery in Idaho once in a while, and talking about Lewiston and all has got me yearning to see that country again. It's been too long since last I saw it.

[Keim]

Originally Posted by banjomike

No disagreement here!
I love the entire Palouse area, including Lewiston. Everything you say above is exactly how I feel too.

But Idaho has such bountiful beauty everywhere that, to me, my favorite place here is the one I'm most familiar with. While I could happliy live in Lewiston, or CDA, or Twin Falls, I know the Idaho Falls area so well it's simply the place I'm most comfortable in.

I'm just glad that I can still take a trip to re-visit some scenery in Idaho once in a while, and talking about Lewiston and all has got me yearning to see that country again. It's been too long since last I saw it.

I just spent the last weekend in Anatone at the top of the canyon, then driving down to Heller Bar. Gorgeous doesn't do it justice.

[pnwguy2]

I worked briefly as a young lad in Lewiston in 1978. I really like this area. Mild winters for Idaho, and the surrounding gorge-like scenery is stunning. Somewhat isolated, the nearest big city is Spokane, about 2+ hours north. But also nearby the college towns of Pullman, WA and Moscow, ID.

As for the smell...my understanding it is not as bad as it was when I lived there. (No sources on this one...) However, I can understand how some could get used to it, and maybe not even mind it.

[AlisonA]

Thank you Keim, pnwguy2, and BanjoMike for your additional input - so appreciate your time, and your individual perspectives.

We aren't city people (understatement), so getting back out to the less populated areas will be a huge relief. I didn't think anything was going to compete with our old stomping grounds along the east side of Wyoming's Big Horns, but Lewiston, CDA, and a few other Idaho spots are contenders, for sure.

Fortunately, there's lots to do to get the house ready to list in the next few weeks. That should keep me from too much drooling over the scenery pics in the meantime.

Thanks again!