Standing at the 2,785-foot Alpowa Summit, we wondered if Lewis and Clark were nearly blown off their feet in 1806 when they came through the hills near the Blue Mountains in southeast Washington.

Compass-wise, Pomeroy was to the west, Clarkston to the east, the foothills to the south and the Palouse to the north.

It was too windy to spend much time appreciating the flat, nearly treeless view, a plateau of wheat that was testimony to the determination of generations of farmers. Bodies slanted forward, our goal was the restroom, only to find that there was no escape from the cold whistling wind.

We were exploring some of the small towns of southeast Washington and part of Palouse Country.

COLTON

Colton, on U.S. 195, was named for the first and last letters of the names of settlers Cole and Worthington. Several hundred people call this area home, and about a third claim German ancestry.

A peek into Town Hall’s meeting space speaks to the numbers since its dozen white plastic chairs occupy an area smaller than some living rooms.

Outside is an old steam engine with orange wheels, once used in farming. Walk into St. Gall Roman Catholic Church (1905) and admire its stained glass windows.

Then follow U.S. 195 through Lewiston, Idaho, and Clarkston before turning west on U.S. 12.

WAWAWAI CANYON

If you’re looking for a place to stay in this area, consider the 3,000-acre Eaton Season Ranch located a few miles from the Snake River on Wawawai Canyon Road. It’s run by the fifth generation of Eatons, including Nikki and Joe and their three children. They have a small, recently built log cabin with two lofts near the bottom of Wawawai Canyon.

A trip outside to the log-cabin “outhouse” is not a chore since you’ll find electricity, a shower, toilet, sink and plush towels when you get there.

Between the ranch and the river is the 49-acre Wawawai County Park, known for its bird-watching opportunities. Wawawai (think Hawaii) means “council grounds” because three “wa”s means talk-talk-talk together. A one-mile loop provides stretch-your-legs space.

This was once one of the best orchard regions in Whitman County, which started with a single apple orchard in 1875. The town of Wawawai and orchards were removed when the river was dammed in 1975.

At the Snake River, turn west on U.S. 12 and drive between nearly barren hills. Soon the road leaves the river and eventually reaches Alpowa Summit.

Coming down the west side, the side show is a group of metal sculptures featuring an eagle with a fish in its talons, an alligator, a dinosaur and a shark.

PATAHA

A few miles shy of Pomeroy is Pataha, home to the three-story Pataha Flour Mills, which once had a reputation for the high-gluten content of its flour, much of which went to San Francisco to make macaroni.

The mill, started in 1878, made Houser’s Triple X Flour, shipped worldwide. It was the first flour with a patent in the United States. You might remember when Bugs Bunny was baking, he used a sack of flour with the XXX label.

The mill was closed in 1943. Now owned by the Van Vogt family, it has a downstairs gift shop and restaurant. But the magic is upstairs: For the most part, it is the same as it was when the mill was running. Go up the steps past the cribs that held the wheat. A branding-iron collection includes duck foot, goose egg, hoof and nail, one pipe and Rocking A irons.

But the main attraction is the antique collection that contains dozens of cameras dating back to 1915 (No. 4 Folding Pocket Kodak Model A 4x5). It includes a Polaroid 1948-53, Eastman Cine Kodak 8 (1947), Wirgin Reflex from Germany (1930s) and a tiny Univex Model A (1933) film camera.

The office has been kept intact, complete with the accounting ledgers, safe (originally from the Garfield County courthouse), Underwood typewriter and a jug for Tennessee whiskey.

Check out the grinders that processed 100,000 bushels of wheat a year (80 barrels of flour a day), a plane shifter suspended by wooden dowels, and other machinery.

POMEROY

Next stop: Pomeroy, a long and skinny town tucked between rows of hills.

One way to appreciate its history is to take the self-guided historic buildings and homes tour that includes the Garfield County Museum and Seeley Theater & Opera House.

The commanding Garfield County Courthouse (1901), some of which has been restored, has a Lady Justice statue holding the scales of justice and a sword atop the clock tower. The traditional blindfold was mysteriously left off.

On the edge of town is Holy Rosary Parish church, with the greens and browns of farmland providing a backdrop. Its bell was shipped from New York, around the Horn, and up the Columbia and Snake rivers, from where it was freighted to Pomeroy by horses in 1882.

Ready to head home but wanting to see more country and less civilization, we took U.S. 12 and S.R. 124 to the edge of Pasco, then headed northeast on the Pasco-Kahlotus Road.

The Juniper Dunes Wilderness was to the west but the late afternoon left no time to visit. Several miles outside of Pasco, a sign for the Flat Top Ranch perfectly described the landscape.

A stormy sky and late afternoon light provided photographic temptations: red barns, green-and-brown farmland, windmills, tractors plowing the fields, abandoned houses, an obsolete grain elevator and other Palouse Country sightings.

Travel writers Sharon Wootton and Maggie Savage are authors of “Off the Beaten Path: Washington” (Globe Pequot).