After a couple hours of waiting, spent throwing rocks, having stand-offs with rattlesnakes, and accidentally spooking an owl out of a hole, Great Northwest Railroad's "Ayer Turn" is seen rolling downriver past the massive steel grain elevators and barge-loading chutes at Almota, Washington. Barges have managed to take a considerable amount of grain traffic away from Northwest railroads over the years, but this rail line continues to survive by hauling a diverse range of products from the Lewiston-Clarkston region westward to the interchange with UP and BNSF at Ayer Yard.
