The Palouse’s newest ice cream truck is hard to miss with its bright orange paint.

Moscow’s Ice Cream Jeep has been roaming around Moscow since early June with partners Matthew Greenwalt and Emily Payne in the front seat. 

The idea of starting an ice cream truck came from a family-friend as a joke, Greenwalt said.

“Then it turned into, well, when was the last time you saw an ice cream truck or heard an ice cream truck in Moscow? And with that, it was like, well, it might actually be kind of a valid idea,” Greenwalt said.

As Payne and Greenwalt have other jobs, the ice cream Jeep does not have a set schedule. 

They have typically driven around Moscow from 4 to 9 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, Greenwalt said.

Payne said they also sometimes drive on Saturdays.

Greenwalt said he started the ice cream Jeep as a side job because he farms full-time with his dad outside of Moscow, and Payne said she is a nanny who works part-time.

The two are selling prepackaged ice cream, including strawberry shortcake bars, chocolate eclair bars, ice cream sandwiches, king cones, push pops and popsicles, Greenwalt said.

When they drive the Jeep, they drive around without a destination in mind. They do not have certain neighborhoods they go to at a specific time, Payne said. Each day they go out, they typically stay in a certain area.

The two are hoping to get the ice cream Jeep on Grubhub so people can track them, Payne said.

They plan to run the ice cream Jeep until early October when the temperature starts to decrease, Greenwalt said.

So far, people have liked the idea of an ice cream Jeep filling the streets with the tune “The Ants Go Marching,” Greenwalt said.

The two have seen people come up to them who grew up with an ice cream truck and who have not seen one in a number of years. They have also served ice cream to children who have never seen an ice cream truck before.