By Request:

John, from My Viewfinder, asked for B&W versions of a couple of the shots posted Sunday. Well, if it is B&W you want, all you have to do is ask! I didn’t do B&W originally, because I was concerned about the somewhat muddle lighting. But I gave it a shot, What do y’all think?? :

Brrrrr....

Most of the country seems to be in a cold snap. I thought about posting something warm, from the archives, but thought I's stick with the theme....

A beaut of a Butte....

A short, cold, trip to Kamiak Butte, near Palouse, WA… I did a little hiking, stomping through the snow in my sneakers, with no hat or gloves. I only went partway up the Butte, I was slipping and sliding, and getting snow in my shoes. And more snow was predicted, I didn't want to to caught unprepared. Yet another addition to the “to do” list for whenever nicer weather arrives!

The lower part of the road was OK, but it turned snow-packed not far above this point
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There's a trail in there somewhere...

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Peeking between some trees, a view of the rolling hills of the Palouse.

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The sign by the road, tells you everything you ever wanted to know about the butte...

Old Grain Tower

Just a bit outside Pullman, WA, on the road (Rt 195) to Lewiston, ID.

Breathtaking...

Almota Grade, decending to the Snake River Valley, southeastern Washinton state

On The Snake

It was high around 40 degrees and sunny today, and I took a chance on another excursion. I was rewarded with a nice drive, some impressive hills and then a very cool spot. About 30 miles from Pullman, WA is Boyer Park, and the Snake River Trail. This is where the Lower Granite Lock and Dam creates Bryan Lake along the Snake River.

Saturday Drive

I thought it might be a decent day, nice for an explore through the Channeled Scablands… It got quite cloudy within 15 minutes of leaving, mid / high 30’s and threatening to rain… But it was cool, here’s some images:

First, just some more rolling hills in the Palouse, with lingering snow

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Snowblind...

I think I’ve seen more snow over the past 3 days here in SE Washington than I have in the past 3 years in St. Louis area. And it is supposed to snow more tomorrow… This is Sunday morning, looking across the hills right across the Idaho / Washington border (on the Idaho side).

Take The Water.....

Following Rt 95, south from Lewiston, you pass into the Nez Perce reservation. The road runs along the Clearwater River, where I found a spot to do a little exploring. I’ll need to go back when the weather is nicer…

Lewiston Hill

A cold, grey day, but still worth a trip to the hill above Lewiston ID. One of these days I'll get a chance to go there when the weather is nice...

It was raining someplace.....

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Partway down, looking up, and down:

Purple Montains Majesty

I was flying across the country the other day, and noticed a really cool scene out the window. I dug out my camera and snapped a couple images. Unfortunately I don’t know where this is. Probably an hour or so shy of Seattle, coming out of St. Louis.

Not too bad, INMO. Considering it’s from an airplane window. You can discern the vapor trail coming off the wing in the B&W image (about 2/3 of the way up)….

Southbound

I love the simplicity of Nature, and the gifts of small moments.... This was taken in my front yard, Christmas morning. I had stepped out for a break from the festivities. I heard the geese coming, and simply waited 10-15 seconds for them to appear… Of course, in a perfect world, I’d’ve used those seconds to check the camera settings. But I didn't, and the camera was on “Manual”, not “Automatic”. So the 8-10 pictures I fired off are mostly junk. I had to slap in a blue background to even make this one presentable. C’est La Vie, huh?? It was still a very cool moment, and I’m glad I was able to salvage this much of an image….