Eastern Washington
 

Road trip this weekend. The Palouse is glorious country, beautiful and abundant.

Enjoy the ride!

This picture is of the Columbia river, looking west. The wind was up and there were *waves* breaking on the riverbank. The sun is streaming through a column of dust from a newly plowed field. Bzzzt. Strike that. Ten minutes after this picture was taken, we discovered the road closed, and helicopters carrying buckets of water westward. A fire across the road, and a 35 mile detour.

As I said, we were heading west, heading home. We were running into the weather, and as we neared the edge of the storm, we could see the sun shining again, out on the horizon.

Eventually, we gained that sunny horizon. Will you look at that green!

Very Nice - V

I like that first picture. Something about the lower half reminds me of an oil painting. The last one has some nice pastels in the background, contrasted with blown-out highlights in the middle and the dark foreground. That's some nice drive-by shooting.

Thanks, both of you. I took a couple of pictures from the riverbank. The mighty Columbia is majestic, awesome. I imagined the thoughts of the pioneers as they arrived at the water's edge after descending the eastern rise. "We're screwed." That is a *lot* of water. How did they cross? I'll have to look it up sometime.

Running out from underneath the weather was exhilarating, the landscape sprang into life! Pow! The grass is that green, if it is grass. It could be alfalfa, or something else. "drive-by shooting" captures it exactly. I like to stop when I can, but if I can't I try anyway. These two turned out ok.

Once we were in the clear, we looked back at the storm. This picture captures less than half the rainbow, a beautiful glowing double from horizon to horizon. Awesome!

Then, we pointed ourselves west again and drove off into the sunset.

Wow, the colors man.

Wheat and lots of it.

Different trip same state. I love these ponderosas. HLJ, this one's for you.

well.. one western one eastern.

What absolutely beautiful, postcard-perfect, pictures. Thanks for sharing!

Very nice photos BigV.

Most excellent, BigV. In the first picture in post #9, is that fog or smoke?

I've been in the Palouse when they burn the fields and that's a thing to see. Though I think that's only allowed on the Idaho side now.

P.S. Can you see yourself in the tuba picture?

Wonderful shots, V! Thank you for sharing them.

Canada too. Labor day weekend they burn all the fields, I've driven through it many times.

Shawnee said it BigV - I often send postcards to family when I want them to know I'm thinking of them, and your images are of that quality.

I found myself saying, "Ooooh the sky! The sky!"
(although I like the horns too)

Wow - beautiful.

less postcard-y more snapshot-y
 

Our campsite at Boyer Park below the lower Granite dam, on the Snake river, and the view from the campsite.

Nice!

What's with the gravel? Don't see that around here...

Amazing shots V, the first one and the wheat fields are my favorites. Really, really beautiful...

LR: The gravel is a good base for a tent. Unsurpassed drainage, so you don't have your tent in standng water, ,it's very easy to level so you don't slide down hilll... it's easy to define where you want pple to camp. right here! not tearing up the grass here and there and over there....
think of it as portion control for the rv park set. like a pad/hookup, just for tents. this particular park had ... a hundred rv slots and seven tent slots.
this wa sthe pick of the litter.
right ... no, fifty yards from the river. just lovely.

I could have pitched on the grass. it was quite dry, and flat. I mean level.. Iddidnt' check if it was flat. like no bumps.. .gravel was easier. espeically since I pitched the tent alone inthe dark with oly my headlamp at about midnigght after the football game.

SonofV was asleep in the car... I didn't have the heart to rouse him to pitch the tent. I did all the setup this time , shook him awake and led him to the sleeping bag after a quick stop to water the tree.

In wilderness camping I never get a layout like this. It's always primitive. This was .. .amenable to car camping. In fact, you can see the car in the second picture. It was just a couple steps.

Camping season is officially open though. I can't wait to get out into the woods. I **love** camping.

jinx:

thank you!


I love the Palouse. it is just achingly beautiful. I do especially like the last one with the mailbox.

I took over two hundred pictures, and wheat is in about three quartes of them. I have another small set that has some interesting features for the roadside geologists among us, but tomorrow. and lots of sky, the hills are endless. I never did get a shot I was happy with. I took several that would be stitched together... twentyfive pics for a 180 deg stitch. It looks good, but doesn't do it justice and unpostable here. It's a million pixels wide.. .well, reaaaaaallly wide.

I haven't been satisfied with many of the pictures I've taken in this area. Some are pretty, and these are among the best, but I assure you, they're pale imitations of some of God's most beautiful country.

Wow -- extreme envy on both your photographs and the trip. Really beautiful stuff, especially the rolling fields. I really like the very first image, too, because it has a strange, dreamlike feeling to it.

I can taste the green off that one farm image. Damn beautiful, sir.

Hey, Kitsune! You made it over to the Palouse!

Thank you for the compliments... Much appreciated.

by request
 

Magpie

WOW....I missed these previously....but they are seriously awesome V.

I love them, the colours and scenery....I'm gushing...I am....great photography.

More of east of the Cascades. Two shots of a beaver pond and dam. Not to mention some lovely fall colors.

Hazy woods

Contemplative woodsman

BigV, those make me feel like taking a hike.

Thanks.

HLJ, I feel the same way. I thought of you as I took many of these. I'm glad you enjoy them too.

Coincidently, I just received an e-mail from a friend with whom I've done a lot of backpacking. He sent me an article about a boyscout that was attacked by a bear in Pennsylvania's Hickory Run State Park, while sleeping. I told him that bears don't worry me, as I carry a chain mail sleeping bag cover. It weighs 65 pounds.

notfunny

SonofV preeeettyyyy scared of the bears in the woods. Refused to take snack at bedtime--"so I don't have a scent." Ok. Good idea. But don't let your fear of bears overwhelm your enjoyment of the woods.

He got over it.

btw, that chainmail is not gonna help you. Plate mail is what you want. Like a can or an iron lung. The chain still crushes.

Where I can, I try to use the triangular camp setup, where the cooking area, food storage area and tent form the triangle vertices, and no cooking or food is allowed in the tent.

Wow! These new ones are aweeeeesomeee

Looove the magpie