Tag Archives: Photography

Breezing Through The Palouse

Rural scenery in The Palouse area of eastern Washington north of Pullman

On the day we arrived in Pullman, Washington, the weather service had posted high wind warnings for the following day, with blowing dust, falling trees and all sorts of mayhem.  As if that wasn’t enough, when we checked in to our motel we found out that a group of National Guard troops were due to arrive the following day to set up a Covid testing site at the university.  Swell.

Rural scenery in The Palouse area of eastern Washington north of Pullman
Rural scenery in The Palouse area of eastern Washington north of Pullman
Rural scenery in The Palouse area of eastern Washington north of Pullman
Rural scenery in The Palouse area of eastern Washington north of Pullman
Rural scenery in The Palouse area of eastern Washington north of Pullman

For those who don’t already know, The Palouse is a distinct geographic region encompassing parts of north central Idaho, southeastern Washington, and, by some definitions, parts of northeast Oregon.  It has become a destination for photographers from all over due to the rolling hills that come alive in the spring and fall when this fertile land produces a mix of deep greens and brilliant yellows.  Our visit was past the peak time, so for the most part we saw fields of wheat contrasting with areas that had already been harvested, so instead of green and yellow we had yellow and brown.  It still made for some interesting photographs!

Rural countryside along SR 26 in southeastern Washington
Rural countryside along SR 26 in southeastern Washington

I had dismissed The Palouse as one of those photographic cliches that “everyone” does, like the slot canyons in Arizona or the “Boneyard” in South Carolina.  And in many ways it is exactly that.  If you are there at the right time and in the right light, all you really need to so is point the camera at something and press the button.  But the interesting thing is that it isn’t that easy!  In order to make a personally interesting photograph you need to work at it.  Yes, I took a bunch of photos, but when it came right down to it I ended up with only a handful or two of truly “special” photos.

Rural scenery along US-195 near Uniontown, Washington
Rural scenery along US-195 near Uniontown, Washington

We had only planned to spend two nights in Pullman anyway and were prepared to make the most of our time, so we set out in late afternoon of the first day to explore the countryside.  We had no difficulty finding photogenic scenery!  The biggest difficulty was that most of the roads through the countryside are dirt and gravel.  And the dirt is not what we find here in the east.  Because the soil is so rich and fertile, the dirt can be more like a fine talcum powder, and it gets into everything.  Fortunately I didn’t have to change lenses in the field so I didn’t have that to worry about!  The car, however, was a mess!

The next day we had planned to head to Steptoe Butte, a state park with a high point that is supposed to be ideal for photographing the surrounding countryside.  But when we got up in the morning, the winds had arrived as advertised, so we decided to skip Steptoe, reasoning that the higher elevation would make it a very unpleasant place to spend a wind storm.  So we headed west and south toward the Snake River Valley.

Blowing dust along SR 261 near Palouse Falls State Park in southeastern Washington
Railroad trestle across the Snake River near Perry, Washington

How windy was it?  Well, they actually closed I-90 due to dangerous crosswinds and blowing dust.  And on the country roads we were traveling, it got to the point where I had to turn off the car’s anti-collision system, because every time a tumbleweed would blow across the road in front of us the car would slam on the brakes as though it was an object of some sort.  Scary, especially if someone had been behind me!  Fortunately there was hardly anyone else on the road, so it was no big deal.

Little Goose Lock and Dam along the Snake River near LaCrosse, Washington
Little Goose Lock and Dam along the Snake River near LaCrosse, Washington
Fish ladder at the Little Goose Lock and Dam
Fish viewing area at the fish ladder of the Little Goose Lock and Dam

Down along the Snake River, things were a bit less windy and not so dusty.  We stopped at the Little Goose Lock & Dam near LaCrosse, where we talked to one of the biologists there and toured the fish ladder and viewing room.  We saw several species of fish, including Chinook Salmon, swimming through.

“Wheel Fence” at the Dahmen Barn along US-195 in Uniontown, Washington
“Wheel Fence” at the Dahmen Barn along US-195 in Uniontown, Washington
“Wheel Fence” at the Dahmen Barn along US-195 in Uniontown, Washington

I definitely felt that The Palouse was worth the time and effort to go there.  And I’d love to go back sometime and spend more time out and about.  The trick will be to try and find “different” subject matter.  There’s nothing wrong with photographing the rolling countryside, but there is a lot more there too.  It’s just that the countryside is right there in front of you, and makes it a little hard to look for other things.

Rural countryside along SR 26 in southeastern Washington

Update 10/27/20: I’ve added a gallery of more photos on my Adobe Portfolio site for anyone who wants to see more.

Yellowtail Dam – Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area

Yellowtail Dam in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Montana near Fort Smith

Even though Kathy & I had considered Wyoming and Montana to be “visited” in terms of our 50 state quest, we knew that we had short-changed both states on our previous visit.  Since we needed to traverse both of those states on our way to the west coast, we decided to rectify that shortfall with a few more stops.  Bighorn Canyon National Recreation fit that bill, as it straddles the border between both states.

Yellowtail Dam in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Montana near Fort Smith
Yellowtail Dam area in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Montana near Fort Smith

The southern end of the park lies in northern Wyoming, and was the subject of my previous post.  There are more places that we didn’t get to due to time constraints, and we spent the better part of a day on the northern end of the park, in southern Montana.

The upper side of Yellowtail Dam and reservoir.
The upper side of Yellowtail Dam and reservoir.
The upper side of Yellowtail Dam and reservoir.
The upper side of Yellowtail Dam and reservoir.

Yellowtail Dam is another one of those places that you can’t really appreciate until you have seen it.  I’ve not been to Hoover Dam or Glen Canyon Dam, but this is certainly the biggest dam I’ve ever seen!  An exchange I had on Instagram with Paul Maxim describes the relative size of some of the “famous” dams in the US:

Yellowtail is 525 ft. tall and 1480 ft. wide. Glen Canyon is 710 ft. tall and 1560 ft. wide. So Glen Canyon is bigger (185 ft. taller). But the only dam in the U. S. bigger than Glen Canyon is Hoover Dam, which is 726 ft. tall. All of them, of course, are big. We’ve got nothing in the east that comes close!

The park is surrounded by Crow Indian land, and there are several references to Crow history throughout the park, including the remains of a medicine wheel that we didn’t get to.

Exhibit describing the role of the medicine wheel in Crow Indian culture and history.
Exhibit describing the role of the medicine wheel in Crow Indian culture and history.
Exhibit describing the role of the medicine wheel in Crow Indian culture and history.

It is rugged and scenic territory, and with all the red rock and lack of trees, far different from what we see in the east, or even in other parts of Wyoming and Montana.  Another example of how unique but also how uniquely beautiful the different parts of our country can be.

Yellowtail Dam area in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Montana near Fort Smith
Yellowtail Dam area in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Montana near Fort Smith
Yellowtail Dam area in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Montana near Fort Smith
Yellowtail Dam area in Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in southern Montana near Fort Smith

An Unexpectedly Scenic Drive

Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming

One of the things that maps don’t always tell us is what the terrain is like on a given road or in a given town.  We’ve been surprised by this numerous times when we get to a place and it is either hillier than we expected or not hilly at all.  One such place came up on our drive through Bighorn National Forest in Wyoming.

Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming
Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming
Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming

We had spent the night in Rapid City, SD and wanted to get to Billings, MT via Lowell, WY in order to see the southern section of the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation area, which stretches from Fort Smith in southern Montana, where the Yellowtail Dam is located, to Lowell, WY, the southern end of the reservoir.  That route took us on 60-ish miles of Alt-US 14 – known as the Bighorn Scenic Byway – through Bighorn National Forest, from near Sheridan, WY to Lowell.  And I have to say that it was one of the most stunning drives of any I have ever taken, including Trail Ridge Road in RMNP.  The terrain was rugged and beautiful, the road was wide and smooth, and the views were amazing.  In hindsight, that might have been a bigger highlight than Lowell, but at the time, who knew?

Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming
Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming
Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming

How rugged is the country in Bighorn National Forest?  The road is closed in the winter, as the elevation reaches 9,033 feet at Granite Pass.  That’s getting up there, as the highest point on our side of the Mississippi is a “mere” 6,684 feet (Mount Mitchell in NC).  By comparison, the elevation difference between the valley near Dayton, WY to Granite Pass is nearly that whole amount – almost 6,000 feet!

Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming

I hadn’t paid much attention to this area before, but now that we’ve been there I am anxious to get back.  There are a lot of interesting things to see and do in the area.  Perhaps a few days in Sheridan on our way to or from Yellowstone or Grand Teton, when we decide it’s time to visit that part of the country again.

Scenery along Alt US-14 through the Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in North central Wyoming

 

 

Wide Open Spaces

US 183 in north central Nebraska

Kathy & I have been a little surprised by the questions and comments we’ve gotten from people since we returned from our western road trip.  Questions like, “did you have any trouble finding places to stay?”  “Where did you eat?”  “Are there a lot of people on the road?”  And comments that begin with phrases such as “One of these days…” and “When this is all over…” and “If it’s ever safe to travel again…”  Yeesh.  Of course we’ve gotten our share of “Good For You’s” and “That’s Great.” and we really appreciate that.

US 183 in north central Nebraska

When we tell people that we were in Oregon, we sometimes get a shocked look and some kind of question about “how bad was it?”  The News would have you conjure up images of us driving down some rural highway with flaming trees falling across the road as we passed.  Yes, there were fires nearby.  “Nearby” as in 40-50 miles and in another valley and over a ridge or two.  Yes, there was sometimes a lot of smoke and at times it got stinky.  The fires have been devastating for a lot of people, but for those of us just passing through it was just an inconvenience.  Mostly it was like driving in the fog.  Yes, in some towns the restaurants and wineries with outdoor seating had decided to close.  Who wants to eat or taste wine in the smoke?  But there was plenty to see and do and we just had to adjust a bit.  There is nothing like a road trip to teach you to be flexible!

US 183 in north central Nebraska

My message is that the world is still out there.  It’s a big country, and you don’t have to sit at home and watch The News telling you how bad things are.  Everything – or just about everything – is open.  We stayed away from the “famous” places like Yellowstone and Glacier, mostly because this trip was not about seeing those places.  This trip was specifically intended to take us off the beaten path.  We’ll get to those famous places at another time.

Passing Zone

Restaurants on the road are operating just like they are at home.  We carried a cooler with breakfast and lunch, to give us the flexibility to not have to go in search of food in the middle of nowhere.  Hotels have scaled back their services a bit but they welcomed us everywhere.  Gas is readily available everywhere and we had very little trouble finding a restroom when we needed one.

US 183 in north central Nebraska

Not everybody has the travel bug but we do.  And if you do, this is really not a bad time to travel by car.  Trains, buses, planes and cruise ships?  Not yet.  But car?  No big deal.  It’s fall color time – get out there!  Figure out how you can travel in a way that makes you comfortable and go.  Try an overnight, a weekend or a week.  But go!   Someday is today, and times a-wastin’!

US 183 in north central Nebraska

Random Thoughts After Our Recent Travels

Former camera store – long closed – in downtown Billings, Montana

We traveled a total of 8030 miles in 24 days, and I took 4,459 photos for 168GB!

We saw rain on the first day and the last day, and very little in between.  We had one very windy day in Washington, and we saw lots of smoke – way too much – in Oregon.  Otherwise the weather was very pleasant, not too hot, not too cold.

We live in a beautiful country.  There is something for everyone, and the scenery changes by the hour.  Except perhaps in Kansas, where it changes a bit more slowly.

Cape Girardeau River Tales Mural along the Mississippi River in Cape Girardeau, Missouri

It’s interesting how you can tell when you have entered a new state.  It’s not an immediate change, but if you took a picture before and another after about an hour, you can tell.

People ain’t staying home!  The roadways and motels are all pretty full, especially the interstate highways.

Evening in downtown Ogden, utah

In most places, people were well behaved, doing all the disease prevention stuff and generally staying away from each other.  Hotels have used Covid as an excuse to not clean your room or provide breakfast, but as long as we can get coffee that is perfectly OK with us.  Chain hotel breakfasts are usually not that good anyway (except sometimes the waffles!).

We have generally been avoiding “chain” restaurants for several years.  But a few times, due mostly to convenience and location, we found ourselves at a few chain restaurants – Red Lobster, Outback and Rafferty’s to name a few.  They were OK and we didn’t get sick or die!  We still avoid “fast food” except to pee.

Mostly with eating out is that you just need to think about where you are.  For example, don’t try to order fish in Nebraska or Montana – they know beef and pork.  In Washington or Oregon?  Chinook salmon in Washington is amazing, plus they have freshwater walleye and trout – no problemo.  In Montana?  No fish.

Carrying our own food and having most breakfasts and many lunches on the road saved us time and money, and by avoiding all those restaurant meals we each gained less than 3 pounds, a miracle for us.

Near the Perrine Memorial Bridge over the Snake River in Twin Falls, Idaho

We saw lots and lots of RVs and travel trailers of all sizes, shapes, speeds and apparent driver ability.  It’s a little scary that people who can’t pull their Buick into a parking place straight are now driving tour bus-sized behemoths.

It’s interesting that in many cases the larger the motor home or trailer, the more crap that was hanging off the back or on top or in a vehicle being towed behind.  Boats, 4-wheelers, golf carts, motorcycles, bicycles, etc.  I guess people are trying to prove that you can take it with you after all.  How about just taking less stuff?  Hauling all that crap around is not my idea of getting away from it all.  But I guess that’s not the point.

Despite all the RVs on the road, all across the country we saw dozens of sales lots with hundreds of units sitting unsold. Plus many more storage centers with units sitting in storage.  Who has that kind of money to just let stuff sit around?

We saw nothing to convince us to buy an RV.  Or to get a dog.

Public Library in Cannon Beach, Oregon

As is often the case, the famous places (which we avoided) are packed with people while the less famous places are empty. We were literally the only visitors we saw at Fort Larned National Monument and George Washington Carver National Monument – both in Kansas, which might explain something.

Sign at a restaurant in Valentine, Nebraska

Thank goodness for US Highways.  No trucks, virtually no cities, lots of passing lanes and 65-75 mph speed limits.  We use them whenever we can.

Happy Day Rock found near Short Bridge covered bridge on High Deck Road over the Foster River near Foster, Oregon

I don’t know what they’re hauling, but there are many more trucks on the road than I ever remember in previous travels, especially on the main interstates between major cities.  Between the trucks and the RVs that can’t or won’t maintain the speed limit, driving the highways can be nerve-wracking.  But we managed!

Evening in downtown Ogden, utah

An informal poll of people willing to put up political signs gives a decided edge to the incumbent.  No conclusions can be made of this data, as the margin of error of this poll is +/- 50%

It’s amazing how much better things seem when you stay away from the news!

National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky
Along US-20 near Foster, Oregon

The Barn That Talked To Me

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

Kathy & I had just left our motel in Hayes, Kansas and were speeding down the highway when I spotted this barn alongside the road.  It had a very interesting character to it, the light was beautiful and I knew immediately it would make a nice photograph.  But I didn’t stop.

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

I don’t know how it did it, but soon after I passed the barn I started hearing this voice.  It said, “hey dumba$$, come back here and take my picture.”  It took nearly 2 miles, but eventually I started slowing down and told Kathy, “I’m going back.”

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

As I was walking back to the car the farmer drove by in his pickup.  I waved at him and he waved back.  Maybe he had heard the voice, too. 😉

Old barn along US-183 near La Crosse, Kansas

A few days earlier I had passed another barn in Colorado where there was no safe place to pull off the road, and I stewed about it for a long time.  So I didn’t really want to pass this one by.  But I was already in “Get There Mode” and almost let it go.  I’m glad I didn’t!

Happy 104th Birthday, National Park Service!

Sunset from Morton Overlook, Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN

“We must take all resources under consideration; all resources, because they relate fatefully to our life on earth, reflect certain grandeurs , and deserve not only our attention, but our reverence. Hence, while it is as essential as ever to protect the National Parks and Wilderness Areas, it is also essential that we protect the forests, the crops, the minerals, and the oceans, and it is essential that we preserve the purity of the air we breathe and the water we drink.” – Ansel Adams

A Recalibration of Compromises

Big Meadows area of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Kirk Tuck recently used this phrase in regards to making choices between camera options, specifically about different lenses.  The full quote follows:

The “science” of optical design can not have changed a tremendous amount in four or five years so you have to understand that the “new versus old” shift is largely a recalibration of compromises. Buy the new one and watch your left biceps atrophy. Buy the old one and suffer the dreaded effects of manual portage. Suffer the ruinous added weight of the original for the extra 1% of quality in the corners or choose the lightweight version and forever wonder how much optical magic they had to remove to get the lens corpulence under control.

It occurred to me, however, that the concept applies in a much broader context, especially in recent months.

Every decision we make requires some effort to balance the options, to compromise.  Do I want the camera with the big sensor that is huge, heavy and requires a large suitcase to cart around, or am I better off with the compact camera with a smaller sensor, small but excellent lenses and “good enough” image quality?  We want to travel – we love to fly but not not any time soon.  We have spent a lot of time on cruise ships but won’t for a while.  Our trip to the beach worked out really well – just like living at home but with better scenery. 😉

We love to eat our but have limited our restaurant outings.  We’ve gotten even better at preparing simple but delicious meals at home – much to the delight of the bathroom scale!

Kathy and I are currently in the process of planning a road trip to the Pacific Northwest.  The places we’re planning to visit are the places where we’re less likely to encounter big crowds.  As crazy as it sounds, we’ll probably drive within a few miles of Yellowstone or Glacier National Parks, but have no intention of stopping.  First, crowds are not our thing.  We probably would be doing pretty much the same thing even without all the Coronacrisis hoopla.  But second is that we don’t want to have to deal with the logistics of large crowds.  Third is that when we do go to those parks we want to be able to spend several days or even a couple of weeks there.  That isn’t the plan for this time.

Our recent drive to Ohio and Wisconsin taught us that we can eat, sleep, pee and get gas just about anywhere.  Sometimes it requires a little compromise on location or timing, but it can get done.  Ultimately, once we solve that basic equation we can go just about anywhere!

People ask us why we don’t buy an RV.  For some people it’s the perfect solution.  For us, we like knowing that when we get to the motel, tired after or driving or exploring all day, we don’t need to spend another hour setting up camp.  I can have cocktails made within minutes after arrival!  And the next morning, we grab a cup of coffee, drop the keys at the front desk and get on our way again.  Neither option is right or wrong, just different ways to calibrate the compromises.

None of our choices are either/or or yes/no.  We need to consider what we can do instead  We have to look at the options and recalibrate our compromises.  Our priorities, if you will.  It can be hard, particularly for those of us who don’t care for change.  But the effort is worth it, because there are still plenty of things to do once we have worked out the details.

Big Meadows area of Shenandoah National Park, Virginia

Reprocessing Old Photos – Glacier Bay 2005

NEW VERSION: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

I’m going back through my old photos for a website update.  This one is already on my website, but I thought I would see what the current software (and my current Lightroom chops) could do with some of the files.  This is the first one I’ve tried this go-around, and I think I’ve made significant improvement.

I made a Snapshot in case I messed something up, then hit Reset.  Using the Adobe Landscape profile, I went though my usual routine with contrast, etc.  I added a gradient to the sky, using a Luminance Mask to apply the settings only to the lightest parts.  Overall contrast and saturation is much better, which is hard to see in the web versions.

It will be interesting to see what I can do with other files.  This may take a while…. 😉

Canon 20D w/17-40 f4

PREVIOUS VERSION: Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Roadside Finds: Jasper, Indiana

Historic train depot in Jasper, Indiana

Our first overnight stop on the return home from Wisconsin took us to the town of Jasper, Indiana.  We chose Jasper primarily because it was just about the right distance for the day, but also because it looked like it had an interesting downtown area for us to check out.

Historic train depot in Jasper, Indiana
Historic train depot in Jasper, Indiana

I was initially attracted by the fact that Jasper has a train station, but we noted that the train station was an anchor for a new mixed-use development called River Centre.  A brand new Fairfield Inn sits along the Patoka River and is connected to the Jasper Riverwalk, a 4.5 mile multi-purpose trail that connects several businesses and restaurants, and winds through a scenic section along the river.

Fairfield Inn & Suites in Jasper, Indiana
Fairfield Inn & Suites in Jasper, Indiana
Fairfield Inn & Suites in Jasper, Indiana

Across the river from River Centre and connected by a very nice steel bridge is the historic Jasper City Mill.  The current mill building is a replica of a mill that was established on the site in 1817 and was in operation until 1933.  Among the customers of the mill is said to have been Thomas Lincoln and his son Abraham Lincoln, who bartered goods for corn meal in 1828.

Jasper City Mill in Jasper, Indiana
Jasper City Mill in Jasper, Indiana

We got into town late and left early, and it was a Sunday so not too many businesses were open.  But we got a good look at the town – enough to determine that it would be worth a re-visit.  It is “on the way” to a lot of places we hope to visit, so we will be sure to add Jasper to the itinerary on a future road trip!

Jasper City Mill in Jasper, Indiana