Oct 14 (Wed-day 69)
North Bend, Washington
Weather - intermittent showers and windy, low 38 high low 50s (+4 and 12C)
Clearing and sunny east of the Cascades



Our photographic day started in the Snoqualmie Valley, rainy and a bit breezy so decided to go east, just over Snoqualmie Pass. Carol (driving), Heidi, Racine and I scouted out two old coal mining towns and found lots of photo ops there: old signs, old buildings, and more.



Once we'd finished our tour of the towns we headed for the open fields, turned up a likely looking valley and started looking for turkeys. We found them by the scores! We estimated one group had 100 turkeys in it and when half of them flew, the sight and sound were spectacular, however getting a good flight shot was more than a bit tricky. First we had to have the right settings on the camera and second we had to be prepared for the event. We pretty much failed at both of them just another painful learning experience :-(



As we traveled up the valley the rain increased as the light diminished. Going up we saw another 60 or so turkeys and a few deer. When we reached the end of the county road and started back down the valley it got lighter and the rain let up a bit. Before we came out of the rainy area we were treated with the sight of a small cattle drive headed straight for us. We took lots of shots of the cattle, the driver in a slicker, the horses, and the cattle dogˇK.all soaking wet. After the cattle were all corralled the rain stopped, the skies lightened, the turkeys started showing up by the dozens and the deer and horses came out from cover.



Carol (super driver for short), drove by a bison ranch where we snapped a few shots. Later we drove the back way into Ellensburg where Racine was on the look-out for old signage on the buildings. The sun was out, the rain and clouds had disappeared and we still had some energy left, so we decided to go check out the California Big Horn Sheep in the Yakima River Canyon. We saw lots of sheep but they were quite distant, so the shots were not quite as good as those we took two days ago.



When we left the canyon we headed north to see a soccer game where Jack, Carolˇ¦s grandson, was playing. There were lots of photo ops and I had to admire the players because there was a brisk wind with quite a wind chill. I finally gave in to the cold headed for the car and a warm heater as the game was coming to an end.



We headed home after another fun filled day of shooting, returning well after dark with the cameras loaded with images. Oh and there was just enough time for some chit chat and a game of cards before we headed for bed. The adventure continues....



To see more of our Central Washington images click HERE



To read more about our travels click 'The Great Adventure 2009'