[Don]

Quark, in my speedy response last night, I forgot to compliment your EXCELLENT photographs! Oh, and I have no plans to allow my gear to be divied up in the near future, rest assured.

[Alan Bauer]

Admin Note: The contents of this post were lost in a database crash.

[ActionBetty]

Fantastic report, great photos and what a magnificent area That porcupine is soooo cute

[Quark]

Thank'ee Don, Alan, AB et al for the compliments. It's killin' me to not get to Central Washington this weekend, but next and the next and the next...I'll be out there somewhere... Road trips rule. I've never seen a porkypine before. Sure wish I had seen him.

[Don]

What a busy week! Anyway, here is my delayed contribution to Quark's excellent post. Quark cracks me up! Did I say that already? Oh. Sorry. First let me say that Alan forwarded me his pics of the pocupine entitled Porky. I was going to be witty and post my porcupine images under the heading of Porky's Revenge. But you know what? After image editing, I'm tired of looking at porcupines. Let's move on... I met Alan and Karen at the Tinkham...er...Preston park and ride, and the journey was on. I believe it was a 15 minute ride from Preston to Steamboat Rock State Park. Hey, that's what I remember. The time flew by so fast in conversation, I felt cheated. As we entered the park, Alan brought the truck to a halt, turned to Karen and I, and asked if that was a bird's nest or a porcupine. We said, "Huh?". He backed the truck up and it became obvious to all of us. Good catch Alan! That almost makes up for your late arrival at the Tinkham...er...Preston park and ride. Oh wait, that was me. We arrived at the TH parking lot to find Quark exploring the rattlesnake dens...er...hillside. I guess we impressed her with our attire. Chicks dig polypro. I didn't. I was sweltering 5 minutes up the trail. Friggin' ticks. So, here are some images I snagged along the way.

Steamboat Rock

.

Steamboat Rock

Clouds above Rocks

Clouds above Rocks

Ok, I have a little story with the last image. The bright color of the rocks in the field captivated me under the cloudy sky. I shot several versions of this image. I narrowed down the selection of which to post to two, and asked my wife to decide between them. She said, "Honey, it would be a nice shot if it weren't for those rocks in the picture." Sigh....

Hikers on Steamboat Rock

Yeah, here are some more of those rocks!

Hiker Rests Atop Steamboat Rock

Hikers on Steamboat Rock

Hiker on Steamboat Rock

Banks Lake

Steamboat Rock

Don