Today I met with family (at a distance) east of Seattle, and drove back a different back way than I usually do. Since this left me with little to publish, I tried to go out of my way to find some scenes to shoot but got lost along the way without too much to show.
There is good access to the Snoqualmie Valley Trail here, but this time I didn’t find too much to see without getting in others’ way. This is a good trail for taking a long, level walk (since it goes all the way down to Fall City); but I was mainly looking for something to shoot impulsively.
I ran into someone who suggested I go to Dougherty Farmstead for my needs. Unfortunately, I misheard some of the directions and also missed it in plain sight heading up the road it’s on; so I wound up getting lost further up the roads from there. (It’s straight ahead where the road makes a blind right turn, so I was looking for traffic around the bend rather than noticing the giant sign for the parking lot.) From what glimpses I got of it, it does have a commanding view of the valley below; but I dare say it would interest me more on a day with rain and lower-lying clouds.
Failing this, I wandered my way up to Monroe then back up Highways 2 and 9. I work this area on occasion but somehow managed to get lost again, so I definitely need to spend Sunday resting up to rest my sense of direction enough to drive for work again.
Feeling disappointed in myself for getting into this situation, some of my wandering habits got me near Little Mountain in Mount Vernon. I’ve been here before, but the cloud pattern and near-sunset (similar to yesterday) made for a more vivid display than I was expecting.
This lighting was a bit tricky, but exposure bracketing worked its magic. I was by no means the only person out with their camera here, a couple other groups were out shooting the views, and there was also a group doing a wedding shoot at the peak.
Joe R. Stead 