Flashback Photo of the Day: 01/22/2008 - Returning early morning from a previous night's presentation in Yakima I headed back to Ellensburg like usual via Canyon Road through the Yakima Canyon. Extremely cold weather the previous week had left miles of massive ice jams on the scenic Yakima River offering me photographic opportunities never seen before in this, my favorite canyon drive in Washington State! (second photo: remaining ice after the warm-up broke up the river - this ice was pushed up high on river banks )

A steamy morning at Snoqualmie Falls

Literally, I mean "steamy" outdoors, not indoors! Snoqualmie Falls is a delight when we get cold weather and what better way to enjoy it than wait out four straight days of temperatures not even coming close to getting above 32* out here and watch the ice build up around the falls. Yesterday morning I finally had to give in to the urge to revisit this frequent stop - the continuing clear sky would offer nice "warm" light back lighting the falls area after sunrise, and it was cranking on day three of morning temperatures in the single digits! This is where the steam comes from - even the cold water of the Snoqualmie River was steaming each morning this week, a sight we don't get around here. It has looked more like winter pre-freezing of rivers in Eastern Washington or North Dakota!

I pulled in to enjoy over 45 minutes of standing in what were 6* temperatures watching the show, of which I was completely alone 44 minutes of it I think. The light from the sunrise was better at adding truly dramatic feelings in my viewfinder that I had thought it could - instead of dealing with spray from the falls like so often happens when the river is quite high, I was dealing with steam! The water was steaming up a storm and that was simply one of the most cool things I've ever seen! I'd like to find the calculations that are involved comparing air temperature vs. water temperature vs. relative humidity to find out what effects what the most. By the time I left the falls at 9:30am the steam effect was far reduced from what I was seeing much of the time. Air temperature then was 13* (and not skyrocketing very quickly!). What a fascinating start to my day. Up next? Massive herds of Trumpeter Swans in the north end of the Valley where I spent 2.5 hours freezing my feet numb standing at an edge of a field with 500-700 swans right in front of me! Stay tuned - this will be a good show-and-tell coming up from me! :)

Ice debris in the Yakima Canyon

Ah, how alive I feel after getting two more drives through on one of my favorite roads in Washington - the Yakima Canyon scenic highway drive! I just returned from a very relaxing, enjoyable, and successful presentation with The Cascadians as I noted previously and I drove through the Yakima Canyon going both to and from the area. What a story the river had to tell. Last year you'll see the incredible ice dam view of the river. This year the extreme cold of December must have really caused massive ice build-up in the river,

and the following rapid warm up not only melted much snow in the region but that run-off must have really raised the level of the frozen river. There were areas of the river that have massive ice

piles along the shores that are 10-15' above the level of the river! I wish I would have seen this area in early January before the warm up, or right after it. To say the least the ice nearly was up on the road in areas. Aside from the awe of the ice scene, I saw numerous flocks of Common Mergansers on the river and eight Bald Eagles. And, luckily for all of us, I saw the huge covey of quail in the road on a tight curve and was able to slow and not disturb their lazy morning stroll along the road. SR 823 is a gem of a peaceful place on this wonderful place we call home.

(photos: signs in the canyon; ice debris along the Yakima River near Roza Creek; ice debris and views toward Umtanum Ridge)