Beautiful! The Missoula Flood scablands are so fascinating geologically. Here's an article I read last year that took me deeper into some of the geological history of Eastern WA, in case anyone else is interested: https://www.scenicwa.com/story/ice-age-floods-in-washington-state

I wouldn't worry as much about wildlife as general outdoors safety. Volunteered with SAR for awhile and very experienced people can still have weird accidents like their foot hitting the wrong spot on a rock when they stand up and breaking a leg. Being alone without a designated itinerary introduces some extra risks and it's a good idea to take some extra self-preservations steps accordingly. Our cell reception varies wildly in the outdoors here and I wouldn't rely on it.

Carry the 10 essentials and be prepared to keep yourself alive. Keep it all in a grab-and-go pack that you restock after you use anything so you won't have to worry about getting everything together before you head out the door. Learn route-finding skills and consider getting a personal emergency beacon since you'll be harder to find if you get hurt or lost when you aren't sticking to a known trail. Text a buddy to let them know your starting point and expected return time and call-911-to-report-me-missing-time.

I One of the more unique cloud formations I've seen. Wind must have been doing something different.

Beautiful shot with great composition!

Who wants it getting light out at 3am (and sunrise at 4:15am) in the summer?

Been a struggle for me for a long time too. I'm grateful when it snows because it's SO MUCH BRIGHTER. The little happy lights don't help and give me a headache but I was gifted a used panel one and it's a lot better, I keep it on the window sill to run in the mornings.

And I'm trying to do better about getting outside at lunch time, even if it's raining. It helps.

Just a couple weeks until the days start getting longer! Hang in there.

Compared to Germany, we invested much less in infrastructure that would let us not be car dependent, especially for lower income folks. It's very expensive to live within walking/biking distance of a transit center, a grocery store, and important services like banking and healthcare in much of the United States.

I think we might benefit from the more assertive driving style of the East Coast. Had a colleague from Boston talk about how weird our lack of honking was to her ("If you don't use your horn, how will they learn?"). Made me smile extra when she upped her Bostonian accent to say it.

Best driving I've ever had was Germany though. It's a privilege, not a right, and so the standard for your driving skill and your regard for other drivers is high. And even their two-lane country roads were gorgeously maintained.

And in our state it's a little different because it so easy. I won't fault anyone for not voting in a place where it means they have to get permission to take off work and go stand in a line for multiple hours when they may be too financially stressed or not sufficiently able-bodied enough to swing it.

Even being at least minimally informed in our state is so easy. I was well into adulthood before I realized that something like our voter's pamphlets, with full text and pros/cons for initiatives and full candidate profiles, was a rarity in the US.

No excuse to not perform the most minimal of civic duties, even in an increasingly disheartening world. I'm bone tired and it's hard to save the world when the little energy I have is needed for keeping a job and the necessities that come only from a job with benefits (housing, food, medical insurance). But I still voted.

Now that the power is back on following the windstorm, definitely. Going to see Snoqualmie Falls during high water flows when it "rains up" was a regular highlight from my childhood. Worth seeing. :)

If you take one Saturday afternoon, it might be at moderate flood stage for an interesting comparison. But this is a beautiful photo it doesn't require a follow up!

Worse winters, worse summers. Friggin tundra on fire in Siberia because the permafrost melted. Nothing nice to say about climate change.

And the first week of September! I remember feeling super resentful more than once that the weather was amazing right after I started school. But the rains were always back by mid to late September. A "hot" October day would be lucky to hit 70.