Umtanum Canyon

This is probably the best time of year to see Umtanum, not too hot and pretty colors everywhere. The foliage should continue to be nice for at least a few more weeks.

Our excitement on the trail today was the dogs finding a decomposing porcupine pelt and getting quills stuck all over their snouts. My son took the photo below of me holding Ruby as I was struggling to remove quills. What we didn't see was the rattle snake in the photo just to the right of Ruby and below my arm. A few seconds later I was standing ON the snake when my son yells "SNAKE!!" and we both had heart attacks.

It was too cold for the snake to have much energy and he gave us a feeble rattle and hid under a bush. I finished removing the quills and got out of there, although not necessarily in that order.

As a side note, those quills hurt and are hard to get out. I got one jammed in the end of my finger as I struggled with the dogs, and they are covered with nearly invisible barbs that resist your efforts to pull them out. It's quite painful :D