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STORY WARNING Our decisions, good and bad, come with consequences. Some better, some worse than others. Typically we associate a bad consequence with a bad decision and vice versa. But what of a bad decision with a good consequence? That decision becomes a gamble and any good outcome becomes luck. I was on the last 1/4 mile of the hike in to the glacier overlook and I came up over a ridge to a big open meadow still covered in snowpack. At least where creeks hadn't formed yet. I was about 500-700 ft from an adjacent ridgeline that I could only speculate dropped off right against the glacier. The trail was hidden, the creeks were beginning to swell from the midday melt and I couldn't see any other footprints to follow. To top it all off, I saw an anvil pushing up the south side of the summit and climbing fast. I took what must've been 5 to 10 minutes standing in this very meadow debating if I should turn back or press on and risk it. The trail has beautiful treasures scattered around it so I wasn't totally empty-handed, but just in that last 1/2 mile I had finally laid eyes on a partially obscured summit and still no glacier. I scouted a route, swallowed all of my better judgement, and trekked in and across as quickly as I could. Whole time packing my 20 lbs of camera gear. Luckily, I spotted a trail, made a B-line for it, and was never sorry for having done it because on the other side was that absolutely majestic glacier and total view of the summit, almost like I could reach out and touch it. I setup my gear, snapped as many shots as I could, made a few videos to send to folks, and packed up just in time to see the shadow from the coming storm cast on the summit. It took me 3 hours of stop and go hiking to get across that 2.5 mile climb up. But it took me 1 hour of non-stop moving to get back to the car just as the rain really hit. I was chased by thunder at first, as I had scurried back to the safety of the treeline, but it didn't take long for the loud bolts to catchup. As I crossed the midpoint, I could've sworn it was going to be on top of me, but I can only guess that it pushed further north and stopped chasing me west. I gambled and got lucky. (at Heliotrope Ridge Trail)

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As the morning passed to afternoon, the sun rose higher into the sky. With it, temperatures climbed too, warming the mountainside and evaporating the snow. Soon, rolling fog banks began to break up the azure skies over the Olympics, forming a truly mesmerizing environment of wonderment. #hurricaneridge #onp #olympicnationalpark #panorama #snow #mountains #pnw #pnwisbest #pacificnorthwest #upperleftusa #pnwonderland #portangeles #washingtonstate #getoutside #goexplore #explore #outdoors (at Hurricane Ridge)

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That's a wrap! 2017 is out the door and 2018 is here for the next 365. It's been a hell of a year, leaving plenty to look forward to. I hope you all have a terrific year ahead! Thanks for watching. #newyear #goodbye2017 #hello2018 #2018 #celebrate # #lookingforward #eyesahead #aviationphotography #avgeek #airshow

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With few days left of 2017 dwindling down, I managed to take some time while I was out on the Olympic Peninsula to explore an old haunt of mine. Worth. It. #hurricaneridge #onp #olympicnationalpark #nationalpark #mistymountains #mountain #valley #getoutside #goexplore #exploremore #pnw #pnwisbest #upperleftusa #pacificnorthwestisbest (at Hurricane Ridge)

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A face only a crew chief could love. Close up of the A-10 Thunderbolt II and it's mighty GAU-8 Avenger cannon. #a10 #thunderbolt #warthog #gau8 #usaf #static

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Thinking of those bygone Summer months from this past year. I hope I get to have some again next year. #summer17 #feltsfield #ksff #spokane #wa #easternwa #airshow #neighborsday #aviation #grumman #goose #warbird #vintageaircraft #aircraft #floatplane #pembertonaviation #aviationphotography #missingsummer (at Felts Field Spokane (SFF))

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The view of Grand Coulee from Crown Point. #grandcouleedam #grandcoulee #easternwa (at Grand Coulee, Washington)

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Fir me to relax, all I need is a lake, a boat, or an airplane. Today, I tripled up just to be sure I did. (at Lake Union Park)

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Sometimes you get that gorgeous vappr cloud on the high-speed passes. Other times there just isn't enough moisture in the air to condense into a cloud, but there's enough to form along the shockwaves to form a lens and make "sound visible." #transonic #soundwaves #abbotsford #takemetoabby #highspeed #subsonic #shockwave #visiblesound #usn #usnavy #fighter #f18 #superhornet #vfa122 #airshow #avgeek #aviationphotography #physics #onceinalifetime #canon (at Abbotsford International Airshow)

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Dreaming of shoots past... What a pleasure it was to work with the #CF18demo Hornet a few years ago during their spring training. A huge thank you to the wonderful folks of CFB Comox for allowing me to see how the teams prepare for the coming show season. #battleofbritain75 #bob75 #rcaf #canadainforces #comox #cf18 #hornet #a2a #air2air #aviation #aviationphotography #vancouverisland (at CFB Comox 17 Wing)

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The busy, cluttered chair of a Bombardier/nose-gunner in a Boeing B-17G Flying Fortress. His purpose was the critical operation of the then highly-secretive Norden bombsight which, once control was passed to him by the pilot, would "fly" the bomber to the target and release the payload. When under attack, his weapon was the remotely-operated chin turret that packed two powerful Browning M2 .50-cal machine guns. Thankfully for him, such responsibility was not bestowed to a lonely position. Behind him, in the small confines of the aircraft's nose, sat the Navigator, in charge of keeping track of their route and all primary and secondary objective routes. But, even with the company of another airman, it's not hard to see how dreary this single seat could be on those long flights in daylight to Berlin. With a window to the chaos ahead, one might think it was the seat that best saw Hell. #b17 #flyingfortress #boeing #bomber #wwii #bombardier #usaac #usaaf #aviationphotography #avgeek #aviation #airplane #vintageaircraft #monochrome (at Port Angeles, Washington)

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The panoramic vista as seen from Sunrise's loop trail on the eastern side of Mt. Rainier last month. This mountain is becoming more and more attractive to me the more I spend time on it. (at Sunrise Visitor Center, Mount Rainier NP)

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There are just some things that you can't help but put the lens down and take in first-hand. After snapping a photo first, of course! #b29 #superfortress #fifi #doc #eaa #airventure #osh17 #oshkosh #historycomesalive #yesterdaytoday #livinghistory #bomber #wwii #worldwar2 #warbird #avgeek #aviationphotography #aircraft #usaaf #caf #commemorativeairforce (at EAA - The Spirit of Aviation)

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Instagram fouled up an lost my original write-up on this incredible marvel of industrial triumph and I'm much too tired to re-type it all. So via Wikipedia: Grand Coulee Dam is a concrete gravity dam on the Columbia River in the state of Washington, built to produce hydroelectricpower and provide irrigation water. Constructed between 1933 and 1942, Grand Coulee originally had only two powerhouses. The third powerhouse, completed in 1974 to increase energy production, makes Grand Coulee the largest power station in the United States by nameplate-capacity at 6,809 MW. Via the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation's FAQ webpage for the dam: There are a couple of reasons this particular site was chosen for the dam. First, this is a narrow part of the Columbia River. Second, the bedrock the dam sits on is granite. Granite makes a very good base for a dam as it is very sturdy and doesn’t break apart easily. Also, we (USBR) copied what Mother Nature did in the past. During the last Ice Age (13,000+ years ago) the Cordilleran Ice Sheet blocked the Columbia River at the spot where the dam sits today. The ice formed a huge dam about 500 feet taller than Grand Coulee Dam. This forced the Columbia River to flow out of its channel and to flow south which created a new canyon. Large floods, known as the Missoula Floods, also came down this new channel cutting a huge canyon which is now known as the Grand Coulee. This canyon was perfect for storing water to be used to irrigate the Columbia Basin in central Washington. Today Grand Coulee Dam pumps water into this canyon and is used to irrigate approximately 670,000 acres which produce over 80 different crops. It contains over 12 million cubic yards of concrete and is 550 feet thick at its base. The dam is held in place by the weight of its concrete. (at Grand Coulee Dam)

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"Cougar Crossing" A pair of Boeing/McDonnell-Douglas CF-18 Hornets on the static line at this year's Lethbridge International Air Show. Both hail from the 410 410 Tactical Fighter Operational Training Squadron out of Cold Lake, AB. #lethbridgeairshow #cf18 #hornet #410 #coldlake #lias #alberta #night #static #fighter #jet #aircraft #avgeek #canon #aviationphotography (at Lethbridge Airport)

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Up, up, and away goes Capt. Matthew "Glib" Kutryk in the sublime Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornet demo jet. This year marks the 150th anniversary of Canada's Confederation, and as such, the team's jet is painted in a special commemorative scheme. Certainly, this has been the best-looking demo jet that I've seen yet! #cf18 #hornet #canada150 #canadainforces #rcaf #lethbridge #alberta #aircraft #aviation #avgeek (at Lethbridge International)

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Nighttime on static tie at the Lethbridge International Air Show this year. I'm still thrilled I had the opportunity to work with such kind folks. I look forward to the next show! (at Lethbridge Airport)