Photography Bucket List

Road trips (especially in my red MX-5), are my favorite way to explore. No matter where I am, there's nothing better than being able to follow the unexpected side road, just to see where it goes.

Unfortunately, when you follow your nose on a road trip you take the scenery as it comes, whatever time of day it happens to be. So many times, the light is bad, or the weather is bad. The right place, but the wrong time, photographically speaking. I don't regret any of these expeditions, but sometimes they turn out to be scouting trips for a return trip.

So, for all the times I say, "I'll come back again," I've decided to start a list of the amazing places and architecture and landscapes I've visited... the places that call to me, that I can't ignore.

Architecture

• Neely Mansion in Auburn. 
• Turn-of-the-century houses in Enumclaw
• Courthouse and train station in Dayton
• The farmhouses (and barns) in the Kittitas Valley
• Notre Dame in Paris. The whole thing, from head to toe, including the amazing gargoyles climb, and the stained glass
• Pioneer Square, Seattle. One of the best collections of late 1800s embellished commercial buildings anywhere. I've learned to look for parking garages, and use the top floor for a better vantage point for nearby buildings. I love the cornices and window surrounds, the fancy brickwork, the marble that complements the brick and stone.
• Smith Tower in Seattle. People go for the views; I love the amazing details of this building, especially the interior. The copper and brass elevators, the marble walls, the art deco signs above each elevator, and the spectacular Chinese Room at the observation level.
• The covered bridges of Oregon

Barns

• Octagon barns near Pullman
• Unique and restored barns on Washington's Heritage Barn registry, especially Whitman, Skagit, and Pierce counties)
• The Kibler barns of Walla Walla
• Kittitas County's barn quilt trail, the only one in the state
• Northeast Washington, near Colville. Check out Artman-Gibson Road to Highway 20.

Scenery

• Washington's Palouse country in all four seasons. Spend a week, and drive every country road, and be at the top of Steptoe Butte at sunrise and sunset. 
• Hike Hurricane Ridge on a clear day, for the spectacular views of mountains, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
• The NE corner of Oregon, mountains and rolling hills, completely off the beaten path and gorgeous. 

Places

• The hilltop cemeteries of SE Washington, especially the Prescott cemetery, with an arching sign to frame the cemetery and backdrop of trees.
• The Looff carousel in Spokane's Riverfront Park
• Bird and flower markets in Paris
• Monterey Coast of California, and Hearst Castle
• New England for fall colors
• The granite coast of Maine
• The Outer Banks of North Carolina

Towns

• Port Gamble. The entire town is on the National Historic Register. Lovely buildings and houses, and the architectural details are amazing (August 2011)
• Sandpoint, Idaho. You can just skirt the town on the highway, but this small town has a beautiful historic section, with a broad range of architectural styles.

The wild places

• Yellowstone cloaked in snow. In May 2009 we were there in early May (in the MX-5!) when the moose, bear, elk, and bison were roaming around with their babies. I'd like to see that again.
• Oxbow Bend in the Grand Tetons, the best place to watch for the elusive moose
• Wilderness areas of Central Idaho
• The Idaho side of the Grand Tetons (October 2014)
• The San Juan Mountains of Western Colorado for fall color (Sept-Oct 2015)