Following a September with record rainfall for the region, October of 2016 brought some spectacular fall colors to my home turf. Eager for some sightseeing, my girlfriend and I ventured north to my favorite part of Idaho. After a great morning, the sky was starting to cloud up on this autumn day, and I was starting to think we would not get any more sunny photos. Just minutes after arriving at the Katka Overlook, the distant rumble of an eastbound train could be heard echoing across the valley from Bonners Ferry, and soon a parade of rainbow-colored containers could be seen approaching through the trees. Just in time, a hole opened in the clouds over the valley, and the sun shined down on the golden cottonwood, aspens, and larch along the banks of the Kootenai River. The sunlight held and illuminated the beautiful Idaho Panhandle scene as the eastbound stack train passed through the gates of the spectacular Kootenai Gorge. The alpine peaks of the Selkirks to the west had already received a dusting of snow, an omen of the approaching change in seasons. UP's line to Eastport is visible up on the cliffs across the canyon, climbing up away from the Kootenai, and soon to turn north and head up the remote Moyie River to the Canadian border.
Landscape photography is difficult due to the challenge of combining good light and good scenery. Good railroad photography enters another level of complexity since it requires the first two while there is a train in view.
