After a long journey from Seattle to the Canadian Rockies and down to Glacier National Park, I decided to make one last stop in an area I haven't visited before -- northeastern Washington state. I had no idea what I would find. Being so late in the fall I expected to be greeted by mostly barren trees and freezing lakes. Instead, the maples, aspens, and larch trees along the Pend Oreille River are all putting on a spectacular show of color that rivals anything I saw in Colorado last month. Wow...what a surprise!