Oh my, a soggy drippy day predicted in town on Saturday - this will NOT do!. We headed for drier climates (according to weather.com) specifically Eastern Washington. Our target - an excellent wildflower hike outside of Cle Elum Washington - Esmerelda Basin. We almost left town in our truck but fixed the fuse problem involving the windshield wipers in the Explorer just in time. We drove and the rain kept on coming......and coming. On a lovely road leading to the trailhead we made a painful decision - abort the hike, make a drive of it, and look for roadside wildflowers. Dead batteries created a need to go back through town and bring the cameras back to life. and HARK!!! The rain abated, the sun came out, and we couldn't resist the fun of a spontaneous stayover. We found a charming motel room, and moved in, determined to hike the Basin Sunday. The remaining afternoon/evening brought a most rewarding time. We took a drive up to Haney Meadow via 9712 and on the road up were treated to plenty of flowers, critters, refreshing meadows, and even....DEATH to photograph. Read on in the captions.............