[/caption] Winter has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest and the early snow fall really pounded the mountains in the Cascades. The snow even reached the western foothills of Washington State and Oregon. I took this shot from the Women’s Forum near the Vista House on the Oregon side of the Columbia River Gorge. I had to stand on the concrete part of the viewing platform in order to stand above the trees and I wasn’t able to use a tripod. You just want to make sure that you have a telephoto and keep a steady hand as well as turn on the IS to avoid any camera shake or blur.