AVALANCHE AWARE: As cold wind whips by, Kirk Burris, left, examines a cube of snow that avalanche specialist Stan Bones, right, holds up for display near the top of Big Mountain in Whitefish, Montana. The block was cut from a "snow pit" that was dug near the West Bowl. Bones was holding a level II avalanche awareness workshop to help make backcountry adventures safer.
CHROMED CLASSIC COUPE: Dave Dally, left, of Shelton, Washington, shows his 1955 Chevrolet Sport Coupe to Larry Cleeton and Charlie Holman during the Cool Car Cruise in Bremerton in January, 2015. The paint color was "violet pearl," Dally said. He said the car originally came with a two-speed automatic transmission, but it now had an upgraded five-speed Tremec manual transmission as well as an upgraded engine.
GRIZ IN TOWN: Bear management specialists Terence McClelland and Erik Wenum along with bear biologist Carrie Hunt tend to a 300-pound sedated grizzly bear captured in Whitefish, Montana, on Dakota Avenue. The smell of ripe fruit and garbage drew the bruin to town to fatten up for its coming winter slumber.
DEMOLITION DERBY: Sparks fly just moments before a demolition derby heat begins as driver Jamie "Big City" McLeod of McEwen, Tennessee, straps on his helmet and his buddy, Ben Upchurch, does last-minute welding work. McLeod's car had a "#8" painted on the side in the likeness of Dale Earnhardt Jr's car.
A WINDY DAY: Strong wind distorts the shape of Chantal Karakondis' umbrella as she walks in the rain on South Lincoln Street. She said she is originally from France, but has been living in Port Angeles for two years.
HURRICANE HIKE: Wes Gilligan, who lives west of Port Angeles, Washington, hikes up the steep Hurricane Ridge ski hill. The ski lifts were not running that day. Gilligan said he's been snowboarding since he was a child, and said he boards about once a week. He said he sometimes hikes to nearby Mount Angeles to snowboard down the terrain there.
EAR OF THE BEHOLDER: Hanna Lewis, 4, of Whitefish, tries to block out the cacophony of sounds produced by bagpiper Jay Johnson at the Whitefish library. Johnson was a member of the Montana Highlanders Pipe Band.
PUMPKIN PICASSO: Hailey Bunstock, 6, of Poulsbo, Washington, smiles while brushing paint on a pumpkin during The Trails at Silverdale's "harvest festival." "This is an awesome event they have," said her mother, Jenna. "It's great for the kids."
START ME UP: Tod Eisek of Port Angeles, Washington, really gets into his work while trying to fix the distributor on his wife's sport utility vehicle that was parked in front of Port Angeles High School. Eisek said the vehicle wouldn't start when his wife tried to drive away from the parking spot, so he was called in to try and repair the vehicle.
A HEAVY LOAD: Joe Dawson, 7, of Sequim, Washington, strains to pull about 175 pounds during the kid’s tractor pedal pull competition at the Clallam County Fair on Thursday. Dawson was under the care of Bibity Bobity day care and preschool that day.
SNOW MAKER: Snow maker Laurie Fisher uses a propane torch to de-ice a snow gun before firing it up to prepare for the start of ski season. Snow makers got a little help from mother nature, too. In the distance, lights from the Big Mountain village and the city of Whitefish glow.
TIME TO FLY: Jaye Moore, Matthew Randazzo and Gary Moore, from left, watch as a juvenile eagle flies away from the container it was released from at the Dungeness Recreation Area near Sequim, Washington. The eagle was found with a broken shoulder last July and was taken to the Northwest Raptor & Wildlife Center for rehabilitation.
ART ADMIRERS: Breanna Bowes, 10, left, of Port Orchard, Washington, and her friend Jadee Smith, 8, of Idaho Falls, Idaho, take a look at a metal artistic figure of a railroad worker Sunday afternoon on Railroad Avenue in Port Angeles, Washington. The girls were in town with their families and they were planning on going to Canada to do some fishing. The sculpture is titled "Gandy Dancer."
PILOT KILLED: Clallam County Sheriff's Sgt. Nick Turner and Assistant Fire Chief Ben Andrews survey the site where a single-engine aircraft crashed in Diamond Point, Washington. The pilot, Sam Evans, had trouble landing at the Diamond Point Airstrip, clipped nearby trees and crashed the plane in between two homes. He died at the scene.
MOTEL EXPLOSION: Firefighters pour water on flames at the rear of the Bremerton Motel 6 along 11th Street after a natural gas leak led to an explosion that leveled about one-quarter of the building on Aug. 18, 2015. At right, a ruptured gas meter burns fiercely in the night. A quick-thinking motel employee evacuated the building moments before the explosion. One natural gas company worker was critically injured.
GOING IN: Sequim, Washington, police officers, left, and Clallam County sheriff's deputies rush a home in the 200 block of House Road near Sequim on Monday to arrest a man holed up inside. The three-hour-long standoff ended without gunfire minutes later.
COLD WATER RESCUE: James Stack of Whitefish paddles his kayak hard toward waiting rescue personnel during a cold-water rescue at Whitefish Lake. Stack, who resides in a home along the lakeshore, heard cries for help from two people whose small boat overturned in 39-degree water around midnight. Stack set out to help them in his kayak. He was able to rescue Randall Bruckner, 30, but the second boater, Julia Cassidy, 22, drowned. Stack was later awarded a Carnegie Medal for his rescue effort.
BOARDERCROSS: Whitefish's own Brian Roche leaps ahead of Missoula's Wright Hollingsworth as they jump the last ramp before crossing the boardercross finish line.
WHACK IT BACK: Whitefish High School tennis player Holden Roberts watches the ball while playing against Polson's Dylan McCrumb. Whitefish lost 0-7.
SAFE AT FIRST: North Olympic's Brady Konopaski, left, tries to tag out Ellensburg's Junior Ledgard at first base during the first round of the Junior Babe Ruth U14 state championships at Volunteer Field in Port Angeles. Ellensburg won 13-3.