I’m on a tank

Sitting on top of a tank while it fired live artillery rounds was certainly not something I predicted I’d be doing when I woke up Tuesday morning. Reporter Rikki King and I were scheduled to do a ride-a-long with the Washington State Patrol - I expected to photograph a couple of traffic stops. When we received word that US 2 would be closed down at 2 p.m. for avalanche control, we asked the WSDOT avalanche techs if I could tag along. The next thing I knew I was wearing ear protection, waiting for the next deafening boom to echo off of the mountains. What a treat.

I also recorded some video footage that can be seen here.
And a photo gallery here.
Mark Mulligan / The Herald