I'll ditto the attaboy to Ben for being a thinking 19-year-old. That said, it's possible that you haven't seen many steam-pacing mobs before. While they are getting sadly scarse, keep that condition in mind in the future. EVERY one that I have seen since my first in 1981 has had the same problem--the guys in the front doing the pacing thing. This time, I had just a few planned shots--spaced far enough apart AND using roads other than the "pacing" roads.
On Friday, I had a shot near Connell that took 10 minutes just to drive into from the nearest County road. From there' it was at South Ritzville and then Tyler. All were accomplished by using the hated interstate--AWAY from the old highway where the pacers were. Saturday was just the Granite Hilltop shot with it's 10 minute hike-in. The name of the game is planning--and avoiding the places where the crowds will be.
Bruce--glad to hear that you made it to Bonners on time. I almost called you to see if you made it.