Indeed. You know, Ken, I wonder if I've seen your shot in these pages. The barn is to the west of Steptoe, I'm gonna guess 3/4 mile or so, maybe more. I captured this at 300 mm on a crop sensor Nikon D7100 (1.5x300=450 mm) and like very much the compression it provided. You're also right about the early start; about an hour drive from Pullman so departed about 0400 in early May if I remember right.
I'm sure it's the same barn, it's iconic. A close friend did a workshop in the Palouse a couple of years before I went. After seeing her photos I bought the Fuji 100-400 specifically for this trip, and I checked a rolling case so I could bring my big tripod
The conference was at the University of Idaho in Moscow, the annual meeting of the University Photographers Association. We had a great time. Nice college town, great scenery, good colleagues from around the country and the world.