Misty Rivers & Gratuitous Mountain shot

[chuckmoser]

I bought a polarization filter and was dying to try it out.
I decided to make a quick drive to the mountains this morning, and surpisingly had a hell of a time finding something inspiring to shoot in the hundreds of miles of beautiful wilderness. In the process of getting lost in the maze of Forest Circus roads, I found myself a little stream and thought I'd try to get something pretty.
While the scenery was pretty, I'm thinking the photos aren't, and I'm looking for suggestions as to how I should better approach it. The scenery around the river is dead for the most part and pretty gray... which is normal for this time of year at 5,500 feet, but the lack of snow isn't. I'm thinking I should come back after a good storm.
I tossed in the mountain shot for the heck of it.
Looking for some suggestions...

Thanks much,
Chuck