RustyBug 
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Upload & Sell: On
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Jim, thanks.
Hard to explain my "stabbing" as it is a bit convoluted workflow, but ...
Mostly I crank to saturation to 100% so I can SEE what colors are dominant in an area. I do this to look for the "blues" cast that are my nemesis for WB in ambient mixed lighting. To that end, I look for my mixed lighting first, then color correct or 1/2 color correct to taste. One thing about finding those blue casts ... you know they are lit from the overhead sky rather than direct sunlight, so they are areas that can sustain a boost in contrast or gamma, but need to be done selectively to refrain from overcooking the other areas.
I work mostly by reducing the gamma to its linear baseline and "build up" the image from there, selectively via masking. Same goes for saturation, sharpness, etc. ... kinda like Karen's "lather, rinse, repeat".
Waterfalls and rivers will always have a strong degree of picking up casts from their surroundings, most notably the blue overhead sky unless you are in direct frontal lighting. Even in sidelighting, the shadow areas are susceptible to the "blues". Personally, I like to try and get my waterfalls near-white and mostly the same color throughout ... with a "pet peeve" @ blue/cyan water (same goes for hair & snow).
Mostly, I study the light orientation and try to "put myself there". I consider ambient lighting akin to being in the studio with one key light that is "bare bulb" with a warm gel over it, and and one giant softbox overhead with a blue gel on it. The areas of the subject are illuminated by both will be "white", those by only the key light, "warm" and the shadow areas "cool". Also, the intensity of the key light is much higher than the softbox, so it the warm light will normally overpower the cool light, but as I dial down the key light, the cool light begins to reveal itself even more ... to the point @ turning the key light off and everything will be blue. With ambient, I find the clock to be a very important factor at helping me assess how strongly the blue "should be" showing through.
I so envy your traveling and long for it, but I have been fortunate to have been in plenty of places that I can do a fair job of vicarious vision @ times ... particularly those challenging mixed lighting scenarios.
The big thing to note @ them is two-fold, imo. First, patience is the order of the day, and second global controls are hazardous. I work them in 32-bit (debatable @ value thereof) for as long as I can, then convert to 16 bit. Even if it is only psychological, it helps me keep things "cleaner" as I progress through an image ... understanding that every manipulation is a mathematical computation upon previous math. I also use my layer masks to "paint on" so that I can "rework the rework" to try and "balance" my tonal values how I perceive I want them to be.
As I've said before to others ... sorry I don't have a "do this, do that" offering for you. For me, every image (ambient) is a study of the separation of direct warm and indirect cool lighting vs. the integration of the same. That, combined with "What's my point" / "What is the message that I want to convey to my viewer." are some of my guiding elements.
If that makes any sense. 
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