The gentle morning breeze vibrates the regal towers of soft purple, the air crisp with the smell of petrichor. Two white birch trees stand defiant amongst the rolling hills of velvet flowers. No sound but the songs of birds and the clicking of tripod legs locking. A quiet quintessential mountain dawn approaches as the night gives way to the soft ambience of a simpler life. Summer is coming and the final days of these cool mornings are at their end and these flowers are all that stand in its way. One last gasp of spring before the season nears its conclusion.
After an anxious morning of packing up the car with our tent and endless supplies we sat in the parking lot of an apartment building waiting for the landlord to show up. It was time to look at a new place after living in our first apartment for nearly 11 years. The memories we had there had their ups and downs, from all the years of Thanksgiving blunders and early morning Christmas presents. Our first two cats finally having a place to call home and the immense pain when one of them passed away. A new kitten to keep our oldest one company and the ensuing terror he has become. With inconsiderate and loud neighbors making us lose sleep for the past year its time to leave it behind and start fresh. This new place is double the size of our old one though much more pricey. After seeing in person we had to take it so we signed the new lease and made our deposit and headed on to our weekend camping trip.
Only a short distance of two hours away we headed into the mountains for our annual pilgrimage to shoot some purple lupines that blanket the fields of a small town in amethyst beauty. We made a quick detour to a few areas to scout out for future visits and took in the much needed quiet and solitude we can never get at home lately. Standing at the edge of a calm pound watching the low clouds from a light rain storm heading in pass over the trees and peaks of the mountain before us was worth the possibility of getting wet. With that out of the way we drove on down the winding mountain roads towards our campsite. Arriving in time to set up we made quick work of the tent and sleeping pads before the sun was going to set and set off to one of our favorite fields. The clouds were becoming dark and gloomy with rain as we parked near a field of lupines with an old gnarly tree in the center, a guardian of these fragile flowers. The sun managed to peak through the clouds and side light some of the purple towers and I managed to get a quick shot before the light was overtaken.
The sunsets last light on a lone lupine.
From there we decided it was time for dinner so we drove thirty minutes away for some really delicious naan tacos we discovered on a past camping trip. Now each time we visit the area we make sure to stop and get some. With full stomachs we headed back to camp for the night and fell asleep to the quiet rustling of leaves and the tiny patter of light rain drops tapping the rain fly of our tent. In the morning we drove to a new area I had found on a map months before. An off the beaten path field with some nice trees sparsely dotting the field of lupines with no one around but us. It seems the hordes of visitors haven’t discovered this area yet and it helps its on private property. We stood at the dirt roadside and attached our telephoto lenses on to not trespass and be respectful of the people who owned this field. An overcast sky was a unfortunate at sunrise so the prospects of some nice morning light was out of the question. Finding a couple compositions regardless of the light I managed to find something I was happy with. The soft even light of the clouds made it a little difficult to create depth so some careful dodging and burning was used to help break up the flat image.
A bonded group of birch trees in a field of flowers.
A fine dining meal of frosted blueberry Pop Tarts and a fruity energy drink woke us up enough to go explore some new to us areas. We are always on the look out for black bears and moose on these ventures though its rare that we actual see anything. Still with bear spray at my side just in case our cowardly bears decide to be not so cowardly we parked at an empty trail head of a fairly newly established trail. I read online that the trail features a beautiful tree tunnel and after seeing the ones from our exotic last trip I was curious to see what one closer to home was like. My wife and I walked the short switch back and almost immediately came to the tunnel, an overgrown tangle of grass and various species of pines gave off that familiar pine scented candle aroma we love. It didn’t take long to find a composition with my 100-400mm lens as the early morning mist started to dissipate.
A mysterious tunnel of trees guiding us into the mist.
After being chewed alive by mosquitoes we quickly walked back to the car and spent the afternoon driving around and checking out some little spots we hadn’t seen before. Hidden roadside waterfalls, rivers babbling along their rocky paths and our favorite candy store led us back to get more tacos as the rain made itself known off and on all day. Once we finished eating we went to the evenings sunset spot not far from camp and cloud cover was still not going to produce any brilliant sunsets. Deciding to walk around the little trail nearby to kill time was a nice alternative to being disappointed. As we pulled out of the parking lot I turned to look for incoming cars and noticed a stopped line of traffic not far to my left. Reason being was a very large bull moose was meandering across the street. I carefully turned back into the parking lot as if disappeared into the trees down toward the river as a few other photographers appeared as if teleported into reality. The said it walked down the bank and vanished, though something that big doesn’t just vanish. I made a brief scan of the area from the road and figured it probably was gone and we made our way back to our car a short distance away. As we reached the car we saw the pond that we had just been walking around 5 minutes before was now the bath to the beautiful creature. Having been to many National Parks and having just a modicum of common sense we know to respect the wildlife and keep a good distance to not disturb it. Not to mention a full grown moose can easily break your body with very little effort. The other photographers though don’t have such “hidden knowledge” and started chasing it. Before they chased it away I did manage a quick shot as it took its brief dip in the mountain waters.
A large moose takes a quick drip in a pond with its duck friend.
We watched as it calmly walked away from the double digit IQ grown children and chose to walk down the highway ripping branches of leaves off trees as it went before disappearing into the forest. With less faith in humanity in hand we settled back in at our tent for the last night of our camping trip with heavy hearts from the experience and knowing we had to go back to our now unwanted old apartment. I didn’t sleep much that night due to the cold air gripping my feet and the anxiety of knowing what awaited us back home.
The next morning we tried one last time for a nice sunrise, only now the clouds had all petered out and only blue bird skies remained. Deciding to drive down the road a little ways and take advantage of the misty water and fog of a small pond I pass all the time we set up our cameras. Waiting for just the right amount of light and mist to mix together and form a spooky atmosphere we stood by the roadside trying to keep warm and wake up a bit. Finally the elements lined up for us and I shot a couple of dead lichen covered pines that reflected in the mirror of water below. I checked my email once I had service to find the new apartment finalized the lease and payment we signed and we were excited to get back and start packing to start a new journey.
The morning mist leaving a roadside pond.
We broke down the tent with renewed hope that the future would hold a much better life for us. The new apartment is a much nicer place and the current neighbors seem to have more respect for others around them and wont be blasting machine gun sounds at 3am or stomping around all day while talking loudly on speaker phone. With that we set out back home to our cats who we were also excited for and stopped to buy moving boxes. The trip almost appeared as a metaphor for our life together up until this point. Starting out with excitement after moving in together, the gloomy skies of losing our best friend and his partner in crime, the troublesome people with no regard for anyone but themselves, and the new brighter skies burning away the shadows to reveal a new horizon.
Thanks for reading.
Steve