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Where the Angels Roam

This image is from a trip to Mt. Rainier during the period of time of the Norse Peak Fire.. While driving up US 410 to circle around Rainier I passed through thicker and thicker smoke. This summer almost half of the days have been like this, drab and smoky due to forest fires in the area including the Norse Peak Fire on the northeast side of Rainier. The smoke actually helped me at Silver Falls as it combined with clouds to produce some spectacular mid-day filtered light. But this same layer of clouds and smoke did nothing but diminish the view of Mt. Rainier to the point where it was almost unrecognizable through the haze. I felt some winds blowing in the area and on a hunch I thought Bench Lake would be a good place to go for sunset if some of the smoke would just blow away. It took almost ten minutes before sunset for this to happen, but for ten precious minutes the reward was absolute bliss, and some of the best light I have ever seen in this area!

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Uploaded on June 29, 2018
Taken on September 14, 2017