Hurricane Ridge Sunrise

My alarm clock went off, and I managed to drag myself out of bed on 2 1/2 hours of sleep. As I drove up to Hurricane Ridge, I kept glancing down at the gorgeous yellows and oranges along the Straits of Juan de Fuca. I stopped at one turnout and took a couple of "grab" shots, but I was intent on shooting sunrise at Hurricane Ridge. I should have concentrated on the sunrise colors in the valleys below. When I reached the top, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and I had Hurricane Ridge to myself. All the smart people knew it was a waste of time and stayed in bed. I took a few shots at the top of Hurricane Ridge and then drove back down the hill to a turnoff to shoot the sunrise light on the Straits of Juan de Fuca. I had waited too long and missed my chance. The sun was up and the glare ruined any chance of a good image.

I returned to Hurricane Ridge to take some panoramas in the early morning light. As I began taking the panoramas, I saw a small group of does grazing near the Obstruction Point road. I recognized the does and fawns from last night, so I thought I'd shoot them as soon as I finished the panoramas. The does had other ideas. By the time I finished the panoramas, they were all gone. A couple of solitary does were still feeding, but the fawns and their mothers had disappeared.

Hurricane Ridge

First Beach

I drove back down the mountain, we packed up the motorhome, and we drove the 60 miles to the Quileute Resort and RV Park. The facilities aren't great, but we have a million-dollar view. Our site faces the ocean, and we're only a few yards from First Beach. We shot sunset from the beach right out in front of the motorhome. There were a few clouds and a setting crescent moon, so we had a pretty good sunset.