Thursday, March 9, 2023

Early Morning Drive to the Desert

 It was a recent Sunday morning and I was on the road early to meet with friends for a desert hike. It's a 2 hour commute for me, so hiking days always start with an early morning alarm, followed by making coffee, loading up the car, and being on the road by 5 or 5:30am. Today was unusual: I was actually ahead of schedule (that rarely happens)!! Lucky for me, because the skies were so pretty I simply had to stop along the way for photos.


The windmills out near Palm Springs had an early morning eerie look to them, and the pre-sunrise sky was gorgous!
 
I had barely gotten back on the road when I noticed an amazing sky off to the east. There was a large rainbow actually cresting the setting moon, along with glowing clouds. It was quite a sight! Unfortunately, the next offramp was about 3 miles away. By the time I pulled off the highway and got my camera out of the trunk, the rainbow was nearly gone😞. You can still make out the left and right corners of the rainbow, but the center has disappeared. Take my word for it that it was amazing to see a rainbow arching over the moon, and it's one of those "photos that got away" that I will regret not being able to capture. 
 

First light on the wind turbines.
 
I continued to see bits and pieces of the rainbow in my rearview mirror, so I made one final photo stop.
 
View from my driveway... a piece of rainbow can still be seen!
Time to get organized and meet friends for our hike. I'll be sharing those photos with you soon. Fingers crossed for a pretty sky and maybe even a rainbow!!
 
Linking with Skywatch Friday.
Thanks for stopping by!

40 comments:

  1. ...wow, the sunrise was a fabulous start and then the rainbow came along!

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  2. Wow - how lucky are you to see that rainbow over the moon - amazing morning skies

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  3. That rainbow and sky, and clouds that you did capture were wonderful. A truly civic conscious blogger you are by not stopping on the road to get the pic.

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  4. Dearest Peter,
    Oh, when you're on an Interstate or elsewhere where you just can't stop for taking photos—that is a bad feeling. We both call that 'missed chances' as is for many things in life.
    But incredible images!
    Hugs,
    Mariette

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  5. I wish I could copy your pictures and hide them in a very special folder named "for my eyes only" to look at them whenever I felt the need to enjoy amazing, fabulous, out-of-this-world photographs.
    : )

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  6. Wow, that must have been a sight. But, better to be safe than chasing pictures sometimes. I wish you another time when you can get that shot and safely.

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  7. Beautiful colours in those skies.

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  8. What a cool sunrise! I was just down your way last week, visiting my aunt and uncle in Fullerton. Next visit, I'm going to rent a car and drive to Joshua Tree NP.

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  9. Oh wow, the payoff for waking up early is huge.

    Worth a Thousand Words

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  10. They are all spectacular photos! Love that you ended up with a double rainbow at the end. That's special!

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  11. Glorious morning! Thank you for sharing the good stuff

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  12. Excellent fiery skies. Windmills make up for good frames especially during golden hours

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  13. A rainbow jumping over the moon like that would have been a fantastic sight. At least you have your memory of it :)

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  14. Amazing skies, loved the rainbow.

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  15. The shot with the mountain wearing a cloud, and the morning light showcasing what looks like a ... I'm not sure. It's like a crucifixion scene. Weird, huh...? Super pictures, as always.

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  16. It can be a glorious part of the day and you've caught its magic beautifully.

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  17. Stunning views! Breath taking colors in the sky!

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  18. Stunning sky you always seem to find the magic. I think we all have the one that got away due to driving and not being able to stop. I have see large wind farms in Wales but nothing like that

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  19. The photos of the windmills against the sunrise are incredible. But the moon and rainbow photos are pure magic. You did well to capture what you did. Rainbows are so fleeting.

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  20. How lovely! Early birds get the best in magical mysterious mornings, as your photos prove.

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  21. Delightful! There are times when I wish I had a dash cam, like when a bear runs across the road, and disappears before I can stop.

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  22. Wow! Awesome sky shots and amazing rainbow ~ Wonderful series of phots ~

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  23. Amazing, stunning - maybe you didn't get the best ones but you captured a lot of awesome.

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  24. Beautiful sky shots! I love the clouds and rainbow.

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  25. Wow, what a great series! Never seen a rainbow over the moon before...
    (by the way, we've got more snow in last night)
    Greetings from Germany

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  26. Beautiful photos! It's amazing to see the rainbow and the moon at the same time!

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  27. even early morning commute drive (to the final destination) has it charms. beautiful sunrise.

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  28. Stunning that rainbow in desert conditions. Your header with that train is also unbeatable.

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  29. Wonderful pictures.
    Love the cloud formation on the mountain and the lovely rainbow.

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  30. Wow! Beautiful skies!
    Have a wonderful weekend!

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  31. Glad you weren't in traffic. :-)

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    1. Sorry! Didn't catch that "Comment as:" until the last screaming second. :-)

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  32. You were blessed with an extraordinary morning sky. In cases like this, one must just stop and enjoy.

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  33. These photographs capture the sky in all its splendor, love the rainbow!

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  34. Hi S P & P, Wow, I love your rainbow photos. In your second rainbow image … One doesn’t need much imagination to know what a marvelous scene that must have been when the rainbow was bright. Congrats on the captures you got. The sky at dawn is often just as great as sunset. Thanks for sharing your photos. John

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  35. I hate it when photos escape my lens! Darn, it. it still looks cool though.

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  36. Just seeing the rainbow was an omen for a good day even if you didn't catch your best sighting. It's funny, we have tons of memories from before years ago and I don't have a mental list of those as photos -- they are simply wonderful memories. But everything I missed since the digital age began is definitely catalogued as 'photos that got away.' I try to Zen out and remember that it's the experience and the memory that really matter. But .....

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