Watercolor Sunrise
by Dave Hayes
Gaston, OR
Shortly after starting our morning trip to my son’s school, we experienced a view that exemplifies why I have kept my “Heart In Oregon”.
As we rounded the turn at the summit of Bald Peak, we beheld the scene that mother nature had concealed with her curtain of clouds for most of the past month. But now the curtain had parted and her painting revealed.
The sky had been illuminated with long watercolor strokes of violets, reds, and pinks. Its blue canvas peeked through in spots with highlights of white and gray.
Fog engulfed the valleys — Tualatin, Willamette and Columbia — to give the illusion of a calm sea and bays. Old growth groves poked through to resemble the masts of clipper ships.
Along the horizon stood the silhouettes of five Cascade peaks — Mt. Rainer, Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Adams, Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson. Peaks we normally see in the summer capped with snow were now just shadows.
As we made our way down the mountain the crescendo occurred. The sun made its appearance for the day. At first only a sliver but almost immediately, a gold band shot along the horizon that ushered in Sol. Instantly the greens of the forests came to life and the grandeur of the peaks spotlighted.
The day begins.
