Photos | The Road Home

Alpenglow

Alpenglow happens when the rays of the setting or rising sun bend around the curvature of the earth and light up the mountains in the opposite direction: sunset lights mountains to the east, sunrise lights mountains to the west.

I went down the road close to sunset which was also supposed to be close to moonrise … a full moon rising. With the arctic front, came clear skies and I hoped there might be an alpenglow rising full moon.

The moon was late. Probably not the moon’s fault. I’m using a new moon phase app and this was my first try at matching its time for moonrise to actuality.

All was not lost as the alpenglow was beautiful.

West and Northwest, there was a pink glow on the mountains.

Even more north towards Big Mountain: you can see some of the ski trails about mid-photo.

The last bit of pink alpenglow above the road home.

In the mist

On the way to town, next to the dump: in the mist.

Light in the woods

Smoke

Yesterday, Sunday, was forecast to be 91 and advertised to be the last Summer day of above normal temperature. We had two morning walks in the cool and then Bear and I decamped to the living room by the air conditioner. Auggie was in shortly after noon.

Mid-afternoon, I looked outside and was surprised to see it looking smoky. I stepped outside and it smelled of smoke as well. Bear and I took a ride down the road to find the valley filled with smoke.

Rats!

I really thought we were going to squeak by this summer without fire or smoke.

Per the news, a smallish fire in Thompson Falls area, about 80 miles as the crow flies, blew up in the heat and accompanying strong wind. The wind was from the exact direction of the fire so the smoke blew into the valley and up against the mountains of the Missions and the Swan Range.

It stayed smoky all night and this morning the sunrise was the dramatic red that happens when there is smoke.

Red ball of fire in a smoky sky.

From the road home the mountains barely visible through the smoke.

Bear was with me – the above photo is looking west. I had a morning appointment in Kalispell and that part of the valley was much clearer with the smoke still stuck against the valley’s eastern mountain ranges.

The “Oh no” barn – the barn looks like it has an expression of “Oh no!” and it is fitting for this smoky morning.

I thought we would be smoked in until Tuesday night when the wind was forecast to move around to the north, but there was a shift to a west wind and at my house, the air was suddenly clear again. Wind and smoke are fickle things so we might not be done with the smoke, but we ended this Monday in better air than morning.