Dark & windy. Moody. Huge clouds floating over the City. It was pretty cool how it was still dark out, but the clouds were illuminated by the lights of the City.

And then there was the North Avenue Beach Boathouse… take a quick look at that flag!!!

Cool enough… but then we also had incredible waves splashing over the shoreline.

Clouds. Wind. With a small sliver of sunrise peeking through.
Just enough to catch a few waves before the sky lit-up with a beautiful “splotchy” sunrise!

Sweeping clouds covering the sky. With some enchanting flickering “firefly” installations courtesy of Sprint. A beautiful morning for reflection… and bike reflections!

A few minutes later…. the sky was getting bluer and the “globes” seemed a little warmer.

Still a lot of clouds in the sky. And yet there was still hope of a beautiful sunrise.
Sadly… no go. Close, but not quite…

Instead, I got some really cool bike reflections along the lake’s edge.

More clouds. More potential. A window of opportunity that never quite lined up.

Gray skies with just a tiny splash of pink…
for just a brief moment of time. Then back to gray…

With an early start to ART IN THE BARN today, I didn’t have a chance for the morning bike ride. Instead I got a pretty incredible sunrise in my rearview mirror as I was driving out to Barrington. Mother Nature never fails to impress me.

It started out very dark this morning.
But there were some great cloud formations that had incredible promise.
And it all came together for a spectacular sunrise sky show!!!

Saturated morning colors with beautiful reflections over Belmont Harbor.
And then incredibly clear orange skies!

This may have been one of the best sunrise bike rides ever?!!!
I apologize in advance for all of the photos… but I just couldn’t edit out any more. I’ve already deleted about a hundred photos. It was one of those mornings where I just couldn’t help myself as the sunrise continued to evolve, change and get even more beautiful as the morning minutes passed. Oh right, I’ve got to remember to pedal too…