This morning was colder than expected as the cold winds were blowing in off the lake. With some dramatic clouds moving quickly, it was a race to see which would win?!… the sunrise or total cloud-cover?

Turns out we had a pretty underwhelming gray & cloudy day!

Not much in the way of clouds this morning. Just a low flying layer that delayed the sunrise a bit… but then we got beautiful ripples of orange reflections.

This morning was warm…
and I started out a little earlier than normal.
So it was darker, moodier and had a cool crescent moon!

The early sky was layered with understated colors.
Soon enough the clouds came began encroaching as the sun was trying to peek through.

As the clouds rolled in, so did the drama. Creating some wonderful contrast & shadows.

This morning had great potential.
After a few days of clear skies with a few wispy clouds, there was more drama in the sky this morning. Lots of clouds with good sunrise-color-potential.

Unfortunately, the sun never made it through. Sure, it tried a few times.
Little pops of color. some red here. some orange there.
But never quite as much as I had been hoping for.

What a difference on big cloud can make…

This morning started with a beautiful glow across the sky.
Wispy clouds were slowly splashed with vibrant colors.

As the morning continued, the sky’s colors became even more vibrant. With beautiful reflections on the water in stark contrast to the dark & shadowy “glaciers” that are still along the water’s edge.

This morning started out a bit foggy & damp. Warmer than we’re used to.
Which was great as I knew all of the puddles were actually puddles… and not frozen!

With the low-lying marine layer of clouds over the lake, it was a “slow burn” as the sun kept trying to make its way out. It took quite awhile… but finally succeeded.

On the ride back home I found this great section where the big Winter melt is creating these wonderful “lakes” – perfect for some beautiful morning reflections!

Big, wide open skies.
Big, wide open panoramic photo!!!

Well, the temperature this morning was 32-degrees by the time I finished riding.
Freezing.

By comparison, it felt downright balmy… and I had on too many layers.
It was fun though to see how much the snow has melted and the has lake thawed out over the past few days. Still, at that time in the morning it was hard to discern between wet puddles & frozen patches. Safer to always assume they’re frozen!!!