Today may have had the MOST INCREDIBLE SUNRISE of the entire summer!
It started out with great clouds, which then splashed color across the morning sky.
So much drama. So many colors. So incredibly beautiful. A perfect Fall sunrise.

I’m sure there’s some “meterological” reason why Fall sunrises are so much more dramatic… but I’d like to think of it as a wonderfully “magic” sky show. Don’t really care how or why… I just LOVE that it happens. Making my mornings even better!!!

This morning I found myself down on Navy Pier when the sky began changing colors. It started with dark colors mixed amongst the gray clouds. A perfect backdrop for the flags & anchor at the east end of the Pier.

Then the sky started to turn shades of red, pink & orange…

And then brighter pinks…

Then onto oranges, indigos and purples…

And then the oranges brightened up, glowing low on the horizon.

Soon enough, the tumultuous rolling cloud formations seemed to be ablaze with colors.
Crazy. Amazing. Colorful. Could it be any more incredible?!

Each transition getting better than the one before.
I just couldn’t stop taking photos – as each one was better than the next.

And then, almost as quickly as the sky turned red & orange, it changed back to shades of blues & grays. Sky show over. At least for today…

Sure, the sunrise was beautiful. Dark, saturated colors.
But I was a little depressed to see that the snow-fencing had been installed along the bike trail already. Seemingly overnight. Yeah, Summer is over… but preparing for snow already?! Really???

And then the clouds turned pink. Ribbons of color across the sky.

Beautiful reflections in Belmont Harbor… with fewer boats than normal as many of them have already been removed from the lake and put into dry storage.

One last look back at the sunrise as I pedaled off towards home…

It started dark…. but quickly took on the look of Georgia O’Keefe’s oversized painting at the Chicago Art Institute. Okay, so you might need to flip her painting upside-down, but whatever….

When I got back up to the northernmost beach on the bike trail, a spot I’ve photographed from many times over the years… I was kind of surprised to see that it was flooded?! What???

How can a beach be flooded?!
Well, this one was – and the boardwalk that usually takes you to the water’s edge was totally covered over with water. And since we’ve not had any crazy rain or storms lately, I’m not really sure where all of this water came from?! Needless to say, it was pretty darn cool.

Yes, THAT’s the path you can usually walk out on to the water. And yes, if you look closely out there, you can see the “usual” beach line just past all of the water!

And the sand dunes with grasses now look more like a swamp!

Another dark morning… with beautiful colors & reflections downtown.

And with clouds like these, it seemed like the only “sunrise” we might see is this morning was the Ferris Wheel on Navy Pier?!

Eventually there was a glimmer of sky under the clouds. A bit of blue under the darkness.

Around Fullerton, the waves were splashing… so of course I had to stop for photos!

Uh oh… here comes the sun… hoping for some sunrise splashin’ fun!!!

Eventually the sun worked its way behind the massive cloud cover. Leaving a glimmer of dramatic lighting… with some very moody & oppressive clouds. The splashin’ waves were still pretty darn cool.

Soon enough the dark clouds moved on and the blue skies began to take over the skies.

A chilly morning along the lake.
Layers of clothing were definitely needed.
But well worth it with such wonderful layers of colors all around.

This morning was dark & windy. Not much of a sunrise…
but still a beautiful Fall glow if you look in the right places!

With all the dark clouds and strong winds, the waves were crashing all over the place.
Overflowing the edges of the Lake. Making it a little difficult to get out to the lighthouse!

With the waves and cold winds, even more important to NOT get caught off guard when the water comes flying towards you while you’re focusing elsewhere trying to catch the perfect photo. Okay, so it may have… might have… quite possibly… got me once or twice… I’m just sayin’…

Okay, so I think they’re right… maybe NOT a good place for swimming today?!

After a week of rainy mornings, it was great to finally get a dry Friday.
Clear skies with no chance of precipitation this morning.
Finally.