No clouds to play with this morning.
Just a clear sky with a bit of humid haze in the warm morning air.
Still pretty… but nothing too spectacular. I think I’m becoming jaded.

The morning sky was layered with saturated shades.
Beautifully rich colors streaking across the lower sky. As the sun continued to rise,
the saturated colors shifted to stunning oranges across the horizon.

When the sun got high enough, it ducked behind the low flying strip of cloud… and the sky took on a gorgeous golden hue as it played peek-a-boo through the cloud!

Lots of clouds. Everywhere.
Lots of darkness. Everywhere.
Very cool… Everywhere.

But where there’s clouds… there’s frequently a pretty cool sunrise.
And since these clouds were moving quickly, the sunrise was ever changing this morning. I especially liked it when they splayed out in a fan… and then even more when the sky became striped?!!!

After a couple days of dramatic clouds, this morning was surprisingly clear.
Not a single cloud in the sky. Just clear skies everywhere you look.

This morning’s sunrise was shrouded with clouds hanging dark & low.
Just a couple orange slivers of light low behind the clouds.

Eventually… the clouds were splashed with red, but only for a few fleeting moments.
Then it was back behind the clouds.

Eventually… the sun made it to the top of the clouds and the sky began to sparkle.

The morning sky was spotted with clouds. dark contrasts against a vibrant sky trying its best to make it through. however… there’s another large cloud coming in.

So the clouds gave it a valiant effort. Trying to obliterate the sun from shining through. Luckily, the sun was victorious and we got a pretty dramatic golden sunrise. Still with dark clouds looming on the horizon…

And still… that one large cloud working its way into the scene…

Since the triathlon, it has been noticeably quiet on the bike trail in the mornings. A lot fewer people out there sharing the path with me. Fewer people training. Fewer bikes in the trail. Fewer swimmers in the water. And this morning was especially quiet… maybe because it was an early Sunday morning?… on a holiday weekend???

After a couple days of gloomy fog & mist, it was refreshing to have a clear sunrise morning once again! It was already pretty warm… looks like it could become another hot one today?!

The fog this morning was crazy thick.
There was so much mist in the air that you could actually see it.
Like a fine grain filter covering your lens. If you stood still and looked forward,
you could actually “see” the air!!! Good thing… because you couldn’t see anything else!!!

The following photos are the same shot… one without the flash, and the second WITH the flash that catches every drop of mist in the air. Crazy how they show up. Almost like it’s snowing?!!! So here I am at the intersection of Montrose & Lake Shore Drive exit ramp…

And again looking at the Montrose underpass of Lake Shore Drive…

I was just a few miles into my ride when I noticed that my arms were already soaking wet. Not from sweating… but from the misty dew attaching to the hairs on my arms.

By the time I made it down to Belmont Harbor, the fog had gotten even thicker. Typically you can see the boats, the harbor, the trees and all the way out to the lake. Today, not so much. Still… the fog had given the boats in the harbor a beautifully eerie & moody feeling.

So much fog that you can see how it’s covering the harbor, and rolling right up to the bike trail that rolls right next to the lake.

Down by North Avenue Beach, the fog was still thick.  No skyline. No beach house. No end to the sidewalk. Not very reassuring when you’re pedaling into the fog and you can’t quite see where you’re going!

And trust me, this is the view of the Chicago Skyline you’ve seen time & time again… trust me… it’s there! You just can’t see it.

On my return route, I passed this group of trees that were floating in fog.
Perfect for another misty photo shoot.