Layers of trees are shrouded by an early morning mist leftover from a lifting storm.

Continuous days of intermittent rain forced me to delay my first ever trip to Oregon by one week.  It was cloudy and dry when I drove through the state but the effects of the previous storms were evident all along the 84 West.  In the Columbia River Gorge I was immediately struck by the amount of green everywhere.  The ground was peppered with moss-covered rocks amidst layers of grass,  blooming wildflowers and trees grew abundant, and the lush forest was alive despite the deadly Eagle Creek Fire that ravaged the Gorge only a few months prior.  It was healing.

I spent my first sunrise at a local viewpoint overlooking a forest, a river, and the presence of Mount Hood looming towards the horizon.  Rolling thunderstorms could still be seen and heard in the surrounding areas but the scene in front of me was completely silent, save for a mist dancing through the trees and the whispers of a soft wind leading it through.  It’s incredible to me how mist can completely change the atmosphere of a scene.  I drove to this location with the intention of capturing Mount Hood, but as the foreboding fog shrouded the trees I threw on the zoom lens just to capture the mystery of it all.