It usually takes about an hour to drive to Catalina Highway so I had to get up at 3 A.M. to get ready to leave the house around 4 A.M. if I was going to have a chance to catch the sunrise. There were ample clouds to make for a decent colorful sunrise unfortunately it really did not develop as well as I had hoped.
Still it was a treat to be on the mountain at that time as there was no one else around. I could hear the birds singing absent the traffic noise that can be prevalent on the week ends.
The sun came up in a way that didn't produce allot of color but it was still quite beautiful and with temps around 50 degrees it was nice weather to walk.
Catalina Highway rises from around 3000 ft to 8000 ft above sea level and the views can be spectacular.
These shots were directly into the sun which sometimes produces nice effects.
The view as the sun cleared the cloud cover.
This natural arch is directly next to the highway and is quite impressive.
As you near Summerhaven evidence of the 2003 Aspen fire is everywhere. As you can see some areas have not recovered a whole lot.
These Turkey Vultures circling the burn area gave it a sci-fi feel.
The sky was gorgeous at this point above one of the rebuilt homes in the area.
On the trip down the mountain I spotted this Cooper's Hawk standing watch.
Information on the Cooper's Hawk can be found at: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooper's_Hawk
Hidden in the rocks.
Great images Ray!
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