Skies Abound in Redwoods, Lassen and Crater Lake

A recent vacation to three national parks did not disappoint when it came to the camera lens, even on our way there. This image was captured at 7:28 pm MDT on Saturday, August 8, 2026 as our connective flight was nearing the Denver, Colorado airport, and negotiating through thunderstorms. The evening sun provided spectacular color on those cloud tops.

 

7:29 pm. Similar image. iPhone 11 camera.

8:02 am PDT, Monday, August 10. Even drab gray fog can produce striking images--provided the right setting: This view of the coast of the Pacific Ocean is seen from De Martin Beach along US Highway 101 in northwest California.

1:57 pm, August 10. Looking straight up into the sky at towering redwoods while on the James Irvine Trail at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. iPhone 11 camera.

9:19 am, Tuesday, August 11. Fog again, this time as illuminated rays through the trees as seen from Highway 101 near Klamath, California in Redwood National Park.

8:56 am PDT, August 13. Criss-crossed cirrus clouds over Lassen Peak (10,457 feet, background) as seen from the summit of Cinder Cone (6,907 feet) in Lassen Volcanic National Park.

9:13 am. Sky-filled cirrus clouds looking north from the summit of Cinder Cone. Lava beds can be seen at lower right.

9:15 am. Cirrus clouds above the Cinder Cone crater, with Lassen Peak in the distance at right.

10:33 am PDT, Friday, August 14. Puffy cumulus clouds dot the horizon at seen from the summit of Lassen Peak (10,457 feet). A monitoring station panel is at left. Lassen Peak is considered an active volcano, and last erupted violently in 1915.

10:39 am. Similar view. Lake Helen is seen at center. Lake Helen sits at 8,200 feet above sea level. 

10:58 am. Sprawling sky as seen from the slopes of Lassen Peak. Its craggy summit is at left.

10:53 am PDT, Saturday, August 15. Wisps of cirrus above Mount Shasta (14,179 feet). This image was captured from the Mount Shasta Viewpoint on US Highway 97 on our way to our third main vacation destination, Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. We were about 14 miles from the mountain.

2:42 pm, August 15. Cumulus clouds abound at Crater Lake as seen from Rim Village in Crater Lake National Park. Wizard Island at center.

4:08 pm. The "Phantom Ship" island rock formation as seen from the Phantom Ship Overlook. Clouds and sun create reflections in the water.

9:06 am PDT, Sunday, August 16. Crater Lake as seen from Rim Village. Cumulus clouds dot the horizon and reflect in the water.

9:47am. Crater Lake and the Phantom Ship in misty conditions as seen from the Garfield Peak Trail.

9:49 am. Crater Lake panorama image from the Garfield Peak Trail. Note the cloud reflections.

10:26 am. Lots of cumulus clouds, lots of reflections. Wizard Island at left center. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Wet Dry Creek

Dry Creek, in these series of images from Boyson Park near the border of Marion and Cedar Rapids, Iowa overflowed its banks on the morning of September 20, 2026, due to accumulative rainfall here and from the north during the time span of September 13-20. My home weather station, located about a quarter mile away, recorded a total of 6.72 inches of measurable rainfall from the 8 consecutive days of precipitation. The image above looks southeast and was captured at 1:53 pm CDT on September 20 from the sidewalk near Boyson Road leading to one of the two trail accesses from Boyson Park.

1:54 pm. Foot bridge over Dry Creek looking south, with its wooden planks not quite awash from the rushing stream (moving right-to-left). Pooling water in the foreground was about 3-4 inches deep.

1:54 pm. Closer view.

1:54 pm. View from the footbridge looking west. Despite the high and hard flowing water, the bridge felt solid.

1:54 pm. Another view from the footbridge, this one looking southeast. Note the depth of the water from the inundated trees.

1:54 pm. View from the footbridge looking south in the direction of the trail. Normal creek flow is toward the left.

1:56 pm. Looking southeast from the second Boyson Park trail access (to Thomas Park) connecting from the sidewalk along Boyson Road. Boyson Park's parking lot is at far left.

1:56 pm. Similar view. Normal creek flow is toward the right.

1:57 pm. Looking southwest. Wide scope of flooding.

1:58 pm. Looking southwest from near the Boyson Road sidewalk. The footbridge can be seen between trees at right. Nikon Z6ii camera.

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Pacific Northwest Night Skies

 

A recent vacation to Redwood National Park, Lassen Volcanic National Park and Crater Lake National Park in California and Oregon produced the images seen in this post. The image above was captured during the peak Perseids meteor shower on Thursday, August 13, 2026. Image looks east from the Butte Lake Campground in Lassen Volcanic National Park. Time was 3:53 am PDT. A meteor streak is at left center. Toward the upper right, the fuzzy appearance of the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) can be seen. 15 second exposure at f/1.8, ISO 2500, 35mm focal length. Despite the dark skies, it was not a particularly active meteor show from this location.

Milky Way and core, looking SSE from the South Summit Campground in Lassen Volcanic National Park at 10:17 pm on Friday, August 14. Bright star at upper left is the 0.75 magnitude Altair in the constellation Aquila. 15 second exposure at f/1.8, ISO 2000, 35mm focal length.

9:29 pm PDT, Saturday, August 15. Crater Lake (National Park), Oregon looking south from the Merriam Point Overlook. At this point I was in the process of setting up my Nikon Z6ii camera for Milky Way shots. Red glow at right is from family member's head lamps. Wizard Island can be seen at lower left.

9:49 pm. Looking the opposite direction from the lake (northwest) at Ursa Major (The Big Dipper). Clouds toward the bottom. The glow at bottom is from distant towns. 13 second exposure at f/4, ISO 5000, 24mm focal length.

10:03 pm. Milky Way and core vertical capture from Merriam Point, Crater Lake. Wizard Island behind dead pine tree. Windy and chilly conditions at this location! 20 second exposure at f/4, ISO 5000, 24mm focal length. Image is one of the 11 images used to create the panorama below.

Panoramic image of Crater Lake looking south from Merriam Point Overlook. Image is a stitch of 11 shots, all 20 second exposures at f/4, ISO 5000, 24mm focal length. Time was 10:00-10:05 pm. Mix of clouds and stars. Bright star at top center is 0.75 magnitude Altair in the constellation Aquila. Bright skies along the horizon is due to glow from distant towns. Glow at lower right is another camera on a tripod.

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