Shasta Road

I had seen road shots of Mount Shasta like this for a while and really wanted to get one myself. Last summer, I researched all the locations I could find and spent a whole day driving to all of them. Highway 97 was my favorite. I wanted Shasta to have snow on it, so I would wait till the fall for my first attempt.

When the time came, I didn't like how brown and dead the grass looked. I thought to myself, "this shot would be better if the grass was green." I researched when the grass turned green, which was late April. I also talked to a photographer friend I had in the area and he said, "it's never green, it's high desert over there. If it does, it must just be for a brief period." So I knew whatever window I had would be short.

Once April came around, I started taking a couple trips up there a month, only to be disappointed every time. Once it got to June, I started to feel like my window was closing. If I didn't get it soon, I would have to wait till the following year.

The time had come to try again, normally I stay with family in Redding, but this time I decided I would sleep in my car if the sunset wasn't good and try again for the sunrise. I got there an hour before sunset, as the sun descended, I was afraid the clouds were too thick, and lo and behold, it was another failed attempt. Eight tries in and my window was closing. I made my bed in my car and hoped the morning would provide better luck. It was a much colder night then I anticipated, and I didn't sleep that well. I woke up a little over an hour before sunrise, tired of being cold, and also my hips were sore from my sleeping pad. So I decided to just get up, sit in my car with the heater on and wait for the sun to rise. 

As the light became dim, I could already see a little pink. I got out of my car and walked down the road a bit, and waited to see if the color would spread out over the mountain. I was beginning to think that it was going to be too many dark clouds again. But just for a brief moment, the color filled the sky. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. The colorful sky, snow covered Shasta with the alpine glow, green grass, the war was over. I finally got the shot.