Photographing Windy Ridge at Mt. St. Helens

I spent last weekend down at Mt. St. Helens - Windy Ridge area to be exact.  I chose this area for the likelihood of clouds and flowers based on the forecast and some recent trip reports.
 
I had clouds around the summit of St. Helens most of the day, and thunder clouds engulfing the Cascade crest.  I was excited for what evening would bring, but alas, the clouds faded and all but disappeared by sunset.  I hoped for their return as forecast in the morning, but it did not happen.

While the flowers were out along my climb of Mount Margaret and around Windy Ridge, they just are not the strong showing I am accustomed to in the area.  They are quite sparse, actually.  It will be interesting to see how the flower show develops around Mt. Rainier in a couple of weeks (the park predicts peak bloom to occur in early July this year).  Will they be fabulous fields of splendor, or skeletons of their normal selves?

I spent some time doing star photography around midnight in the Windy Ridge vicinity as well.  I'm pretty new to star photography, and there were a lot of rookie mistakes made!  But I also found some things that worked and am anxious to get out and try again.

The orange and yellow you see on the horizon is not the sun, but rather light pollution from the Portland and Vancouver area.

I hope you are getting out and enjoying the early hiking season as well.  Hope to see you on the trail!