The rising sun over the Cascades presents the early observer with colours that are beautifully varied and blended with each day being surprising different. This scene, captured on December 22, 2003 (with the sun rising at its furthest south), catches the predawn sun just south of Mt. Baker. The starkness of the silhouetted peaks serves to accentuate the subtleness of the clouds in ways quite different from those of a sunset. I often overlooked the beauty of the morning in favour of the sunset but this sight has caused me to get up early to spend time with the dawn.