Skagit Valley Tulip Sunrise

Another year, another spring and another sunrise in the colorful RoozenGaarde fields of tulips in Washington State’s Skagit Valley.  Now at least a 15 year tradition, my family makes the 45 minute pre-dawn drive to witness and photograph another spectacular sunrise over 350 acres of tulips standing in neat rows organized by Dutch settlers since the 1950s.

Before the sun rises over the Cascade Mountains, the air is still enough to photograph the motionless dew-covered blooms.  The air is cool and scented more by the muddy fertile soil than by the tulips themselves.  As the sun rises, the dewy tulips become rim-lit when photographed in direction of the sun.

Alas, the air begins to stir and the light looses its softness.  It’s off to the Calico Cupboard Old Town Cafe and Bakery in downtown Mount Vernon, where my daughter orders her much-anticipated cinnamon roll French toast.