I spent several days atop Steens Mountain (near 10,000 ft) this past week. The plan was to camp at Fish Lake, half way up the mountain. The goal was to shoot the Milky Way and the Perseid Meteor Shower. The latter event brought a tribe of millennial hippies to the area, however, and there was no way I could find solitude free of pet goats and a banjo player. I drove to the summit and had the entire range to myself for a couple of nights. Smokey skies (from wildfires) night and day obscured the stars but offered dramatic, moody sunrises and sunsets. I sure felt alone… but for the falcons and horned larks.

-ks