Airglow Arch. May 2021

Again with the uncertainty! The forecast kept changing every few hours for Inyo county. Cloudy? Mostly clear? Slight chance of showers and thunderstorms? 

Risk it. 

After about seven and a half hours of driving, I made it to Alabama Hills. It was crowded but most of the clouds seem to have dissipated. Every pullout was occupied, including the one I planned on staying at. After driving around in circles looking for a spot, I decided to just stay at a pullout next to the Arch Loop parking lot.

At 11pm, I saw the Milky Way rise but cars kept coming intermittently into the night. The high beams kept ruining my exposures, along with campfires and lanterns adding localized light pollution. I was almost about to give up and just go to sleep. 

Finally, around 1:30am, tranquility ensued. The cars stopped coming. The music stopped. The partygoers went to bed. Stillness, at last. I managed to track for about another hour and a half, before a fast moving cumulus cloud came in from the north ending my session a bit early.

850 miles
No expectations.