The Columbia Hills in southern Washington State have become an almost annual trek for me since I first visited them in 2004. The best year for blooms was 2009, but 2014 wasn't bad.

It's really hard to catch perfect conditions there. The balsamroot often are fading by the time the lupine get going, it can be incredibly windy, and the clouds often disappear at sunrise and sunset. Fortunately dawn was very good the morning I took this image. The eastern sky was empty, but the western really took on nice color that lasted for a very long time.