The next day in Washington we went to the North Cascades National Park. It was damn cold at that elevation for this southern Delta girl, so there wasn't a lot of sketching. I tried. I did this one halfway up at about 27 degrees, and the water froze on the paper as I was doing the sky, making ice crystal patterns in the right side of the image. Which is totally cool. I had fingerless gloves, and this one worked great. I liked the effect. But once we got higher, I discovered that middle 20's is the outer limits for being able to work in watercolor. I tried up there in the teens, and it froze too quickly. I ended up with a total mess. This was all new information for me and helpful to know. It was 12 degrees at the highest point we got to. Stunning views, but I will have to be there in warmer weather if painting is going to happen. Fortunately the borrowed gear kept me warm enough to truly enjoy the beauty there.

Here are a few of the photos I took since I couldn't paint.

Just for contrast, here are a few of Jude Dippold's. You can see more of his work on his blog.

Mount Baker with the sunset colors bouncing off of it was amazing. I tried my hand at it as well, since that was back down into the (somewhat) warmer temperatures.