It may not be well known to Bismarck-Mandan folks, but I’m sure anyone from Almont and much of New Salem know about the old Occident Elevator. I previously featured this elevator in my “Occident by Accident” post, after I stumbled upon it while out snooping in the truck. I love those full day photo excursions, and I hope to take another one soon!

The location of this elevator, for those of you with a GPS, is 46°50.429″ minutes North by 101°30.460″ West. Here are some other photos from the morning, featuring one of the reddest skies I’ve seen.

Here we can see the transition from the red horizon to the bluish sky above. The colors of these sunrises and sunsets can fall off pretty quickly, depending on the sun’s position relative to the horizon.

Not only was it red, the clouds were pretty dramatic as well. The best sunrise in the world is one where the clouds are doing all kinds of exciting things. This morning was exceptional.

Wow. As amazing as these clouds and colors are, somehow they lack impact without a noteworthy foreground object. The elevator pulls it off nicely.

I hadn’t planned on going out for pictures this particular morning, but I’m glad I did. I got to the location at exactly the right time, neither too early or too late. Once it was over, I pointed the truck back to the house to play with my boys. What a remarkable morning!